I was diagnosed with grade 3 breast cancer end of Sept, I had a lumpectomy and am lucky in that it was small, just under 1cm and has not spread. I now face the decision of whether or not to have chemo, the oncologist has put the ball back in my court, I would be v grateful for the advice of anyone else who is or has been in the same boat as I do not know what to do and need to decide.
Hi,
From what I have been told chemo works well for grade 3 and triple negative cancers. As mine was both, chemo was recommended, also due to my age (34).
Is your’s hormone sensitive? As this will affect whether you go on hormone treatments, which will reduce the chance of recurrence.
Just to say from the experience I had of chemo it was not something I would like to go through again, but it is do-able, and I believed that 4 months of treatment was worth it for the peace of mind that I had done what I could to stop it coming back.
Hopefully others will be along soon to give you their experiences.
Hope all goes well whatever you decide
Jen
Hi Wasp52,
I was in this same situation at the beginning of the year.
I had a WLE/SNB with clear margins & no lymph node involvement or vascular invasion it also like yours was very small at 9mm but was grade 3.
The chemo decision was also left with me & after much conversation & deliberation i did decide to go ahead with it, the reason being that however small it was still a grade 3 & i felt that i would feel reassured by “chucking” all that i could at at it.
I finished chemo at the end of May & had Rads through July & am now on a Zoladex/Letrazole combination as i was unable to take Tamoxifen due to a blood clot.
All i can say is that to go with or not go with chemo is a very individual decision to which there is no right or wrong answer, seek advice from wherever you can, i rang Bcc, Macmillan, went to Gp & also chatted to people on here that had been in a similar situation & please dont feel rushed into deciding anything as a couple of weeks further wait will not make any difference.
Were you given any indication of percentage difference from adjuvant online from your onc ? i know with me that adding chemo gave me an extra 3 to 4 % chance of all being well in 10 years time.
Please feel free to Pm me if you want to chat etc.
Big hugs
Sarah.xxx
Morning Wasp82
It is a difficult decision to make and only you can do it. I am in the midst of chemotherapy at the moment and it is doable. I have been suprised how quickly the time has flown. Only one more session to come. My reason for having it was to zap any cells that might have escaped but I did have lymphovascular invasion. You have posted here and that makes me wonder how you would feel if you did not have it and then had a problem in the future. Would you blame yourself for not having the all over body zapper?
There is super support from other ladies going through it at the same time on the forums…we have become such good friends and are going to meet up in a Spa after Christmas.
The Helpline is really worth while contacting. They can’t give you a yes or no answer but can explore your feelings and help you through your thought processes. If you do decide to go ahead you might like to take up peer support.
You don’t mention a partner or families thoughts or if you have anybody puting pressure on you.
I do hope you can make a decision soon. Obviously if you did go ahead and found you can’t cope they would stop treatment . But that rarely happens. The worst thing for me is the hair loss but many find the cold cap works.
Big Non invasive hug if you want one…it is so hard…but you will get there
Cackles
Can I just add that Chemo is very expensive treatment so they would only offer it to you if they thought there was going to be enough benefit from you having it. If it’s offered then that usually means it’s recommended but you can check out your benefits from Chemo on the adjuvant o line tool… However some people do not want to know their risk of progression or life expectancy… If you do access it it says it’s fir health professionals only but anybody can access it.
Chemo isn’t pleasant and the treatment itself steals about 4 months of your life, and can take a year to feel like yourself again but if that means the cancer never comes back then it’s worth it… However there are no guarantees when it comes to BC.
It’s a tough decision but I know what I would choose.
Lxx
Hi, I am on the other side of the fence. I had a small grade 1 bc and wasn’t offered chemo. Much as the SEs sound horrible and I dreaded it, I find myself worrying that my treatment (surgery and rads) was so localised. What if it was in the other side or there were some rogue cells. As dx and active treatment have made for a pretty sh*t year anyway, I just wish that I had been able to have chemo as well to give myself the best possible chance. It is an individual thing, but for me I wanted to blast bc with everything possible x
OK Wasp52…here goes.
I was diagnosed in 2004. I had a mastectomy and 23 lymph nodes removed, none of which were involved. I was told that although there were cghanges throughout my breast, they were pre-malignant (whatever that is), but they were definitely not malignant and I absolutely did not need radiotherapy. I too, was given the decision about chemo and the statistics given to me, indicated that there would be little, if any benefit.
In 2009, I was diagnosed with secondaries to my spine. Should I have had chemo back in 2004? Looking back, maybe I should, but the difficulty is that even with it, there are no guarantees. I think about that a lot, but as I can do nothing about it now, there is no point in beating myself up about it. I just have to accept what has occurred and trust my medical team.
I am well at present…long may it last.
This may have frightened you (I hope not) but at the same time, it might also help you in your decision.
Finally, have you thought of asking your Oncologist what he/she would advocate, if it were their mother or sister?
Isobel
Mary grace can i just reply to r post specificslly… Just to say that although you havent had chemo having it woukd make little or no differnce to the outcome… Its isnt very effective in treating grade 1 cancers where as hormones are very effective…Lxx
Can I just thank you Lulu for replying to Mary Grace. I was also diagnosed with grade 1, 9mm, unfortunately one of my lymph nodes had tiny cells in and I went on to have a partial axillary clearance (no other nodes involved). I have been told I don’t need chemo as I wouldn’t have any benefit from it, just 15 sessions of rads and 5 years tamoxifen. I keep thinking should I have had chemo but reading your post has helped put my mind at rest.
Hi Wasp52
I too had grade 3, 1mm tumour with clear nodes and was offered chemo. It is an impossible decision to make as you know it will be hard work.
I chose to go with it and am having 4 lots of gemcarbo. However now I have chosen to have it I am now being told I might not be able to have any more as it is hitting me too hard. I am now angry that I might not be able to have it.
I guess what I an trying to say is that only you can make the decision but whatever you decide it is right. 4 months is a short time for what the benefits could be but they will be long months.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Big hugs xx