I’ve got my first oncology appointment on Tuesday, what can I expect from this appointment?
I’m trying to get a list of questions together, and wondered what it will entail. I’ve been told my general care plan is chemotherapy, surgery followed by radiotherapy
(TNBC)
Hey @bryna
That’s great news that you got your appointment so soon!
My oncology appointment to start my treatment was very in-depth and they went into a lot of detail about what they will be giving me, how it works and how it could affect me so I actually don’t remember asking a lot of questions at the time. It’s while I’ve been going through it that more questions have arisen because you really don’t how it’s going to be until you’re doing it.
Hopefully someone else might be along with some more useful lived experience, but I did find this very detailed info on chemotherapy on the Macmillan site which might help as a prompt.
Hope it all goes well on Tuesday. x
Thank you @mssteel funnily enough I read that page last night! I’m just trying to be prepared as possible, but it’s nice to know it’s likely they’ll give me most of the info without being prompted. I know in my initial appointment at the breast care center they said they didn’t want to overwhelm with too much, but I’d rather know up front.
Hi Bryna. I had my first oncology appt on Monday and definitely felt talked at! I asked about oncotyping results and why they had chosenradiotherapy/Leterozole and no chemo. I was relieved and less confused. Hope this helps. Good luck
Dianne
Hi I had my first appointment yesterday consultant talked a lot to be honest I think I zoned out as original on Monday when it was confirmed I was told likely to be three weekly chemo sessions for 6mths. It’s now been changed to weekly with a tribble shot every three weeks, till Christmas time. This week I have a mri booked in as had issues with my waterworks post hysterectomy end of last year so they want to double check that then the following week they plan to pop a seed into my breast they have done the lymph nodes and need to go to the main cancer hospital to have my PIC line put in hoping I can go to the local the day after for the double check. Heads mashed feel like I am living a nightmare and watching the world go by at the moment. Everyone has been so supportive even the dentist has popped me a xray appointment in next week normally wait ages for appointment. I have to say I sat with the BCN after the consultant she was more down to earth and answered a few questions we had. Big hugs xxxx
Thank you @deeannee56 and @titch1 for your responses, I have had an MRI, ECHO and a mag seed put in, so now ready for the Chemo. I’m lucky I’m in a term time job, so I can have the summer @ home with the youngest but this also brings childcare issues with appointments.
Initially looking at the Predict it only increases my chance of survival by 2%, so wasn’t thinking it was worth doing, but as it’s now been confirmed as triple negative, I’m assuming the chemo will help lessen the chances of reoccurrence?
I hope you’re right. We have to trust the process (I think), otherwise we have nothing to look forward to 
For me 2%, is 2% and given time that might rise with the advance of science 
I live in hope (always)
BW
Dianne
My oncologist always says tnbc is tricky. It’s not a single disease, it’s just a collection of breast cancers that don’t have receptors for oestrogen, progesterone or HER2. I think if it’s grade 3 , chemo is pretty well always advised regardless of the predict data, unless the tumour is really really small.. It’s not just about recurrence, it’s about trying to mop up any cancer cells that might already be circulating. Cancer can spread by blood as well as lymph nodes so it’s a bit of a catch all. When faced with predict showing very low percentage benefit I got very short shrift from my oncologist when I queried whether my grade 3 tnbc really needed it!
@Coddfish Thank you for your reply, I was wondering if the Chemotherapy was more to ‘mop up’ any stray cancer elsewhere! My tumour is 14mm, so relatively small, I think, but as you say TNBC is invasive so may ‘settle’ elsewhere.
@bryna “Mop up” (adjuvant) chemo is given after surgery so if you’re having chemo first (neo-adjuvant), it’s likely that this is being done to shrink the tumour and possibly to see how the cancer cells respond to the drugs. Your oncologist should explain this to you but could be something to keep in mind for your questions to make sure you know exactly why this course of treatment has been chosen for you.