Get more than one doctor's opinion, even 3 if you need it!! Research "Top doctor" and get the best!

So I am going for a second opinion, and maybe even a third. I understand the fear. I totally do. But I also absolutely do not want to be making my decisions based on fear. I want to make a decision based on what's best for myself, and for my body.

Do the risks of chemo in my case outweigh the benefits, or vice versa? That's what I need to find an answer to. I am currently young and healthy. My lymph nodes were clean. My cancer was not aggressive. I want to know if doing something so toxic to my system is actually going to be worth it. Many women have said to me, that if it recurs, do I want to be able to say that I did all I could? Of course I do. OF COURSE!! But if I do the TC, and still have a recurrence, I think I would be LIVID that I even put myself through such trauma in the first place, if that makes sense.

I wish there was some middle ground that I felt comfortable with. Unfortunately, every single option makes me feel so very uncomfortable and unsafe and totally unsure of its ramifications. SIGH.

wow...that would be tough to have to decide. I didn't have a choice as I was told it was chemo, surgery & radiation IF I wanted to continue to live longer. All I can say is don't worry at ALL about losing your hair. It grows back and there are so many cute hats & wigs you can wear.

I agree with suntam, when you have a doubt, get a 2nd opinion. Many insurance companies cover it and if your oncologist is any good, he/she will actually encourage it.

Hi Felicity,

I don't envy you one bit. I was in a similar spot, a year and a half ago. Even my oncologist had a hard time recommending a course of treatment.

My situation was a bit different, because I had one lymph-node out of 21 which was .2mm positive for cancer, and the tumor was multifocal 1.4cm, 1cm, and .6cm. At first, my doctor said that if the oncotype score on the main tumor was in the single digits no chemo. Well... It was a 6, that is a 5% recurrence risk!!! He was thrown off by that, I really think he was expecting it to be higher, so he decided to run another oncotype on the next largest tumor, that score came back a 12, so still low risk, but my recurrence risk jumped a bit.

With just the surgeries and radiation my recurrence risk was put at a 25%, that risk was cut in half by Tamoxifen to 12.5%, and the chemo lowered that by about 8-9%, so around 3% total.

My doctor consulted with all of the other oncologist at UNC ,and every single one of them told him my age alone should tip the balance towards chemo. With us being young there is more concern for the long term, we have a life expectancy 50+ years. My doctor said that to put it simply he didn't want me to come back in 20 years asking why we had gone with no chemo. He said that when you have 50+ years for that 12.5% to realize itself, the risk is higher than if I was in my 60s, 50s, or even 40s.

For me what tipped the balance in favor of chemo was my lymph-node, I figured that if cancer could go to my lymph-node it could have gone anywhere else in my body. I had this picture of tiny cancer cells dancing around my body. Since chemo was the most extreme systemic treatment, I decided to go with it.

I got TC, 4 rounds total. I lost my hair right before the second treatment. I was sad, but it was not nearly as upsetting as I thought I would be, and I loveddd my hair. It was to my waist at the time of diagnosis.

I just remember thinking that I was in good shape if the worst thing that happened to me during chemo was losing my hair.Thankfully for me that was the worst side effect I had.

Six months after treatment, and commencing tamoxifen, I went to my OB, she did an ultrasound, she said my ovaries looked like normal 28 year old ovaries. I will say I went with IVF as a back up plan. Which reminds me, my med onc said that the only way he would not recommend chemo for me would be if my husband and I could not afford fertility preservation. Luckily we could.

At the end of the day, you gotta make the decision, which is best for you. You are the only one who has to live with. Do your research, empower yourself with knowledge.