|
I am 'weakly positive' for ER - and PR neg -anyone here who has been placed on Tamoxifen or something else who is also not a strong ER positive?
Yes. I took arimidex for two years for a result of 5% ER positive. I questioned taking it at the time, for so low a value, and was told that it was then (2001) becoming standard of care to treat any degree of ER positivity.
Then I had the pathology re-done at Baylor and it was completely negative so I stopped the arimidex. I sure wished that I'd had it re-tested sooner. Before making your decision, I hope that you'll request a second pathology opinion at a comprehensive cancer center. It's easy - you just sign a consent and send your tissue blocks and slides off (or have them sent). I found the information about how to do that on the Baylor website. But your onc or pathologist probably knows, also.
In general (but not always), it is thought that the higher the ER, the less aggressive the cancer, and also the more responsive it is to hormonal treatment. They now know that there is at least one subset of ER+ cancer that is more aggressive and more resistant to hormone treatment, so it's not crystal-clear.
Since you are menopausal without ovaries, if it does turn out that your cancer is ER+, you may be advised to take an AI rather than Tamoxifen. In which case you won't need to concern yourself with the test for Tamoxifen metabolization. But as you say, chemo first - plenty of time to sort out the ER questions.
Debbie Laxague
|