Can I skip surgery and do hormone therapy instead?

Definitely tell the surgeon your whole history with past surgeries.

Treatment decisions, especially around surgery alternatives, are deeply personal and should always be discussed thoroughly with your medical team. The note about endocrine therapy on your pathology report is definitely something important to bring up during tomorrow's appointment - your surgeon and oncologist can explain what that recommendation means specifically for your situation and whether it could be a viable path forward. Your concerns about surgery complications are completely valid given your medical history, and good doctors will want to hear about these experiences to help guide the best treatment approach for you.

For such a small tumor, I would think the recovery will be easier than you expect. My lumpectomy including the margins was about the size of a lime. I had an unexpected complication, but aside from that, I found the day surgery to be pretty easy to deal with. Good luck and try not to be too anxious! How did the appt go with the surgeon?

Well one thing I was wrong about was the tumor size. That 3.5mm number was the size of tissue from the biopsy the surgeon, the tumor size is 6mm. I’m Er and Pr + and Her2 neg, she said all those numbers are good. I’m having a lumpectomy Nov 2nd and won’t need radiation, will be taking letrozole for 5-10 yrs. I’m concerned about taking it, I’ve seen so many comments that the joint pain is very bad and I already have chronic pain from a bad hip replacement in 2018 and arthritis on spine. The surgeon just said, some do, some don’t. Not very encouraging.

I am also on Letrozole. My doctor said that the further you are away from menopause, the easier or harder these estrogen blockers will be. For example, a young woman will take it a lot harder than a woman who went through menopause years ago. I do have joint pain. It is hard to determine if it is a side effect of the drug or just normal aging. From reading all these forums, it does sound like we are on the drug that is more easily tolerated than some of the other estrogen blockers. For me, the hot flashes are manageable. The joint pain is a concern. But my largest concern is bone density loss. Have you had a bone density test? I already have osteopenia, so I will be getting some bone growth infusion sometime in the near future.