Bilateral breast cancer anybody???
Hi, i was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer late oct 2016. A 3 cm grade 3 on the right breast and a 2 cm grade 2 on left and 25 nodes removed on the left and centinal and one other on the right....
Forum Discussion
I think it sounds reasonable, @bevvzy. But I'm not an oncologist.
What most people don't process is that chemo for the majority of early (non-metastatic) breast cancers only increases survival rates by less than 10%. Yep. 10%. It's not a cure all and many of us who've had recurrences have already had chemo. You'll see a few threads here about women really struggling to reconcile those figures against the damage it can do.
In your case, if they look at a 10% chance of changing your cancer outcome against an extremely high risk of you having potentially fatal side effects, it's likely they are going to recommend the option which is likely to cause less harm.
You are in a shit of a situation where it's all going to be a balancing act. You can always ask for a second opinion and if this is going to to do your head in perhaps that's the next step. If there is more than one company offering oncology services, even if it means you have to go private for one consult, I'd suggest you go that way so you are comfortable you are getting unbiased advice. Marg.
What most people don't process is that chemo for the majority of early (non-metastatic) breast cancers only increases survival rates by less than 10%. Yep. 10%. It's not a cure all and many of us who've had recurrences have already had chemo. You'll see a few threads here about women really struggling to reconcile those figures against the damage it can do.
In your case, if they look at a 10% chance of changing your cancer outcome against an extremely high risk of you having potentially fatal side effects, it's likely they are going to recommend the option which is likely to cause less harm.
You are in a shit of a situation where it's all going to be a balancing act. You can always ask for a second opinion and if this is going to to do your head in perhaps that's the next step. If there is more than one company offering oncology services, even if it means you have to go private for one consult, I'd suggest you go that way so you are comfortable you are getting unbiased advice. Marg.