I agree too Apologies for being another prophet of doom, Glo, but my own experience leads me to disagree with your consultant\'s approach.
8 years ago I was diagnosed with a stage 1, grade 1, invasive ductal cancer, very much on the benign end of the spectrum. It was so benign that after my WLE I was offered the choice between rads and tamoxifen (no chemo) but chose to have both, as my tumour was strongly ER+. After 2 years I came off the tamoxifen because it was affecting my vison and wasn\'t offered anything else, as I was considered so low risk.
In autumn 2005 i found a new lump under the scar from the previous axillary clearance - another cancer, this time Grade 2 with some lymphatic and perineural invasion. My surgeon on this occasion told me that she wishes she could be like her colleagues with other cancer specialities and tell her patients that after 5 years with no recurrence they are clear. She can\'t, because bc isn\'t like other cancers and can come back 10, 20 or even more years later.
Like Karelyn I too am concerned that you aren\'t on any hormonal treatment if your tumour was hormone receptive (especially with a Grade 3 cancer) though I suppose that might depend on how strongly or weakly receptive it was. My recurrence scored 8/8 for ER and 5/8 for PR and to stop any stray cancer cells from making more mischief I will go on taking Arimidex for as long as they are willing to give it to me.
None of this means that we go round living with a black cloud hanging over our heads, but just with the knowledge that things aren\'t always quite as clear-cut as your consultant makes out.
Kathy xxx
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