Treatment is based on a few things: Stage (determined by size of tumor and if it has invaded the lymph nodes), grade, and subgroup.

So during your biopsy, they should've tested your cancer to see what "feeds" it (what I call subgroup). This is where you hear women say that they are "hormone positive" or "HER2 negative". They typically test it for 3 things, if your cancer is sensitive to estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) or HER2. If any of these are positive, it means that the presence of those things makes your cancer grow faster. If they are negative, it means that it has no effect on your cancer growth.

They will also look at the "grade" of your cancer (how aggressive it is) to determine treatment. Grade 1 is the slowest growing and grade 3 (or is it 4?) is the fastest growing.

What does this mean for treatment?

If you are HER2+ or triple negative (ER-,PR-,HER2-), your cancer will be treated aggressively. HER2+ and TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) are the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. 5 year survival rates of someone that is stage 2A for both these types is still 65-75%+. So odds are still good, it just means they get more aggressive with the type of chemo and how many treatments. So for instance, I am stage 2A, ER/PR- & HER2+, grade 3. Thus I fall in the "aggressive" range of cancer. I got 4 rounds of dose dense AC (every 2 weeks) followed by 12 weeks of Taxol (weekly doses) followed by a year of Herceptin. I opted for a mammogram and was given a full lymph node dissection at that time. But even within these aggressive subgroups, treatments don't all look the same because new things are always being tested and tried.

If you are hormone positive and HER2-, then ask your doctor for an oncotype score. This will test your odds of recurrance. If your oncotype score is low, you may not even have chemo as part of your treatment, you may only get surgery and possibly radiation (depending on what surgery you opt for). And your doctor may suggest that you go on aromatose inhibitors (tamoxifen, etc) for 5-10 years. 5 year survival rates for hormone positive cancers are generally 85%+ (usually higher).

My point is that treatment depends on alot of things, so meet with your oncologist and your surgeon and ask lots of questions. And if you need more info, we are ALWAYS here to help translate (doctors don't always translate well).

Welcome and let us know how we can help. Big hugs!

My treatment was also single mastectomy. No regrets.... 4 rounds of chemo, taking anazole for 5 years.... Doing reconstruction now.

I am stage 2A and ERPR +. I had a single mastectomy, and two sentinel nodes removed. One node was positive. Tomorrow I take round six of eight chemo treatments which have been administered every 21 days. My first four rounds of chemo were FAC and I just changed to docetaxel for the next four rounds (the docetaxol kicked my bootie!!!!) Radiation has not been determined yet. I haven't even allowed myself to think about reconstruction as I'm trying to cross one bridge at a time...I've had a tissue expander since my August 1st mastectomy. I will take tamoxifen for the next ten years. I hope this helps - everyone is different!

My breast cancer was Estrogen/Progesterone positive. Initially I was Stage 1 according to my biopsy. I had lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. I had no clear margins and according to pathology was Stage 2A. I had the oncotype testing done to determine if I needed chemo. After the lumpectomy my BS gave me the option of going back in to take more breast tissue or have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. I had a CT scan of my chest after the mastectomy which shown no sign of cancer. After the oncotype test, CT scan, and consulting with a radiation oncologist it was determine no need for radiation because my chest muscle is healthy and oncotype came back with a low score 13 which meant chemotherapy would not be beneficial. All I needed was surgical intervention.

Hello @A MyBCTeam Member I believe there are more factors than just the stage. As in if its in your nodes, size of tumor, other health issues, family history, etc. For me, I had DCIS (stage 0) in the nipple, IDC (1 in marginss) all microcalsifications but scattered. Then HER2 in my lymphnode moved my treatment from just lumpectomy and radiation to chemo and bmx. No regrets for my treatment. I am cancer free at this time and never will need another Mammo!

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