Forum Discussion

Emeraldgreen's avatar
10 months ago

chemo or no chemo

Hi everyone,

I am new to this list. I am 60 and was diagnosed with breast cancer (ER+, PR-, HER2-, Grade 3, Stage 2) and had a mastectomy a couple of months ago. My oncologist recommends chemotherapy followed by hormone therapy. However, I have been reluctant to undergo chemotherapy due to concerns about the side effects, especially the long-term ones. I am curious about how others made their decisions regarding chemotherapy.

I also had a genomic test, which reported a 36% risk of recurrence. Chemotherapy might reduce this risk by around 10%, and hormone therapy could further reduce it by another 10-15%. I am still uncertain, but I need to make a decision soon.

My oncologist recommended a combination of two drugs: Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide. I wonder if anyone has experience with this combination. I have seen some posts about chemotherapy, but they discussed single drugs administered sequentially, not together. I am concerned that the combined treatment might be more taxing on the body.

Thank you for reading my post and for your responses in advance.