Hi! I’m a metastatic Breast cancer patient...diagnosed July ‘16....I’ve recently had a reoccuance on the right side...doctor said he wanted it completely gone rhis time...I asked about a lumpectomy since I did not have surgery the first time...I was told If you have surgery it will come back...But he ordered chemo and is sending me to a radiologist for radiation because he wants it all gone...So my question is are there stats out there that say it won’t come back with chemo and radiation but will with surgery?...I just don’t get the rationale...I’d rather save my lifetime radiation allotment for something truly inoperatable like brain mets...
Just a Question...any thoughts?...
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Rhwright12
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I don't have any suggestions because I've not had the same issue.
However, as to surgery or chemo/radiation I would think that radiation upper limits are only spot specific, meaning that if you had your liver radiated in a particular spot it shouldn't affect having brain mets radiated or even having a different area of the liver radiatied. I believe that the problem of an upper limit becomes an issue if the cancer were to come back in the same exact spot or very near by. But, please verify this with your oncologist.
Also, depending on the replies you receive from others, you could raise your concerns with Dr. Linn. She will be answering questions on this website on Feb. 15 (see the post). I've asked a question.
I will do BX protocol or cryoablation before I'd do chemo or radiation. Not covered by insurance but quality of life is more important to me than length. Lots of studies show chemo surgery and radiation all spread cancer. I just did more surgery 8 weeks ago and hope my protocol will hold it back.
i have MBC diagnosed Aug 2017. It's in the bone in my spine. I finished Chemo for stage 3 breast cancer in Aug 2014, 36 treatments of radiation which I finished Nov. 2014 the day before Thanksgiving. I really thought I was done, very shocked that it come back & after 4yrs., and it was 100% in my spine top to bottom! Very confused, I wanted to asked about scans (after yr 1) was told that it was not necessary & too much radiation! So, how the f___k do we get to the bottom of this w/o testing? I'm sorry, I have so much radiation inside of me already I just need to know that after all this crap I've been through that I'm good! I was talking femara I was told' I'd d be on it for 5-10 yrs & after 3yrs my spine is full of cancer! I'm sorry WTF? I love my oncologist, but come on! The damn thing came back!
I truly believe that current research is suggesting that once you have had breast cancer, you will forever have BC stem cells lying dormant somewhere in your system. I had Stage 1 in 2000, no sentinel nodes involved, but chose double mastectomy due to age of my children. Surgery showed no cancer in any of the remaining breast tissue, and I, like you, assumed I was home free! Not so. In November 2017, my BC had metastasized to spine. Has your oncologist suggested the addition of Ibrance to your femara protocol? I keep reading that this is the current gold standard. You don't mention whether you are hormone receptive or Her2neu negative? Hope you are also considering supplements to deal with all of the exhaustion and side effects. God bless you on this journey we all share!
I have been on Ibrance since Sept. I'll be staring my 6th cycle next week. Also get Xgeva & Faslodex (sp) injections monthly. I'm Estrogen positive so no hormones for me. Scan last month showed no new growth, but does this ever go into remission or do we just hope to see no new spreading of this disease? I was told in the beginning lets get this into remission, but now they don't say this. Now it's more on stopping the growth. I also believe once you have had BC that's it's lying dormant somewhere., waiting for a good time to arrack! My only side effect seems to be exhaustion.
Remission is a tricky for MBC. I am currently NED. No evidence of disease. Because it is dormant, hiding somewhere. Vit b complex for the fatigue. Also exercise (try it , it works for me)
Once you have cancer, you always have cancer-somewhere in your lymphs, etc. To say, the doc wants it all gone is ridiculous as they know, and always have that is not the case. The new approach is to tell patients that they hope it to be a manageable disease, not curable. So, who is your local doctor and possibly you want a second opinion. I would also strongly suggest that your oncologist specializes only in breast cancer and interviewing a second opinion, in or out of the area is always a plus for many reasons. I had a stage 3, 7 positive lymphs, bilateral with a tram, chemo and radiation 20 years ago but now, a couple of months ago, has spread to the lining of my lung. So, I know that doctors have finally become more honest with the patients. With that said, there is a life beyond breast cancer, even in the metastatic stage. I will say that both times it has taken me a month or two to adjust to the diagnosis-not easy as we all can attest to but, for me, denial is not the answer--although it does work for some.
Ladies, yes people every day go into remission. Not sure how or why this happens but we can all do what we can for our condition, mind, body and spirit and to help one another. I also am now on Femera and Ibrance--too early to tell anything just a bit more tired. But another drug for Her2- is being released the end of this month and yet another the end of May. So we keep updated.
As far as radiation, look into getting your iodine level checked. The big concern with radiation is your thyroid and cancer there from the radiation. There are also good iodine drops you can use daily when you know your levels.
Blms, I have never heard of having your iodine levels checked because of radiation. I have had radiation 3 times 32 on breast 19 on y L4 and L5 and stereotactic again on my L4 maybe getting stereotactic done for the 2nd time on my pelvic bone. I have never been told this??
Yeah they are not going to tell you that but I went to my Primary doc and asked her to draw. Check and you will feel better after you see you are normal. If not, just pick up a small dropper bottle and put 4 small drops under your tongue daily.
My radiated breast is being reconstructed. I had to wait 2 years before they would start. I had a skin sparing mastectomy and diep reconstruction. If I had it to do all over again I would have just had a mastectomy and skipped the radiation!
I had my lump removed followed by chemo and radiation. So far no recurrence. Not sure why surgery would cause a recurrence. My oncologist wanted the original tumor gone. Don’t know why they’d keep a cancerous mass if it could be excised. Some doctors say they use the tumor as a barometer of how well chemo is working. There are better ways to do that.
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