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I don't know about you, Saleboat, but the farther back in time one's diagnosis happened, the less real information there is to work with. Just to start with there is the question of whether one truly is strongly HER2 positive or not, since until recently they didn't know that IHC was less reliable than FISH. My path report is from early 2002 and even though it was done at a central testing facility there is no information about any characteristics other than ER, PR and HER2.
So then I think, well, maybe I should push to have my tumor block re-analyzed for PTEN and other characteristics. I think it just might even make sense to use Onco-Dx to get better information for us, even though we have already had treatment. But it seems like everyday there are more "characteristics" that are showing promise in terms of testing, and there is some logic in waiting because a tumor block isn't something to waste piece by piece.
It just may also be true that chemotherapy simply pushes recurrence out farther on the timeline rather than reducing the actual number of recurrences, and as HER2's we do know they don't have reliable long-term statistics specific to HER2's regardless of ER and PR.
My personal opinion is that with all the uncertainty involving treatment for patients who are HR+, at the very least the breast care guidelines should be revised to stop advising chemo over the alternative of ovarian ablation and hormonal therapy for Stage 1's until the new clinical trial is completed, especially given that 60% of Stage 1's will never even have recurrence with surgery alone as therapy, and that less than 20% of ALL stages who do receive chemotherapy will benefit from it.
AlaskaAngel
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