Anyone else had conflicting advice from oncologists?
One offered me chemo if I wanted it (but said it wasn’t clear that I needed it) and when I said no thanks, suggested I should go on Tamoxifen and Zolodex.
I wasn’t impressed with the first onc, so asked for a second opinion.
The other onc said they should check my menopause status and treat with Tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor depending on whether I’m post-menopausal or not. No mention of chemo at all.
My tumour was grade 2, 3cm, ER+, PR+, HER- and I’m 51.
How am I supposed to decide whose advice to follow?
hi ,
All treatment is down to the individual, but i was dx at 51, grade 2 , 2cm , er and pr + was told that chemo would only add 1% to my survival so they were not considering it. was on tamoifen for two and half years, now since march been on Exemastane as now post menopausal , was 3 years last june, so far so good. hope this helps
Annie
My tumour was lobular grade 2, 1.9cm, ER+, PR+, HER- and I was 55 at the time. I was told that the risks of chemo would outweigh the benefits. I am on an aromatase inhibitor as it was assumed I was post-menopausal. I had been on HRT and couldn’t tell for sure. The oncologist did consider Tamoxifen but when it came to the time to start, I saw a locum who let me choose. I had been researching it and I chose Letrozole.
Ann x
Annie and Ann
Thanks for your feedback. Perhaps I am being treated as higher risk because my tumour was larger. I was told by the first onc that I would get a 3.5% reduction in risk with chemo. I’m seeing onc number 2 this afternoon, who hasn’t even mentioned chemo, so will ask lots of questions.
Sarah x
Have you tried the cancer math website, you can calculate your benefit percentage for treatment or you could use adjuvant online. Hope you get a lot of answers from your onc today. Tinaxx
Tina, thanks for the suggestion of Cancer Math,I hadn’t used that before. It was useful because it showed that there is no benefit to me in chemo or Zoladex. Which agrees with what I was told today by onc No 2. What a difference! She was informative, knowledgeable, and clearly advising me based on clinical experience rather than “the computer says X”. So I’m now totally comfortable with saying no to chemo, but still thinking about the Zoladex. She also sent me for a blood test to see where I’m up to with the menopause. It seems that being around the age of 50 is bad news for a Dx of BC because it’s so unclear whether to treat as pre-menopausal or fully menopausal. So if I’m still on the way to menopause, Zoladex might be useful, if I’m through with it, then there’s no point.
Sarah x