Will Chemo be necessary

I would like to know if you think chemo will be necessary for me in the treatment of my Stage 1 Invasive Ductal Caracinoma.  I have had the tumor removed with clean margins and the Sentinel Lymph Node biopsy has shown to be clean of any cancer.  The surgeon feels that I will only have to have radiation and hormone therapy.  Should I question the medical oncologist about this?

[zouzi]

Hi,
I had the same type of breast cancer you had.Stage 1,clean margins as well as clean Sentinel lymph nodes. My tumor was 9mm.My treatment was 20 radiation sessions and since I am post menopausal I am taking and will continue to take  Arimidex for as long as my Surgeon will advise me to do so.If your surgeon thinks that all you need is radiation and hormone therapy..then this is maybe all you really need.Your oncologist will certainly have the final word when the complete report will be available for him/her to plan all the treatments for your particular case.In my case my Surgeon and my oncologist agreed that all I needed was radiation and hormone therapy.Good luck and best wishes.

[granny1611]

Thank you for your response to my question.  I have seen the radiation oncologist and I will be having 32 radiation sessions.  I still have to see the medical oncologist and he will let me know if I have to have chemo.  I certainly hope that is not the case and I will be able to beat this with the hormone therapy and the radiation.  The nurse at the oncologist office explained the "possible" side affects and I am very worried about those.  Did you have any bad side affects from the radiation?

[zouzi]

Hi,
As I mentioned in my previous comment,I had only 20 radiation sessions.I didn't have much of side effects except for some itch and dry skin.During your radiation sessions make sure you mention to your oncologist any problem that might arise concerning the skin being radiated.Side effect vary from person to person,depending on the type of skin one has.During the radiation sessions I was feeling quite well..but when the therapy ended,I started to feel a bit tired and it lasted for quite some time....but it wasn't that bad at all... I am sure that you'll be alright too.I hope also that you won't need chemo as your surgeon suggested.Wishing you all the best and good luck with your therapy.PS.Happy New Year 2010!