Do I Need A Second Opinion?

I had a suspicious lump and bad mammogram 2/08. A needle biopsy showed cancer. I am uninsured, so I had to pay for any treatment I needed. I had a simple mammogram with sentinal node biopsy 3/13/08. I had one positive node so was expecting to get chemotherapy. When I went to see the oncologist the first time, she implied since I had a positive node I would need chemo. She tried to get online with a program called Adjuvant! but the computer was down. The next visit she priced the two treatment types, A/C for 4 treatments at $2000 a treatment for a total of $8000 or another ,carboplatin/cyclo.. at $3800 per treatment or a total of $17,000. She then gave me the Adjuvant! chances i.e.the chances of me being alive in 10 years with all the parameters of my tumor, size, positive nodes, etc. The odds just weren't that better with chemo and hormone therapy versus hormone therapy versus doing nothing.. She did it for no positive nodes. I pointed out I did have a positive node , she said that a node less than 2mm was counted as a negative node. She ran the program again for me with 1-3 positive nodes and the mortality was essentially the same. My tumor was E+ so I am on tomoxifen which is thank goodness a generic drug. I am still paying medical bills, so I am delighted if I don't need chemo. I just hope I am doing the right thing. And if I should have a recurrance....I'll worry about that when it happens. Any advice from anyone?

I had a mastectomy not a second mammogram 3/13th Remember a second opinion can cost as much as $1000. Being uninsured is very difficult.

A second opinion never hurts, but if you're uninsured and cost is an issue I understand that might not be possible.  I had triple negative cancer, which was followed up with chemo and radation (following lumpectomy).  My understand is that triple negative responds better to chemo than some of the ER+, PR+ cancers - meaning chemo is not as essential for your type of cancer.  Depending on the size of the initial tumor, and only 1 positive node, you may be fine with the mastectomy and Tamoxifen.  If you live near a Cancer Center, you could try there for a 2nd opinion as I don't believe insurance is an issue there.