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Karensky's avatar
Karensky
Member
12 years ago

Chemo - yes or no?

Hi all

I saw the Medical Oncologist today and got a shock.  He is saying I should have Chemo.  I went in there with my husband, both of us expecting to talk about hormone therapy, side effects, participation in a local clinical trial; not a thought of chemotherapy ( I am ER/PR 100% +ve, HER -ve, Stage 2, Gr 2, no lymph node involvement and no indications of metasases on bone scan, X-rays and U/S.)  The Medical Oncologist did not even discuss hormone therapy except to say - "Oh yes you will have that" - he just launched into " Well for your cancer, I would recommend chemotherapy at this dose and this frequency..."  This does not feel right and I would like to be able to intelligently discuss this with another Medical Oncologist for a second opinion.  I have been reading the literature and current guidelines but cannot get a definitive idea of the odds of recurrence/LT survival with and without Chemo on top of hormones and radiotherapy.   Do any of you know of any good recent literature that looks at this?  Hope you are all going OK. Cheers

Karen

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  • Robyn_W's avatar
    Robyn_W
    Member
    12 years ago
    Your diagnosis is exactly as mine was.I also was surprised and shocked to be told I should have chemo,but my oncologist ,who is very well regarded in her field,and who I trust implicitly,explained to me that chemo in my instance is proven to help prevent any further problems.For me,the percentage was big enough to warrant having chemo. I can't remember the exact figure now.So I have had surgery,followed by chemo,and now I am on Tamoxifen.My chemo was 4 rounds of Docetaxel,and I didn't find it too bad.I am 5 months past chemo now and I feel great.I also feel satisfied that I did everything I was advised to ,to give me good health further down the track.All the best with what you decide.xoxRobyn