Please share your story with us

Students

Hello, we are students in Arizona at Cochise College. Our assignment is to gather information to help our community cope with problems that are affecting it today. We are a Hispanic community that is finding an increasing number of Breast Cancer in our families. We were wondering if anybody could offer some suggestions, or tell us your story so that we could share them with our families in order to get a better understanding of Breast Cancer.

By in large, we are community consisting of about 2,000 people with only six doctors. We admit that our knowledge of medicine is limited and because of this, Breast Cancer advances to high levels before detected. We are hoping that with the suggestions and stories you share with us, you can make our community open their eyes to self-examination and annual mammogram. Thank you so much!

KariLynn

If you haven't looked around the board, you should - there are a lot of bios out there that could be helpful.

I'm 37. My lump was found at a regular checkup in May. We did a mammogram and biopsy, both came back "suspicious". Had a lumpectomy June 2 and that was positive for cancer.

We scheduled chemo and radiation but in the course of pre-chemo scans (bone scan, CT scan) found that it was also in the bone. I went for a second opinion (my first onc was going to stay the same chemo/radiation course) and that doctor advised to do hormone treatment first so that is what I'm doing.

I feel good and am hopeful that I can do well on hormones for a long time.

My only suggestion is to be sure you do your self exams and look after your overall health. If you do develop BC it will be an easier battle if you are otherwise healthy. Know that you can get BC at any age so don't wait until you're 30-40 to start doing checks. Baseline memmograms are suggested at 35 then regular ones starting at 40 (younger if there's a history in yor family.)

Good luck with your project - this is an important topic and one that will affect many people.

Students

Thank you so much for your story. This will help us greatly and thank you for suggesting us to look around. We are finding that the best prevention of bc is really self-examination. Thank you again!

brenda13

found lump on right breast myself when scratching an itch, went to family docs right away then mammogram and ultrasound then biopsy. sure enough it was cancer. i thought it would never happen to me because there was no family history of it the family. had a lumpectomy then the chemo and 16 treatments of radiation. i live in canada and thank god all medical is covered. as of last docs appointment nov.2005 i'm now cancer free. breast cancer treatment is hard and drains you, but you do get through it. early detection though is the key. hope this helps you.

Daffy

Hi I'm in Queensland Australia & despite my medical background etc I can truely say I really didn't know how to do a proper breast "self examination",till I was getting ready to go on vacation last July 2005 & had bought a you beaut new shower gel....the rest is history but I believe to do a self exam properly nothing can beat using shower gel,you can feel the tumour outline perfectly so now I tell everyone,regularly examine yourself so that you become familiar with your own breasts even the tiniest "differences".can be felt.And do not wait or not investigate or be put off by others saying it is nothing to worry about,remember this is your life here in your hands, follow your womanly instincts... are you not the one that is so often right about what you first thought ?Hope this helps others .

catherine9262

I am a 43 yo old woman newly diagnosed with IDC. Oct 12th i found a lump while showering. It scared me due to its size and not detecting it earlier. i went to my regular Dr. for exam and was sent the same day for a mammogram. I then had a compressed mammogram and an ultrasound. Being suspicious, they did a core biopsy which came back negative. My surgeon had previously said due to its growth rate it should come out so on Dec 5th i had a lumpectomy. it was cancer and they didnt get it all. the folllowing week i had a mastectomy SLN removal
the nodes were clear. i see my oncologist for the first time on Jan 20th to discuss the chemo. I am doing well and drainage is minimal, mobility in my arm is up to about 80 %. I worry about the chemo because it lowers immunity and i get sick easily( i am currently fighting an upper resp infection) there is no family history but i do live in the chemical valley of west virginia in Kanawha county (not sure there is relativity with that).

gto225

I had breast cancer in 1997 found on a mammogram with no lump to feel. Had a lumpectomy followed by radiation. The bc recurred in 2005. I was found on my routine mammogram and was not visible without magnification. There was no lump just microcalicifications. Had another lumpectomy, opted out of radiation and started to take tamoxifen which I am having very little trouble with. In January 2006 I had plastic surgery to bring back the symmetry. I love it. You need to have regular mammograms as well as checking yourself. It takes both things.

hope2004

I had annual exams by my OB/GYN and mammograms every other year....nothing! In June 2004 (age 55) I felt a lump while taking a shower. It was cancer and caught fairly early. I had a lumpectomy with SNB. My cancer was multifocal 1.2cm and .5cm with no positive nodes, er+,pr-,her2-, grade 2. I chose radiation with no chemo and currently take hormone therapy. This has changed my outlook on life in a positive way. I no longer "wait until a better time" to do things. I do it now and enjoy it more.

Larry44

Please be aware that men can get breast cancer too. I am a man who found a lump by accident and it turned out to be breast cancer. It is rare, about 1 man in 100,000 is diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Men do need to be aware of the possibility as many don't seek treatment until it is too late. I received the same kind of treatment as women do and am doing fine now.

crami2

I see most of the responders found a lump that led to other tests, so thought maybe I should let you know my story since it seems a little different.

I put off having a mamogram for a few years (thought there was no history of bc in the family---proved to be an incorrect assumption--I was just unaware of it). When I finally went for one it was not because anyone felt anything. I was having other health issues and while doing all those tests we decided I should get this one updated also. Well....it came back suspicious, as did the next one and the ultrasound. My lump was too deep to feel....the mamogram (and the physicians assistant that nagged me to get it) saved my life. In Sept of 2005 I had a lumpectomy and node disection (only 1 cancer node of 3) and since then have done chemo (still waiting to have hair again) and am now doing radiation (1/2 way through). I will take Arimidex for 5 years after radiation, and of course be monitered by my oncologist for any further treatment.

My message to you...the women in your commmunity need to keep their mamograms current. Self exams are a good start..but without a mamogram you can not be sure there is not something deeper that needs attention. The women in your community need to understand that if caught early (as mine was) the doctors know how to treat breast cancer. I am confident that I am getting proper treatment and will be fine.

Another note for you, my 22 year old daughter will now be considered high risk (no surprise there) and will start having annual mamograms at 25 years old. You younger women should be doing their self exams from a very young age...don't assume only older women will get breast cancer. My daughter will never make that assumption, and the dr. has already spent time teaching her the proper way to self exam.

Good luck to all the students trying to make a difference in their community. Your family's should be proud of you all. Keep the community involvement going and your community will benefit greatly. Oh...by the way, my husband is hispanic, and we have faced some cultural issues with this subject, but all the women in his family have current mamograms now, as do our friends...and guess what...one was diagnosed with early breast cancer because of her mamogram!!! It is a life saver

ARKIEMAMA

HI,
i guess my story is totally different from all the rest so here goes I realized i had a lump for awhile before going and having it checked but i'd already had 4 breast biopsies that were diagnosed as benign so i thought this was the same finally i got to the point you could feel it through my clothes and frinds and family talked me into going they did a lumpectomy and sent it for a biopsy i had such a rare cancer that they had to turn around and send it to another more advanced clinic for testing six weeks later it came back positive for atypical spindle cell metaplastics carcinoma and i had to have a left breast rsdical modified masectomy 4 a/c 4 rounds taxol and now going through 33 tx.of radiation also starting physical and occupational therapy due to lymphedema and neuropathy from chemo oh by the way my chemo onc said he'd only had 1 case like mine in 20 years hope i help your study since there's not much information on my type of cancer they just treat it as they would regular breast cancer

luba

Hi
Knowing your own body, in my opinion, is the most important thing. I felt something strang, by accident, as I was getting dressed one day. I have fribriod breast so lumps arent abnormal to me, but this one was just "different", im still to this day not even sure why I knew it was differert, but I just knew it was. My family doc said she felt nothing but sent me for the mam anyway. the mam showed nothing abnormal. But I was insistant that somthing was wrong so they did a ultrasound in the breast that I said was different. My tumor was 1.8 cm, invasive ductal cancer, 1 of 7 nodes positive. 3 surgeries, 8 rounds of chemo, 33 radiations and now I'm on tamoxifen for 5 years. My dx was Jan 05, I wasnt sorry to see 2005 end, it was a long year!!!
Know your body, listen to it, and be persistant if you feel that something is wrong. My "inner" voice kept telling me this is not right and it saved my life. I'm a 1 year survivor and I hope to be for many more.
Good Luck, your doing a very wonderful thing.

RobinTN

I was diagnosed at 43.I remember the day oh so well,I was sitting at my desk at work and got a call from the Dr.who did the biopsy.2 Days later I had a pet scan and saw my Onc the next day.The next 2 weeks are sort of fuzzy but here is what I remember.The news was not good.Inflammatory breast cancer stage 4 with mets to 7 nodes,and two areas in the liver with slight activity in the bones.I was lucky there.I had been treated since august in the same breast for Mastitis.The ca did not show up on 4 ultrasounds,and one mammo.After I researched inflammatory bc,I found that is par for the course as it does not show up on diagnostic tests and masks the symptoms of mastitis.It has a 1% survival rated because by the time a biopsy is done it has usually spread to other organs such as mine did.I had chemo for a year,In june a Modified radical mastectomy on the right with 9 nodes removed and only the area around one of them positive,and a simple mastectomy on the right.
Then more chemo.The liver is clear now the chemo got rid of the cancer areas there and in sept i had a rfa.Radio frequency ablation of the liver where the Md went in and sort of blasted the 1cm area that was left.I had 2 soromas,one on each side so these have put off radiation.But they are healed now and I am getting ready to start this month.I thank God each day,he spared me for so me reason.If the cancer wasnt caught when it was I would be with him today.I am so looking forward for this to be over with and I can get back to work and on with the life I have planned.A very different life than the one I have now.I am also taking weekly herceptin and have another year to go of that.Oh I almost forgot,my mom had colon ca,was cured from that then she came up with liver cancer the next year.But no bc runs in our family.

jersey

My obgyn felt a lump at my annual visit. She sent me to get a mamogram my first and then came the biopsies, a lumpectomy, a reincision because there was a satellite tumor. My margins were then clear to start chemo and radiation which I just finished this week. I was at risk for this because I received radiation treatments in 1975 for Hodgkins disease, so i have been down this road before. I am now 45 and glad to be!!!!

bearlysane111

I had no symptoms mine were microcalcifications found on my annual mammogram. I am 55 and had been having annual mammograms since I was around 40. Mine was DCIS(early stage cancer confined to the ducts) and I had a lumpectomy,followed by 6 weeks of radiation. Currently,I take Arimidex since I was estrogen positive.One thing I do now that I was not doing for abt the last 10 years is eat healthier and exercise often. I had gained too much weight during and after menopause. I feel healthier now than I have in the last 10 years. Hope this is helpful info.

Anonymous

Stidents,

The very best thing you can do for your community is to educate them. I would suggest collecting some basic information such as the number of women diagnosed with this each year, current success rates of treetment, posters showing the ways in which to preform a correct self breast exam, and perhaps even distributing some of the basic information at local churches. Distribution of educational matieral is always a very good place to begin.

ADK

Hi,

In Dec 2002, I had a mammogram that was so painful, I tried to pull out of it. Six months later, I saw a lump while dressing. Only history in the family was a cousin. I had a biopsy done, nothing showed but was advised to get it taken out by the surgeon. I blamed the mammogram and have not had one since. Procrastinated to March of 06 - had a lumpectomy. Dx Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma grade II, ER+ and PR+. Partial masectomy 2 weeks later with sentinel node removal. Dx DCIS adjacent to prior site. Node was negative and no residual invasive carcinoma identified. I have 7 booster radiation treatments left (out of 34, 8 of which are booster.) No Chemo. Now facing decision about hormone therapy. I don't want to do it. I am 49 and am having problems with night sweats, hot flashes and not sleeping already. I also have endometriosis and crohn's disease and I take heavy drugs for the crohn's. I haven't made a decision yet.

slanderson

Please do not rely solely on mammograms. Breast cancer can grow very fast. I had a clear mammogram in early March of 2005, and in mid June of 2005, I found a 1.7cm lump myself. If I hadn't I would have let it grow another 8 months before I had another mammogram.

Shannon

Anonymous

Slanderson,

Were you a grade3 and her2+ ?

slanderson

I was grade 3, but her2 negative. I went for my first mammogram after treatment was over a couple of months ago. It was negative and the technician couldn't understand why I wasn't jumping for joy.

Shannon

shadowwolfie

Hello Students. Are you still reading the posts? I did not have a lump. The mammogram found my problem, which was DCIS. I got a BIG LUMP! now which is the scar tissue inside. As an educator myself, I would encourage people to go for regular mammograms, perhaps with a friend or advocate, and to do it around your birthday so you dont forget. I would also encourage regular medical care by a GYN who will do the "patdown" for finding a lump. I was not ever able to notice the lumps in the training breasts that are available from the AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, so my own monthly search for breast changes involves stretching in front of a mirror to see-- go to breastofcanada.com and look for the link that shows the positions to stretch into to see if you have any new differences. As a native american woman, we have to educate ALL our different cultures about staying healthy. This is very difficult with all the different opinions relating to body parts, modesty, pain, fear, fear of machines, using other community spiritual healers instead of GYNS and mammography machines, etc. Namaste, ana

nelli

I had my mammogram recently and it was painful too. (I had this procedure several times in past, and it was not painful at all). So I guess that some technician are not doing their job well and contribute into BC risk increase. I am afraid of having problem after this painful mammogram, and decided to avoid it in future.
Also I have a history of BC. They never told it was a cancer 100%, but the BC treatment was prescribed and followed. The treatment was not helping much. In contrary, I had an increasing liver pain on the top of existing breast pain. I switched to the alternative medicine, what helped me after all. The alternative medicine is a very toxic herb extract.

Noreen1

I found a lump in both breasts 2 years ago.
Went to have them investigated, was told they were benign.
A year later went back to surgeon saying I know you said this was nothing but it is getting prominent can you remove it. They discovered it was breast cancer.
Was given choice of lumpectomy or mastectomy - chose lumpectomy. After surgery was told they did not have a clear margin and I would need a mastectomy. It was grade II but rather large.
Chemo was the next step. 6 sessions - 1 every three weeks.
then radiotherapy for 21 days.
Because it was ostrogen reponsive they decided to remove the ovaries. Because of other gynaecological problems they decided to do a hysterectomy.

there was no history of it in my family. In wales breast mammograms are done routinely from the age of 50. As I am in my forties it was not routine for me.

It shows the need to keep checking even if you are told the first lump is benign.
The medical staff took it seriously and responded quickly. It must be very distressing to live in an area where that level of expertise is not available.

Noreen.

doylet

Hi everyone,

I am 42 & was dxed in Feb 05. Following a lumpectomy I had to have a full mastectomy as the path was not as good as hoped. It reads:

Left breast, IDC, Grade 2, Invasive & DCIS greater than 28mm,extensive intraductal component, lymphovascular invasion,4/18 lymph nodes positive- 1 at level 1 & 1 at level 111 showng mestastic carcimoma & extranodal extension with 2 additional soft tissue deposits -1 at level 11 and 1 at level 111.I'm 90%+ pos for Oestrogen & Progesterone and my NPI index is 5.56.

I was told at the time that this was stage 2B-what do you think?

I had 4 AC & 4 Taxol every 2 weeks. I then had 28 Rads & finished everything last Nov. I'm on Armidex as my bloods showed post menopause. I had what appeared to be a light period last month but all of the tests have shown that I'm still post- men and that there is nothing showing in my womb. They will continue to monitor this but feel it is just the body having a final fling!

I coped with all of the treatment very well but find now that I'm finding it very difficult. From everything I've read I don't think my prognosis is great but my Oncologist tells me I've a 60/70% chance of never seeing this again as treatments have improved so much and I had the breast treatment going- what do you think?

granny2007

Hello, Iam 40 years old and reside in Ga. I was lying in bed one night one year ago checking my breast and panic  when I found a knot the size of a golf ball. It took me 3 weeks before I got to see a dr. Once the dr. examine my breast, she stated I didnt only have one knot but 3. The drs. office set everything up for me to go for a mammogram the very next day.The mammogram  showed even more lumps. immediately  they did a biopsy and rushed me to see a surgeon  that day. The surgeon then set me an appointment with an oncologist the next day. The same week I had a port placed under my skin just above my right breast and first round of chemo the same day. I had 6 rounds of chemo called andreamicin or devils blood.One month later I had a mastectomy. 3weeks after surgery I had 6 more chemos called taxatear. One month after chemo I had 26 radiation treatments. Everyday Mon-Fri. Everything happen so fast that I was just going through process. wasnt untill midway through radiation that I felt like it all had just hit me emotionally. Just as I complete my radiation, I had to have gallbladder surgery. Which surgeon  claimed the chemo caused.Today I have ned and I am on hormone therapy. It has been a year ago Sept.9 I was dx. Thank God everything is looking good now. I had no family history of any kind of cancer. So all this was and is very surprising  to me. I am so glad to be on the survivor  list.

chrissy16

Hi,  I had the same as you.  Microcalcifications seen on mammogram (3 yearly here in the UK).  Then core biopsy.  Result:  lumpectomy.  I have just had this two weeks ago, have results on the 29th March 2011.  I am optimistic, have to be.  They did tell me here at the Breast Institute in Nottingham that I would have rads afterwards.  I was on a clinical trial with Arimidex for a month, two weeks before the op. and two weeks after.  Then I may have Arimidex for 5 years too.  I never had any side effects with the drug.   Chris.