Hi,
I’m all new to this but i am very confused so i thought id ask for help from people going through the same thing as me, well here i go.
I’ve just been diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 2 ER positive, PgR positive, HER-2 negative, I’m 37 i got told two weeks ago about my options which was a full mastectomy or a lumpectomy but when i met my ongologist this week they have thrown another option my way which is being treated by Tamoxifen for 6 months then op then 6 weeks of radiotherpy, by problem is i can’t seem to find anywhere on any breast cancer website it being treated this way, can anyone help ???
Hi Lolley, sorry you have to find yourself here. I think its a bit unfair when they throw so many options your way. how are you supposed to know whats best? I had same daignosis as you but was grade 3. I had lumpectomy, chemo and rads and now on tamoxifen. I’m about a year on from chemo, so it can be done. Hopefully someone will be along soon who can give you more info
I know my mind is so confused at the moment what you had done is what i got told was best for me but now they are saying they can treat with tamoxifen… but hopefully someone may be able to advise me further glad your all ok now.
Sorry you’re joining our club, but at least the company is very good.
Do you have a breast care nurse you can have a chat with? Sometimes it is easier to talk to them and their nursing experience may be able to tell you more about how treatments affect people. Nurses sometimes have better communication skills than specialists as well.
I’m glad I didn’t have to choose between such different treatments. New treatments do come up all the time, and it’s not just which is most effective, they have to consider your age and general health as well, and whether reducing the cancer or lessening its ability to grow might mean less drastic surgery and so on. You really need someone to go over this all with you. The help line here would be a good starting point if you can’t see a nurse soon.
Hi Lolly, I have grade 1 er+ p+ her- bc and have been told that I don’t need chemo only rads and tamoxifen. It was explained by my surgeon that they always do rads if they just take a lump out. Chemo is a bit different because I would have needed it if several things had been different (not positive to e or p), if grade had been 3, if bc had been bigger, if lymph nodes had been involved. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want chemo but part of ms thinks more aggressive treatment would stop me worrying about every twinge meaning it has spread because chemo would zap any c cell wherever. I asked whether always rads and was told yes, to zap any localised cells where the lump was and tamoxifen was explained as something which prevents it returning so something different to treating the original bc. I also haven’t seen tamoxifen used this way. I guess it is good news that they think all the bc has gone and don’t urgently want to zap anything. That said, I want to err on the side of caution and treat aggressively now to reduce as far as possible the chance of it coming back. I think it would be worth asking your BCN or surgeon or onc (or all of them of what are the pros and cons of each of the different ways they have suggested. When I have done that I have felt much more in control and like I’m making choices. If it was me I would def want rads asap round the lump area and chemo if it made much difference to prognosis (I guess grade 2 in middle so harder to decide. Tamoxifen for me gives me 1% better prognosis but we are all different. Even if you aren’t someone who wants stats and prognosis, you could always ask how much better/ different is the prognosis with these different options and decide if various treatments are worth it for an extra per cent or two.
For me the answer is yes. I’m a single mother I will do anything now to make surethis never happens again, but we all have a slightly different dx, oncs who may have different views and will respond differently to treatments. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, there is no such thing as a stupid question in bc (and believe me I’ve asked some corkers already) x
Yes have tried to talk to my bc nurse but she didn’t wont to comment too much which make me feel very uneasy and ive spoken to a family friend who is bc nurse and she hadn’t heard of this as a treatment in this way, i’ve got till weds to make my decision and i’m so unsure.
I know chemo can make you very porely but at least i know it kills the cancer with the tamoxifen it just stops my body producing oestrogen.
Hi Lolly1209,Tamoxifen doesn’t actually stop you producing Oestrogen.
"Many breast cancers rely on the female sex hormone oestrogen to grow. Hormone-sensitive breast cancer cells have proteins called receptors that the sex hormones attach to. They are known as ‘oestrogen-receptor positive’ (ER-positive) breast cancers. When oestrogen comes into contact with the receptors, it fits into them and stimulates the cancer cells to divide so that the tumour grows.
Tamoxifen fits into the oestrogen receptor and blocks oestrogen from reaching the cancer cells. This means the cancer either grows more slowly or stops growing altogether"
Also tamoxifen is given to some patients to reduce a tumour.
I think the best thing would be to talk to your Oncologist and ask why he thinks tamoxifen first would be a good idea.
i was dx last march at age 36. I was pr negative, her negative and weakly er positive. My core biopsy came back grade 2 but later found to be grade 3 when it was checked post lumpectomy. I had lumpectomy, chemo, radiotherapy and am now on tamoxifen.
I have been on this site for a year now and have lived and breathed breast cancer for that time. Not once have i heard anyone of our age, or in fact any age , be revommended the trestment plan of 6 month tamoxifen first, then surgery. The only mention i have heard of tamoxifen first is for very elderly women who would not survive an operation or chemo. I am not a medical expert, but my gut feeling is that the tamoxifen first route doesnt seem right. How do they know its not in your lymph nodes or that its not grade 3, as either of these things would tip you into the definite chemo category. You are entitled to a second opinion and as this is a really odd treatment suggestion, i would most certainly take it up as a matter of urgency. I would also ask yoyr oncologist exactly why he has recomendec this.?
My oncologist said from the outset that with younger women they throw evetything plus the kitchen sink at it. I would prefer to be overtreated than undertreated. Please get a second opinion beforemaking ypur decision, the marsden seems a popular choice for second opinion and you could ask people to send u a private message with the recommended oncologists details.
hi there, iam new to all this, top. i was diagnosed 11 days ago had full mastectomy 2 days ago. my bc is similar to yours only its lobular. i haven’t been offered choice in treatments, my docs said operation first, chemotherapy followed by tamoxifen or some other drugs. they will decide once they have operation results.
but i wanted to say that everyone says that younger woman are offered more aggressive treatments and chances are really good. I feel very good that i had an operation first. now depending on bow i heal chemotherapy for me in 3-4 weeks. i feel that first major step is done and it feels good. i think it would be much harder to wait for op for 6 months. hope this helps. all the best xxxxxxx
Sometimes hospital etiquette actually impairs communication with patients–some surgeons and oncologists feel they have the duty and right to tell patients important information, while we might prefer to chat to a nurse who we can get in touch with more easily.
If you are not happy with the tamoxifen first treatment, you don’t have to accept it, but I would want details and a comparison of likely survival rates before making a decision. Ask what the benefits of each treatment are. Tamoxifen first might mean a lumpectomy rather than mastectomy, because of the size and location of your tumour, for example, but chemotherapy is recommended when the cancer cells have begun to spread outside the breast and can also help shrink tumours to make surgery less drastic. Perhaps you have no signs of spread. Grade 2 is moderate (I also have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Grade 2, but my SNB revealed some cancer cells in one lymph node, so chemo was strongly recommended after the surgery I had already had.)
I hope you can get the information you need to make your decision.
Thank you Vickie your thinking is the same as mine & Barbamama hope your recovery is pain free xx
I did wonder if this was a trial i was being offered by there was no mention on any trials.
Thanks everyone else for all your comments, i’ve got a meeting on Weds with my oncologist, i think well 99% sure i’m going with my first option which was op then 6 months chemo then Tamofifen.
I was just really confused with the way they wanted to treat with Tamoxifen the reason why my oncologist suggested this to me because it has less side affects and as i have a daughter with learning difficulties this is why they thought it would be a better treatment for me