Stage 2/ grade 2 - is chemo required?

Sorry to see you here in the club noone wants to join.  Try to be guided by your medical team.  Chemo is doable.   Doesn't  always feel like it at the time.   Put one step in front of each other and just breathe as you go through your treatment.   

I had a mastectomy and one lymph node was malignant (several looked suspicious but were OK). Stage 2 and HER2 positive. My oncologist definitely recommended chemo. As @Lockley says it’s doable (like some, I had no nausea or fatigue and continued work through treatment). I wanted to
do everything I could to avoid doing it again. So far (10 years), so good. Chemo can be daunting but so is the prospect of more cancer. I just didn’t want my choices to be the source of any regret. Best wishes. 

Hi there @Annalyn...as mentioned above, trust your medical team and remember, chemo is not pleasant, but then neither is cancer. The fact that it is already in at least one node, shows its intention to travel. It already has its passport ready and bags packed and you would want to knock it off before it boards a plane to travel to some exotic location such as your lungs, liver, bones or brain. Your team would not recommend it if it was not necessary. Good luck with your treatment...Ally.

Hi @Annalyn, it's all so overwhelming trying to figure out the best treatment. The ki67 factor nearing 50% and your grade 2 status of your cancer cells is probably why chemo is recommended especially since one lymph was involved.

If one lymph was involved in then only takes one cancer cell to take off and get to another organ and so chemo can hunt those cells down and cancer is then killed off  I would get the chemo and you will have more peace of mind that your cancer is actually all gone. If no chemo that cancer that went to the lymph can have spread and it can spread fast. 

I was 57 when diagnosed with stage 1, grade 3, ki67 at 69% and ER and PR+. I had surgery, chemo x 4 months snd 20 rounds of radium and now AIs. I got through it all. That was in 2020. Yes it was hard at times but it is doable. 

You can do this too. One step at a time. Reward yourself after each treatment with a night away or a night out for dinner. I hope you have some good support  to help you at home. Best wishes to you 

Thank you for your response. My fear at the moment is the port placement as I have difficult veins and prone to keloids and hematoma. Actually I'm scared of the entire process. I am now waiting to see the medical oncologist to discuss the next step ie chemo . Second surgery will be post chemo. 

Regarding your fear of the port placement, I can share the following. Prior to being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, I had been on blood thinners (warfarin), for almost twenty years. This requires very frequent blood tests to check my clotting levels and had resulted in extremely scarred veins from the repeated blood tests. I had my port put in on the morning of my first AC chemo session using a local anaesthetic. I still have my port...this September will be 7 years and it is frequently used for the contrast in scans (it is a Power Port-a-cath and can take the pressure that the contrast is injected in). I have other significant health conditions which result in me being in hospital on a fairly regular basis. There it is used for IV fluids as well as blood tests. None of the regular pathology clinics where bloods are taken have staff who are 'port certified' and there they have to play 'hunt the vein'. Even in hospital, not all registered nurses are port certified, but they can be located if I put my foot down and insist on my port being used. I have mine flushed and Heparin locked every 6-8 weeks to keep it viable. It has never become infected, flipped, kinked or misbehaved in any way and it will remain there as long as it continues that way. When and if it causes problems, it will be replaced by another on the other side of my chest. As far as pain when being accessed is concerned, I get more twitchy when having a finger prick to check for blood sugar levels.

Hi again @Annalyn, are you sure you need a port? I had 12 rounds of chemo and no port. I had good veins and had a cannula inserted for each chemo session. It was fine. Just check your process and see what happens. Explain your fears and let them know how you feel. Best wishes 

People usually have difficulty finding my veins when withdrawing bloods. Had 2 anaesthetists using the ultrasound machine and also required 3 jabs each. So scared 

Hi @Annalyn I have a similar HER2+ oestrogen pos, progesterone neg and Ki67 50% and have had weekly chemo for a month now and I had the same fears as you. I'm also type 1 diabetic to boot and always dread blood tests as my vein aren't great, but the oncology nurses are amazing at finding veins and have lots of tricks - like a warm water bath for your arm before hand. I am still working as a produce grower for chefs and I told my nurse yesterday that chemo is nothing like in the movies. She said "darling, it was we are not doing our job properly". Everyones experience is different, but trust your team and so far I've found the whole experience not as I feared. Stay strong and allow yourself to be cared for and nurtured and supported by your team. Big hugs, Jules xx

Agree with @Julesuptree, general
practitioners including nurses can be remarkably poor at hitting a vein, but oncology nurses are usually very good and much more understanding. I had six months of chemo, half of that weekly and could only use one arm as I have lymphoedema. Nurses were great, my senior nurse was particularly adept! But a port is also an option. Best wishes.