Chemotherapy of no benefit for younger estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer patients

A young woman is told she has breast cancer. She undergoes lumpectomy and possibly radiation treatment, and then must endure chemotherapy. Her hair falls out. She must be given antibiotics to prevent infections caused by damage to the immune system. Then the worst of insults --- She reads the newspaper and finds out chemotherapy was of no benefit. According to a recent study, chemotherapy for breast cancer patients under age 40 is of no value and should be abandoned. About two-thirds of breast cancers are hormone receptor-positive. Tumor cells have receptors or docking ports for estrogen on their surface. Reference: Breast Cancer Research 9:R70, 2007.