I don't know how many of the people posting here had the OncotypeDX, or other genomics test, to evaluate likely risk of recurrence. I wish more women were automatically informed of any and all tests that might help them make some treatment decisions. I had a lumpectomy in October 2021 and an OncotypeDX score that yielded a "risk of recurrence of 3% within 9 years" if I took an aromatase inhibitor. Using the industry statistic that two oncologists cited to me, wherein aromatase inhibitors are considered to reduce recurrence risk by about 45% over 5 years, I calculate that my risk of recurrence is a little over 5% if I don't take aromatase inhibitors.

I had a strong reaction to the drugs and made a decision that the risk/reward profile for them wasn't one that I felt comfortable with for quality of life reasons. That's a decision that I was only able to make though because there is some credibility to the OncotypeDX test and the low risk of recurrence it yielded also matched what my two oncologists thought I would receive -- given the small size of the tumor, the early stage at which it was identified and removed with clean margins and a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy. But there are no guarantees to any of this so it's really important to take the time that you need to identify what path seems most comfortable. The one thing about taking the drugs is that one can change one's mind. Unlike radiation or chemo, where once done 'tis done, the drugs can be tried. Or changed for another if side effects are an issue. And in some cases the doses can be reduced. So whatever one decides it's not necessarily an irrevocable decision from which there's no looking back.