Logistics of treatment
I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer a few months ago (ER positive, PR positive & HER2 positive) and am struggling to move forward with any of the treatment options offered to me. One of the r...
Forum Discussion
My function in life seems to be saying difficult things that most won't. If you have decided not to have chemo--for what ever reason--that is your choice and your right. You won't be the first person who has weighed the pros and cons and said no. You won't be the last.
Australia has one of the highest BC survival rates in the world but there are no guarantees regardless of what you do. The percentage increase in ten year survival rates offered by chemo can be shocking low. It can also save your life. The nature of your cancer has a great deal to do with that equation, but I'm assuming you have already investigated what the sums look like for your individual situation. It comes down to your personal appetite for risk.
If that is where you find yourself please let your medical team know. Get it over and done with. You will be treated to the obligatory lecture about only having one chance at it. You'll be asked how you will feel if your disease progresses and you refused something that could have helped. It will be a difficult conversation and the folk on the other end of it--your medical team, friends and family-- won't like it. Everyone will have an opinion and they won't be shy about sharing it.
We all have to own the decisions we make and the mental pressure of being stalled is truly horrible. Once the decision--to either get on the other end of the needle or not--is made everyone can move on and stop spending time and energy trying to convince you to do something you don't want to do. You can also stop defending yourself and get busy planning things you can commit to. I'm betting that sorting out the logistics will be easier also.
Sorry if that sounds a bit blunt. I succumbed to pressure to have more chemo when my cancer came back and I regret it. Only time will tell if I wasted my time and ruined my body doing something pointless. It didn't work the first time, maybe I'll have better luck now. We will see. Marg xx
Australia has one of the highest BC survival rates in the world but there are no guarantees regardless of what you do. The percentage increase in ten year survival rates offered by chemo can be shocking low. It can also save your life. The nature of your cancer has a great deal to do with that equation, but I'm assuming you have already investigated what the sums look like for your individual situation. It comes down to your personal appetite for risk.
If that is where you find yourself please let your medical team know. Get it over and done with. You will be treated to the obligatory lecture about only having one chance at it. You'll be asked how you will feel if your disease progresses and you refused something that could have helped. It will be a difficult conversation and the folk on the other end of it--your medical team, friends and family-- won't like it. Everyone will have an opinion and they won't be shy about sharing it.
We all have to own the decisions we make and the mental pressure of being stalled is truly horrible. Once the decision--to either get on the other end of the needle or not--is made everyone can move on and stop spending time and energy trying to convince you to do something you don't want to do. You can also stop defending yourself and get busy planning things you can commit to. I'm betting that sorting out the logistics will be easier also.
Sorry if that sounds a bit blunt. I succumbed to pressure to have more chemo when my cancer came back and I regret it. Only time will tell if I wasted my time and ruined my body doing something pointless. It didn't work the first time, maybe I'll have better luck now. We will see. Marg xx