That’s why I’m trusting my doctor and going with the full whammy of treatment Susanne - I quite agree with you. I wouldn’t presume to tell my Oncologist I know better than her after a few hours’ trawl of the internet. By the same token, I’m sure I could teach her a thing or two about taxation lol.
Not sure if we’re allowed to post links on here, but this is really interesting: scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/03/does_alternative_medicine_use_result_in.php
I do beleive in taking some control, finding out as much as I can, asking questions. I even upset a few of the nurses by asking them (and the doctors, who didn’t seem to mind!) if they’d washed their hands before treating me! (One of the nurses advised me not to mention it to the chemo nurses, who are apparently obsessive about it - but in a nice way!)
Interesting points. But I was actually just curious to know how a course of 4 out of 6 can be described as having 4/5ths efficacy.
I don’t presume to tell my oncologist how to do his job - but I do need to engage with him intellectually. All treatment should be collaborative.
I used to live with doctors - was engaged to one for years - I know what neurotic bullsh*tters most of them are.
Suzanne - thanks for that link. Very interesting article.
Molly I wasn’t suggesting you were presuming anything. My comments didn’t particularly follow yours at all, I was just joining in the conversation. :S
Gennie - Sorry I see I omitted the word “either”. I wasn’t in for a dig … just joining in too!
Poddle - I absolutely do see what you mean about the Tamoxifen thing - and I think you are right.
Ah. Apricot pips and their like… Recently in Thailand I encountered a ‘doctor’ who tried to persuade me to ditch my medications in favour of the amazing cancer-curing properties of, er, bicarbonate of soda (and seemed mightily afronted when I declined to do so.)
As it happens I’m not agin all types of complementary therapy - my hospital is attached to the Royal Homeopathic Hospital and I was referred there to see if it might help with the side-effects of the hormone treatments. The homeopathy element didn’t seem to do much (if anything) but did feel better after a course of acupuncture. I still have hot flushes but have more energy and feel much more able to sustain an argument. Which did come in useful when it came to refuting quackery.
Just wanted to say that I wasn’t trying to have a dig at anyone over this. It’s just that I’m seriously anti-woo! Apricot pips were a big thing around the seventies, if I recall correctly - Steve McQueen tried it when he was diagnosed with mesolthelioma (I guess if you have that you’ll try anything!) I cant help thinking that if there was anything in it, some pharmaceutical company would have picked up on it, and we’d all be chewing anti-cancer munchies by now. But STILL these snake-oil salesmen peddle it to people who are desperate enough to try anything.
Funnily enough my employers were trying to get me to research something about apricot pips the other week. I just nod and smile and ignore it. That said, I’m not at all against the idea of alternative therapies as I don’t believe modern medicine knows all there is to know about everything, but it would be something I’d choose to use in addition to conventional treatment not instead of. I know it’s important to be careful though as I think some alternative remedies can interact unfavourably with chemo.
In pootling about the net last night I came across a downloadable ebook containing 300 ways to beat cancer gently and naturally. No need for conventional treatment, just follow this book. Oh and send large amounts of too. If only it were that simple.
Hi Guys
Do you mind if I come into this thread?. I have found the whole staging thing hard to understand and these comments have really helped. Thanks Katharine M for your succinct list. My tumour was 1.8cm but DCIS to the margins making total size 5cm. Does that mean that when looking at stages I go by tumour size as 1.8 or 5cm? I had nodal involvement too so my stage varies greatly depending on which measurement I take.
Hope you don’t mind me asking.
Thanks
bump for mairead
I think you take the actual tumour size discounting the DCIS eal
Dont apricot kernels contain cyanide?
My tumour was partly DCIS and partly IDC and the size I was given incorporated the whole thing, not just the invasive bit. Probably yet another situation where things vary depending on where you are. The size of the whole thing makes my cancer a stage 2, but if only the invasive bit is taken it would have been a stage 1.
Hi, I had 1.7cm grade2 invasive and 2cm grade3 DCIS and was told that they only count the invasive when staging as DCIS is stage 0 and contained in the ducts.I also had 1 node involved and was told I was stage 2A.
best wishes Mell xx
Thanks Suzanne for good link to article on alternative treatments.
As for apricot seeds (laetrile) well this link is pretty good I think:
cancerhelp.org.uk/help/defau … page=21859
Jane
I think anything that helps you relax is good - reiki, acupuncture etc. Homeopathy is really only any good as a placebo, and for that you have to be able to make yourself beleive that plain water can have a “memory” of having once been exposed to a bit of duck’s liver, since diluted 1000 times (but hopefully has “forgotten” all the people that have p**ed it through their system over the years!)
And good nutrition is really important - lots of veggies and fruit. I’ve asked friends not to bring me sweeties (for some reason they laughed at that!) as I know I wouldn’t be able to resist them, and then I wouldn’t have any appetite left for proper food. Though a nice little cake with my coffee now and then is good! And walking - apparently that has been shown to be the best exercise for reducing risk of recurrence. Anyone wanna hire a dog?
Hi
Thanks ladies cant belive I started that tread its tuck me ages to read it all …Had results today and just wish I copied the list down off here and said which one am I , I think from what I have read today ( wished Id of taped it , so emotional forgot most of it when left room )
I think im a 3
They said it was 2.5 with good margins in breat but 15 out of the 16 lymp gland were pos also i was the highest hormone pos you could be ,think she said 8 out of 8 ???
They have said they are going to throw everything at me and because Im only 2 weeks into this whole mess Ive said ok , will see chemo doc next week I think so surpose his the one to ask stage thing …
and because Im young with 2 great kids Ill have every thing they want to give me because not going to let this thing bet me …
Lisa Lisa
I am glad you have your results through now Lisa - that is one big hurdle out of the way. Good news on the oestrogen rating. Once you get your full treatment plan you will know where you are heading.
But up at 3 in the morning?!This bloody disease makes us all insomniacs.
I have a very young son and while it is incredibly hard to balance all the treatments with looking after a toddler, he does provide me with a focus beyond all the cancer stuff - and kids don’t stop being kids just because cancer’s shown up. He’s my reason to keep getting out of bed each day and yours will keep you going too.
Good luck with it all.
Thanks so much you have been great help dito with children why stop enjoying them just because of this , is the hormone pos thing a good thing then sorry not sure … Lisa
Hi Lisa
Being hormone positive is a good thing because it gives you more treatment options. I might be wrong here but I think being 8 out of 8 is also a good thing as I think my onc said to me that the higher the number nearer 8 the more the cells behave in a way that is expected of them so the more nearer 8 the more receptive the tumour is to hormone treatments. Mine was 6 out of 8.
Good luck with everything, I promise it does get easier once you have your treatment plan and you know what your up against.
Best of luck
E xx
Hi all,
I hope you dont mind me joining in. Ive been reading this thread with great interest, im grade 3 and have no idea what stage i am, no-one has ever told me. Im also hormone positive but have no idea about how much hormone responsive i am either. I will be asking on my next appointment. Did you ladies have to ask or was you told from the start? I dont even have a BCN.
Take Care
Leslee x
Hi Leslee - I seem to be getting very little information about of my team. They managed to tell me that it was a 1.2cm Grade 3 tumour, with 1/25 lymph node involvement, then yesterday that it’s “not very positive” on the hormone receptors. Short of wrestling the guy to the ground and putting my foot on his throat, I’m not sure I could get any more out of him - I think he must have signed the official secrets act.
But as someone said elsewhere, I’d rather he was a crackerjack surgeon and lousy on the communication, than the other way round. And he got all the little monster in one go, and has left me with a lovely neat little pair of scars that are healing nice and flat, so all credit to him for that.