What would you do if you were me?

Commiserations - you have been through a rough time. Unfortunately, the decision must be yours - I am sure you recognise this, but of course it’s helpful to know if someone has faced the same dilemma and how they chose to do so. Tricky thing is that cancers are all rather different, so are treatments and reactions to treatments. I was 68 - twenty years older than you - when diagnosed. I had no reservations, I did what was recommended, mastectomy, chemo, herceptin and hormonal therapy (10 years). I was one of those who managed surgery and chemo pretty well - I still consider lymphoedema, an arrhythmia and peripheral neuropathy a relatively light set of side effects. Ageing (for which there is no cure!) has made the neuropathy a bit worse but still manageable. I was right - the 14 years since have been terrific ones in all sorts of ways. So to me the biggest question is what do you most want to do in the years ahead - because there may be quite a lot! If you have things you really want to do, and can manage that with some preventative treatment, just not all, then that may be the right path for you. Most of all, can you live with whatever decision you make, even if things don’t work out the way you want? In the absence of family or close friends ( who may not always be helpful in such decisions anyway) have you thought of consulting a counsellor about clarifying your own priorities and feeling confident about the path you most want to take? An independent trained ‘ear’ , who can help you to prioritise your own feelings rather than adding another set of opinions, can make a big difference. Very best wishes for the future - whatever lies ahead, the confidence to embrace it is very powerful.