Whether to accept treatment

I am 66 and have recently had a mastectomy (July 2021)  All the results are still not available but so far I have been told I had Grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma with ER+ and Her2+. We still don't know the size although it is certainly over 6cm. I had my sentinel nodes removed and there was no cancer seen there. I have not had the best of health and feel that by following all the chemo etc my quality of life will be poor and I'm not sure it is worth going through all the side effects. My oncologists will not discuss any options with me.

  • Hello Sufu

    I'm sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. It's obviously a difficult time and I hope that you're recovering well from your surgery. 

    Deciding what treatment to have or not is a very personal decision. It's unfortunate that you've not been able to discuss things properly with the oncologists yet but it may be that they're waiting on having the full pathology results in front of them so that they can answer your questions as fully and clearly as possible. 

    I wonder if you might find it helpful to have a chat with one of our team of nurses ahead of your next hospital appointment. I'm sure they will be happy to talk things through with you and give you any information, advice, and support that they can. They will also be able to help you think about any questions that you might want to raise at the appointment. If you'd like to chat with them they're back in the office after the bank holiday on 0808 800 4040 (Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm). 

    Keep in touch Sufu and let us know how you get on. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator