What to do?
I had a lumpectomy mid January and all went well. Clear margins, no lymph involvement, hormone positive, Protein negative, 19mm. BUT grade 3. the oncologist recommended 4 x AC followed 4 x Taxol dense...
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Hi Frances. Welcome. I had a 16 - 18mm tumour, no nodes, ER+ tumour that was Grade 2 - 3. I had a lumpectomy, followed by TC chemo after a genomic test that indicated there'd be a curative benefit if cells had escaped and were looking to grow somewhere else in my body. I didn't have radiotherapy as I ended up having a double mastectomy for other reasons, and am now taking an AI.
TC is usually given to women with tumours smaller than 20mm with no node spread.
Chemo was not necessarily on the cards for me but exploring the option was warranted given my circumstances (click on my @name for deets). When the genomic test (Endopredict) came back a clear yes, on my oncologist's advice I went ahead. Not pleasant, very hard, but no regrets.
You haven't said how old you are; younger people are often treated more aggressively as their cancers tend to be more aggressive.
You might want to ask your oncologist why they are recommending this particular course of treatment for you as opposed to other ones. Ask what are the risk factors for permanent damage with this course of treatment. I'm not suggesting there are, but I think asking these questions are a good idea! Definitely ask what percentage increased survival stats would this treatment give you as opposed to others, reduced or none.
It's a hard decision when there are grey areas. Ultimately you want no regrets. I tended to parse my treatment decisions through that filter. K xox
TC is usually given to women with tumours smaller than 20mm with no node spread.
Chemo was not necessarily on the cards for me but exploring the option was warranted given my circumstances (click on my @name for deets). When the genomic test (Endopredict) came back a clear yes, on my oncologist's advice I went ahead. Not pleasant, very hard, but no regrets.
You haven't said how old you are; younger people are often treated more aggressively as their cancers tend to be more aggressive.
You might want to ask your oncologist why they are recommending this particular course of treatment for you as opposed to other ones. Ask what are the risk factors for permanent damage with this course of treatment. I'm not suggesting there are, but I think asking these questions are a good idea! Definitely ask what percentage increased survival stats would this treatment give you as opposed to others, reduced or none.
It's a hard decision when there are grey areas. Ultimately you want no regrets. I tended to parse my treatment decisions through that filter. K xox