Chemo first and surgery after

Hi JuneXie,
I was diagnosed Hormone + in 2018 and had chemo first, then SMX with nodes removed (1 showed positive) and then rads.
My SMX showed the breast tissue had responded to the chemo. I'm not sure why it is done in that order though. All subsequent US and mammograms show no sign of anything now which is great.
I found chemo to be a pretty good experience with minimal discomfort (except for the hair loss bit). I was able to walk a lot and had only a couple of days of really bad fatigue.
Write down all of your questions for the Dr and BC nurses they are really helpful! And that way you have a record of their answers.
Wishing you all the best.

Hi @JuneXie...I was diagnosed in September 2016 with Stage 3, Grade 3, Triple Positive (so Her2, ER and PR +), multifocal and with at least 1 node involved. I was (and still am) a public patient, and when advised to do chemo first, to be honest I was quite sceptical of their explanations. I thought their surgery lists were very long and that they were fobbing me off by doing the chemo first to keep me occupied and in a 'holding pattern' until surgery could be done. My instincts were to chop them both off now...give me a weedwhacker and I'll do it myself... Well, as it happens, when I did have my bilateral mastectomy with axillary node clearance on the left (the known to be feral boob), and sentinel node on the right. The pathology report on all the removed tissue, breasts and nodes, showed a complete pathological response, with no live cancer cells found at all, only the (quote) empty tumour beds. I remain NED (No evidence of disease) almost 7 years on. I was 58 at the time. Good luck with your treatment, and remember, this is the first time you've had breast cancer, but to your medical team, this is their bread and butter.  They've treated hundreds if not thousands and are very up to date in the ever changing treatment protocols for different types and stages of breast cancer.

Hi @JuneXie, 

Sorry you are going through this situation. I hope you have some good family and friends supporting you.  I was not exactly in the same situation as you but it is common for chemo to be done first to shrink a tumor and kill any roaming cancer cells. Chemo can shrink tumors and i am sure others on here have had success in that way.

Your oncologist should be able to explain why they recommend chemo first. Do you have a breast care nurse as they too can walk you through things. 

When first diagnosed it is simply terrifying and overwhelming. There is so much to take in, all the new terms and what they all mean. It's hard to generalise because each of us has our own pathology and really no 2 are exactly the same. 

Treatment is very successful these days and while it's definitely a tough road, you are going to get through it. You need to keep busy and look after yourself well to get through it all. Eat healthy food, drink lots water and take in some exercise if you can as it really helps. Take deep breaths or try meditation as it is also helpful.

It can also be beneficial to talk to a counsellor or psychologist. I am sure Peter Mac would help there or a breast care nurse. Breast cancer can be alot to process and sometimes having a professional to talk to can help. I had a couple of sessions with a psychologist and it did help me. 

Best wishes to you. This is a great forum and all questions and concerns are ok to talk about here,  it is good support. Take care