New to the club

Welcome to the Club
Welcome to the club that no one wants to join. You will find a lot of information and support on this site. It will be good for all of us to have your expertise as a mammographer available to us. One thing I appreciate about this site is that there is always someone here who at some point has faced the same issue that I am concerned about.

Please let us know about what type of chemo drugs you are being given. It will make it easier for us to chime in with our helpful (?) advice. I had 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere with no radiation. I had my exchange surgery 16 months after the mastectomy.

Good luck as this journey continues.

IRENE

when I was new to the club...
I must have been rude..i just jumped in with comments after some time...of just reading..never introduced myself etc. Shame on me...I think I was a mysterious person...hehe...

Hi Mammogirl
Im glad you
Hi Mammogirl
Im glad you turned from stalker to a participant...lol!
Being on the other side does sux but as you have probably noticed (during your stalking...hehe) that there is an awesome group of people on the board.
Im sorry your having to start your chemo yet glad your feeling better about it.
Keep us posted when you can on how your doing.

I never had chemo but my
I never had chemo but my thoughts are with you as you go on this journey hugs to you Frankie

the other side
I know exactly what you mean. I have done diagnostic mammo's, screening mammos and needle locs. A lot of my CEU's have been for breast cancer related stuff. I have seen my sister and step mom go through BC. Nothing prepared me to hear those words even though they were from a colleague.
Chemo sucks but you have to do what you have to do. The ACS sight has a lot of information for way to deal with the side effects.
"Just get me through this" is a great book.

This board can help with almost any question!
All the best,
Cindy

Welcome!
You will get through this.

RE said:

:-/
I wish you had no need to be here but since you do I am glad you found us. I hope your chemo went well. Please continue to pop in from time to time and let us know how you are doing, we are in this together.

Hugs,

RE

Welcome aboard!
Glad you found us and decided to participate. Hope chemo goes well for you. Sending prayers for that and for patience and strength. "Fight like a GIRL!"

mamolady said:

the other side
I know exactly what you mean. I have done diagnostic mammo's, screening mammos and needle locs. A lot of my CEU's have been for breast cancer related stuff. I have seen my sister and step mom go through BC. Nothing prepared me to hear those words even though they were from a colleague.
Chemo sucks but you have to do what you have to do. The ACS sight has a lot of information for way to deal with the side effects.
"Just get me through this" is a great book.

This board can help with almost any question!
All the best,
Cindy

Hello mammogirl! I know how
Hello mammogirl! I know how hard just having bc is, let alone chemo and/or rads, but, you are surrounded by a great group of pink sisters now that will help you in your journey.

Keep posting to update us on how you are.


Hugs, Megan

bamooney said:

Breast cancer
I just got the bad news from my stereotactic needle biposy that it is CA....I am numb, frightened and really do not know how to handle this. I don't know much as I was so stunned I didn't ask a lot of questions. I see the surgeon next Wed. I was told I would need an MRI before surgery and I hope to get it Monday or Tuesday before my Wed surgeon's appt. I hope to rush this along as I believe time is important. I am 74 years old, no children, very cystic breast but never thought this would happen to me. I appreciate any thoughts and/or questions I should be asking. I am a person of faith and I am depending on God's help to sustain me. I am going to try and stay very positive. Thank you. Barbara

stay strong
I am new here also - just found this site this morning. For background purposes, I am nearly 52yo. I have always had fibrocystic breasts and was grateful when digital mammography became available. I previously had 5 other biopsies and/or lumpectomies, all benign, plus my mother had Stage 2 BC at age 45, estrogen-positive, mastecomy, node removal, chemo & radiation, and there are a few other relatives with BC on her side.

I had microcalcifications show up on my mammogram in 2005. At that time a stereotactic biopsy was recommended, but we could not get two disecting views on the mammogram to find the place to biopsy, so nothing was ever done. I had microcalcifications show up on my mammogram this February. Stereotactic needle biopsies were done on both sides. Precancerous cells were found on the right side so I had a lumpectomy. Went back for my recheck after surgery and my surgeon said they found cancer cells - I had Stage 0 DCIS. Saw an oncologist who said I needed 25 radiation treatments, it would cut my chances of recurrence in half. Or Tamoxifen which would also cut my chances of recurrence in half. I told him I wanted a double mastectomy. Because of my history and family history, I was certain I would be back in that chair again and that next time the news would not be so good. I decided to have surgery this fall.

I also had an MRI after the biopsies, along with another mammogram end of August because I didn't want any more surprises after surgery, and neither showed anything new. I had my surgery on October 21, just three weeks ago. My pathology report after my surgery said I had another area of atypical cells in the same breast, which is why I had the biopsies to begin with. I was a little surprised that did not show up on the mammogram. And I was even more convinced (as if I needed convincing) that I had chosen the right path of treatment.

Although I was certain this would happen to me at some point in my life, after so many years of going through the biopsy stuff and having negative outcomes even that became relatively routine. I was still in shock that day when the word cancer came out of my surgeon's mouth.

Do your homework. There is a lot of information out there. Sit down and let yourself think of things you want answers to. Write questions down for your doctor or surgeon, for surely you will forget some of the things you wanted to ask once you get there. Reach to Recovery is a program of the American Cancer Society - there are volunteers who are trained to help you through this and help you get answers. You can find them at www (dot) cancer (dot) org. These volunteers are people who have been through breast cancer also.

I know you are frightened and confused right now, but there are a lot of people out there who can help. Your friends will be a huge help also, and I'm sure you will have a lot of support from the folks on this website. Being able to talk to people who "have been there" is very comforting.

I am a person of faith also, and I'm sure your faith will help you stay strong through this. At the end of the day, or anywhere else in between, God is always there to listen.

Keep your chin up and stay positive. You are in very good company, and we are all in this together.

Barbara
(yep, me too!)

Lynn Smith said:

Welcome
You have been working with BC for many years. You know alot and help others but when it happens to you it can be shocking.I've had benign tumors since I was 20.I am 64 now but was dx at 62 with DCIS non invasive.Had a lumpectomy.No chemo or radiation but I've been taking tamox since Dec 2009. This was what my breast surgeon recommended and my other doctors agreed.

I was beginning to think I was out of the woods after so many years having good mammos or a benign tumor was found. Then I read the age group from 60-80 is at risk. I've found though bc seems to have no age barrier.So many younger women are dx today.

My mom was dx in the 1940's and lived 60 years.My niece was dx at 30 and is a 6 year survivor.

Glad to have you join us. We're all going through the same thing and we help one another.

Lynn Smith

I never had chemo as part of
I never had chemo as part of my treatment, but, I do understand how scared you are. Lots of good advice from the other pinks on here for you.


Good luck and keep posting!