Mum has had a masectomy and 21 lymph nodes removed. Cancer was found in one of them. It was recommended that she have chemo, but when we went to see the oncologist today, he said because of her age (68) having chemo only has 10-15% benefit for her and a 1-2%of death due to chemo. We are totally and utterly confused. Have any older women had chemo? How did it effect you? Should she take the chemo or take the risk of not taking it…HELP!!!
I’m a lot younger than your mum but women of any age can die from chemo so I also went through this dilemma - hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. All I can say is tell her to take her time and follow her instinct. I changed my mind about 5 times a day for a few weeks, until I made my choice! Important to feel comfortable with it before starting treatment, I reckon. Hopefully some women closer to your mum’s age will reply soon and help you decide. Good luck x
Hi Catto
although I’m 43 and quite a bit younger than your mum I had exactly the same dilemma. I had no nodes involved which would normally mean no chemo but was offered chemo if I would like it (yeah right!). It was an incredibly difficult decision - my stats were similar to your mums, with 7% reduction in recurrence (so long as I take tamoxifen) and 3.5% of reduction of mortality. I decided to go with the chemo after having delayed the decision to think about it and canvassing the entire world. It seemed that most people thought I should go with it, but because I felt so well I couldn’t contemplate knowingly making myself ill with chemo.
I still don’t feel that it is either the right decision or the wrong decision - but I am sticking with it as the best thing to do. If I was your mum’s age I am not sure if I would go with the chemo - it depends how fit and healthy she is - if she is looking forward to decades more healthy years then maybe go for it, if she already has health problems which means the chemo will be very hard, then maybe not. My main concerns were the long term issues after chemo finishes - would I feel like an invalid for the rest of my life?
I have to say having had one set of chemo that I am finding not as bad as expected and at present don’t feel at all ill. I am sure it will get harder. The onc made my mind up when he said as it was an optional choice, I could always give up if i found the going too hard. This made me feel in a bit more control. Now having started I don’t think I could contemplate giving up.
I had some peer counselling from the helpline on this site and spoke at length to the bcn and the oncologist and nurses on the chemo ward - they were all very helpful.
You have my sympathy with the decision - it’s not easy - good luck whichever way your mum decides to go.
i would say 10-15% benefit is quite a big benefit regardless of age… im only 41 and my benefit from chemo is 7-13% and there wasnt really any question about me not having it.
however as you get older i think the benefit does lessen but they should take into account other factors like pre-existing medical conditions, and the type, size, grade of the tumour etc… if she is a very fit and otherwise health 68 year old and feels she would be able to cope with the effects of the chemo then i dont see why she shouldnt get it.
however the chemo itself can be gruelling on younger women but can be worse as you get older and have other problems too so she needs to think about her quality of life as well as the quantity of life.
maybe you can speak to the doc who recommended that your mum get chemo and see if there is something specific that is changing their minds.
i know when i had my first BC i was told id get chemo too but the tumour came back as a grade 1 which only indicated 1-8% improvement in outcome so it was decided that i wouldnt need it afterall so perhaps your mums case is similar.
Lulu