Adjvnt Therapy: Destroys or delays growth of stray BC cells?
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I do agree that some of us are overdiagnosed/overtreated. I don't feel I'm one of them.
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I don't have a clue if I am or am not one of them.
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I think my doctors are very concerned about this issue. We have talked about various aspects of overtreatment concerning radiation and chemo. Not much discussion though about the anti-hormonals or herceptin though, those they were clear about.
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I don't think I've been over treated at all. I think I had a very unusual reaction. My BS has just stated they are using some new parameters on when to give chemo to patents who have already had radiation. If it happened today I would choose the same wrought I chose last time.
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My belief - and only a belief - is that I was appropriately diagnosed. But had I acceeded to all the treatment , I believe I would have been overtreated and probably died as a result.
The non surgical treatment that I did acceed to almost did me in. I am glad I did as much as I did and even gladder that I refused what I did.I chose my path, going heavy on the surgery with a bmx but light on the adjuvant.0 -
We are similar DX. Can I ask what treatment you did? You guys are having a very thought provoking discussion. It is too bad that most of us can't think this clearly when we consenting to treatment.
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mammalou I don't think it's all about not thinking clearly. I think it has more to do with not having the information you need understand what you would want. This all happens pretty fast.0
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Conventional for me was BMX, Lupron which I survived for three months and Tamoxifen which I survived for 18. I refused AC/T and the Taxol alone option. Radiation may well have not been recommended because I had good margins (half a cm) I never knew for sure because I opted against rads.
But two people with the same cancer profile may understandably choose very differently. It isn't as though the choices are very convincing anyway. A key consideration for me, besides the science, was my comorbidity, which modulated what treatments I could tolerate.
One bit of treatment that was very, very hard was quitting smoking. It was the hardest of all, but I did it and I am proud of myself.0 -
I agree it is all given to us so fast. I am one to analise things up the ying yang, but was not given the chance. Maybe a good thing in this case.
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I thought about my choices long and hard and very methodically. I usually think calmly in times of crisis.
I forgot to clarify that one onc did recommend rads (33) while the one I decided to hire said it would be up to a rad onc. I chose not to go to the consult.0 -
In the early days I knew NOTHING!! I didn't find this site until I was getting ready to start chemo.
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I proceeded slowly. At first I was too scared to read anything at all about cancer. But after I had my BMX and had to start thinking about adjuvant treatment I already felt psychologically relieved to get this lump out of my system so I was able to sit down and read and ask questions. I did not come to BCO until I had finished mAking my decisions.
those were hard weeks of thinking. Not easy decisions. I had lots of variables to juggle. But I made my choices at a good pace. And, what worked for me, alone.
I hate this iPad:-)
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I would read in the tub, article after article. I had so many questions. Actually I still have so many questions!
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My diagnosis took a month, then my surgeon went on vacation, then they found more in the lumpectomy. At that point I was desparate to get treating and would have took more chemo when that was done. My MO is more conservative and I think he was looking out for me. I just hope it all works!
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The only part of my treatment I have ever regretted was having chemo so soon after radiation. I would take a couple of weeks off to recover if I had it to do over. My Onc. said 8 weeks was the most i could go before starting chemo. I had radiation at 4 weeks out, so with that 1 week of radiation I had only 3 weeks to heal and recover. I now know 12 weeks out to start chemo is ok.
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The questions for me will never end. I would have to pry myself away from reading. funny, because I function much better in times of crisis than during calm times - lol! But I began to stay up too late. I then realized that I had made up my mind and should just go ahead and act. Sometimes it takes a while to realize when you have made a decision.
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Not only the questions, the research. I spent the entire summer last year learning about the kind of BC I had, and trying to figure out the best way to treat it. I not only drove myself into a tissy I drove my poor DH nuts as well.
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Yes, I find myself hiding my computer research from the DH now. I guess I'm a closet, complusive internet searcher on BC.
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Oh I so relate. I should be sleeping but instead here I am. DH is snoring in the room while I'm on this thing. Bless his heart I am so lucky to have such an understand DH.
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I too spent tons of time researching. By the time I say my onc I knew what I should be getting. She presented me with the chemo cocktail, Herceptin and AI I thought I should get. I'm sure she was wondering why I wasn't asking more questions.
I wish I did know a bit more before surgery though. I'm good with what was done on the IDC/DCIS tumor but the LCIS not so sure. Granted we didn't know what was there because I never had a biopsy on that side. Once we saw something suspicious the BS felt it best to remove the breast and I agreed… and still glad I did. Just not so sure about doing the SNB on that side. Granted I did question my BS on that.
I'm still shocked I got a pass on Rads though.
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My RO said she could give me something for hot flashes on Thursday. I was about to say Effexor because I've read so much here. I was right. She starts quoting studies and I've already read them. I kind of chuckle inside.
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lago, did you have the snb done on the LCIS side? I also had LCIS as well as ILC. I didn't have the breast removed, and must say there is some concern in my mind. I also know there is some stuff in the other breast. I just am praying the Femara keeps it under control. I do worry after I'm off the meds though. I have considered taking the stuff more than 5 years, but the Onc. feels at least at this time it's over kill.
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I'm glad to have found this thread. I too should be sleping but I'm forever looking up info to try to figure this all out. I decided against chemo treatments, wondering the same as SusanG about its effectiveness. Most of the time I'm ok with that decision. I'm still struggling with the after effects of surgeries and rads. Add Arimidex, and I feel like I've aged 20 years overnight. I wish there was a better answer out there.
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Kira the reason why my BS recommended we removed that breast too was because I would have to have MRI and biopsies every year to monitor it. Mammo/US did not of course pick this up. There were actually 4 suspicious spots but only one he was really concerned about. I'm sure he though this was LCIS but didn't know till surgery. If he knew it was LCIS for sure then I doubt he would have done a SNB. We didn't do a biopsy because it would have delayed surgery. I was already waiting 11 weeks from original mammo/US!
Also remember that my breasts were very dense, peri-menopausal, 49 and I had a grade 3 HER2+ tumor on the other side. I'm sure there were other factors that when added together my risk was high enough to recommend removal. If you are concerned I would discuss this with both your onc and BS.
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Kira,
A friend of mine had a bone marrow transplant for breast cancer at MD Anderson something over fifteen years ago. Her sister was being treated at the same time and did not have the transplant. Her sister died and my neighbor survived and is doing very well. Even though bone marrow transplant for BC has fallen from favor, she attributes being alive to the aggressive treatment she had at that time. Who knows, but perhaps in her case it was the answer. She has had lots of complications but remains NED after all these years. And she is the most active, hardest working person I know!
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Mammal - I know it will be ok for me. not because I know I won't have a recurrence. No. I may very well have one.
Rather, it will be ok because in making my decision I had to determine what I could tolerate and what I couldn't. I considered a list of things as disparate as disability, death, insanity, fatigue, a short life, a long life, happiness and death. Once I identified where my priorities lay, everything fell into place. it isn't as easy as it sounds, of course. It was a process that required constant calibration and still does. Luckily for me, I did not have children to consider. But I had other complications.0 -
lago, my BS and I also discussed which way to go. In my case the additional very small amount of invasive cancer wasn't picked up by any of the tests I had along with the LCIS. In the beginning my original biopsy was a grade 2 after the final path report it was lowered to a 1. If I had know about the other stuff lurking I very likely would have done differently. My breasts are also very dense, but of course I'm HER- Major difference. At this time the idea of more surgery is off the table. It took 5 surgeries just to fix the mess of chemo.
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1Athena1 -
Now I have to wonder if insanity fell under "could' or "couldn't" tolerate. Aha-ha-ha!
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Dr Oz says that everyone has a cancer starting to grow in them daily. They start by free radicals colliding into cells/tissue and throwing the cells growth rate off. People who have good immune systems have the ability to have macrophages engulf and get rid of them as the body recognizes them as foreign. So, even if you did have a few cancer cells travel from the surgical site if your immune system is doing it's job it will gobble them up. However, people with BC already start with a compromised immune system otherwise those precancers would have been consumed by our immune defense system. I think that's why it is such a gamble. Most therapies for BC today are geared toward building your immune system. That is what the vaccine they have created is doing-enhancing our own immune system.
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