I was told i had breast cancer end of may this year, I have had the tumor removed, was told to have radio in claterbridge (liverpool) but oncolgist asked me if i had thought about chemo, i was adament NO WAY. He said i may not have the cancer anymore they cant tell yet, it had not spread any were else,So of i went home only to start thinkin erm chemo might not be such a bad idea, so long story short and all that… I start in morning 6 months of treatment ahead…What am i doing should i would any one else in this situation please help,hense why im postin this i can not sleep
Hi mrsC
You don’t say what your diagnosis was, but I was in the similar situation of being given the option for chemo. My cancer was a lump, removed, plus traces in the sentinel nodes, no further spread. The oncologist went through the figures with me - survival and likely recurrence - and although the increased benefit was only relatively small it was significant enough to decide that I still wanted to go ahead with it, give myself the best chance of it not coming back. The benefit is increased the younger you are and I am only 46.
It is a hard decision to make, it does make the worrying worse, as you have at the back of your mind that you didn’t have to do this.
But my chemo starts tomorrow and I am ok with it now. I would never have forgiven myself if it did come back and I hadn’t had the chemo. My children are only 12 and 14 and I intend to be around as long as I can!
There are lots of places on this forum to talk to people who will support you through this, and to find out their experiences of chemo. I’ve found it a great help
I hope this helps. Do let us know how it went today, and how you are feeling.
Rusty
hi mrs c better to be safe than sorry chemo scares everyone its not a nice thing but you can do it. stay strong im going 2moz for my last session ive had 8 there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Hi mrscazd and welcome to the BCC forums
In addition to the valuable support you will continue to receive here from your fellow forum users please do call our helpline where you can talk things through with someone in confidence. Our helpliners are here weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2 on 0808 800 6000 to offer you a ‘listening ear’ .
Take care
Lucy
Hi MrsC, Just to reiterate what the above ladies have written. It’s better to be safe than sorry, if they think you should have chemo, take it. I see that you are starting it today. I just wanted to wish you good luck and to say I’ll be thinking of you. You’ll get through it I promise. The thought of it is worse than the reality and remember that you’re not alone. The ladies on this site are wonderful and you will always get loads of love and support from them. Sending you lots of love and cyber hugs. Dianne x x x
I too was given the option of chemo, they gave my all the percentages etc and like Rusty although the increased benefit was a small percentage, I knew I had to take whatever they offered.
I finished chemo in July and although it is hard at times, you can do it. I’ve had lots of support from people on this site. I’m now in the middle of radiotherapy and I’m happy just to take anything they offer to try to beat this disease.
Good luck to you with your first chemo, sending lots of positive thoughts to you.
Beverley xx
Hi MrsC - I too had the tumour removed and it had not spread. They told me that they believed they had removed all the cancer but as it was a Grade 3 there was no guarantee that a ‘stray cell’ could be lurking somewhere waiting to grow and multiply. They gave me the option of Chemo, telling me that if the cancer had been a Grade 2 instead they wouldn’t have even mentioned it!
As far as I was concerned if the Chemo was available to me and it gave me the extra chance of stopping any cancer appearing anywhere else - what was a few months of c**p compared to the rest of my LONG life?
It really is a personal decision and I do know of people who have turned it down.
Good luck. This really is a great site to get all your questions answered and lots and lots of support from others who have been there, or currently going through it.
Take care
Karen
mrscazd - Did your oncologist not recommend one way or the other? Mine told me that in my case the risks outweighed the benefits, so I didn’t have it. They normally have an opinion.
Good luck with it, by the way.
Karen - That is interesting what your onc said about the Grade. Mine was Grade 2.
Ann x
Hi Mrs C
5.5yrs ago I turned down chemotherapy. The tumour was ‘only’ 7mm, no sign of spread, grade 2.
In June this year I was diagnosed with a recurrence in my lymph nodes. Ok, in my case the chemotherapy probably woudln’t have worked (it’s only once you’re years down the line they can say chemot prob wouldn’t have worked because it wasn’t growing at the time, or it would have surfaced sooner) but it goes to show no one has any idea if there is spread or not.
Now that you have decided to go for it, embrace it, think of it as your friend - it’s there to get rid of any microscopic spread. This might be your last chance to do so. Once it’s macroscopic and can be detected, it’s too late.
Good luck, join us on July/August thread. It’s rough, but you’ll get through it. xxxxx Jane
It is a tough decision and a personal one, we are all different and cancer behaves differently in each of us, there are no guarantees but I personally would try all the options available. I did have chemo and ok it wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined either you will get through it and you will know you’ve done all you can to stop it returning.
Good luck, hope it goes well.
Julie x
Hi,
I would say yes to be on the safe side and hope it goes well tomorrow for all those having it.
I was diagnosed 3 yrs ago and ‘had’ to have chemo first to shrink the tumour prior to a mx, anc and rads. I had 8 lots and they were all high doses but I was fortunately ok through it and didn’t suffer sickness, although I did get very tired and things and was signed off work.
They found I also had spread to my bones and lymph nodes but this was lessened after the chemo although it didn’t disappear completely. The chemo is designed to mop up stray cells in the body before you even know they are there.
Liz
Hi
My cancer was a grade 2 I had mastectomy and 6 lymph nodes removed, their was a trace of cancer after pathology,
It was recommended for me to have chemo for insurance and I was terrified but I got through it and finished the end of feb,
I am so glad I did ,this disease is so sneaky you can never be to sure, good luck with your treatment,
Ann x
Hi,
good luck and I really hope it is not too bad for you. I had 28 weeks chemo for a grade 2 small tumour with no spread because I was under 50. Would I go back and change this, definitely not, despite a few desperate days in the bathroom I would rather not think about. I was never sick, never felt sick and no ulcers, just hit the stomach and rear end. The other thing was an unexpectedly great and smug feeling at the end that I had managed it and had done every last little thing I could, so no regrets. The children expected nothing less and cheered me through along with some great friends on here. I know some people have a very different experience but even if you manage part of the course it will be whizzing around every cell looking for any stray cancer. They say rads are better than chemo but only in the small area they target and what if it had already sneaked past that line? Hope it is going ok with your first dose as I guess it will have got to you by now so well done, one dose done and dusted. Just try to keep chugging along
Hugs
Lily x