Most of what you wrote above mirrored me, except I only had the one tumor. The double mastectomy is a plus for you, as well as the negative lymph nodes! I am invasive ductal carcinoma Stage 2, Er/Pr positive - HER2 Negative. I also had chemo - adriamycin/cytoxan followed by Taxol.... Tomoxifin for a short time, but had a preventive hysterectomy since I was 100% estrogen positive and 54 years old. I'm now on Arimidex instead.
Only you can made the decision for or against chemo. Here is what I was told, which helped me decide:
1). If only one cancer cell is left following your surgery, cancer can grow again .
2). If I stop at the surgery - I would have a 1 in 3 chance of cancer coming back,
3). If I had the chemo - I would have a 1 in 10 chance of cancer coming back.
4). The tamoxifin is an excellent drug for hormone positive cancers - but it has it own set of side effects.
I am not trying to influence you at all - just passing on some information. Chemo is no walk in the park and the adriamycin is called the Red Devil or Read Demon - and it is. But the doctors give you all the help you need with meds for nausea/vomiting, etc.
As far as throwing up - the meds they give you along with ginger tables, eating small meals several times a day and pretzels got me through it. And drink as much as you can - it washes the chemicals out of your system faster.
And attitude - you must have a positive attitude. With each treatment, you are one step towards the last treatment. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise - BALD IS BEAUTIFUL!
All this will pass, you will get strong again, your hair will grow back.
But only YOU can decide which path you want to take. Do your research, ask lots of questions and go with your heart and your gut. We are all here to support you regardless of your decision. You are not alone - we are in this together. We are survivors!
I was diagnosed in September with invasive Ductal Rt breast. I too was Grade 1 / stage 2 / her2neu - / estrogen positive. I had a bilateral mastectomy in November no lymph node involvement. I was offered Chemo and after careful consideration...I made the choice not to do Chemo. I have started Tamoxifen and will be on that for the next five years.
For me personally, I just did not want to do it. I had pretty much decided that if lymph nodes were involved I would need to do Chemo. When the nodes came back negative I felt strongly that I had done enough. However, as someone said...it only takes one cell to travel somewhere else and then you have metastasis.
It all feels like a crap shoot to me, like you are playing the odds in Vegas! There are no guarantees here. Chemo will most certainly lower your odds. You have to sitwiththe information quietly. I believe that if you can connect with your internal/eternal voice than you will know what it is you are supposed to do. Good luck with your journey.
I had triple neg. Stage 2a no lymphnode involvement tumor was grade 3.
Hope this helps.
Quoting jenny001:
Most of what you wrote above mirrored me, except I only had the one tumor. The double mastectomy is a plus for you, as well as the negative lymph nodes! I am invasive ductal carcinoma Stage 2, Er/Pr positive - HER2 Negative. I also had chemo - adriamycin/cytoxan followed by Taxol.... Tomoxifin for a short time, but had a preventive hysterectomy since I was 100% estrogen positive and 54 years old. I'm now on Arimidex instead.
Only you can made the decision for or against chemo. Here is what I was told, which helped me decide:
1). If only one cancer cell is left following your surgery, cancer can grow again .
2). If I stop at the surgery - I would have a 1 in 3 chance of cancer coming back,
3). If I had the chemo - I would have a 1 in 10 chance of cancer coming back.
4). The tamoxifin is an excellent drug for hormone positive cancers - but it has it own set of side effects.
I am not trying to influence you at all - just passing on some information. Chemo is no walk in the park and the adriamycin is called the Red Devil or Read Demon - and it is. But the doctors give you all the help you need with meds for nausea/vomiting, etc.
As far as throwing up - the meds they give you along with ginger tables, eating small meals several times a day and pretzels got me through it. And drink as much as you can - it washes the chemicals out of your system faster.
And attitude - you must have a positive attitude. With each treatment, you are one step towards the last treatment. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise - BALD IS BEAUTIFUL!
All this will pass, you will get strong again, your hair will grow back.
But only YOU can decide which path you want to take. Do your research, ask lots of questions and go with your heart and your gut. We are all here to support you regardless of your decision. You are not alone - we are in this together. We are survivors!
I to had this and it is not easy, but everything has a reason. I never wore a hat made me itchy the whole time.
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Should I be worried???
- sonyarizzo1
on Feb. 13, 2012 at 8:14 AM