First post
Hello, Sisters in Pink,
This is my first post here and I just wanted to introduce myself. I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer earlier this year. Left breast, ER/PR+ HER-, no lymph nodes involved. Since the tumor was large (3.9 cm at its widest) and I didn't want to undergo a mastectomy, I opted to get neoadjuvant chemotherapy. I finished 4 cycles of Adriamycin + Cytoxan in May. The tumor had shrunk to 1.2 cm by then. I had surgery and recovered quite nicely, although the lymph node dissection was more bothersome than the actual incision on the breast.
I am currently in week 2 of radiation (with a total of 6 weeks). So far so good! My main worry was feeling adrift after getting through active treatment and I am really thankful to find this network here with many of you who are already thriving after/during your treatments.
Any words of wisdom will be welcome. Hoping that each and every one of you is doing well in your journey.
Comments
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Welcome to these boards, @cheerfultulips! Not sure I have any words of wisdom other than to remember each and every one of us will have a unique set of circumstances and choices made in response to those circumstances. My cancer was treated surgically (bilateral mastectomy in May) and I am currently on Tamoxifen. I expect to be on anti-cancer drugs for 5-10 years but did not have to do chemo or radiation. I am really struggling with fatigue and a host of menopausal symptoms and I'm probably borderline depressed. But I lost my sister and mother to cancer (ovarian and breast, respectively) and I'm determined to be a long term survivor.
Please feel free to ask any questions, here or by PM. Welcome again!
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Hey there,
It's been a few months since you'd posted and wanted to see how you are feeling and faring, about 2 months out from your final radiation treatment? I hope you are managing well emotionally and physically. It sounds like you have been given a stage 1B diagnosis? Would that be correct?
I too, had a nearly 4cm tumor (among 4 other smaller ones) in the left breast and ONE lymph node involvement (determined during surgery)- also ER/PR+/ HER2-. I went for the double mastectomy and had 4 nodes removed.
It was determined chemo wouldn't have a significant benefit, but hormone therapy and lupron to end my period was recommended, as is radiation - 5 weeks. I was prepared to do all three of the latter, and am having second thoughts about undergoing radiation, as mine would be to the left breast (some potential implications to heart and lungs down the road - among other risks I was gently alerted to during the consultation) and I have zero breast tissue left. Just skin and tissue expanders under the skin.
I'm trying to decide on radiation one way or the other.
Wondering how you're feeling?
I wish you continued improvement and fully restored health, Cheerful. :)
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Hello LifeInBloom100, thank you so much for checking up on me.
I was staged between 1 B and 2A mainly because of the size of the tumor since it had not spread to the nodes.
I tolerated radiation pretty well, but I did have a lot of fatigue towards the end of the sessions - weeks 5 and 6 mainly. I also had hyperpigmentation in the area, but that has cleared up significantly now, it's probably a shade darker than the other breast, but that doesn't bother me. I mainly went with radiation because I was told that it would decrease the chances of recurrence by almost 30% since I had a lumpectomy and still have most of the breast tissue left.
Mine is also the left breast and I think my oncologist will have me do an echocardiogram annually to make sure the heart is working as it should.
What I did not know beforehand(wasn't told as a possible side effect either by any of my doctors) was the probability of the radiation affecting the thyroid. My thyroid is very sluggish and seems to be very underactive. I am in the middle of trying to get a consultation with an endocrinologist at the moment.
If you go down that route, please make sure you get baseline blood levels for the thyroid and ask how it will be affected and what will be done to shield it.
I know these decisions are hard to make. I wish you all the best and hope that you get to make the decision that will bring you peace of mind. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
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This is most interesting that I will now need to check into my thyroid baseline condition if I have a lumpectomy and radiation. Also my heart and lungs. I'm currently on Herceptin and Perjeta for HER2+ which can damage the heart. Ecocardiograms used to monitor this. I'm ER/PR- and stage 2A, grade 2. Taxotere chemo which I'm currently on also will hopefully reduce the tumor size, which is 2.8cm, so lumpectomy is possible on my left breast.
I'm considering asking for a referral to the local Proton Therapy Cancer Center to see if I'm a good candidate instead of traditional radiation since it's much more targeted to avoid the heart and lungs. MD Anderson and other Cancer Centers use it for Breast Cancer. If you have this option locally or nearby I'd suggest looking into it. Fingers crossed I'll qualify for this new and exciting alternative to radiation. Trying to minimize the collateral damage is key for me.
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Always good to have baseline numbers so that we can keep track of what might be going out of range. I hope you do qualify for the Proton therapy and get that treatment instead of the regular radiation.
I was told about the heart being affected by the chemo drugs and radiation, but the thyroid issue is what I kept reading on the forums here and in online medical journal articles. Go figure.
I wish you all the best. Keep us posted!
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I will be getting an updated Ultrasound in mid-late December, midway through chemo, to see if Tumor has shrunk since this is what my surgeon will use to recommend path forward. If lumpectomy and radiation then I will ask then for referral to Proton Therapy Cancer Center. Will keep ya'll posted. I'm in the Central Plains as an FYI for location, and we're lucky to have a new Proton Therapy Cancer Center here. Can't afford the travel and expenses to other places.
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Hey there - if there is proton therapy available and your insurance covers it - and you opt for radiation therapy - I too can imagine that influencing a more comfortable approach. There are two centers here in CA - both about a 2.5-hour drive - that offers proton radiation therapy (which aids in reduction in SOME of the risk to the heart and lungs/though other cancers present another risk in the longer-run and have me concerned -- not at all trying to influence your own decisions, btw), but I have the added likely complication of already having had tissue expanders placed at the time of double mastectomy, which two days prior to that surgery, a breast MRI and other high res imaging suggested the cancer didn't appear to have spread to the lymph nodes. Surgery showed otherwise - just the sentinel lymph node had a small amount; other 3 were clear.
I'm so encouraged you're also doing as much diligence as you can to do the best you can by your care and to minimize collateral damage. The idea is that we are generally living longer, and so with that, we've got to be aware of what to monitor, indeed. I also have a sluggish thyroid to begin with.
I hope you are managing your chemo experience well and have good support around you. I'm sending you a virtual hug and sincere wishes for fully restored health and joy.
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While all of this is never an easy process, something about the way you communicate makes me imagine you take life on with a half-glass-full mentality, and I feel a sense of shared hope, reading your words.
From my research, it may also be possible you are slightly more protected with your own breast tissue as an extra little barrier between the beams and your organs, plus if you were guided to take that deep breath in and hold for 20 seconds while radiation was administered.
Thank you kindly for your suggestion regarding risks to thyroid function - I have a second opinion appointment (I feel pretty sure he's not going to side with the case I've built up about forgoing radiation, but I need my own peace of mind I've expressed my concerns) and I'll indeed bring this up.
I wish you continued healthy progress and am grateful to hear you're doing ok. Thank you kindly for sharing.
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My apologies - I didn't meant to indicate any risk of other cancers partial to proton radiation therapy; I'm referring to later-effect potential of radiation in general to cause other cancers such as leukemia, lung cancer as a result of incidental exposure - a risk deemed low by physicians but I personally weigh against a variety of factors and do additional research on. (I'm not solid with my own decisions yet.) With reconstruction particularly, I have seen studies tissue expanders present some additional challenges beyond cosmetic or infection complications; the metal port of tissue expanders, for example, may redirect the radiation off-course a bit, with the potential to administer greater or less effective dosages.
Here are a couple of resources I'd discovered:
- https://protons.com/treatments/breast-cancer/benefits-treatment (Benefits of Proton Therapy Treatment for Breast Cancer)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505855/ - (Tissue Expanders with Proton Beam Radiation)
There are many additional scientific studies on breast cancer and various treatment benefits/risks with various participant criteria - I'm happy to share them with you in a message if you'd like, though they are research results tailored to my own specific concerns. The last thing I want to do is create any fear or influence of any kind - just support. I need to do this kind of diligence just for myself because I'm navigating this whole ordeal alone, I'm overwhelmed, and because I want to be sure I have solid answers to questions about the necessity of any of the recommended treatments before I undergo more.
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Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your research as well as your approach. I personally also believe that we should be doing our own due diligence and asking as many questions as we need to in order to get the clarifications that we want before making such life-altering decisions.
For better or worse, irrespective of the advice and experiences we hear about, in the end, we have to make our own decisions such that we have minimal regrets down the road (though that is never guaranteed :) )
I do hope though that you do get to hear from a few of the other members here just to get a different perspective before you have to make your decision. I am sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. Please remember that you are a strong individual. Let's take it one day and one decision at a time and get through this ordeal that we never wanted to go through in the first place.
I do believe that being hopeful and believing in my own ability to bounce back and believing that my body is capable of getting through this bump in the road has allowed me to feel less helpless and overwhelmed and more in control of the next steps.
Please take care, keep us posted and wishing you health and happiness!
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Here's hoping you rub off on me! :)
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