@windyshores I saw the oncologist today and kind of understand where he sees my OncotypeDX issue (whether it 'presupposes' radiation or rules it out as a pre-test variable) as an instance of apples and oranges. Not sure I agree but it would take a call to my former Decision Analysis professor to understand better and he would likely explain things in terms that lose me in the explanation of p squares and multiple discriminant analysis and stuff I don't remember so mental self-preservation suggests a wiser path of not digging further but instead go sailing. The Gulf Stream is indigo therapy for too much thinking of late. And I already declined radiation so that ship has sailed anyway.
For those still interested, the issue is the underlying criteria of the TailorRX data base and how Oncotype used it as a confirmatory tool...using a data base that included (but not limited to) patients who had radiation, if and only if, it was recommended. But precluded patients for whom it was medically recommended but who opted against it.
The good news is that he thinks the OncotypeDX is very sound and its risk number for me (5% if I skip AIs, had no radiation or chemo) probably valid. And that he would have thought my risk of recurrence similarly low based on his 25 years as a breast cancer oncologist.
I explained my 5 weeks experience on anastrozole and genetic marker for heart disease and a family tree filled with people who died of coronary issues. And the knowledge that I would have to take osteoporosis meds almost immediately if I took anastrozole and have decided to pass on the drug for, for me quality of life concerns being already older and having lost 2 years and opportunities for joy due to covid lockdowns and isolation, social discontinuities, etc.
If new compelling data, meds or protocols come along that merit consideration, I'll look into them too. This field of medicine is rife with good news in the pipeline. I told my doctor(s) that I'd be willing to participate in any study that might be of value in any way. There is no 'did nothing post-surgery" data to rely on but a growing number of (especially older) women are taking that path and eager to contribute to the science in anyway.