Forum Discussion

JaneinMelbourne's avatar
JaneinMelbourne
Member
5 years ago

Treatment decision paralysis

Hi Everyone, 

I’m sitting in a grey zone at the moment and trying to understand how you weigh up your options with so many unknowns! 

I’ve just received Prosigna results back which show a 10% chance of recurrence, with chemo giving between a 2-4% risk reduction. I know I have 15-19 sessions of radiation ahead of me and hormone therapy after that for 5 years..

My chemo course if I go ahead with it would be 4x TC for 3 months. How are you supposed to weigh up potential risks of recurrence without knowing how badly you will respond to chemo!? I’m 33, want kids in the future - and three oncologists have given three different opinions of how aggressive treatment should be. I’ve been told there are no wrong choices and that they are supportive of whatever decision I make. My husband and I literally can’t make sense of how we proceed! 

I am healthy and active and am very nervous about the toll of chemo, being luminal A and therefore it’s benefit being less clear cut and the stacked impact of all these treatments together. 

Any advice on how you navigate these decisions would be wonderful! Thank you xx
chemotherapy
treatment-decisions
young-women
  • Afraser's avatar
    Afraser
    Member
    5 years ago
    I confess to being almost grateful I had a more developed tumour and a very specific treatment recommendation (6 months chemo, a year of herceptin and what may be ten years of hormonal treatment!). No dilly dally! But at least I felt I had thrown everything at it. My surgeon said once that every percentage point can count - 3 or 4 per cent is pretty small
    unless of course you are part of that percentage! At 67, I went for the full banana - still here, well, worked through treatment, never regretted having it. Not everyone feels the same. Which is why the decision comes back to you. But always remember, if any part of treatment becomes too onerous, too hard, you can stop. Best wishes whatever you decide.