Ive just had my cancer taken away, and at the same time both breast reduced, its was a grade 2 and hormone positive, so i am goin to have radiothereaphy and tamixf tabs anyway but the docs are giving me a choice about whether to have chemo or not, it turns out the cancer was slow growing but i had had it a long time they say, although they have got it all out now and my node was clear. I dont want to look back in 5 years and wish i has taken chemo and regret it because the docs said to have it now or never, doing their table on the computor they said it only gives me an extra 1% chance with it than without it, but should i just take every available option to give myself the best chance, im worried it may have gone somewhere else…
Hotchocolate,
Its such a personal decision, I have no advice, but can share my experience.
I was diagnosed last February, had a therapeutic mammoplasty… they reduced both breasts by 2/3rds. At this point both my surgeons said that it was unlikely that I would need chemo as they had good margins, grade 2, ER+, PR+, Hers -
When I met with my Onc he said that I would be having 8 chemo’s. I had prepared myself somewhat, but didnt think twice about it.
I have often wondered what I would have done had I been given the choice, I believe that I wouldnt have hesitated - even now, having gone through it all, I would do it again if necessary.
Its not nice, it can be terrible for some. I was lucky in that it was manageable for me.
Wishing you the very best whatever you decide
Marguerite
Hi Hotchocolate
Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care discussion forums. I hope you will find them a great source of support and information.
As well as the support you receive from the other users may I suggest you give the BCC helpline a call and talk things through with one of our trained members of staff. Here you can share your concerns with some one who will offer you a listening ear as well emotional support and practical information. The number to call is 0808 800 6000 and the lines are open 9 to 5pm weekdays and 9 to 2pm Saturday.
I hope this is helpful
Best wishes Sam, BCC Facilitator
Hi Hotchocolate
I can’t advise you, I can only tell you my experience. I had a grade 2 er+ BC, 20mm + DCIS around it, and had a breast reduction combined with the lump removal. The first onc I saw said I could have chemo if I wanted it, it would give me a 3.5% benefit, and it was up to me. Not a decision I wanted to make, but I said no. To me, quality of life had to be balanced against potential benefit. Only then did he offer Tamoxifen plus Zoladex as an alternative to chemo. This is in accordance with NICE guidelines which say that they should only offer Tam + Zol if the patient has rejected chemo - which in my opinion stinks, we should be told up front that this is another option. Anyway, I went with the Tam + Zol.
I wasn’t happy with the first onc generally so asked for a 2nd opinion and saw another onc who said she wouldn’t have even mentioned chemo, nor would she have bothered with the Tam + Zol, she would have just offered Tamoxifen. I have continued with the Tam + Zol since it gives me more protection.
I give all this detail just to illustrate that we think or hope is a reasonably exact science is not! For instance, the Adjuvant Online progamme that they all use to predict survival rates doesn’t include projections for Zoladex, nor does it include Ki-67 results. And don’t forget that it is based on historical data (of course) so doesn’t reflect more recent improvements in treatment.
I think to some extent you have to go with your own instincts on what treatment is right for you. Some women posting on here will always recommend taking any treatment that is offered, either on the assumption that the medical profession always know what is best, or that the best approach is to throw everything that is offered at the BC. Others take the view that there is a balance between the side effects of some of the treatments on offer, versus the possible improvements in outcome. Only you know where the balance lies for you.
Sarah x
Its defo a personal choice as the poster above says, but saying that, chemo is a really horrible thing, with the most horrendous side effects. If it was me, I would not put my body through that for a 1 per cent extra survival chance. 1 per cent is such a tiny tiny chance. I am in a similar position to you and was not offered chemo, I have asked the helpline the reason for this and there answer was that the doctors would have worked out on percentages what my chances were with and without and would have decided yes it would maybe give me a tiny chance, but not enough to warrant putting myself through all of that.
Its a horrible decision to have to make. I have a similiar one in do I have just another WLE or do I go for the bilateral mastectomy, and whereas others probably think I am mad for even considering it, its what is best for you.
I really hope you can come to your decision easily, its a toughie hun.
SGL xx
Hi Hotchocolate, As everyone has said, this is a very personal choice and I would not want to try to influence you one way or the other.
However, I would just like to say that although chemo can be very difficult it is not always so bad so please do not automatically discount it because of some of the bad things you may have heard.
Good luck with your decision x
Thankyou everyone for you input, it really does help to talk to other people. Ive seen my onc now and he has stated that he doesnt think i need chemo, ive started the tablets now and just waiting for radio to start, only thing that bothers me is they do it on a suvery type chart of our of 100 people, whos to say in that box of 100 people there can be 10 people who would benifit and in another box of 100 people maybe no poeple would benefit, if you see what i mean, i just dont like the idea of being in a group as im an individual, when i had the mamogram i was told 1 in 20 get called back, and i was, then was told 97% are ok and i was in the 3% that wasnt, so i really wish they could look at it differently when deciding, perhaps im just looking into it too much, but it still scares me, esp when i dont know a lot about it all, or at least i havnt had to look into it before, !!! thankyou everyone for your suport and help, plus my friends have really got me through this too,
lies, damn lies and statistics. i am not, and i hope will not, be in a position to have to make your decision. but if i was i think i would gamble a 1% chance not high enough for the side effects of chemo.
if its only a 1% change-- 1% chance from what??
if it was 99% and 100% then i think you would go for it. if it was 80% and 81% you might not.
did the figures in the sample include lots of people of your age range, ethnicity ,weight? could he give you more figures based on these factors.
as everyone says, it is a personal decision. I realy feel for you having to make it. I think i would have wanted a more assertive message from the doctor that it was a good idea as well.
such confusion, 5 weeks on and my head is still spinning with it all, what i really want is a garentee that i wont get BC again or any other type of cancer…