Does anyone else still have their primary tumor?
I still have my primary tumor because surgery was not recommended at the time of my diagnosis. I have no desire for surgery but am getting interested in cryoablation. Just curious if anyone else has their tumor and what they are thinking. My tumor is deep in my chest wall and doesn't bother me at all.
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Chicagoan - I really know nothing about any of this, and my primary tumor was removed, but is there any chance that doing anything to your tumor at this point would "upset the apple cart", i.e. would disturbing it possibly cause any new or further problems? I think if it was me, that would be the thing I'd be most concerned about, as I have read that some procedures run the risk of encouraging spread. Would be best to just leave it dormant, so to speak?
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@threetree I would do this only if there is progression in that area. The cryoablation sounds very exciting to me-they freeze the tumor and then inject cancer killing meds. Eventually it may replace surgery as the treatment for breast cancer.
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👍 Chicagoan, that sure does sound interesting and innovative. Great to see new and less invasive/traumatic techniques being developed!
My experience: I never had surgery but my primary shrunk so much from the chemo and herceptin, that it appears just the scarring in the tumor bed remains. Both pet and mammograms seem to show this. After being NED for a couple years, my oncologist kind of tentatively broached the subject of breast surgery. I would have considered just a “lumpectomy” to the tumor site because I’m curious if or how many bad cells were left behind…but we never got any further with referrals to surgeons so I’ve just moved on.
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Olma-thanks for your reply. My tumor shrunk quite a bit during my first few months of treatment. I was hoping it would completely disappear but it never has.
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Chicagoan - Like Olma, I think the ablation you're talking about sounds very interesting and innovative. Has your doctor said anything about what to do if you do get any progression in that area in the future? On the face of it, it sounds like a positive sort of treatment, but if it were me, I'd want to know a lot more, and be doing what you're doing - asking for more info and other people's knowledge and experience. I wish I had more knowledge myself to offer, but I'd just never heard of this before.
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Threetree-they do not do cryoablation for breast cancer at my center. However, Mass General, Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson and Memorial Sloan Kettery are all doing it now for early stage BC. When I looked into it last year, I think it was only Mass General and a doctor in LA. My MO and I haven't discussed what would be next for me. Things keep changing, happily with alternatives. I mentioned cryoablation to her last year but she didn't seem to know much about it. If I have progression in my primary tumor which is something we are watching, I think I'll try and get a consult at Mayo clinic.
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Chicagoan - This is all very interesting; especially that they are using it now for early stages. I think the Mayo Clinic consult idea of yours sounds really good.
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only my opinion but I wish something like this could be part of more aggressive treatment for people with long term stable or Nead status. I know some people here do not like the term ‘curative intent’ but that is a term used by researchers and clinicians. Like why wait for progression, snuff that bad boy out now!!!!
AND I think some of the reservations our doctors have about surgery ( risk of infection, possibly having to discontinue meds during the process, etc) might not apply to cryoablation? Which would be another point in favor of doing it for MBC patients who are stable.
Just sort of thinking out loud here!
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I'm totally with you Olga. I am honestly hoping for a cure in our lifetime. Why not? Personally I wouldn't want surgery given the location of my tumor but I'm willing to try this. It doesn't seem too risky.
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Chicagoan - I too hope for a cure in our lifetimes. So often I get the message that I shouldn't be doing that, but like you say, "Why not?" I just can't go about my life assuming that there is no hope at all. I commend you for continuing to search for answers and being willing to do something new!
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