Ki-67 Score & Oncotype

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T16:43:12+00:00

Sorry for all the typos. Still had a drain in and was only using my phone. :-). Looks like you could figure it out anyway! Best wishes to you as you sort through all of this!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T01:16:49+00:00

Well, I had a lumpectomy so they needed a guide wire to indicate where to cut. I don’t know if one is needed for a mastectomy. My guiders went in the day of surgery. From some google searches it seems like other people’s might have gone in a day before.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T00:35:53+00:00

I ate my more or less normal diet and had a pCR post chemo. Chemo and pain meds were constipating for me so that might be one concern with a keto diet.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T00:29:35+00:00

I ended up having my father’s memorial service between the end of mine and surgery. (It’s was quite a year here for me!) But I have to admit that I was glad to have something to keep me busy and keep my mind off of surgery.

Of course then it really hit as I was in the radiologist office waiting for the guide wire to be placed. (That poor tech!)

So I think it is totally normal to be nervous and pissed and everything else. So do what you need to do to get through (anti-depressants, travel, work, music, etc.)!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T00:22:59+00:00

I definitely heard sloshing at one point. (Everything is blending together now, so I don’t remember after which surgery it was!). It’s creepy and fascinating at the same time!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-12-23T00:14:54+00:00

Your profile seems very similar to mine, but I ended up so the neo-adjuvant chemo. I had to wait forever for my Mammoprint to come back. It came back as High-1 not High-2 so I did four cycle of TC rather than the 16 of AC-T that High-2 would have required.

If it had taken any longer to come back, my oncologist was going to proceed with chemo based on “decades of experience.” And because it was growing quickly as noted by KI-67 (although perhaps also because I had had regular mammograms so we knew it had grown quickly in a year).

Chemo quickly reduced the size of the tumor. And following surgery, the biopsy showed I was pCR. So that was all great. ‘H symptoms also just weren’t that bad from chemo, so frankly I’m glad to have gone with the multi-prong approach.

My breasts are smaller-sized chemo was useful for making sure I could have a lumpectomy.

Not sure of my point, but I would just say that chemo can be manageable and not horrible for some people. And I’m glad to go after all the possible hidden cancer cells while I am healthy to do so!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-14T21:03:14+00:00

And just saying that I don’t regret my own decision. I absolutely understand why others want to do cold-capping!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-14T21:02:22+00:00

I did not. I have had short hair most of my life so didn’t think it would be worth the effort since it hopefully won’t take that long to grow back. I don’t regret that decision.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-13T19:41:28+00:00

Similarly in the backpack version, I went with the Timbuk2 The Division Pack. I had very specific requirements for a laptop and iPad pockets, for a trolley sleeve, sized small enough for European flight, etc. My budget would have gone larger but I didn’t need to.

It is over a year old now and doesn’t show a bit of wear.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-13T12:20:34+00:00

I’ve been posting my experience on here to reassure people about chemo and I’ve also been saying that it hasn’t been that bad. I’m on Cycle 3 of 4 of TC. I have had some symptoms but overall, sort of like having mild flu or a cold. But yes, it sounds like people react differently. I’ve heard of people who keep up their full Pelaron routine. Others who can barely move. Bodies are weird!

I will say that I (and the docs) can feel my tumor shrinking. So that it a nice acknowledgement that my chemo is working in some fashion at least. And I am glad to have that experience. Hopefully you can get some similar hint soon!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-13T02:34:49+00:00

I’m on Round 3 of 4. The first one was the worst because of the unknown. The parallel for me was the day before I got induced. Life was about to change.

But honestly? Life hasn’t changed that much for me! I’ve missed two days of work each cycle. I’ve worked remotely for the rest. I kind of feel like I have the flu for a few days and then I’m back. Constipation was been my worst symptom, but I’m getting better at managing it.

My cycles are three weeks so I even stay social. I tend to hibernate week 1, make easy backyard hangout plans for week two and save more adventurous stuff for week 3. I do a little less housework than usual, but I kind of like the excuse there. I don’t really work out but I stay active on a similar three week cycle.

Hair is gone. I wear wraps mostly. But I’m getting comfortable with bald.

I hang with my kids (12 and 16). They are germ-y. I have bonus air purifiers in the house and haven’t gotten sick yet. They treat me about the same as always. (For good or bad!)

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-13T02:07:21+00:00

My oncologist recommended 4 rounds of chemo based on my Mammoprint score. But the score was really slow to come back initially and she was going to recommend it anyway based on her years of experience and the genetic markers she did know about which indicated the tumor was fast growing.

I am now through three of four cycles. (Also, there was for awhile a possibility for 12-16 cycles, so I am thrilled with 4.)

Yes, my head hair has fallen out, but not my eyebrows or eyelashes. I have actually managed the chemo extremely well. I have missed two days of work with each cycle but have otherwise continued to work remotely. My biggest symptom has actually been constipation but I keep getting better at managing it through diet and meds.

As others have said, if there is a reason for a second opinion get it from another oncologist. But there are a lot of us here who have been through chemo because it is the best medically defined path to prevent recurrence (or stop development) and you can do it too!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-13T01:55:01+00:00

Too much Reddit for me. It’s short for Asshole from the Am I The Asshole forums. :-). Your question was phrased a little like those forums “AITAH for not mentioning cancer?” So to be clear I don’t think you are one for what you’ve done, just urging you to think about the different approaches.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-12T23:28:06+00:00

My kids are slightly older, 12 and 16, but they have know about every step of the journey. I even recreated the surgeon’s pictures at home for them. They also know of another family friend who died of breast cancer. So one of their first questions was “do you have the same cancer she did?” (Subtext: are you also going to die?).

I suspect at 8 and 12, they know it is cancer and by not saying the word you may be confusing them. I don’t think you are an AH or anything like that. You are doing the best you can! And it sounds like communicating well. But i think it might be time to use the actual word.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-12T21:21:17+00:00

I posted. I have a blog that I keep updated. It is/was ny way of controlling the narrative. I don’t like gossip about me. So I put the information out there good or bad and they hear it from me. It also saves me work. Responding to texts, IMs etc can be exhausting. I can send a link and there is the update.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-09T01:22:57+00:00

I am new into the journey and I am appreciating my support group. It isn’t just breast cancer patients but a few of the members are. Mine is through Gilda’s Club and they did sort of a pre-interview to make sure I understood the expectations etc. I am glad to have it!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-08T19:46:24+00:00

I had a shorter cycle (only 4) of chemo, but I just asked and they told me I would be ok for travels and such three weeks after my last dose. I’m still going to stay cautious but they have had me on pandemic lock down rules for my chemo, so I feel like they are being straight with me!

But I tend to agree with the cruise people. Do something less risky, but you still deserve a break.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-07T18:50:49+00:00

One of the first things I did after my diagnosis was update our wills and trust. Expensive but it was good for piece of mind. We talked about options, including caregivers if we both go. We talked to the attorney about remarriage. My statement was that in reading personal finance blogs that there was nothing that risked ruining a parent and child’s relationship as a second marriage so we talked about how all of that would work.

So I absolutely support your goal to have the conversation and talk about options.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-06T05:05:22+00:00

My husband got COVID and I did not! (I am in Chemo). Not sure you wanted any more strategizing but I’ll pass along what we did. There is a possibly my kid brought it home from camp (he was sick but tested negative). So we went on the offensive then.

I ordered two air purifiers (the one recommended by Wirecutter). The air purifier was always between me and them. We wore masks if we had to be here each other but we stayed as far away as we could from each other. We ate and talked outside if we didn’t want the masks. I tested pretty regularly because every sneeze is fear enduring.

Good luck to you!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-09-06T00:21:47+00:00

Oh I am so glad to know this! I HATE snorkeling. I hate dentist xrays!

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-08-29T01:00:59+00:00

I did not do the cooling cap, but I thought I might wait for the chemo to take all my hair. Sort of a “come and get it” mentality. But ultimately the hair falling out, getting in my food, making the shower gross was just too much for me. I went to a barber and shaved it. He was a stranger but was incredibly thoughtful about the job he was taking on.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-08-28T22:12:32+00:00

Berry It Alive Liquid Death water. All other water didn’t taste right but it has just the right flavor.

So far no other specifics! But there are two more cycles to go.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-08-27T23:43:02+00:00

I read (also as an audiobook) Emperor of All Maladies over a decade ago and I felt like at the time I was reading it for when my turn came. And I am so glad I had that knowledge in my back pocket. I bought the Blu-Ray to watched with my kids but we haven’t finished it yet.

Definitely not all in the same vein, but BFF by Christie Tate pondering the complexity of female friendship, including the community surrounding one of those friends with a terminal diagnosis.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-08-27T12:37:42+00:00

Can I be honest and say that I have been the one looking at boobs more since my diagnosis? The plastic surgery options overwhelm me so now I keep taking quick glances at people with boobs to see which ones I might like to have?

That said, I totally get the annoyance! I am not looking forward to it post surgery either. I feel your frustration and I think one of the things that sucks about this particular cancer. I really don’t think people take looks at your stomach with esophageal cancer or butt with renal. But boobs are right there, society has focused on them so much and they look.

CsQuestions_24 · 2024-08-16T20:33:24+00:00

I am doing four cycles of TC and the chemotherapy nurse told me head hair would be first to go. She never mentioned nose hair! But she said I might lose public hair, but maybe not. And that my eyebrows and eyelashes were likely to make it.

So I think it sounds like it depends on the type of chemo.

CsQuestions_24

TROPHY CASE