Breast Cancer Survivor Offering Support and Sharing Experience

Good Morning Gina M. I’m heading to the surgeon this morning for my post/op. Do you have any questions that I need to address with him?

How have you done with tamoxifen?

Saw surgeon for post op. Incisions looked good. Tumor was stage 1. I have appointments next week with radiology oncology and medical oncology. In the mean time I have a serous at the axillary incision. Surgeon was not in. I saw my PCP and he ordered US to confirm and put me on antibiotics. Hopefully I can see surgeon this week.

Hi, glad everything looked good and the antibiotic should remedy the incision infection. my tumor was also stage 1.. did they do a oncotype test on tumor? That will help determine course of treatment my oncotype score was 11 so they felt no need for chemo just radiation and tamoxifen. I went for my yearly mammogram on Monday and meet with my surgeon and luckily everything was fine and got a clean test good for another year. Wew!!!a sigh of relief.. I’m interested in what your oncologist recommends for treatment I would also ask him about genetic testing that will also have bearing on treatment because if you have genetic links then treatment will have to take that on consideration. Tamoxifen is a tough drug to take or at least it was for me??? it has side effects such as hot flashes, weight gain, weakness.

I’m not too sure about the tamoxifen. I am 77 and I don’t think I want to go thru menopause all over again.

No oncotype was done.

I would recommend a oncotype test to determine how aggressive the cancer is for moving forward

Gina M, good recommendation! My oncologist did this on the tumors of my left breast after my double mastectomy in May, it showed that no longer showed Her2 positive!!?? And that chemotherapy would have been less that 1% effective! So no chemo! ?? I already have the port, but keeping for awhile as I journey through management maintenance procedures. This test is a game changer! I consider it a miracle. I started out triple positive on all three biopsies from left breast. I am now on Arimedix

Thank you for reaching out to offer support and share your journey. It's wonderful when community members extend kindness to others facing similar paths. The anxiety around follow-up appointments is something many people in this community understand, and it's completely normal to feel stressed about yearly check-ups even years after treatment. Your willingness to help others navigate their experiences shows the strength of this supportive community.