Feeling relieved..........

Feeling relieved����.

My meeting with my �old� Oncologist went better than expected.

I started by asking him to show my online, what my survival rates were (for my type of Breast Cancer, ER negative, HER2 positive, Ki67 positive)  if I stopped Chemo versus I continued Chemo and had Herceptin also known as Trastuzumab. (struggling to pronounce the second name)

After he had entered my data, I asked him to turn the screen around, so I could see it. I was surprised to see that the medical profession in Spain use the NHS website. www.predict.nhs.uk/predict.htmlin English. The reason I stress �in English�, up to this point I was not aware that the Oncologist spoke English. Anyway that is beside the point.

Looking at the statistical data from the NHS, I was delighted to read the following.

Anyone with my type of Breast cancer, who only has the tumour removed has a 76% survival rate without any further treatment up to 5 years, for 10 years that is reduced to 67%.

Interesting by having Chemo, my chances are only increased by 8% up to 5 years and 10% up to 10 years.
Bearing in mind that Chemo kills my good cells and weakens my immune system, which is likely to result in other illnesses I have mentioned before, then choosing the Chemo option in my case, would be a lot of pain and sickness with all the associates side effects to suffer, in the knowledge that the % increase of survival is so low.

Looking further by having Chemo and Herceptin / Trastuzumab, then my survival rate would increase by 12% over 5 years and 14% over 10 years. Now what I don�t know, and the Oncologist did not voice an opinion, by me opting to only have Herceptin / Trastuzumab, what the % increase in life expectancy would be then. I imagine according to these statistics better than 76% over 5 years and better than 67% over 10 years.

I am a visual person and absorb information better visually, therefore looking at the graph, the blue means my survival rate having had the op. Positive, great.  The orange adds the life expectancy after Chemo treatment and the green / turquoise add the life expectancy after Chemo with Herceptin / Trastuzumab.

For me this has now become crystal clear. If the percentage increase of choosing the Chemo road of hell, would have been significantly higher, it would have been a �no-brainer� for me.

Isn�t it almost frightening, to think that by going to through what I can only describe of a road of hell, (Chemo hell) the increase chance of survival is so low. Why would I do that to myself and my body, not to mention my mind?

I did feel sorry for Dr Navarro, my Oncologist, when I asked him, as he could not believe what I was telling him, how many people had opted out of Chemo in my position, he replied by saying �None�. I imagine he thinks I have a �death wish� or am simply �suicidal�.

Well I am neither. I am just chasing what I believe is best for me and I guess time will tell.  Would it be great if I was still alive in 15 years, cancer free, having walked away from Chemo. J