In my opinion, yes it is worth it. Ok, chemo is not nice, but as one of the other ladies has already said that at least she has tried everything. I would have been furious with myself if I had not had chemo and then the dreaded disease reoccured. I decided to be strong and take everything that was thrown at me, and 10 months down the line I am well on the road to recovery and living my life to the full and having a ball.
good luck girls
Julie
KatherineM - When I said to my bcn and onc what if happens about mopping up the stray cells if I dont have chemo, they told me “tamoxifen does that”. This was also confirmed by someone on another recent post.
Its very confusing for us to make decisions cos different areas/oncs have such different opinions and treatment ideas. Just got to do what you think is right from the info you get.
Hi, I was told by onc that chemo would hopefully mop up any stray cancer cells, and if any were left behind tamoxifen would mop them up and also protect me from the cancer returning, or at the very least slow it down,but he was hoping for cure(his words not mine)
best wishes mell x
cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Hormonaltherapies/Individualhormonaltherapies/Tamoxifen#6754
My previous e mail was from an american cancer information site - above is the link to the UK Cancerbackup site which describes the action of tamoxifen as an anti estrogen drug. if anyone wants to read what it does it is there.
I am not expressing an opinion by saying tamoxifen is not a chemotherapy (which kills cancer cells) it acts to stop cancer cells growing or dividing.
Anyway - my last post on the subject- entirely agree everyone has to do what they feel best and comfortable with.
Catherine
cleared
Hi Mel,
Tamoxifen does not kill cancer cells - it starves the cancer cells of oestrogen so they stop growing and in some cases shrivel up and die as the cells are no longer getting the oestrogen they thrive on.
More info here…
cancernet.co.uk/tamoxifen.htm
Clarabelle
ah now I understand,Thank you xx
Have managed to see a different onc tomorrow (as the one I saw last week is away on annual leave). I want to ask some further questions before I go ahead/or not with chemo, like what happens to the lymphascular permetation if I don’t have chemo? How much is ‘some evidence of lymphovascular permtation’ Also, whether having chemo really offers any insurances about cancer coming back again in ten years. Plus, once i have chemo once, this then reduces its impact if I have to have it again etc. Tamoxifen (as this reduces reoccurance by 30 per cent)and rads are a no brainer for me, but what’s the pro and cons of chemo related to my Grade 1 tumour…?
Lots of questions, any more I should ask…?
xxxxxxx
Hi terrier - not sure if you read my PM to you? if not, then you need to be asking about the permanent damage chemo can do as it cannot distinguish between good and bad cells and is a subject most Oncs choose to ignore.
Clarabelle xx
Terrier
these are all really good questions you can ask an oncologist who should give you a straight answer - not a platitude like don’t worry your head about it. I really think you have hit the key issues here.
you can go on Adjuvant on line to (this is the nedical database which gives relative benefits of treatments) explore the statistics yourself if you wish, but be in a good frame of mind to do this,ie OK about reading all the statistics and the diffferent scenarious.
cathy
Hi Terrier
Just wanted to say that you are only the second person I have come across on this site with lymphovascular permeation. I have tried unsuccessfully to get any information on this so would be very interested in what your onc tells you about it. At least you were told about it - I found out by being nosey and looking through my notes whilst having chemo! I was a Grade 3 so for me it had to be chemo. I do hope you get some answers from your onc so you can come to a definitive decision - in a strange sort of way I was glad that the decision was taken out of my hands and so didn’t really have a choice. Love xxxx
Hi Terrier,
Just sent you a PM.
Hopefully you’ll get a good discussion with your onc tomorrow.
Eliza xx
I have made my decision. Saw a different onc today and he told me I was right about the lymphovascular permeation, it was on its way to the lymphs, but they got rid of the permeation when the lump was taken away. Plus, the lymphs, they took out was a trurer reading and they were free of cancer. So, he was totally comfortable with my decision not to have chemo, he was also unsure of its benefits for me. Particularly as my cancer is so very hormone receptive, it scores 8 out of 8. So it is 18 days of radiotherapy for me, with Zoladex and Tamoxifen. Hot flushes will be the next worry and early menopause… still… better than what I thought when I was first diagonosed!
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and the information!
Terrier xxxx
Terrier,
lots of luck with your treatment and glad you were able to come to a decision that both you and the onc are happy with.
Lily x
Hi Terrier, just seen that you have come to a decision and it all looks good for you! Good luck with your treatment! love Debs xxxxx
Hi Terrier
I saw your thread and just wanted to say hello. I follwed it with interest as I too was given a similar choice I was grade 1 and was upgraded to 2 and was given the same choice mine was even less of a percentage at 0.8% difference.
I took the zoladex, tamoxifen, radiotherapy(19)route and was back at work within 2 and half months of initial dx. Things have been fine, the hot flushes and menopause are not too bad. I got myself a chillow and am on tablets called chlonidine which help the hot flushes amazingly well. I had my one year mammo in February this year and all seems well.
There are loads of hints and tips for any of the side effects from hormone treatment in the undergoing hormone treatment pages.Good luck with everything. S x