Help! - is there anyone out there like me who wasn’t sure what to do for the best.Tumours are grade 1 & 2 -no spread to lymph glands. For such a small improvement in outlook is it worth going through all that! Have to give oncologist decision next Wed. 19th Sept.Would be grateful for any opinions.
Personally I wouldn’t turn anything down!!! I think if it came back I would always wonder…‘what if I’d had the chemo?’. At least you know you did all you could - chemo is not fun, but it is OK and not as scary as you imagine.
Good luck
Ali
x
Hi there,
I guess this means having to weigh up the pros and cons of how the side effects will be and how much your quality of life is affected…That question of quality of life…
The other thing is that doctors don’t have a crystal ball and they are going on statistics. Not everyone fits tidily under the medical headings.
How much do you want the treatment?
At the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is best for yourself, its a hard choice i should imagine, not one that i had to make, and not one i wanted to make, it was bad enough only having 24 hours to tell them i wanted a mastectomy and a recon, too many choices can be so confusing, have you ever looked on www.cancerbackup.org.uk, its a very informative site on all the different treatments, plus you can ring the helpline here for any advice you need. all the very best
Alisonxxxx
A difficult decision to make…but only you can make it, talk to your breast care nurse, onc., the nurse on this site before making your decision.
Chemotherapy is do’able…never though i’d say that!
This disease is pretty unpredictable, so some would say chuck everything possible at it,
Will you wish you had taken the chemo if you decide not to?..i stopped my chemo at 4 out of 6 FEC…decision not taken lightly, but discussed with 2 onc’s., BCN and GP…and i was annoyed and dissapointed with myself that i couldn’t go through with the last two.
Good luck with whatever decision you make
karen
Copples
You’re decision is one of the toughest to make because you’ll always think is this the right one. As Alison has said it is your decision and unfortunately no one can make it for you. Since the beginning of diagnosis it seems to be one decision after another and I just want to wish you good luck with whatever you decide.
Wendy
I’d turn it back on to the onc and ask if it was his wife (if she’sfemale what would she do) what advice what you give her???
personally - I’d throw anything i can at it - chemo is doable my good days far out numbered my bad days whilst going through chemo
Hiya,
I’m with bestie, I will not turn anything down!!! I am having the full works and feel very grateful that they’re attacking these little bu**ers from all sides, they don’t stand a chance!!!
I am nearly at the end of 5 1/2 months worth of chemo. It has been very very doable and the time has flown by. As Kelyn says, my good days far outwiegh my bad. So, personally I would say ‘go for it’!
Take care and let us know what you decide,
Kelly
-x-
Hi Copples
I am 42 this year and I had 6 FEC chemo, which gave me horrendous sickness side effects, I didnt have spread or Lymphnode involvement but when offered chemo I said yes and signed the forms straight away, I would do it all again if I God forbid had too - as I always said I could never then say WHAT IF, I know I had done everything I could within my power …side effects pass and hair generally grows back…
people say you have to weigh up your quality of life, I looked at it what if I got a cancer that couldnt be cured because I didnt have it, what would my quality of life be like then, just for the sake of 5.5 months out of my life, I didnt want to be remembered for someone who had hair, but for someone who gave it their best shot…some people experience little or no side effects,the people in my clinic all range from kids to 50+++, but it is a personal choice so best wishes and Good luck for the future in whatever you decide.
Lucy XX
Hi Copples
I too would throw everything at this, in order to try to beat it once and for all. I have my 3rd FEC on Wednesday coming, so half way through nearly, and although would rather be doing anything else, it is doable and not as bad as we all fear. I don’t think I could turn anything down, as want as many chances as I can, as my children are babies and I so want to see them growing up.
But ultimately it has to be your decision and what you want to do. My onc didn’t even ask if I wanted to, just said that I was to have chemo and to sign the forms.
Good luck with whatever you decide and let us know how you get on.
Take care
Love
Dawn
x
Hello. I was told that chemo would improve my chances by only 3% - 4% but I decided to have it. I thought - if the cancer comes back I would want to know that I had done everything possible to get rid of it.
Chemo isn’t nice but we all get through it.
Good luck with your decision and take care.
Love Anthi
Hi Copples
I was given the same stats - only 3-4% improvement with Chemo. I had a terrible time on Chemo - My onc told me (once it was finished) that I had had just about the worst time its possible to have on Chemo!!! I was so ill that my OH wanted me to stop on the basis that it seemed to be killing me. Nevertheless I went ahead with all the treatments, I never for one minute doubted that it was the right decision. I have teenage kids and I want to be around to see them at least set up in life. It is a very aggressive treatment and If I was older I don’t know if I would do it again.
What does your ONC advise?
lol
Annemarie
Hi Copples - my decision whether or not to have chemo was complicated by the fact I was already on weekly chemo for Crohn’s, which my first Onc told me in no uncertain terms |I had to stop, and not take it behind his back, as I would die of septicaemia with two lots of chemo concurrently. He had never treated anyone with Crohn’s and bc, neither had my gastro, so he was no help either as to what they would do if I got a Crohn’s flare, which of course I did! My gastro said he could not intervene in my bc treatment, as this disease was life threatening and Crohn’s not, so he dropped out of the picture completely.
I did eventually decide to have the FEC chemo, and stopped the methotrexate, as I was more terrified of the cancer having spread to other organs (had already spread to my lymph nodes) than I was of a Crohn’s flare. It was a period I wish to forget, having to live on 3 cartons of hospital prescribed Frutijuice for 4 months and losing 28 lbs. I was virtually housebound with severe diarrahea, only venturing out to the hospital. However, looking back some 4 yrs later, I am glad I did have chemo, as I have done everything the doctors asked of me, and am gratefully currently in remission.
Just a point - I would be wary of asking the Onc what he would suggest if it was his wife, as my experience was just awful. I did ask just that and got an unbelievably angry response: “well, you’re not!” If I had had my wits about me I should have retorted: “Thank goodness that I’m not!”. Needless to say, I asked to be transferred to any other Onc, and I got a lovely, caring young female GP who worked only one morning in the Oncology Suite and she looked after me to the best of her ability. No questions were asked, no fuss made, and they found me the new Onc within 15 minutes - just as well, as I was due for my chemo treatment that morning and youhave to see an Onc before the infusion starts. I am sure the Onc nurses/receptionists knew how difficult the 1st Onc was, and that’s why there was no fuss.
Having said all that, your situation is different in that your cancer has not spread to the axilla and chemo may not be necessary. My tumour was grade and stage 2, 2cm with associated DCIS,(guess that is now my unlucky number) and the protocol at my hospital is that they advise chemo for tumours 1 cm and above. In the end, only you can make this decision. I am of the opinion that doctors would not suggest this expensive treatment if they deemed it unnecessary, but some women choose not go this route, and that is their right.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
Take care,
Liz.