Hormone Therapy and Combination Chemotherapy Before and After Surgery in Treating Patients With Stage I-IIIA Breast Cancer

Inclusion Criteria:

* Have histologically confirmed, operable ER or PR +, HER2/neu negative, radiographically measurable breast cancer \> 1cm (Operable lesions are T1c - T3 and N0 - N2a; histologic confirmation should be by core needle biopsy only)
* Be chemotherapy naive
* Have an ECOG performance status of =\< 2
* Be assessed for menopausal status (For study purposes, postmenopausal is defined as: a prior documented bilateral oophorectomy, or a history of at least 12 months without spontaneous menstrual bleeding, or age 60 or older with a prior hysterectomy without oophorectomy, or Age less than 60 with a prior hysterectomy without oophorectomy \[or in whom the status of the ovaries is unknown\], with a documented FSH level demonstrating confirmatory elevation in the postmenopausal range for the lab)
* All premenopausal patients must have a baseline FSH and LH
* ANC \>= 1,500
* Platelet count \>= 100,000
* Serum creatinine =\< 1.5 x IULN
* Estimated creatinine clearance \> 50 ml/min
* Have staging studies and tumor assessment prior to registration
* Bone density exam must be done within the first 3 months of complete hormonal blockade
* Have a negative pregnancy test within seven days prior to registration if of childbearing potential
* Be informed of the investigational nature of this study and provide written informed consent in accordance with institutional and federal guidelines prior to study specific screening procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

* Primary tumor =\< 1 cm, not measurable; inflammatory disease
* Pregnant or lactating; women of childbearing potential with either a positive or no pregnancy test at baseline are excluded (Women of childbearing potential who are not using a reliable and appropriate contraceptive method are excluded; patients must agree to continue contraception for 30 days from the last study drug administration)
* Prior unanticipated severe reaction to fluoropyrimidine therapy, or known sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil
* Previous enrollment in an investigational drug study within the last 4 weeks
* Evidence of distant metastatic disease
* Prior chemotherapy or hormonal therapy for breast cancer
* Prior malignancy other than adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer, other stage I or II cancer from which the patient has been disease free for at least 5 years
* History of uncontrolled seizures, central nervous system disorders, or psychiatric disability judged by the investigator to be clinically significant, precluding informed consent, or interfering with compliance with oral drug intake
* Any other life-threatening illness (e.g. serious, uncontrolled concurrent infection or clinically significant cardiac disease - congestive heart failure, symptomatic coronary artery disease, cardiac arrhythmia not well controlled with medication or myocardial infarction
* Major surgery within four weeks of the start of study treatment without complete recovery
* Lack of physical integrity of the upper gastrointestinal tract or malabsorption syndrome
* Known, existing uncontrolled coagulopathy
* Unwillingness to give informed consent
* Unwillingness to participate or inability to comply with the protocol for the duration of the study