After various delays and incorrect e mails from the hospital I now finally have a 20 min consultation with an oncologist.
At this meeting I will discover the results from two mammograms, a scan with core biopsy with two titanium markers.
Initial findings have stated a 30mm mass on the upper outer quadrant of the left breast. No lumps were felt under the arms.
At 66 with no family I am more concerned over quality of life rather than quantity and am really concerned how brutal the treatments appear.
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Dear @luckay, i am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and understand your apprehension about what lies ahead. I found myself in a similar situation aged 65 with no close family in april 2023. Quality of life was everything to me and still is. I have now experienced some chemo, mastectomy, herceptin, and hormone therapy. I did not accept all the treatments offered. With the benefit of hindsight the best decision i made was to have mastectomy. It was straightforward and recovery was quicker than expected. It also meant i avoided radiotherapy.
Prepare all your questions for the oncologist and if you need more than 20 mins stand your ground and dont be rushed out the door until your questions have been answered. Find your nearest Maggies or cancer support centre and pay them a visit. You will find plenty of help and support to get you through whatever you choose to do. I wasnt going to have any treatment at first but i was talked round by my gp and the breast surgeon. I am glad i had the surgery and now have new purpose to my life. Please keep posting to the forum and let us know how you are getting on. We are here for you and wishing you well. Love Tulip x
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This is a point of view that many of us who are of a certain age consider. You would find quite a bit of discussion on it in the forum threads, particularly around hormone treatment.
I was diagnosed at 66 and am a widow with no children so have a lot of sympathy with you, however, my treatment plan of surgery, 5 days of radiotherapy and the endocrine suppressant Letrozole for 5 years has, on the whole, been very doable. I had a 15mm Stage 1 Grade 1 er+ pr+ HER2- IDC with low grade DCIS in the upper outer quadrant of my right breast. Surgery was fine and radiotherapy was fine with no appreciable side effects. Obviously I was lucky in that I did not require chemotherapy or targeted therapy and I do think that if I get a recurrence that would necessitate those things, I might struggle to agree to them but that is just supposition.
The thought of treatment and the side effects are often worse than the reality. Perhaps you should find out what the histology of your tumour is, which will inform the treatment plan, before getting too wrapped up in how the treatments may impact you?
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