Hi all
Not sure if this goes here or in the secondary section, so have put it in both, maybe the moderator can delete one if the feel it is necassary
I went for the results from the second WLE and still no clear margins, there are cancer cells in the chest muscle. he has given me 3 options to mull over
Major surgery to remove chest muscle and probably some ribs, this will involve a cardio-thoracic surgeon, a breast surgon and a plastic surgeon. My problems with this are that I am very high risk, in that I am clinically obese, have had previous DVT, and have a family history of DVT and PE, and also have an active cancer all that make me very high risk. I am seeing the surgeon to discuss further on Friday
2.Further chemo, he is not sure what though but is going to contact Prof Johnston at the Royal Marsden to ask for his advice.
Watch and wait to see what happens, that does not seem like an option to me but am prepared to be open minded.
The status of the tumour was ER + and HER2+2, and he is waiting for fish results, I have never heard of that so maybe someone could explain what fish results are and if that means I will need Herceptin
thanks in advance
Linda xxxx
Lindsyloo,
Just popping in re your HER2+ query. I can’t help re the result of your post but I can tell you about the fish results. Basically when they do the Her2 test even if it tests positive for Her2 it doesn’t necessarily mean you need Herceptin, it depends how much is present. They then do a more detailed fish test which comes back as either fish-negative or fish-positive. If its negative there is no need for Herceptin and if its positive then Herceptin will be prescribed.
Hope this helps a bit.
Sam
It sounds like you’re having a pretty difficult time at the moment. As well as the support you receive here it might help to talk everything through with a member of staff on the BCC helpline. Here you can share your concerns with somone who will offer you a listening ear as well as emotional support and practical information. The free phone number is 0808 800 6000 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9.00 to 5.00 and Saturday 10.00 to 2.00.
Still no wiser, but veering towards the surgery at the moment, he seemed very confident and said I am low to medium risk not high risk, and they have done bigger operations on higher risk people, BUT there is still a risk, he said it is 50-50 to wherter it comes back or not brilliant odds but not bad either.
I have a holiday booked in April so going to bring that forward to feb then I will be fighting fit for whatever I decide if it be surgery or chemo
Anyway PET scan arranged for Tuesday, so that will tell us more about the feasibility of the operation.
Hi, just saw your post, so wanted to say I am so sorry to hear you have given such a difficult decision to make, that goes without the … that you have anything else to be done at all. So unfair when you have battled so much already. When in doubt I try to push the doc to say what he would do if I was his wife/mother/daughter (according to our age difference) and I have found they have then given a clear indication of what they think best. You could wait to see what the marsden doc comes back with as he may feel he has a good chemo plan that compare well with the positive effects they are expecting from the surgery. It just sounded like the surgery might take a while to recover from and would it be a long stay in hospital? That would probably swing my decision. Could you try a couple of doses of the chemo, get scans to check if its stabilising and then make the decision if you aren;t happy with how its going? Hope I gave you a few things to think over and help not hinder your decision and big hugs. Your decision will be the right one for you. Love Lily x