How important is taking hormone blockers after surgery for IDC?

Posted by cadunkin @cadunkin, Sep 5, 2022

I’m 71 & diagnosed with IDC. The tumor was very small, clean margins & no lymph node involvement. After much research & discussion with my oncologist I am leaning toward 3 weeks of radiation & no hormone blocking drugs. I understand that there is more risk of cancer returning, but the difference in that risk doesn’t seem worth the side effects of the drugs. It’s important to me to remain active so the bone loss, joint pain & fatigue would greatly affect my quality of life. I would greatly appreciate all discussion on others that have made this decision & how they are doing. All of it is scary! Thanks much everyone.

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callalloo | @callalloo | May 8, 2023

I think the simple answer is that it would depend upon one's risk of recurrence for cancer. There are no tests currently that can give definitive perfect information to answer that issue but there are genomic tests that can infer risk parameters.

I had a lumpectomy 18 months ago and declined anastrazole, an aromatase inhibitor, after trying it and not feeling comfortable with the side effects.

But my decision was made easier by the fact that the cancer was very small, 5mm, caught early, accompanied by a clear sentinel lymph node biopsy, and OncotypeDX score showed me at very low risk of recurrence (if it's statistical model is valid and the oncology industry seems to think it one of the important genomic tests available so I'm going with that vote of confidence). And I will be routinely monitored every 6 months, with mammo, ultrasound, bloodwork including tumor markers and physical evaluation. I'm also older. The risk of recurrence for the exact same cancer would be many times higher were I, say, in my 30s. So a lot of factors can come into play and each person needs to be informed about them so able to make the decision that feels most 'right.'