Oncotype test

Hi @Pommy8

I forgot to tell you the previous comment. I researched academic sources and found the oncotype is accurate.
My breast cancer nurse said that some doctors are trying to get medicare to cover the cost for cancer patients.
Hopefully it will happen sometime. 
She also mentioned that the number of Oncotype users is increasing.

Test results show your possibility of recurrence. If it is under 15%, you don't need chemotherapy.
If it is more than 15%, it will also explain how much chemotherapy is effective for you.

Hope this information helps.

Hi @Pommy8

I did Oncotype. It was expensive, but I needed to be told about the necessity of my chemotherapy with the scientific test results.
The test takes 21 business days. I went back to work during this waiting time. That was a great time to give me a break from my breast cancer stress and focus on something different. I loved spending a few weeks of normalised life.

I also think the experience going through treatment, especially AC, would be different if I did not see the test results. I would have had doubts about if I needed chemotherapy. Even though my oncologist is very experienced, he is only a human. No one is perfect. All the doctors have insurance.

Please think about what is best for you. We are all different. 

Wishing you a best 

Good comment by your surgeon, @Julez1958! I had a ‘one in ten thousand chance’ of a procedure going wrong (nothing to do with bc) -  you tend to assume that you will never be the one! My problem was fixable and was quickly fixed, but treatment choices are sometimes about knowing you’ve done all you can, rather than what is statistically imperative. It’s personal and individual, no ‘right’ answers. 

Hi @Pommy8
I was never recommended the oncotype test as my own circumstances didn’t put me in the “ grey zone”.
I had a large tumour that hadn’t spread to my lymph nodes ( “ big and dumb” said my surgeon”  so I was  recommended mastectomy , radiotherapy and hormone therapy but not chemo .
All of these medical decisions are essentially a “ numbers game” and for myself I placed my trust in my ( extremely experienced) medical team.
Years ago I had surgery for a detached retina and my surgeon said there was a 5 percent chance that it would detach again ( which it did)
I remember my surgeon saying “ percentages are suddenly meaningless if you are the small percent”.
I guess what I’m saying is there is always a chance cancer may come back no matter what treatment we have - but we live in a first world country with an excellent medical system so we should do our best not to anxiously think about what might be but rather try and get on with life and enjoy all the good things we have.
Hope that’s not too “ Pollyanna”.
Take care .🌺