Hi queens!
ER+ PR+ HER2- stage 2, grade 3 unilateral IDC.
I’m 36, abundantly and insanely informed and proactive since finding the damn lump, and I’m post-surgery (lumpectomy with LICAP flap). This was 10th August.
Nodes clear, margins clear. Good stuff.
But on the 28th September I finally got my Oncotype DX score and it was 33. This puts me in the ‘higher risk, chemo probably helpful’ category.
Now I’m waiting to meet with a fertility clinic next Thursday 8th October about egg-freezing but it could be like 5 weeks (!) from start to finish (I thought it was going to be 2/3 max).
That puts me way behind our England NICE recommended timeline guidelines and you better believe I’ve already emailed all relevant teams (surgical, oncology and fertility) in one email to get them to sort their sh out.
Anyway! I’d LOVE some positive stories from any women at all who:
-Started proposed treatment a bit later - was this still OK to do?
-Who did chemo - my regimen will be four months: Epirubicin & Cyclophosphamide for four cycles & Paclitaxel for four cycles: how did you cope? Was your overall health being protected and have you recovered fully now? Was it more manageable than you expected and did you come out without any long-term damage? Did your ovarian function return? (I.e. did you avoid true menopause?)
-Who did Radiotherapy - were you relatively unscathed? Did it impact your health?
-Who are on Aromatase Inhibitors (not Tamoxifen) & Ovarian Suppression with/without CDK 4/6 inhibitors?
-Who have done all of these therapies (maybe not the CDK 4/6 as that’s newer) years ago and have come off them and are feeling good, and not had a recurrence?
-Lastly, any women of a similar age who have subsequently had a successful pregnancy and bubby (be it naturally or with frozen eggs/embryos, whilst pausing medication or AFTER it).
Tell me some good stuff, ladies. I am utterly exhausted by all this knowledge and fear. I felt so hopeful and empowered leading up to and post-surgery and now I’m at this junction and I need, NEED some women, any women, to just tell me that it’s not all bad and that they still are HAPPY, enjoying sex, feeling attractive, feeling healthy, feel their brains actually working well, are not in pain, have good immune function…ANYTHING. If you can shed positive light on literally any of the abovementioned, please do.
Sending light and love to you all!
So I won’t repeat myself! But I want to give this thread a bump as the replies can be a bit slower here. I can suggest reading the monthly chemo threads for some ‘day-by-day’ chemo experiences.