Hello Friends,
I had my first visit yesterday with my onocologist. He went over all my records and talked to me at length. I liked him a lot. He said I was a "grade II, stage 1, estrogen and progestrin positive, he's doing HERfish test, and a muga scan to test my heart strenth. He said I that, as is, I have a 25% chance of the cancering recurring in the next 10 years. With hormone therapy, radiation and chemo that can be brought down to 8%.
Then he started telling me about a study that is going on titled: Phase III Randomized Study of Adjuvant Combination chemotherapy and Hormonal Therapy Versus Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy Alone in Women With Previously resected Axillary Node-negative Breast Cancer With Various Levels of risk for recurrence. (TAILORx Trial). If I understand this correctly and my score is below 11 I will need no chemo. If it is above 25 chemo is mandated. If it is between 12 and 24... 1/2 of the women recieve no chemo and the other 1/2 of them do. That is the study... do the women with no chemo fair worse than those with the chemo.
I don't know what to do. What if I am one of those that falls in the 12-24 group and does not fair well? Or, on the other hand what if I don't take the test and end up taking chemo needlessly because I was below 11? Or, what if I take the chemo and it affects my heart negatively (previous heart problem). Lord have mercy, I don't know what to do.
Right now the plan is to have the muga test on Monday and see the onc again on Thursday. I will ask him more questions then. I just want to be better prepared. Do any of you have any insight or suggestions on this?
My gut feeling is to just take the chemo, radiation, and hormone therapy because that is what seems to work the best.
Any advice or guidance will be appreciated.
Charlene