Yearly pap and colonoscopy

WOW - IBC DX'd at Stage 2 -
WOW - IBC DX'd at Stage 2 - that's almost unheard of and surgery before any Chemo.

I didn't have a pap before Chemo - wasn't due for one. I didn't have a colonscopy before either. None of Oncology Drs thought it was necessary - my PA did want one 'just to be sure' so she ordered it after I was done with all the Chemo, surgery, Chemo, and Rads. Colonoscopy is not supposed to be bad to have done - they knock you and you wake up fine - WRONG for me. I'm one of the weird ones that it didn't go like it was supposed to. Far worse pain than either of my C-sections for a week. That said - they NORMALLY aren't a proble but as far as I know not usually done before starting BC TX.

Susan

LRN715 said:

Not understanding what is
Not understanding what is unusual to be diagnosed with Invasive Breast Cancer at Stage 2, and then surgery before Chemo-what am I missing here? Stage 2 is treatable for gosh sakes.

IBC = Inflammaroty Breast Cancer
IBC is Inflammatory Breast Cancer - a rare VERY aggressive form that is rarely DX'd before Stage 3 and often Stage 4 - it has the worst survival rate. Chemo is usually done before surgery. There can be more Chemo after surgery and then Rads.

Perhaps you mean IDC or ILC?

Ask your doctor. I have a
Ask your doctor. I have a PAP yearly and a colonoscopy every 5 years. My initial colonoscopy was a couple of years after chem and done because of my family history of breast and colon cancers.

I am not sure of recommendations with IBC? But if you haven't had a GYN checkup in a year, of course you need to get in there. Even though we all love our GYN exams ;-). At least my GYN is a true sweetie and he often goes over many other aspects of my health that others have missed.

VickiSam said:

I had a 'pap' several months after my tch finished, and
my results came back as 'suspicious cell evidence' .. so now I am waiting for a recheck in a few weeks.

Please check with your Oncologist. I would also .. go to your dentist and have any cavities filled .. etc. Many Sisters in PINK, have issues with our teeth during chemo ..myself -- 2 teeth gave me continuous problems .. lost 1 filling, endured weeks of pain, my dentist worked on my without numbing, as it interfered with my chemo drugs ...check with your Oncologist .. about dental work during chemo, as well. Just a suggestion.


Strength and Courage,

Vicki Sam

I don't want to hear any
I don't want to hear any complaints about Pap smears - I now have one every 4 months because of my endometrial cancer! Really, I don't mean to make light of any of this because I know this is serious business, but just want to be on record that (I think) I'm the frequency champion of Pap smears amongst this group. And my routine Pap smear saved my life, so make sure you all stay current having them.

As women who have had breast cancer, I think it's particularly important that we remain our own best advocates and be sure we stay on top of any and all appropriate screening tests. No one mentioned a colonoscopy to me prior to chemo (I'm not "due" yet) and I had just had a hysterectomy prior to chemo so I don't know if either of those tests would have been ordered had I not been up-to-date. You probably had ekg, chest x-ray prior to surgery and they already have a good sense of what's going on with your heart and lungs.

VickiSam, I hope your recheck gives you good results. I think our physicians are much more cautious with anything out of the ordinary once we've had a cancer diagnosis of any kind. This is a good thing.

Suzanne