Two types of cancer in a week!!!!

eihtak said:

Welcome...
So sorry for your lousy news, but we can not control the hand we are dealt. This is a great site with lots of truely helpful information. About 1yr ago I was diagnosed with Stage3 Anal Cancer, and just last month with a rare secretory breast cancer, at a recent dental appointment my dentist also ordered a biopsy on a suspicious root of a tooth he pulled. Lucily, my tooth issue came back clear. The Anal Cancer treatment was tough, I had chemo and radiation, but for now I am what they call NED (no evidence of disease). On the Breast Cancer, I just last week had a double mastectomy with removal of 2 lymph nodes. The nodes were examined and came back clear. For the next 5yrs I will take Arimidex, a drug to block the estrogen this cancer needs to thrive. My husband is also recovering from a bonemarrow transplant for a blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma. What I have learned through all this is tho we can not control the hand we are dealt we can control how we play that hand. There will surely be times and for me have been times where I felt so out of control, but with good medical care and accepting help and advice and for me lots of prayer, I am feeling a renewed strength that I did not have before. I will keep you in my prayers that you receive the care you need to get through this double wammy of a deal and come out of it a stronger person. It does seem to make sense to do the two surgeries together, tho may be a bit more sore during recovery. I did not opt for reconstruction at this time myself, but may down the road. Its been just over a week and tho I am still a bit sore, I was only in the hospital a couple days and just went out for lunch with my daughter today. I am tired and really trying to take it easy, but feeling much better than I thought I would. I hope the same for you. Please keep posting to let us know how your treatment progresses, and don't think any question is not worth asking. Someone here has insite to anything out there. As always, all in my prayers! You can cope.....think one day at a time, it truely helps!

susie09 said:

Hi
I am so sorry. This board is full of fantastic and helpful pink sisters that welcome you with open arms and will help you however we can.

Positive thoughts and prayers!

Double Whammy said:

Two at once, too
Two years ago I had a double whammy of 2 diagnoses - first endometrial cancer and then 4 days later breast cancer. It is certainly overwhelming. While I, too, had 2 cancers, neither were rare (like that matters!) and luckily both were early stage cancers. I hope yours are, too. How were your cancers found?

My advice is to be sure the breast and ENT people work together and that the right hand always knows what the left is doing. My breast oncologist and gyn oncologist always knew what was going on with the other and if I didn't think they did, I sure as heck made sure to tell them.

I had chemo for my breast cancer, but did not need it for my endometrial cancer because it had only grown 1/3 of the way thru my uterine wall. Had it been halfway. .. we won't go there. I assume that the stage and grades of your cancers will determine if chemo is needed for either or both.

I was comfortable without a second opinion because I was receiving my care at an NCI comprehensive cancer center. If I'd been in a community setting, I would have asked for a second opinion - because in my little brain, having 2 diagnoses at the same time is a little special and can require more consideration than they would have they been dx'd years apart. I accompanied a friend for a second opinion a while back and the doc he saw at UCSF clearly said that community oncologists are all most people need unless they have something unusual (he had pancreatic cancer). Keep that in mind if you're considering a second opinion.

My surgeries went like this - lumpectomy/recover for 6 weeks/hysterectomy/recover for 3 weeks/chemotherapy for breast cancer/recover for 6 weeks/radiation for breast cancer. My followups are pelvic exams and pap smears every 4 months, med onc visits and lab work every 4 months, breast exams by surgeon every 6 months, yearly mammogram followed 6 months later with yearly breast MRI. My surgeries were separate because of the total length of time I might need to be under anesthesia and the suspicion that the endo cancer was slow growing so could wait longer than the breast cancer.

It sounds like you're going to be inundated with surgeries and treatments for a while. Please keep us informed and come here for support.

Suzanne

Tux said:

bad news x 2
Borisette, so sorry to hear of your double dx. I hope your docs can work
together to get this beast under control. (((Hugs))) sent your way--keep us
informed!

debi.18 said:

Borisette
I'm so sorry for what you are going through. You'll find the pinks here are the most supportive group around. Will keep you in my prayers. Keep us updated.

Hugs, Debi

New Flower said:

Welcome to the board
I am very sorry for your situation. Please make sure that you have your pathology report when you will be discussing your treatment. Estrogen could be very dangerous for breast cancer, make sure you know about your breast cancer enough to make a best decision for you.
Good luck

susie09 said:

Hi
I am so sorry. This board is full of fantastic and helpful pink sisters that welcome you with open arms and will help you however we can.

Positive thoughts and prayers!