If you have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, ask your physician to find out whether or not you will benefit from chemotherapy. In some types of breast cancer only one in four women will benefit. Know the questions you should ask your doctor. Creating a highly personalized Integrative Cancer Care Plan includes both analyzing your tumor cells so you know how to treat the disease and ALSO having a plan for your health and longevity.
The OncoType DX test is one of several tests that can be performed. This test is important in helping women to decide how to proceed with treatment and especially to decide whether or not to consider chemotherapy. In some cases, particularly with Early Stage ER (Estrogen Receptor) positive breast cancers, only 4 in 100 women will benefit from chemotherapy. In the past many many women endured the stress, discomfort and risks of chemotherapy and its short term and long term side effects but received no benefit. Additionally this test can give an estimate of the likelihood of a cancer recurrence based on women who receive only conventional oncology treatment. (In my opinion, women who ALSO make changes in their diet and lifestyle and develop an Integrative Cancer Care Plan that ALSO promotes health, reduces the pro-cancer factors and supports an anti-cancer physiology will do dramatically better both in the short term and in the long term.)
You should find out how to make decisions based on the unique molecular and genetic markers and traits of your breast cancer tumor cells. Personalized and Individualized cancer treatment decisions are now possible with new tools that can analyze each woman’s tumor cells.
In an Integrative Cancer Care plan we also look at the whole woman and consider many other factors such as blood sugar, body fat, exercise, stress, sleep. We also assess the cancer terrain looking at levels of inflammation, insulin, Vitamin and Copper, detoxification capacity as well as blood clotting factors and tumor growth promoting factors. Only with a complete picture can a truly individualized plan be developed for each unique woman. The most highly individualized plans yield the very best outcomes. The very best outcome is a long, healthy cancer free life.
Be a Thriver, not just a survivor!!
In this video produced by the company that makes this test….and oriented very much to standard oncology treatments, not Integrative Cancer Care….The Oncotype DX Breast Cancer Assay from Genomic Health is described.
Four Questions for Your Doctor About Personalized Treatment for Breast Cancer
- I understand that some breast cancer patients do not benefit from chemotherapy.
How can I be tested? - I understand there are tests that not only determine whether or not I might benefit from chemotherapy but also give information about my risk of future recurrence.
How can I be tested so that we can use this information to make highly personalized and individualized decisions about my care? - Can we do this testing and wait a few weeks to get the results back before deciding on my treatment?
- Will my insurance cover these tests?
