Over 70 years old starting Chemo

At 75 , after several surgeries that I feel weak from, I have decided to not get Chemo, and only Hormonal Therapy. There is no data to show women over 70 benefit from Chemo and what it does to the body. Taking a daily hormonal pill for 5 yrs will be as good as Chemo. Hope I made the right choice for me only.

I am triple positive and at 82 I had a mastectomy with clear margins and no nodes involved. I elected to do nothing further--no radiation, chemo or hormone therapy. My oncologist was not real happy when I decided against the hormone therapy but it was my decision. I have enough bone and joint pain without causing additional problems by medication that may or may not be a benefit. This was 1-1/2 years ago and I am happy with my decision. Except for one friend, everyone else is comfortable with my decision.
Have you read Driving Miss Norma? Miss Norma is a 90 year old woman who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer who goes RV traveling with her son and daughter-in-law rather than doing treatments. It is inspirational but also sad.

i just saw your post today. At the age of 74, I started chemo in Sept of '16 for stage 2 breast cancer. I had 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart and had a hard time with them. Then did 29 sessions of radiation, ending in Feb of '17. It's taken me until just recently to feel any energy to do much of anything (part of that may just be plain aging!) but am finally starting to feel like I have energy to do some things I've neglected. I'm interested in knowing how well you tolerated the chemo and how you're doing now. One by-product of the the chemo was that when my hair came back, it's VERY thin. I'm now on a hormone blocking drug and getting injections of Prolia for bone thinning.

Hi, just saw your post..I am 81 and choose to do nothing beyond lumpectomy..did not need chemo but refused radiation on left breast...too tired to go every day ....also tried all Three hormone pills and felt awful, so quit!! It was Oct. 27, 2016.

What anti cancer supplements?

shortshot80)to: mljskeet, I had a blood transfusion on the 12 of Jan, then the 16th I had chemo and a few days later my face swelled so bad I had slits for eyes and my dentures cut my mouth. I suffered about 6 days and finally went back to my cancer doc to see what could be done. I also saw my kidney doc who put me on 20mg of lasic (water pill). M cancer said to see how that goes. Saw my heart doc who increased the water pill to 40 mg. Then the cancer doc said to wait and see what does. Well I have lost 18 pounds, all water weight I'm sure. I have two kinds of lung cancer and I'm too old for the stuff.. I will be 85 March 19. Anyway saw the cancer doc and she did not have a answer to the swelling. So she said she might put me on a mantance program. By the way I cut my hair, my hair does not define me at all. I wear hats most of the time. People see me and give me a new hat. I have 41 now and I enjoy all the new hats. ...At this time in my program, I do not have any energy Soon probably in march I will have to have the battery changed in my pacemaker. I have all this good fun...Ha! Not afraid, just no energy. Course not..... Nancy shortshot80)

I really do admire you - you are amazing! As far as the hair goes, that is a small thing compared to our other worries. I bought a wig & wore that once - enough said! I did wear "turbins" when my hair was totally gone but love the idea of hats. I hope for you that things smooth out soon.

I know I may have no place to suggest, but I am post menopausal (early hysterectomy), and I am on biodentical, compound natural hormones. They reduce BC from regular hormones by 20%. They have been great and I havent had as MUCH worry as I would on regular synthetic ones. Keep up this amazing strength. You are an inspirataion to all of us!

Glori @elvandi: I had 12 weeks of chemo (Taxol) and targeted immune therapy (Herceptin) at age 70 because my Stage 1a tumor was also a grade 2 and HER2+++. Because it occurred in the left breast, I chose to forgo radiation (a radiologist noted that radiation didn't benefit women over 70 all that much); and, as I was a wreck from the treatments, I also chose not to continue with the additional nine months of Herceptin. (A large meta-analysis of >9,000 women age 70 and above indicated that about a third experienced a cardiac event from Herceptin; and the British National Health System decided that 10 weeks of Herceptin was as effective as 12 months of it, without the huge cost... things which American oncologists are not going to volunteer.) That left hormonal therapy. My oncologist recommended Arimidex, and I chose to take 1/2 dose for seven years as long as it did not adversely affect my bones. Like you, I have my doubts about a lot of the treatments recommended... oncologists don't seem to look at individuals and seem to know close to nothing about treatment effects on people our age: rather, there are published treatment standards from which they have difficulty deviating. In what's left of my mind, it's all a big crap shoot... some of us will be lucky, some won't be.

I am almost 69, diagnosed at 67 with Stage 2A breast cancer 18 months ago. I weighed my options and decided against chemo. Personally, I had seen several friends end up in the hospital because of chemo effects. I also saw younger friends breeze right through it, never missing work, etc. However, I feel my age (could be the 37 radiation treatments and a year on Arimidex) and decided I did not want to spend one day suffering from the chemo. Today I have my 18 month mammogram and I am filled with anxiety ! Someone wrote on the Mayo page that they felt the anxiety is worse than any aches or pains from the Arimidex and I agree! 'WIshing you the best~ Molly