Genomic Testing

MeJaKeLoka

Hi,
I was diagnosed 1 month ago, and had a bilateral mastectomy last week. My tests came back yesterday and although one Lymph node was clear, another had minimal cancel cells present from my left armpit.  Apparently i am a N0 category.  Although my surgeon is going to get other doctors opinions etc if i should go ahead and have chemo, i thought i would research Genomic testing too.  I have my oncology appointment this week.  I am stage 2 (not sure if A or B ) , ER+, PR+, Her2-.  Is there anyone that has recently done the test, if so is it possible to give me abit more info on it, cost, timeline, name of test etc.  Thank you in advance, this has been such an emotional ride so far, but i am grateful to have had it diagnosed early. 

FLClover

Hello. I had a similar diagnosis, mine being stage 1, bilateral and multifocal. I also had a micromet in only one node. I was told chemo was not necessary as the percentage of it helping was very low, about 1%. I was put on hormone blockers thought, as mine was also hormone positive, so I’m guessing you will be too. In the words of my oncologist: 1. Throwing every treatment under the sun on it does not guarantee a better survival rate, and can actually be quite detrimental on the body; 2. Hormone blockers will work better than chemo in this case. 

Good luck in your decision, I know it’s not an easy one 🌸. 

Cath62

These are difficult decisions @MeJaKeLoka. Not only does the chemo decisions consider the stage of the cancer as well are ER status, PR status and Her2-, but there is the grade of the cells too and also the Ki67 factor, lymph nodes involvement, age, medical history,  family history etc etc. Sorry this is all very complicated and on top of that there is fear of chemo and fear of cancer etc as well as the other treatment you are having.

This is why we have very trained medical people who have studied hard for many years to help us decide our treatment decisions.

Ask lots of questions and even get another opinion if you want to help you decide what to do. Your breast care nurse might be good to talk to as well. Look into it all. 

For me I trusted my team and I did understand my pathology well and asked lots of questions. I had stage 1, grade 3, ER+, PR+, Her2-, Ki67 was 69, no lymph involvement, family history of breast cancer but only a cousin  but no braca gene, 4 malignant melanomas plus other health issues so I had surgery, chemo, radium and now hormone suspension.

My treatment including the chemo was ok. Minimal side effects but any I had I discussed with my dr and addressed it all so the side effects went away. In addition to treatment I exercised, ate very healthy (no sugar or gluten as I have intolerance), drank beetroot, carrot, apple, ginger and celery juice, took up took mediation, expressed gratitude daily and changed my relationship to the stress in my life amongst other things. 

Good luck with your decision and the treatment you decide to have. Best wishes.

Ktre

Good luck with everything, I was diagnosed 2 years ago when multifocal stage 2 er+; pr+; her2-, had a mastectomy at the time they believed it was 5 tumours on the left side of right breast (not present in lymph nodes at the time). Also was booked for chemo and possible radiotherapy. By the time I got to my surgery the cancer had gone to my lymph nodes, so had full auxiliary clearance and scans, found spots in liver, chemo went ahead and that helped to reduce the spots a bit. I would go chemo personally as it kills everything (yes even healthy cells) but gets rid of the cancer if possible, unfortunately I now have stage 4, but I know that chemo helped reduce my spots and assists the new medication to keep it at bay for as long as possible

Ktre

Really thinking of you and sorry you went down this path

MeJaKeLoka

Thanks for everyones replies, it truely helps and has given me new questions to ask my surgeon and oncologist.  I went into my post op appointment abit unprepared as the week before that i received good news about not having the cancer spread by the doctor so chemo was off the table, but there were tests results that hadn't come back yet, so Monday's news of one node being affected really through me off Its actually just one big blur and cant remember much of what was said.)  I am now creating a long list of questions that i am definitely taking with the any specialist appointment from now on.  There are a few terms in this post that i cant even remember hearing or thinking of asking, so its really helpful.  I think i will go the chemo route in the end, need to do it for My Family and Myself to do anything to get better.

Cath62

Hi again @MeJaKeLoka, it's a good idea to take a support person to your appointments, at least initially as there is so much information to process and it's hard to take it all in. Writing questions down is good and always ask for copies of pathology reports and scan reports. That way you can have them after the appointment and helps digest all that information. Alternatively I have heard of some people asking to record their oncologist or surgeon appointments. Just a thought. Good luck 

iserbrown

https://www.bcna.org.au/resource/fact-sheet-breast-cancer-pathology/

Hopefully this fact sheet will also help

Take care

Aska

Hi there. I have the same biochemistry as you - ER/PR +, Her-. Not sure if you've found out about genomic testing yet but my Surgeon referred me to the laboratory Invitae - it costs $500 and is mailed to you, saliva test, and you mail back. Best of luck with your treatment.