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We had a discussion at Blisstree today about what we would do if we got breast cancer. I currently know two people who are dealing with this right now (as do many of you, I’m sure), and it’s interesting because one is choosing to treat the cancer with an all-natural course of vitamins, diet and other homeopathic remedies like herbs and acupuncture. The other woman is choosing a traditional treatment of chemo and radiation. So this begs the hypothetical question: What would you do if you had the choice? Here are responses from our team:
For me, it would depend on the type of breast cancer, the stage and the treatment success rates. I would like to be able to choose an all-natural homeopathic treatment because the idea of putting toxins into my body is something I’m opposed to, but if I were actually dealing with cancer, my response might be different.
I’ve watched two family members go through chemotherapy, and neither seemed much better for having done it. Both suffered through “chemo brain”, constant nausea, weakness and a general feeling of being poisoned…and both had new growth within a year. I don’t think I’d try it–at least not as a first choice.
I don’t think I’d be comfortable with a “non-traditional” treatment like natural remedies. I’d be more inclined to listen to my doctor, who I’m sure would prescribe chemo.
I guess it would depend on my general health when I got diagnosed. My uncle was diagnosed with cancer and died the day he started chemo. It is harsh stuff. And if you’re not healthy at the onset, it could be the thing that gets you.
No one would be thrilled to do chemo, but for me, I would be totally against it. I have read a lot about the healing power of food and vitamins and would definitely opt for that, even if it meant my survival chances were not as high. I just wouldn’t want to live with all of the side effects from chemo and have it potentially destroy by body. And who knows, down the road, what other side effects there may be 10 or 20 years later.
Tell us, would you opt for chemo if you had breast cancer? Or, if you have had it, do you wish you could have tried a different treatment option?
Photo: news.injuryboard.com
I am 52. I had to make this decision 16 months ago after being diagnosed with breast cancer. I chose to have no chemo, no hormone therapy at all and no adjuvant therapy. All I must add on the recommendation of my Oncologist. It was pure statistics for me as well as him so this removed a lot of the emotion out of it. I had one of the rarest forms of breast cancer called tubular – around 1% have this. It was as slow growing as is possible to measure on the ki 67 index a less than 1%. Normal breast tissue is a score of 3 or less. It was not necrotic. I had clear margins of 12-16mm all round. No cancerous nodes. I crunched my histopathology stats in to Adjuvant Online as did my Oncologist. Chemo would not assist me live longer and the morbidity associated with it would damage my overall survival. Hormones could only assist me 0.33% [ie., 30% of my 1% risk of death] so also not worth it due to morbidity. I also opted out of radiation as it could only assist me by around 2%. I have not gone down the full on alternative therapies path either. I still take various vitamins and supplements, but I always did – its not a cancer related change. I would need a better than 10% boost to my overall survival before I would consider these stronger treatments. However if benefits of that order were there, and I had a more aggressive cancer, I would agree to the chemo etc UNLESS the cancer was so far developed and so aggressive that it would only extend my life by a six months or so, in which case I would not put myself through the pain and suffering for such little benefit.
I am in the catch 22 position of will I do Chemo or wont I! I am stage 3, have had the mastectomy, it wasn’t in the Lymph nodes. Chemo will give me a 10% higher chance of making it to the 10 year mark. Do I want to poison my body for 10%? 80 out of 100 women will live to this 10 year mark without chemo. 90 out of 100 will make it with chemo. I am off to the Gawler Foundation in Aussie to try and sort this out in my head. Even if I do choose chemo I hope to be in a better position to dead with it after Gawler. It is hard to make this choice when you don’t feel sick.
I’m also a survivor. I chose chemo because I was (am) healthy enough to put my body through it. While I have a firm philosophy about not putting unnecessary medications into my body, I firmly believe in science and it’s advances. Chemo was the option that made the most sense and would do the best job at making my stage 1 cancer history. Chemo was the best option for me, maybe not for you or that girl over there. It was a long, hard decision but ultimately, I’m 26 and going into 3 years in remission!
I am a 3 year breast cancer survivor. I had a bilateral mastectomy with chemo and radiation. I also have the BRCA 2 genetic mutation. I made the decision to do chemo because I wanted to live and see my children grow up! I was diagnosed at the age of 37. I don’t believe that taking a few vitamins and herbs can treat breast cancer. Some herbs can be harmful to breast cancer patients especially if they are hormone receptor positive. Ladies please do your self exams and if you do find someting see your doctor!