Join now

Already a member? Sign in

Welcome to Inspire!

What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.

Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.

How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!

corner corner corner

Breast cancer treatment

Charlene
0 Recommendations

my friend was just diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer and the doctor told her she had to have surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and hormones. I have heard that not everybody has to have chemotherapy and i know she doesnt want to receive it. I have read that chemothearpy improves your chance of cure by 15% which meand alot of people that are treated with chemotherapy dont necessairly benefit from it. Does anyone know if there are any tests that can tell you whether you should receive chemotherapy or not?

Explore topics in this discussion:

Cancer Surgery Chemotherapy Hormone therapy Breast cancer

3 replies

Amy5

There is a genomic test called Oncotype DX that has been approved which can help predict whether a person with early breast cancer will benefit from chemotherapy. Oncotype DX tests genetic components from tissue that is removed from the cancer to determine the risk of a cancer recurrence, and the potential benefit from chemotherapy. However, Oncotype DX is only approved for women who do not have cancer spread to their lymph nodes., and those who are hormone-positive. Since your friend was told she needed hormone therapy, it means that she is hormone-positive. Do you know if her cancer spread to her lymph nodes under her arms? She can read more about it at oncotypedx.com. She should ask her doctor about this test, as well as her insurance, as it is covered by several major insurance companies.

LaGata

I'm not sure where you got the statistic of 15%, that seems quite low, but even if it's right, it seems to me that increasing one's chance for survival from 35 to 50% or from 60 to 75% has to be a good thing.

I was diagnosed in February of 2005 at stage 3C. Pretty advanced. I had surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatments and I'm on hormone therapy. I'm still here, working, having fun, enjoying life and happy to be here! Treatments were not easy, but they're "doable", especially if you're willing to help her through them.

You don't say how old your girlfriend is. Is she afraid of losing her hair? Sounds silly to a lot of people but to most of us that have been there, it's harder than losing a breast. There are wonderful wigs, hats, scarves, and even "bald" takes on a whole new meaning when one is fighting for their life.

Did she know someone that went through chemo before all the new medications for nausea came along? Even the thought of getting sick and vomiting made me want to run and hide, but I got through with very little sickness and good drugs. Everyone is different, though. My mother is going through chemo now and she hasn't had a single episode of nausea nor has she lost her hair. Makes me quite envious.

There are SO many of us that have been right where your girlfriend is now and we're still here to talk about it. Please, ask any questions either of you may have. The worst question is the one unasked.

LaGata

mozu517

One thing I have learned throughout my treatments is that they're all about trade-offs. When I had my first consultation with my medical oncologist, she said I could have the chemo or not; either way would be acceptable. The chemo would give me another 3% chance of being cancer free in 5 years. She also described the side effects--short & long term--I could expect. I decided to go with the extra 3% advantage. Another woman in my support group with the same diagnosis as mine decided not to have the chemo. Who was "right"? Both of us. Or each of us could have gone the opposite way. There are advantages & disadvantages to both ways. Often it's very subjective.

Add to the discussion

Don't have an Inspire account? Join now!

Forgot password?

Group leaders

You