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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / May 2007Just diagnosed today
I'm still in shock, I think.... To introduce myself, my name is Sandy and I'm 47. My mom died 24 years ago at age 48 from breast cancer. Although I had a breast MRI in February that was negative, I had a routine mammogram two weeks ago and calcifications were seen in the right breast. I had a biopsy last week and today I was told that the result is positive, and the tumor is 6-7 mm. When doing the biopsy, the doctor told me that it was either a DCIS or benign, so I guess I have DCIS. It's estrogen- receptive. I've been reading some of the posts on this newsgroup, and am kinda freaking out because I am peri-menopausal and I've been using Revival Soy bars to ward off hot flashes. Because tonight I'm just scraping the surface of all of the information available, can someone tell me if I should stop eating the bars immediately? They've helped so much. I was miserable with constant hot flashes all day long at work last summer/fall, plus a few at night as well. The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? > I'm still in shock, I think.... > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > so much. I was miserable with constant hot flashes all day long at > work last summer/fall, plus a few at night as well. There is really no solid evidence on the effect of dietary soy on breast cancer. There are plausible theories that suggest it might promote cancer growth, and theories that it might even suppress it. The usual advice is not to worry about a 'normal' (western) amount of soy in the diet, but to avoid treating it as a staple. So I don't think it is necessary to to "stop eating the bars immediately". But ask your oncologist, I'm not a doctor. > The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, > radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I > am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and > radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and > can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? That he is advising chemotherapy suggests that it is rather more then DCIS. 5 years Tamoxifen (or similar) would be normal for an ER+ tumour of any size, to reduce the risk of it happening again (as well as the risk of spread). 6-7 mm is quite small, it's close to the limit of resolution on a mammogram, so it was caught about as early as possible and the prognosis is good. Tim Jackson > myfig...@yahoo.com wrote: > > I'm still in shock, I think.... [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Hi Tim, DCIS is what the head of the breast center told me as she was doing the biopsy, but I called this morning, and I have invasive ductal carcinoma. I was told that everything about it is favorable---it is very small; it is estrogen and progesterone-receptive, and it's got an index of 8 on some scale of how quickly cancers grow. I was told that under 15 is good, and my result is that only 8% of the cells are reproducing. I am more worried now than I was last night. >I'm still in shock, I think.... I know I was when I first heard that diagnosis over the phone. Shiver... I just heard "cancer" and thought I was going to die right away. <<Hugs>> >The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, >radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I >am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and >radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and >can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? I had the lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and estrogen, in that order. The oncologist said his department discussed whether I required chemo and decided I should have it just to be safe, so perhaps that what your oncologist is doing, especially with your family history. Chemo isn't pleasant, but it was a lot better that I expected. It's been five years for me now and I'm in my last few months of the estrogen-blocker. Actually, all of it was a lot better than I expected. Marilyn On May 23, 3:16�am, M...@net.ac wrote: > >I'm still in shock, I think.... > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Marilyn Thanks, Marilyn. Today I talked with a couple of people who told me that their chemo wasn't nearly as bad as what I recall my mother experiencing back in 1979 or so. Now that I know my cancer is worse than what I thought it was yesterday, I am fine with having chemo or whatever it takes to survive this! >>I'm still in shock, I think.... > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Marilyn Please don't forget that some forms of hormone treatment have now been found to be a viable alternative to chemo for oestrogen positive: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6667313.stm You should, of course, discuss with your onc. Regards María On May 24, 5:52�am, "Mar�a" <noem...@xyznothing.me.uk> wrote: > <M...@net.ac> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > - Show quoted text - I will look into this. Thanks Maria. Hi, Sandy, Welcome to the best group no one should have to join. Some comments below. > I'm still in shock, I think.... > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > was either a DCIS or benign, so I guess I have DCIS. It's estrogen- > receptive. .... > The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, > radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I > am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and > radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and > can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? Is it possible that your oncologist was just running down the types of treatment that *might* be involved, depending on how the future tests play out? Lumpectomy, radiation and the anti-estrogen sound normal, but chemo might be unusual for DCIS, unless there was something out of the ordinary in the pathology results. If the lump appears small, they sometimes don't know whether chemo's in the picture until they have the lump out, and sample the lymph nodes. Like Mari said, don't believe everything you've read or hear about breast cancer treatment. It's a rotten hobby, but do-able. During treatment, I was sicker than most people get these days doing it, and it wasn't like I felt worse at any given moment than I ever had before in my life or anything like that. It was just kind of a long slog. I had stage III breast cancer (at age 44) - 5 tumors in one breast, largest 3.1 cm; one tumor in my other breast, one positive lymph node. I had bilateral mastectomies, 6 months of chemo, 6 weeks of radiation, and Tamoxifen followed by Arimidex (still on the latter) -- both are estrogen blockers. (Like yours, my mother died of BC, though mine was older when it happened.) Now, six and a half years past diagnosis, I'm healthy, I feel great, and I have no sign of cancer. Life is good. *Very* good. One caveat: Most find that the estrogen blockers cause hot flashes, so you may have more of that to look forward to, unfortunatly. But then again, maybe not -- everyone's different. So . . . keep renewing your magazine subscriptions. You're gonna be OK. Really. But don't be afraid to vent a little along the way -- and you've come to the right place for that. At various times, it's natural to be fearful, anxious, etc., etc. Sending positive wishes, Ann T. On May 23, 5:59�pm, "A.P. Thorsen" <annthorsendontsends...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi, Sandy, > [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > > Ann T. Ann, thanks for the reassurances. My husband retired early and I am the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am going to keep my business running and go through this at the same time. I've been working 7 days a week since early February, and things don't slow down until October. I think I'm more afraid of the time off than I am off getting sick from chemo. I'm going to have to figure out how to take care of me now and let my employees take care of things at the office when I need to be away. I'm glad I found this group, and I have a lot of reading to do! Hi Sandy, My heart goes out to you, I fully understand how you must be feeling! Things seem so frightening for us going through the journey of Cancer treatment. I too, was stunned with my diagnosis. I was diagnosed with Lobular Carcinoma in the left breast. the tumor was 2.5cm and then the week later they found 4 lumps on the right breast through ultrasound all small but still a great 2nd shock and another diagnosis to digest! Somehow we seem to pull ourselves together and be strong throughout the ordeal. I was 51 with no family history and never a thought entered my mind that i would ever suffer with breast cancer. I had to have a bilateral mastectomy. Silly me always had lumpy small breasts and always had my mammograms every 2 years here in Australia. . Low and behold nothing was detected on the mammogram because my cancer was hidden in the lobules of the breast! No one ever mentioned about having ultrasound checks as well. It has now been 15 months since my life has changed and my treatment consisted of chemo FEC 3 doses every 3 weeks and Taxotere 3 doses every 3 weeks. My cancer was Grade 2 with negative lymph node involvement. I am now on Arimidex. I have decided to have breast reconstruction and am having saline/gel expander implants. Fingers crossed the ops due around August. I still have a low white blood cell count so I will not go ahead until my bloods are back up naturally! Sandy, your tumor is way smaller than mine - a good prognosis Grade 1 I bet. Keep up positive thoughts and I hope you have a good support team by your side! Mary E. On May 23, 5:59?pm, "A.P. Thorsen" <annthorsendontsends...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi, Sandy, > [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > > Ann T. Ann, thanks for the reassurances. My husband retired early and I am the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am going to keep my business running and go through this at the same time. I've been working 7 days a week since early February, and things don't slow down until October. I think I'm more afraid of the time off than I am off getting sick from chemo. I'm going to have to figure out how to take care of me now and let my employees take care of things at the office when I need to be away. I'm glad I found this group, and I have a lot of reading to do! > Hi Sandy, > My heart goes out to you, I fully understand how you must be feeling! [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > side! > Mary E. Hi Mary, I think mine is stage 1, but the breast center is apparently waiting for one more pathology test, so I don't have all of the information yet. I am keeping an open mind to having a bilateral mastectomy, because I don't want the future to be an endless rollercoaster of mammograms and biopsies like the past 2.5 years have been. The other two biopsies were on the other side anyway, so sooner or later, cancer will probably strike that breast too, if it isn't there already. Hi Sandy, Yes, going through the stress of wondering whether youll get another tumour on the other side is very traumatic. I suppose I was 'lucky' in a sense that it was all caught at once and having bilateral mastectomies was actually better for me in so far as not having to go through another op and besides Im not lopsided. My scars look ok and I am looking ahead and feeling positive about the future. Some people opt never to have reconstruction - but I'm not sure what your doctor thinks about immediate reconstruction - there is that option. I suppose its early days for those decisions. Mary E. On May 24, 1:24?am, "Mary E." <h...@home.com> wrote: > Hi Sandy, > My heart goes out to you, I fully understand how you must be feeling! [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > side! > Mary E. Hi Mary, I think mine is stage 1, but the breast center is apparently waiting for one more pathology test, so I don't have all of the information yet. I am keeping an open mind to having a bilateral mastectomy, because I don't want the future to be an endless rollercoaster of mammograms and biopsies like the past 2.5 years have been. The other two biopsies were on the other side anyway, so sooner or later, cancer will probably strike that breast too, if it isn't there already. >My husband retired early and I am >the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am going to keep [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >care of me now and let my employees take care of things at the office >when I need to be away. Can your husband not help out for a while?  Signature"It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper >>My husband retired early and I am >>the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am going to keep [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Can your husband not help out for a while? That was my first reaction, then I read on and saw that there are employees too. The combination of husband and employees should be an effective, temporary and possibly intermittent solution to the work problem. Nobody is indispensable, the world keeps turning :-) Take each day as it comes, let others do the worrying, Sandy, you just get on with the treatment and look forward to getting back to full time work when you're ready. Hugs, Mary On May 24, 1:56�am, x{yz}enophi...@hotmail.com wrote: > >My husband retired early and I am > >the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am going to keep [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." > Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper I am the brain behind the business (one of the largest e-commerce wedding sites) and he is just helpless where that is concerned. I do all of the marketing, buying, designing of new product, financial, etc. He can do some things at work, but not my job. We have a 19 year old daughter and I'm going to have to start teaching her to do what I do. We were hopeful the kids would take over the business anyway, so maybe this is the beginning of that and I can extricate myself and start having some sort of life again. The boys are only in high school, so they cannot help much and shouldn't have to. I discovered last night that my cousin had bilateral prophylactic mastectomies a couple of years ago (because of our lovely gene pool), and her sister gave me the phone number of a friend who also had that done. Before my diagnosis, I was considering having genetic testing and possibly taking that step, and my cousin encouraged me to take some time and consider it. Her sister doesn't need mammograms any longer. Is this something any of you considered? On May 23, 5:59?pm, "A.P. Thorsen" <annthorsendontsends...@yahoo.com> wrote: > My husband retired early and I am > the sole support of our family. I have no idea how I am [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > of me now and let my employees take care of things at the office > when I need to be away. Hi, Sandy, It's good to start thinking these things through, but don't panic just yet. You'll know more when your treatment plan is laid out. It sounds like you may be assuming you will be unable to work throughout treatment, and that may be untrue. There's no question it will have an impact, and there will be periods you need to take off. And you may need to reduce your "7 days" schedule, just purely due to logistics of treatment, if nothing else. But the experience with actual treatment varies greatly. Once again, don't believe everything you read or see on TV. Reporters like dramatic stories, so usually you get either "she never missed a day of work" or "bedridden and miserable throughout treatment", but these are the extremes. The truth is likely to be somewhere in the middle. Based on my experience, you'll miss some time for surgery. I had double mastectomies, so can't comment on lumpectomy. The surgery required some time off work, but I could do some work from home. (It was draining to shower & dress up & get out, especially at first.) I also found that my co-workers really pulled together & helped fill in for me, throughout the process. People can be just great. Radiation is pretty easy for most, in terms of work effect. During radiation, the big issues are the logistics of daily treatment (helps if your cancer center is nearby), and possible fatigue. Some have no fatigue at all, most do not have debilitating fatigue from radiation. You're likely to have periods when you can't wear a bra at all, which may matter if your job involves meeting clients. Chemo is likely to be the biggest concern, if you even need to go through it. I was a mid-level manager with an intense schedule and long work week at the time of diagnosis. As a widow, I supported myself, but did have the kind of situation with medical leave & sick time available. But I did *not* go on disability through treatment. Since -- as I mentioned earlier -- I had a worse than average time with chemo, I did miss a fair amount of work time during chemo -- a few days every three weeks, in my case. But the time off needs were pretty predictable. After your first chemo cycle (if you even have chemo), you'll know when you feel best, and can schedule the more demanding things then. You'll also know more-or-less how your blood counts react, so if you have some times when you're too immune-supressed to be around groups, you'll know that, too. Again, if your work can be done partly from home, this could help. If you have chemo, you can expect to have lower energy levels, but how much lower varies *a lot* by person, so don't leap to assumptions based on others' experience. If you can keep getting some exercise during chemo, even when you don't feel like it, that will help. Some/many people experience cognitive deficits during chemo, which, depending on your work, can be an issue. If there are issues, memory is usually the biggest impact, but some difficulties with complex reasoning are possible. But I've known some women who said they didn't have much "chemo brain" effect, too. It's kind of hard to plan ahead in copious detail, because -- as you're probably gathering -- treatment effects are very, very, VERY individual. I think there's more person-by-person variation in treatment effects than there is individual variation in pretty much any other context in which I've found myself. Contingency plans and flexibility are important -- as is giving yourself a break when things don't work out as planned. Because of individual variation, it's easy to over-plan for things that never happen, and be surprised by some things you didn't plan for. But you can get through this. Make some contingency plans as you learn more about your treatment plan, and then take it a day at a time. This group can help you understand the range of individual variation in treatment effects, once you know what your course of treatment will be. You're gonna get through this. With your business, it'll be a challenge, but if you're strong enough to be in business for yourself, you've got the strength to carry it through. Take care, dear -- Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email Hi Ann, Thank you for telling me of your experience. I've been talking to lots of women, including cousins with whom I share a family history of cancer, cancer and more cancer. I learned that one cousin had DCIS a couple of years ago and had double mastectomies. Her other breast was biopsied and they found abnormal cells, so she is thankful to have made that decision. My other cousin knows a woman at church who had the same diagnosis and made the same decision in February of this year. She has tissue expanders currently and is looking forward to her implants. I spent about an hour on the phone with her last night and she was very comforting to me. I am leaning in the same direction, because I've already had two biopsies in the other breast and feel it's just a matter of time before cancer is found on that side as well. I am sick of mammograms, ultrasounds, cyst aspirations, biopsies and worrying. My younger sister is now considering the same, before she develops cancer. We lost our mother to breast cancer at a very young age, and don't want to orphan our own children. As far as work goes, the lady I spoke with last night said to plan on missing three weeks after the surgery if all goes well. I can do a lot of my work from home and was wondering how soon I'd be able to sit up and use a notebook computer if I proceed with the more drastic surgery. I discussed this surgical option with my #1 employee, and she reassured me that she can take care of everything for whatever time I need. I am feeling better tonight. I plan to work during chemo and radiation---it is the down time after surgery that I am worried about. Part of getting better will undoubtedly entail getting more rest and relaxation. I have been working myself way too hard for a long time, and not taking care of myselft, and that's probably part of why this happened. I need to find out what the post-surgical treatment plan would be if I do opt for bilateral mastectomy. Any recommendations on how to find the very best breast and plastic surgeons? I only have a couple of weeks to make a decision, and then surgery will be coordinated and scheduled. > I need to find out what the post-surgical treatment plan would be if I > do opt for bilateral mastectomy. Any recommendations on how to find > the very best breast and plastic surgeons? I only have a couple of > weeks to make a decision, and then surgery will be coordinated and > scheduled. I think I can't help with this, as it sounds like you're planning on reconstruction. I'm unreconstructed (in a variety of ways besides just my chest <g>). While I'm very happy with that, and it has the advantages of less surgical recuperation and easier detection of (unlikely) future localized problems, I know it isn't for everyone. I was off work about 3 weeks after my mastectomies, but capable of doing work from home. I tended to tire easily for a while. The mastectomies proper were an easy recovery; the side where lymph nodes were removed took the greater degree of rehab. Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email On May 24, 9:38�pm, "A.P. Thorsen" <annthorsendontsends...@yahoo.com> wrote: > <myfig...@yahoo.com> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Ann T. > Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email Hi Ann, That's something I wanted to ask. Since you cannot have mammograms, how do they watch for recurrences after mastectomy? > That's something I wanted to ask. Since you cannot have mammograms, > how do they watch for recurrences after mastectomy? If you think about it, the reason you're getting the mammogram is to examine the breast tissue for new tumors. The new tumors are had to detect in any other way because they're buried in fatty & breast tissue. But the mastectomies remove as close as they can get to all the breast tissue. It's almost (but not quite) true to say that they don't have to watch for new tumors, so you don't need to substitute anything for the mammograms. In reality, there are likely to be some tiny number of breast-tissue cells here & there, and some chance of tumors on the chest wall, but the odds are fairly small. Also, my understanding is that, if you're non-reconstructed like me, any new chest lumps would be easily felt. (And that makes sense to me given the nature of the remaining tissue on my chest. I can feel my ribs throughout, except perhaps for a few small areas on the radiated side where I have some overlying hardened tissue.) Think about how easy it is to feel a lump or bump -- even a tiny one like a whitehead -- on some other non-fleshy part of your body (face, kneecap, back of hand . . . .). My chest is more like that. While lumpectomy plus radiation gives women virtually the same odds of long-term survival as mastectomies, mastectomies have significantly reduced chance of a new breast tumor. For many women, preserving the breast is worth the risk of new primary tumors and new BC diagnoses, as long as it doesn't affect survival. Not true for me. It's subjective. I'm not appearance-conscious; I don't feel like "less of a woman" with a flat (concave?) chest; I don't need to repeat the rotten hobby that was cancer treatment - I can find plenty of hobbies I enjoy more. Reconstruction makes post-mastectomy local recurrence harder to detect. But it doesn't (as far as I know) make local recurrence any more likely. In my particular case, every once in a while (every couple of years, maybe?), some member of my medical team decides it would be fun if I had a chest x-ray. But I think that has more to do with looking for possible metastases than new tumors (remember, I had locally advance, multi-focal, stage III breast cancer -- I had a 60% chance or so, maybe, of being here typing at you today.). And periodically, I get some weird symptom that results in some other kind of scan (MRI, CT, bone scan . . .). Basically, they rule out BC first, whereas if I had a different history they'd assume other things first. Some of the cases where I've had scans are body pains (turned out to be musculo-skeletal things like arthritis, scoliosis-related pains, etc.), morning headaches (turned out to be stress), etc. I hope that answers your questions. If not, ask follow-ups! Take are, Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email > Hi Ann, > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > and feel it's just a matter of time before cancer is found on that > side as well. Give very careful consideration to the option of mastectomy without reconstruction. For some of the rationale, go to http://bca.ns.ca/forum/ and search for posts by Jean214, who had reconstruction with a tram flap. My wife opted for bilateral mastectomy,even with only unilateral disease, and chose no reconstruction, simply because she didn't want anymore surgery than necessary. She originallly intended to use prostheses, as a cousin had done, but found she prefers to do without. She has a little trouble finding clothes that drape well, but shoppping is her favorite sport anyhow and she always comes up with what she needs. > I am sick of mammograms, ultrasounds, cyst aspirations, > biopsies and worrying. My younger sister is now considering the same, [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > weeks to make a decision, and then surgery will be coordinated and > scheduled. > My wife opted for bilateral mastectomy,even with only unilateral disease, > and chose no reconstruction, simply because she didn't want anymore > surgery than necessary. She originally intended to use prostheses, as a > cousin had done, but found she prefers to do without. She has a little > trouble finding clothes that drape well, but shopping is her favorite > sport anyhow and she always comes up with what she needs. That's why I wear prostheses for "dress up" occasions & (usually) work, but go without in most of my personal life. Women's clothes hang better with the porta-boobs <g>. Unlike your wife, I *hate* clothes-shopping! (Bookstores are a whole 'nother thing . . . .). As an aside, I'm very, very happy to have had the bilateral vs. the uni. Being completely flat seems better to me than being uneven, and I understand that if you have a uni with larger breasts, and go without prostheses, some women experience back problems from the imbalance. Once they found the multiple tumors in my left breast, I wanted the bilateral prophylactically, but my surgeon was unwilling. So I fooled him & got a tumor in the right breast, too. (I'm stubborn; I'll do a lot to get my way <g>.) I'm quite amused, too, by an acquaintance who made her case for bilateral by telling her surgeon "they came as a pair and they're leaving as a pair". Take care, Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email On May 25, 8:25�pm, "A.P. Thorsen" <annthorsendontsends...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > My wife opted for bilateral mastectomy,even with only unilateral disease, > > and chose no reconstruction, simply because she didn't want anymore [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Ann T. > Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email That is funny, Ann. I feel much better about my situation and know that I will manage to get through this. I'm actually feeling anxious to get started on the road to being healthy again, beginning with getting this tumor removed asap. >> My wife opted for bilateral mastectomy,even with only unilateral disease, >> and chose no reconstruction, simply because she didn't want anymore [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > with the porta-boobs <g>. Unlike your wife, I *hate* clothes-shopping! > (Bookstores are a whole 'nother thing . . . .). Same here, on both counts. In fact I hate ALL shopping and force myself never to go into a book store because ... :-( > As an aside, I'm very, very happy to have had the bilateral vs. the uni. > Being completely flat seems better to me than being uneven, and I > understand that if you have a uni with larger breasts, and go without > prostheses, some women experience back problems from the imbalance. I'm going off on a limb here. We've been staying at Traquair House (Google it, you won't be sorry) and in our little caravan we entertained a couple we've known for some time. Not long enough, however, to know that he's hd prostate problems, like Spouse, and she was diagnosed with bc in 1999. Of course we compared experiences. She had a bilateral although her cancer was only in one breast. Then she had reconstructions, saline behind her muscles, put simply. When she showed me the result I was surprised to see that the nipple on her unaffected breast was intact, there was none on the other side because she didn't want any more surgery. > Once they found the multiple tumors in my left breast, I wanted the > bilateral prophylactically, but my surgeon was unwilling. So I fooled him > & got a tumor in the right breast, too. (I'm stubborn; I'll do a lot to > get my way <g>.) That's going a little far but I'm not surprised, knowing how persiste nt you are :-) I told my friend that initially I'd wanted an 'all-off'' and she said that her surgeon had told her that most women do. That really surprised me, I've never heard of that. I didn't wnat to be lopsided but in the end I just had a lumpectomy. > I'm quite amused, too, by an acquaintance who made her case for bilateral > by telling her surgeon "they came as a pair and they're leaving as a > pair". LOL! Isn't this a fascinating condition? It's not an ideal state to live through but there's always so much more to know ... Mary > Take care, > > Ann T. > Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email I found a web site over the weekend where the photos of reconstructions were much less scary, so I am feeling better about bilateral mastectomy now. I won't know for several more days if I'm a candidate for skin-sparing surgery, but that is what I am going to ask for. Here is the site: http://www.beckermd.com/breast_reconstruction.aspx Check out the prophylactic reconstruction page too. Now I just have to find a doctor experienced with this type of procedure. On May 23, 5:02 am, myfig...@yahoo.com wrote: > I'm still in shock, I think.... > The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, > radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I > am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and > radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and > can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? Hi Sandy I was diagnosed with a 14mm tumour in 1998 and had exactly the treatment you mention above. My consultant said that the chemo was 'to be on the safe side'. I was 34 when diagnosed almost exactly 9 years ago. Some of the treatment was easier, some a bit harder but it was all do-able. Chemo varies depending on the combination but I had Zofran and steroids to alleviate the side effects and coped pretty well. I organised life around the chemo days, the rest of the time work was perfectly possible. Good luck with it all. I'm sure your daughter, husband and employees will come up trumps. I didn't realise I had such a wonderful family and friends till they helped me through this experience. Best wishes Rachel >Good luck with it all. I'm sure your daughter, husband and employees >will come up trumps. I didn't realise I had such a wonderful family >and friends till they helped me through this experience. I certainly found that to be the case with my family and friends. I hpe it all turns out well for you. Signature"It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper On May 24, 9:50?am, x{yz}enophi...@hotmail.com wrote: > >Good luck with it all. I'm sure your daughter, husband and employees > >will come up trumps. I didn't realise I had such a wonderful family [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission." > Rear Admiral "Amazing" Grace Hopper I am going to have to learn to accept help, I guess. It's always been my attitude that "it's easier to do it myself than ask someone". All of you have been very kind and I appreciate your time in writing responses! > On May 23, 5:02 am, myfig...@yahoo.com wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Rachel Thanks Rachel. I think that everyone will go the extra mile at work to keep things running smoothly when I have to be away. I guess I am a control freak and right now, I feel like I have lost control of just about everything. It's scary thinking that I will be physically totally helpless for a time. I've always been physically strong and hard-working and this is just not fitting with my image of myself at all. > The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, > radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I > am fairly stunned that it will require more than the surgery and > radiation. Is there anyone else who's been in a similar situation and > can help me digest some of what I was hit with today? Sorry for posting so late, I was diagnosed at age 40, had mastectomy and chemo.....you will get through this whole experience. Alex > > The oncologist who gave me the news today mentioned lumpectomy, > > radiation, chemo and estrogen-blocking medication for five years. I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Sorry for posting so late, I was diagnosed at age 40, had mastectomy > and chemo.....you will get through this whole experience. Alex Hi Alex, Thanks for the encouragement! Sandy |
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