Went for two week follow up appointment today following WLE on 21 March good news second calcification clear, area of cancer removed clear and one lymph node clear. Second node has a very small cancer area and consultant has said Chemo maybe an option not just the radiotherapy and drugs that I was expecting so a bit shocked. Need to discuss more with oncologist next week on advantages v disadvantages - not sure what is best going forward as decision seems to be mine rather than you have to have Chemo. Any words of wisdom ladies? Also not sure what to do about work as so much to get my head around.
Hi Blossom,
I was a bit similar to you, my surgeon told me chemo was my choice as lumpectomy , margains clear, but only my first node was suspect they removed all others but they were clear. However when i saw oncologist he asked me what the surgeon had told me, and when i said what, he said, no chemo will make little difference to your outcome. I have no other health issues, in fact for a woman of 67 im fit, but he said im very petite and slightly built and he felt chemo might do me more harm than good, Tamoxifen and rads he said would be as good,My friend who was with me and always thought id refuse chemo whatever he said, said if it was your sister ort wife would you say same, he said yes, there is no point in giving a paitent something like chemo if it isnt going to make that much difference. My relief i have to say was great,ive been on tamoxifen for a mth, few side effects and rads should be starting in a week ot two,
So it seems surgeons and oncologists often differ in their views and you might find like me you get a completely different response.Keep us posted june
I had one positive micro bit in node. Chemo was a definite for me. The oncologist didn’t give me a choice. I am 40 with grade 2 lump 3.7mm. Her2 negative.
It’s not just about the node.
For me i have a four year old and needed to be confident that I have not taken any risks and done everything I could.
It’s a tough decision and I wish you well xx
Hi Blossom,
I was in a very similar position to you. My surgeon was adamant that I would only need rads and tamoxifen, but my oncologist insisted that he spoke to me about chemo. He said because of my age at diagnosis (I was 50) and the fact that I had a couple of individual rogue cancer cells in my first node after my SNB, that he recommended a reduced dose of fec75 chemo. I really didn’t want chemo, but after discussing it with him, I went ahead with treatment. I tolerated the reduced chemo really well and apart from slight nausea and fatigue, I managed to live my life as normal, continuing to work etc throughout. I now have absolutely no regrets about having chemo. But every single person is an individual, so take your time to weigh up what’s most important to you before making your final decision. I wish you all the best with whichever treatment plan you choose. X x
Hi Blossom what a hard situation for you to be in I do appreciate it as was very similar one last July as borderline for chemo . Everyone is different but I would go to Oncoligist with as many questions as you can, hope they give you time, mine did and was very good and even send me off for another week to think about. I have to say I was given lots of statistics and information, in the end I went for chemo, like others have said I wanted to feel I had done all I could to prevent re occurance to be here for my young kids, also when I asked oncologist what he would do if I was his wife or daughter he said he would say have it. It is a difficult one, having had chemo (and everyone is different) although its hard , it is doable , particularly with support of lovely ladies on this site and at home. I have no regrets for sure, but obviously there are lots of factors to consider.
Anyhow I hope your appointment goes ok and you get time to discuss things, as for work it does depend on what you do and the type of chemo you have and how you are after it (as everyone had different levels of SE).
You take care and my thoughts are with you.
Lots of Love
Sorbet
Appointment today and only 0.8% difference on recurring with chemo so decided not to take it - feeling relieved and now getting myself ready for radiotherapy and let azole for 5 years. Sarah
I had a WLE in January following the discovery of DCIS in a recent mammogram. At my follow up appointment I was told that they had also found 4mm of grade 3 Breast cancer so they decided to check my nodes and I had a SNB on 23 February. Following the results off this the surgeon said that everything was clear and that I wouldn’t need drugs, just radiotherapy. A week later I got a copy of the letter the surgeon sent to my doctor which confirmed this, but also said the cancer is triple negative. This came as a surprise to me especially when I read up about it on this forum. I spoke to the BCN who assured me that because the cancer was so small I didn’t need to worry. Yesterday I went to see the oncologist to talk about my radiotherapy. He highlighted the fact that I was TN and decided to check the scoring to see if I would benefit from chemo. The score came out at just over 4 so the decision whether or not to have it was mine. I have said yes I will but now I’m not so sure, have I made the wrong decision and should I just have gone for the radiotherapy? I would love to know what you think?