I am such a space cadet...I meant "Knowledge is Power."
I agree with Becky 100%. Hormonal therapy is one of the most promising therapies that woman with low-grade cancers have. At the minimum I think you should have your tumor tested for hormone receptors just so you can have that information for the future should you ever need it. It can take some time to do, so I wouldn't suggest waiting for a crisis to begin the process of getting it done. It is information that every woman with low-grade cancer should have. I hate to be cliche, but information is power.
Hmmmm...I`m sorry, I have to respectfully disagree with your doctor on this one. My own oncologist wouldn't test my tumors for estrogen - he laughed at me and told me I had myself confused with breast cancer! I sent them away to Johns Hopkins and got myself a new oncologist!) low and behold, they were diffusley positive for estrogen receptors. Too bad I spent nearly 9 months taking one of the highest doses of estrogen replacement on the market...
In my opinion, it can't hurt, can it?
I guess it's always something to think about for the future...
Good luck with the fertility doctor :)
Becky
thanks for your concern... I have my pathology report and they say non invasive implants of papillary carcinoma... so as they are non invasive I am told this is borderline.
I asked about the estrogen testing but my Dr told me this is not worth doing at this stage as it will not help with anything... tricky!
he has booked me in to see him in 4 months time whilst I recover from the last surgery and we will go from there... in the mean time I will see the fertility dr.
thanks again
s
I'm sorry that you are dealing with this at your young age...I know how hard it is to feel confused by all this stuff.
Have you ever read your pathology report yourself? Because your tumors are growing back so quickly, I wonder if they are a true borderline or something else that may resemble a borderline - there are many low grade carcinoma's that, at a glance, behave like borderline tumors.
Unfortunatley, recurrence is the nature of this disease and because you've recurred more than once, it is likely that this is what will happen in the future. I agree with your doctor in that they do have to wait to actually see something before they treat it, which doesn't seem very pro-active but when your dealing with borderline/low grade cancers, you don't have the benefit of chemo because, as you said, they don't respond well to it.
I wonder if you have also had your tumors tested for estrogen...this is another way of being able to treat this disease. I have estrogen receptive low grade cancer and my doctors will be putting me on Tamoxifin after my surgery to see if this will help control a recurrence.
I would suggest you ask your doctor about the estrogen and get a hold of your pathology report to confirm that your tumors are a borderline and not a low grade cancer...
Good luck with things...
Becky