Hi, i had a wide local excision and sentinal node biopsy on the 29th October. Thankfully the nodes were clear but i have to wait until the 22 November to see the consultant to get my results regarding grade/size etc… and what treatment plan i will need. When i originally saw the Dr before i had the operation he stated that i will definately require Radiotherapy but had to wait for the results of the operation to confirm any other treatment i.e chemo. My question is that i am 41 and all the site/forums i have looked at so far, all the women my age seem to have had Chemotherapy, is there any one out there who only had the rads? I have invasive ductal carcinoma. Thanks for yor help.
Hi trio,
I had lumpectomy 5 weeks ago, and only need rads and tamoxifen I was told to prepare for chemotherapy, as I am only 36, but my onc didn’t want me to have it, I think it depends on your hormone results, and whether your onc recommends it,
Hope this helps, fingers crossed for you x
hey
im 41, it goes by the grade. and if they got it all out.
im grade 3 which means it was aggressive . hence cemo,
xxxx
Hi
I was originaly diganosed with DCIS and had a WLE beg April 2010 but margins not big enough and discovered I also had cancer, so had a mastectomy and senital node biopsy at the end of April, nodes were clear. I did not need Chemo or Rads as they had a wide margin, I am on tamoxifen for next 5yrs. I was 41 when diagnosed
Jen
Its not just about the grade, its also about nodes, tumour size and hormone status.
I was 34 with a grade 3 and i didnt have chemo as i was node negative, 2.1cm lump, and 8/8 for er and pr. Therefore, i had rads, zoladex and tamoxifen.
Your oncologists will make a decision based on their discretion and the risk factors associated with your cancer. There may be common sweeping statements like if you have so many +ve nodes you get chemo, but this isn’t true. The more lymph nodes involved, larger the tumor etc would obviously increase risk and therefore the benefit of chemo but there isn’t a one size fits all approach and treatment will vary between oncologists.
Be sure to ask your oncologist whether you would statistically benefit from chemo or not as everyone’s histology and response to other treatment vary.
Sorry this is vague……
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hiya - Sorry i guess you’ll be disappointed by the variance of all the responses. i remember what it’s like when when “you just want to know stuff” we all want all the answers, and its very annoying when you realise we each get told different things at different times.
I remember being very disappointed when i was told the oncologist was recommending chemo. It all seemed very incongruent to me, on the one hand i was being told “your results are kind of good”, “you’re what we would call a low risk patient” and then on the other the oncologist was saying i recommend chemo. He worked out the “benefit” to me and i went with it but it wasn’t easy because i had got it into my head that i wasn’t going to need it. In that regard my advice to you would be try to keep an open mind.
Good luck
Lynn
x
Thanks everyone for your comments, i’m glad it seems not everyone has to have Chemo. I guess i will just have to wait until next week to find out for definite and stop browsing the internet until then. xx
Hi trio
I think it really depends on your hospital and the consultant. I am 36 and under the christie in Manchester and even though my tumour seemed small and without nodal involvment , I was warned toexpect it . In the end, it was graded at three which meant Chemo was needed anyway but I had already impressedin my team that I wanted anything that would increasemy chances by even half a percent. Dontbe too scared of Chemo, if youneed to do it thenyou will do it. Life pauses a while perhaps, but doesn’t stop. I will bump up the good days on Chemo threAd so you can see how we all do good stuff and feel ok a lotof thetime too.
Take care
vickie
xxxxx
Hi Trio,
It depends what they find when they remove the tumour. If it’s grade 1(slow growing) you probably won’t need chemo. If grade 3 you probably will. It also depends on things like whether the margins were clear, whether vascular cells have been invaded or not, and whether it is +ve for oestrogen, progesterone, herceptin or none of these (ie triple negative) If for example it’s stongly oestrogen +ve it can be treated well with tamoxifen.
Good luck. stella
hi trio i had a grade 1 13mm invasive tumour back in 2006 when i was 37 was told id probably need chemo because of my age and they expected it to be aggressive but it wasnt at all so had WLE rads and 5 years of tamoxifen.
Trio, better stop googling!!! Your pathology is individual and you really can’t assume what may or not happen until you get your results. Your oncologist will go through it all with you and explain your treatment plan. Good luck! X
Hi Trio
Whatever your consultant tells you about your treatment plan at your next meeting, if I were you I would question him/her very carefully about the factors that were considered when making their decision. When I was at this stage, the plan changed several times as we got second opinions and discussed options in greater detail. It wasn’t that any plan was wrong, it’s just that there are different approaches that can be equally valid, as the answers you have got on this thread demonstrate, and I wanted to make sure that our priorities were the same. We finished up taking an approach that is highly unusual - I know of only one other poster here on even a similar regime - and it could potentially make a dramatic difference to my prognosis (too early to tell just now). That wouldn’t have happened without my husband and I doing our own research and detailed questioning of my oncs.
I would also encourage you to keep reading about your diagnosis - I know it can be horribly scary at times, but I think it’s too important to go into such a consultation without all the information you need to make sure the plan is the best one for you. And I think oncs do tend to up their game a little when they know they are dealing with someone who is moderately well informed about their condition.
Good luck,
finty xx
I was diagnosed at 37. One of the main reasons I had chemotherapy was that I was HER2+ and needed Herceptin - I was told that on the NHS you have to have chemotherapy before they’ll give you Herceptin.
Good luck with everything.
Hi Trio,
When you go back for your results your onc will be able to explain your path report to you ie Stage/Grade/Er/Pr status and will usealy have already put all that information into a computer program (proberly adjuvant online) this will give your onc all the statistics/ benefits for you having any particular treatment, your treatment plan can then be decided and discussed with you and him/her together,
Your Oncologist will always have your best interests at heart and wont offer any of the cancer treatments available unless they think it will be of benefit to you, so try not to worry too much just yet, if you do have to have Chemo although its not nice it is very doable as most of the ladies here will tell you .
I know its hard but TRY not to Google to much especialy in the early days ,the internet can be a very scary place sometimes and much of the info out there can be very inaccurate,so i would try to stick to sites like BCC or Cancer Research Uk who have lots of info on all aspects of BC and its treatments, BCC also have a great free telephone helpline if you want to chat about any concerns you have .
I was DX in 2007 age 47 , 2.3cm IDC, Grade 3,Clear nodes,no vascular invasion weakly er/pr positive and had Chemo also but like another poster said earlier there isnt a one size fits all so your treatment plan will be tailored to what your oncologist recommends for you personaly.
Good luck with your results and try not to worry (easier said than done i know) take care and all the very best to you.
Linda x
Thanks for all your comments before. Just a quick update, yes unfortuantly i will be having Chemotherapy & rads. This is because i am triple negative, grade 3, 1.6cm idc.
sorry to hear that trio… very similar to my diagnosis last year 1.9cm triple neg, grade 3 IDC… good luck with the chemo.