Hormonal therapy as an alternative to surgery

fathea

Hi ladies

I am posting on behalf of my Mom

She was diagnosed with recurrence a month back and since then we are discussion treatment options based on the findings and labs investigation

She is 78 with no co morbidity

The oncologist said that they will decide about surgery after the PET scan

He said in case they find Mets they will give her hormonal therapy only as palliative care and improve quality of life

she is ER+ve PR +ve Her -ve and tumor is grade 2 with Ki 67 10%

I am not sure if anyone get a benefit from hormonal therapy ? Dose it control the disease and keep it silent ? Dose reduce pain and size of tumor ?

parakeetsrule

If it turns out your mom has mets, they will generally start out with the mildest treatment to see if that works. If it does, yes, it can control the disease, reduce pain, and/or reduce the size of the tumor.

But hopefully your mom does NOT have mets because once breast cancer has metastasized, it is not curable anymore. Each treatment works for awhile but eventually stops working and you move on to a new one.

chicagoan

Fathea-Tell you mom that I did not have surgery. It was not recommended since my cancer had spread by the time I was diagnosed. I have been on hormonal therapy (letrozole) plus targeted therapy (Ibrance) for almost 6 years and am doing very well. For me, it has controlled the disease and shrunk the primary tumor. If her doctor recommends this, it is certainly worth trying. Best wishes.

fathea

thanks a lot for the support

I feel much more better and I am not worried about the PET result anymore

since there is a treatment at least to keep her ok for more years ♥️

fathea

chicagoan ,

what was your tumor size ? And did they test the Ki-67 for you

chicagoan

Fathea-My tumor was quite large. I don't remember the exact dimensions. It is still there but not as big. Ibrance caused it to sink deeply inside I don't really see it. I have never had the Ki-67 test. I'll have to look that up. They tested my original biopsy but that was it.

I hope that your mom is doing ok.

fathea

chicagoan

Thanks for reply

we are still waiting for the PET result also we need to be cleared from cardiology and nephrology

So if all is ok and they find out she is eligible for surgery then we can do it hopefully next week or so

waiting for results is just horrible