Hi, I was diagnosed early January with ILC. Had 3 x clear sentinel nodes except for a few micro mets in one. 18 March I had a left skin/nipple sparing mastectomy with immediate implant reconstruction. Was told chemo and radiotherapy very unlikely. I am grade 2, ER positive, HER2 negative, had 1 x 35mm, 1 x 13mm tumour (48mm total) with a few scattered teeny tumours present in the breast tissue.
Oncotype dx score 25. The surgeon told me I’m Intermediate risk. But saw an Oncologist last Thursday who said my risk is low with a 20% chance of recurrence, chemo would reduce this by a further 3 to 4% down to 16 or 17% risk, alongside taking aromatase inhibitors. Oncologist also added I’m on the cusp. I’m due results this Wed for a small area of tissue removed from operation on 20th May. Surgeon needed a wider healthy margin in the axillary tail. If any cancer cells are found, it’s radiotherapy.
I have a phone call with oncologist this Thurs to say if I want chemo or not. The chemo is FEC-T. Advised I need to weigh up all the risks over the benefits. I was all for chemo initially, to throw everything at this cancer, but weighing this up I really don’t know what to do. A drop to 16 or 17% risk of no recurrence seems very small after going through a massive thing like chemo. I’m not worried about feeling ill or losing my hair, that’s temporary, but the long term more serious risks are a concern for so little return. I’m also thinking had my tumours measured just 2mm more I would have fallen into the high risk category of 26 & would not be deliberating. I feel so close to the high risk category with score of 25. I also had to stop taking Letrozole a few days before the mastectomy as it was making me increasingly breathless. After 8 weeks of not taking an alternative, despite asking my surgeon she wanted to hold off. The oncologist wants to start me on Exemestane aromatase inhibitor next week, as thinks I would tolerate this better. I’ve been off AI’s now for 8 weeks and feel quite vulnerable.
Is anyone else out there who’s been in a similar situation? Sorry for such a long post.