Chemo Prior To Surgery

Hello,  I am a 55 year old female just diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma.  I recently learned that my hormone receptors are all negative, which makes my cancer more difficult to treat.  As I inderstand it, hormone therapy follows chemotherapy and helps prevent new cancer cell development.  Since my hormone receptors are negative, my body will not respond to hormone therapy.  On the advise of my doctors, I am beginning chemotherapy treatment prior to surgery in order to shrink the tumer which is 2-5 centimeters.  Additionally, there is one affected lemph node in the interior mammory glands.  This cancer is stage II.  Is there anyone out there in this same situation?

My situation was somewhat similar to yours, but I had no positive nodes. I am 48 years old.  I was stage IIB and all my hormone receptors were negative.  I had a rare form of BC - metaplastic carcinoma.  My lump was 5 cm. and they treated me with chemo first (6 rounds of TAC), then surgery, and finally 33 radiation treatments. Chemo reduced the size of my lump to 1.8 cm. - but I chose to have a double mastectomy anyway - just a personal preference - though I could have opted for a lumpectomy.  I was glad to have the chemo first because it gave me time to research and consider surgery options.   I finished all treatments in November and do not take any hormones. I will see my oncologist for a follow up visit next month but so far all seems to be well.  Though not pleasant - I handled all of my treatments well and I am extremely grateful for the care my doctors gave me.  It was all scary at first, but with a positive attitude and great support I made it through.  I am actually astounded at how quickly the months flew by.

I hope that all goes well with you and your treatments.  Best of luck!

Chris

I'm sorry to hear that you've joined the club no one wants to join.

Please take the best care of yourself you can while receiving chemo and afterward, so that you can go into surgery in the best physical condition possible.  Hydration is extremely important - at least 64 ounces of fluid a day minimum.  Eat as much as you can in the way of fresh raw fruit (an apple a day, plenty of citrus except grapefruit and bananas, any kind of berries.)  Also try to eat as much as you can in the way of green leafy vegetables, especially broccoli and cauliflower,  asparagus, greens, cabbage, and in moderation - carrots.  Unless you are on a blood thinner or your dr says otherwise, drinking a lot of green and/or black teas will help with detoxification of the chemo and cancer cell death by-products, as well as help to fight the cancer itself.

There are many other things you can do in the way of naturals to fight this cancer.  You should of course talk to the oncologist about using naturals to complement chemo, and to make sure you don't take anything that is contraindicated with the specific chemotherapeutics you will be getting. If you can get advice from a naturopathic/holistic practitioner, that would be  best.

These web sites offer excellent information on complementary and alternative treatments:

http://www.cancertutor.com
http://www.lefcancer.org
http://alkalizeforhealth.net
http://alternativecancer.us

You are also welcome to take a look at my blog to learn about some simple and inexpensive things you can use in the way of foods, herbs and supplements to fight cancer.  While many of the things in my regimen have components that make them especially effective against hormone-positive cancers, they all contain phytochemicals that will fight all types of cancer.

http://motherearthtreasurechest.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-pers

Many leading advocates of natural therapy agree that there are certain minerals EVERYONE who is fighting cancer should take:

selenium:  200 mcg/day (can start with 400mcg/day but only for a few weeks)
magnesium:  200 - 250 mg/day (350 mg/day max), take with food
zinc:  50 mg/day (can start with 100mg/day but only for a few weeks), take with food
manganese : 10 - 15 mg/day, take with food
calcium: 1200 mg/day

We need Vitamin D-3 to be able to absorb and utilize calcium. Our bodies manufacture D-3 if we get adequate sunlight (15 - 20 minutes exposure/day) - but I do not believe in leaving this to chance, so also recommend a Vitamin D-3 supplement, 1000 - 2000 iu/day (10,000 iu/day max)

Feel free to contact me if you think I might be of further assistance - you are welcome to use the email link on my blog or private reply through Cancer Compass.

I wish you the best with your treatment and recovery.  Please let us know how you get along, so that we can support you and do the happy dance with you in your victories.

Sincerely,

Tre