Newbie
I'm a 81/2 year survivor of stage II breast cancer. I was 35 when diagnosed. My cancer was node negative, estrogen and progestrone positive. I had a lumpectomy at time of diagnoses, followed by chemo and radiation. I then had a mastectomy about 4 years ago and a tramflap reconstruction. I've also been on and off of the dreaded Tomoxifen. I will be celebrating the end of that long, awful road at the end of August!
Anyway, if I can be of some help to anyone or answer any questions, I'm here to ask!
One other thing...having been on both sides of the cancer journey, I will say without hesitation, it's easier to be a cancer patient than to see a loved one go through the cancer journey!!
Blessings to all,
Sally
Comments
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Hi Sally
Thank you so much
Hi Sally
Thank you so much for coming over to us here
We could all use another ear!
I had my BMx as a preventative surgery,so my story is a little different to most on this forum,but the women (and the few men!) on here have been a God send in getting me through my sugery. It's a godd felling to know you may have helped someone.
Sorry to hear of your father diagnosis. You're right what you say about watching someone esle go through cancer is harder than coping with it yourself. I had cancer when i was 17 (hodgkins lymphoma) and yes,i was in piecs about it,but now i have a daughter of my own,i realise how it must have been for my mum.
And a big cheer for getting off the Tamoxifen in August! woo hoo!
Kay0 -
thank you so much
I am so sorry to hear about your Dad, How is his treatment going? You and your Dad will be in my prayers and thoughts.
I really appreciate you coming over. I have one question did you have a recurrence 4 years ago is that why the mastectomy? I am so happy for you 8 1/2 years That's Great! I have Inflammatory ductal carcinoma. I am in Chemo now ( second treatment of six tomorrow ) then surgery then radiation. I still have a long road. But I will win this fight. I love hearing ( or reading lol) about ladies like you that have won this fight. Congratulation!!All my best to you and Dad Take care Kay0 -
So sorry to hear about your dadsmalldoggroomer said:thank you so much
I am so sorry to hear about your Dad, How is his treatment going? You and your Dad will be in my prayers and thoughts.
I really appreciate you coming over. I have one question did you have a recurrence 4 years ago is that why the mastectomy? I am so happy for you 8 1/2 years That's Great! I have Inflammatory ductal carcinoma. I am in Chemo now ( second treatment of six tomorrow ) then surgery then radiation. I still have a long road. But I will win this fight. I love hearing ( or reading lol) about ladies like you that have won this fight. Congratulation!!All my best to you and Dad Take care Kay
How old is he? I know how hard that must be for you to see your dad going through this but because you are also a survivor I know your understanding and compassion for him is appreciated and a big help for him.
I was dx in 12/09 with IDC stage 1, 2.2cm lump, mastectomy, 4 rounds of cytoxan and taxotere. I have decided not to do any tamoxifen because I am a poor metabolizer. I also elected not to have my ovaries out and not do arimidex or femara because of all the horrible side effects. Looking at quality of life issues. I have instead drastically changed my diet to veggies and fruits, a little organic chicken, vitamin D3 and calcium, etc. Wondering if you also have changed your diet??
Lorrie0 -
Welcome Sally and thanks for
Welcome Sally and thanks for coming aboard. We can always use another survivor and her wisdom. I was diagnosed Sept 09,stage 2, nodes clear, HER2 positive for estrog & progest., have gone thru lumpectomy, chemo (taxotere, carbo, herceptin) still on herceptin till Oct and started the, Yes, dreaded tomoxifen 1month ago. Sorry about you're dad. Please keep us posted.
Lupe0 -
Hi Kay,smalldoggroomer said:thank you so much
I am so sorry to hear about your Dad, How is his treatment going? You and your Dad will be in my prayers and thoughts.
I really appreciate you coming over. I have one question did you have a recurrence 4 years ago is that why the mastectomy? I am so happy for you 8 1/2 years That's Great! I have Inflammatory ductal carcinoma. I am in Chemo now ( second treatment of six tomorrow ) then surgery then radiation. I still have a long road. But I will win this fight. I love hearing ( or reading lol) about ladies like you that have won this fight. Congratulation!!All my best to you and Dad Take care Kay
No, I didn't have a
Hi Kay,
No, I didn't have a recurrence. But that was part of the reason I decided to have reconstruction (to lesson the chances). The main reason I had the mastectomy and reconstruction is because my original lumpectomy left my breast severally deformed. My surgeon ended up taking off much more healthy tissue than he thought he would have to to get clean margines. Thus, my breast looked awful. After a couple of years of living with it, it bugged me enough (as well as my husband and my surgeon) that I decided to fix it. It also eased my mind to lesson the chance of reccurence and being that I'm still fairly young and have two small kids, I felt like I just wanted to do all I could to prevent it coming back (at least on that side:))
Keep fighting the good fight. Stay positive. You can get through it! And yes, I agree, it's so GREAT to hear of the success stories! I have an older lady friend who is a 22 year survivor! She has and continues to be my hero! It's so easy to let your mind go to the bad stuff, isn't it! Just remember, there are just as many good stories! We just have to chose to look at those instead of the negative! (easier said than done, I know:))
Praying that your treatments continue to go smoothly! You will get through this!!
Blessings,
Sally0 -
Hi Lorrie,Balentine said:So sorry to hear about your dad
How old is he? I know how hard that must be for you to see your dad going through this but because you are also a survivor I know your understanding and compassion for him is appreciated and a big help for him.
I was dx in 12/09 with IDC stage 1, 2.2cm lump, mastectomy, 4 rounds of cytoxan and taxotere. I have decided not to do any tamoxifen because I am a poor metabolizer. I also elected not to have my ovaries out and not do arimidex or femara because of all the horrible side effects. Looking at quality of life issues. I have instead drastically changed my diet to veggies and fruits, a little organic chicken, vitamin D3 and calcium, etc. Wondering if you also have changed your diet??
Lorrie
Thanks for your
Hi Lorrie,
Thanks for your reply. My dad just turned 69. He's been in perfect healthy and very active all his life up until this point. It's just hard to see him growing weaker and frail and old before my eyes.:(
I totally understand your reasons for not wanting to be on any drugs. Believe me, I fought it for years, tried it, stopped it twice. Then, my doctor wore me down and I gave in again. This time following through to the end! LOL. I did it mostly because I have two small special needs kids (10&5) and just wanted to know that I've done everything possible to prevent a reoccurance.
I wish I could say I radically changed my diet and kept with it. I did in the beginning cut out meat and dairy and caffeine for about a year and ahalf. I did all the detoxifying supplements, accupunture, vitamins, et. Then I kinda just slipped back to eating meat and stuff I know isn't that great for you! I was always a pretty good eater to begin with and always very active, so I just got to the point where I believe in monderation with stuff and keeping active is good enough. The rest is in God's hands. We can only control so much and whatever is going to happen, will, with or without our blessing. And...life is too short not to enjoy a little cake and ice cream now and then!
Have you researched holistic ways of blocking estrogen? I know there are a few product out there that do what Tomxifen and the other drugs do, but in a natural way. Maybe that would be an option for you? Just a thought. I wish I knew the names, but chemo brain hit me big time and I don't remember anything! LOL.
Good luck with everything. Look forward to chatting with you more:)
Sally0 -
Thanks Sallyjo jo said:8 1/2 years...THATS
8 1/2 years...THATS AWESOME...love hearing that, and thanks for coming over cuz everyone needs a little help with ALL cancers!
I will check into those alternative ways to block estrogen. You seem to have a wealth of information due to your history of cancer. Please feel free to let us know of anything else you may find out that can help. There are so many women on this board frantically trying to find answers to the host of questions that fill your mind after you are diagnosed...it can literally drive you crazy. However, I agree with you that there is only so much we can control; the rest is in God's hands...soooo..we pray and do our part and allow God to do His. Thanks for much and feel free to email me whenever you want. I will add you to my friends list. God bless.
Lorrie0 -
Sallysbmly53 said:Thank you, Sally!
For your love and blessings. Prayers for you and all you have to endure.
Sue
What an inspiration you are and an angel for joining this site and wanting to help answer questions for us. Did you have implants put in too or just the tram surgery? Im having implants in August finally. I had a double mastectomy last June and the reconstruction has been put off because of other surgeries that i had to have. I just had a total hysterectomy and was positive for cervical cancer. My onc gyn told me that it was probably the tamoxifen that caused it because i had no female problems until i started tamoxifen. I didnt want to take it and asked my regular oncologist what my benefits of taking it were. And he told me they were high, so i took it and it lead to something else. At least i no longer have to worry about the cervical cancer thing anymore. I was curious how your reconstruction surgery turned out. Thanks again for coming here and helping and supporting us. I wish your dad well and will pray for him.
Take care
Laura0 -
Thank yousal314 said:Hi Kay,
No, I didn't have a
Hi Kay,
No, I didn't have a recurrence. But that was part of the reason I decided to have reconstruction (to lesson the chances). The main reason I had the mastectomy and reconstruction is because my original lumpectomy left my breast severally deformed. My surgeon ended up taking off much more healthy tissue than he thought he would have to to get clean margines. Thus, my breast looked awful. After a couple of years of living with it, it bugged me enough (as well as my husband and my surgeon) that I decided to fix it. It also eased my mind to lesson the chance of reccurence and being that I'm still fairly young and have two small kids, I felt like I just wanted to do all I could to prevent it coming back (at least on that side:))
Keep fighting the good fight. Stay positive. You can get through it! And yes, I agree, it's so GREAT to hear of the success stories! I have an older lady friend who is a 22 year survivor! She has and continues to be my hero! It's so easy to let your mind go to the bad stuff, isn't it! Just remember, there are just as many good stories! We just have to chose to look at those instead of the negative! (easier said than done, I know:))
Praying that your treatments continue to go smoothly! You will get through this!!
Blessings,
Sally
Sally,
Just wanted to thank you so much. I was diagnosed with BC about 5 weeks ago and had a mastectomy 4 weeks ago. I have a fabulous husband and two wonderful children (3 and 5). I am going through the process of trying to figure out treatment. Unfortunately I am in one of those gray area groups where there isn't a real standard...they are just trying to figure out what to do with us. I struggled for a long time on these boards looking for happy news. I do realize the boards are primarily for those of us going through it to help and support each other, but I desperately needed to see LONG time survivors. I would get so depressed searching the web looking for a good place with a lot of people who really have kicked it. I did read that most of those people are busy living their lives. I get that, but at the same time, I will be stopping back here 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years from now to encourage those brave women and men struggling to get through this and looking for real hope. I do plan on being here, I have a lot of living to do. This cancer is just going to be a bump in the road. Sorry to hear about the bump in the road for you (which you got over very well) and also your dad. This will hopefully be a small bump for him too. I am glad you stopped by!
Much thanks,
Michelle0 -
Your Welcome...MomMichelle said:Thank you
Sally,
Just wanted to thank you so much. I was diagnosed with BC about 5 weeks ago and had a mastectomy 4 weeks ago. I have a fabulous husband and two wonderful children (3 and 5). I am going through the process of trying to figure out treatment. Unfortunately I am in one of those gray area groups where there isn't a real standard...they are just trying to figure out what to do with us. I struggled for a long time on these boards looking for happy news. I do realize the boards are primarily for those of us going through it to help and support each other, but I desperately needed to see LONG time survivors. I would get so depressed searching the web looking for a good place with a lot of people who really have kicked it. I did read that most of those people are busy living their lives. I get that, but at the same time, I will be stopping back here 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years from now to encourage those brave women and men struggling to get through this and looking for real hope. I do plan on being here, I have a lot of living to do. This cancer is just going to be a bump in the road. Sorry to hear about the bump in the road for you (which you got over very well) and also your dad. This will hopefully be a small bump for him too. I am glad you stopped by!
Much thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
You have a beautiful family! I know it's hard going through what you are being so young. I was young too. Don't know if you've checked out the "Young Survivor Coalition" group? It's a support organization specifically geared towards women under 40 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was just starting when I was diagnosed and even back then I thought it was helpful. Lots of info. on research being done for young, pre-menstral women. You may want to check it out if you haven't already.
Don't know if you are going to do chemo or not. My cancer wasn't in the nodes either (which is a HUGE predictor of longer survival rates!:)), but my oncologist wanted to do it because of my age and the aggressiveness of the cancer. SO, I went for it. It wasn't THAT bad really. The worst part was losing my hair. That was so traumatic. But I'm glad I did it for that extra "insurance" as it were. And...I can rest knowing I did EVERYTHING that was offered to me at the time. That's the thing...there is always some new treatment or drug coming out. I often wonder if I had the same scenerio today, would I still have had chemo. With the new tests they do now to figure out if you really would benefit from it or not, it would be interesting to know. I may have gone through it for nothin'! LOL.
Anyway...I hope you are recovering well! You will be around a long time I'm sure!! Unless of course a bus or 18 wheeler comes crashing through your front door! LOL. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask:)
Sally0 -
Hi Sally
It's nice to have another survivor here and an open ear! Thank you!. I am so sorry about your Dad. I lost mine to lung cancer 5 years ago and took care of him in my home. You are right about it being harder to watch a loved one go through it.
I had Stage 3 invasive ductal with 8 nodes being infected. Had a lumpectomy along with chemo and rads. I am now on Arimidex after Femara's side effects caused me to stop that one. It's only been a month on this one and for me, it's been the hardest part of my battle so I'm glad to hear that you'll be off that road soon!
Thanks again and I wish you and your Dad tons of love and blessings.
Wanda0 -
Hi Michelle, I was justMomMichelle said:Thank you
Sally,
Just wanted to thank you so much. I was diagnosed with BC about 5 weeks ago and had a mastectomy 4 weeks ago. I have a fabulous husband and two wonderful children (3 and 5). I am going through the process of trying to figure out treatment. Unfortunately I am in one of those gray area groups where there isn't a real standard...they are just trying to figure out what to do with us. I struggled for a long time on these boards looking for happy news. I do realize the boards are primarily for those of us going through it to help and support each other, but I desperately needed to see LONG time survivors. I would get so depressed searching the web looking for a good place with a lot of people who really have kicked it. I did read that most of those people are busy living their lives. I get that, but at the same time, I will be stopping back here 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years from now to encourage those brave women and men struggling to get through this and looking for real hope. I do plan on being here, I have a lot of living to do. This cancer is just going to be a bump in the road. Sorry to hear about the bump in the road for you (which you got over very well) and also your dad. This will hopefully be a small bump for him too. I am glad you stopped by!
Much thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, I was just reading the posts for the 1st time trying to get some support and answers. I am 40 with 2 young children ages 4 and 6. I was just diagnosed with BC a little over a week ago. The surgeon is recomending a Mastectomy and I have a meeting with another surgeon this Friday for a 2nd opinion. My gut is telling me to get a double mastectomy because I can't deal with it emotionally. How are you feeling/recovering? How are your kids coping? I have not told anyone in my family yet because they live in another state and I really am dreading having to worry them. So scared and alone and hoping you can give some guidance. Thanks !:)0
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