How soon did second bc or recurrence happen?

Anonymous

Well, I was orginally diagnosed March 16, 2007 with invasive. I had my sentinel node & lumpectomy on April 23, 2007.  April 23, 2008 I had my first mammogram after treatment was completed, and calicifications were found.  After a botched stereotactic biopsy in May 2008, I had a surgical biopsy done on the left breast (orginal was in right) and was diagnosed with DCIS.  I think it's been a bit harder this time around...I charged at it the first time and this time I feel sucker punched. 

pinkdove

I have liver and spine mets but my original diagnosis was back in 1995 and I nearly went 10 years in remission before secondaries (which were diagnosed in Sept 2004).

 Living with secondaries is definitely a completely different ball game from having primary b.c.  The uncertainty of how long we have never goes away.

 I'm currently waiting for my genetic test (which will be next month) as I have a strong family history so maybe it's always been on the cards for me?

nancyluvspink

I was first diagnosed in 2000 at age 35.  Six years later, I got bc again.  Thought I had it, fought it and survived it.  So, I've been through the treatments twice.  Now, 6/08 I had a bilateral mastectomy.  Be strong.  Best of luck to you.

Nancy

nancyluvspink

I was first diagnosed in 2000 at age 35.  Six years later, I got bc again.  Thought I had it, fought it and survived it.  So, I've been through the treatments twice.  Now, 6/08 I had a bilateral mastectomy.  Be strong.  Best of luck to you.

Nancy

Mandy1313

I was diagnosed in 1985....had mastectomy for DCIS and 0/32 nodes.

In 2008, I was diagnosed for small (9 mm and 5 mm) multi focal IDC with 1/2 nodes.  In between I was fine and this is an entirely new cancer...not related to the first. I tested negative for BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.  

DJW, it sounds like you have done what you could, so  just go on and enjoy life.  

stefie

Hi   I go tommorrow for a biopsy on my right breast, one year after breast cancer in my left.  I am scared to death.  The dr tried to do the needle biopsy in the office ysterday and could not get a good picture where to go in.  I am locky they could get me in so soon.  My dr is very hush hush about the whole thing.  He just tells me to think positive but how can I when he doesn't seem to be as far as I can tell.  Your mind does strange things at times like this.  The more time goes by the more freaked out I am getting.  I have been on tamoxifen since Jan and did rad last nov. and Dec.  God help us who wants to do this again??   stephanie

Jo_Ann_K

Stefie,

Was this biopsy a result of a mammogram?

stefie

Hi   Yes Jo Ann but they cancealled at the last minute and have decided to waith for 6 months to see if things chnge.  The dr just doesn't want to do surgery if we don't need to, I am happy with that right now.  The area they saw in the mamo is a cluster calcifacation but is very small  I have alot of calcifacation in my breast anyway but alot is macro.  It seems that things change quickly.  I have a hard time keeping up with all the new tech.

deemarie

I had bc 4 years ago it came back in my lung,a very small lesion,my surgeon removed it.  All my scans were negative thank God.Will this cancer ever go away. I am so sad but not everyday my sadness comes and goes. I belive and god and he healed me  before and he will heal me again. I really took care of myself when i was diagonis in04 but it came back anyway. I will be taking 3 treatments and then scan, I just pray it is know were else.

stefie

Deemarie  I will keep you in my prayers.  I am so sorry to hear of anyone going through all of this.  It is very hard to cope with everyday.  God Bless you all

KinAZ

Deemarie, how did they find it in your lungs?  I hate this for all of us, and will keep you all in my prayers

Karen

Irishsun

I had bc and treatment in 2005, it came back in the other side exactly one year later in the other side in 2006, THEN in 2007 had a bilateral mas. with reconstruction.  Now im having some Neurological  problems.  I had a cat scan of my head.  Nothing was found, but when I told my onc he said I need to come in to see him ASAP.  I'm not even going to think about it!!!!

KPolasek

I am so sorry for all of you and your 2nd and 3rd reoccurances.  I was diagnosed 10/22/07, lumpectomy 11/1/07, Chemo (Cytoxan and Taxotere) 12/26/07 (Merry Christmas ( finished that on 2/26/08 then 33 rounds of rads finished 5/9/08.  I have this area around the incision that is lumpy ....  it started before the rads.  My boob started feeling better around July when my 2 yr old grandson accidentally elbowed me in the incision area ... then the pain started over .... in August I went to my surgeon and he said that it was just scar tissue not to worry (I call him Dr. Goober).  This was the 3rd time he has failed me (1. oh you don't have cancer, cancer appears like a starburst on the mammo .... ya da ya da ya da, 2.  oh you are stage 1, lump less than 2 cm you'll only need radiation ..... and he refers me to an onc that took 30 days to see - all of a sudden I am a stage 2a, grade 3, triple neg, chemo and rads ... Goober). 

 I had an ultrasound that showed a cyst and scar tissue or a mass .... then I had a mammogram and the report said that they think that the mass is not cancer .... key word "think." 

Anyway, this coming Monday I am going to a female breast surgeon in another city to get her opinion of what is going on with my boob .... it has a reddened area about the size of a quarter or slightly larger .... is painful .... and I am wondering why no one has said anything about getting rid of the cyst ...

I am TIRED of going to Goober doctors who know nothing .... or who just guess .... they think .... think doesn't work for me .... I need to know .... of course, I am praying that this is just scar tissue but I just have a feeling that there is more to this .....

Thanks for letting me rave!

Blessings,

Kay

goldendragonlady

Hey mke!!!  Are you still out there???  Did you have radiation with either of your lumpectomies????  Did your Dr.(s) advise you to have the BRAC test??? 

Mary  : )

sdavis

Hey all, I had four years between outbreaks. August 1, 2004  at age 35. I found a large lump behind my nipple ( found in the shower will washing) Dr. found a secondary lump. had a modified Radical Mastectomy of my left chest. chemo (taxol)  thru the holidays no radiation as we took it all and got clean margins. Tamoxifen for two years then I quit as I hated side effects.

October 13th 2008, in the tub and find a lump on the left chest area. couldnt do a biopsy due to implants so plastic surgeon removed it and it of course comes back completely filled with nasty germys as my son would say. So I get another holiday season without hair and feeling like poop. But I am going to live.

Side note my grandmother (paternal) had bc fifty years ago and again 39 years ago and she just died Oct. 27th at the ripe old age of 98. she didnt have any treatments except mastectomy and x-ray therapy as they called it.

kathimdgd

Sue,

  I see we have more in common than last names!!

My paternal gramma also had BC.She had it in 1929,when she was 45 and had the same treatment as yours,a mastectomy and x-ray therapy,she  lived to be 93,and died from Pneumonia.

Sorry you have found another lump.That's one of the reasons i went with the bilateral,as i had had in the past lumpectomy,and another scare,so i said the He** with this,just take them both off.Of course i'm 70 so they had gone south anyway,so no big deal.JMO

Kathi

Hindsfeet

One year,after a lumpectomy, I went in for a follow up mammogramn. Since my dcis was non-invasive with clean margins and nodes I chose not to have radiation (few other reasons too). I wasn't nervous about my yearly mammogramn. I thought it would be clear, but it wasn't. I was again dx with dcis grade 3 cancer.

The doctor from last year said even with radiation it would had shown up. It was there all along. There are some cancer cells that are missed or are too small to detect at the first dx. Fortunately most are early cancers and aren't life threatening. Having the mammogramn is good. It helps us catch it before it becomes invasive.

Do I worry about a future recurrence? I am concern, and suppose I always will be. I do not look forward to another mammogramn. I now fear it will always show califications. For me that's the new fear of having  recurrence.

jah4377

FYI a leap year is 366 days...sorry don't mean to sound picky. Just a little nervous waiting to see the surgeon. Second time around for me. First time was 4/05. They found another lump 7/08 and went back yesterday for a follow up mammo and found the lump grew. They schedule an appointment with the surgeon before I had much time to think about it. A biopsy is schedule for Monday morning. Head spinning fast. I hate this feeling. I work at a well known company who makes digital mammography machines, I asked 2 doctors I work with to look at my films and both said they have never seem anything like my lump before.The first time around the one doctor looked at my films and said looked like cancer. He was right he knew by just looking at the shape of the lump. I gues that should make me feel better because it didn't look familar to either one of them. So I'm good right????? One hour to surgeon time better hop in the shower. Thanks for letting me rant.

nosurrender

I got my new primary six years later!

mama_tyra

my first dx was august 6 2004 i was stage 2 tripple negative 0/13 nodes 4 ac 4 taxotere had right mast

now i was told i have it again having surgery friday not stage yet but the surgeon believe it is in my lyphnode i found the other lump under my underarm beside my good breast nevertheless having a second mast on the left side .........i am so scared the 2nd time is just as bad as the 1st time  

JoniB

Just went for my one year mammo and ultrasound after DCIS and small invasive component in right breast last year.  I had lumpectomy and radiation but now one slide from the mammo shows a very small cluster in the same breast.  However, they can not find it on any other slides - even though they took more images.  I was told that they can only biopsy the area if they can find the calcifications in two slides.  Ultrasound was fine.  Now I am going for an MRI next week.  So, I may end up being diagnosed two Decembers in a row.  If the MRI turns up nothing, I come back in 6 months.

5555Isolde6

1st.             DX was left breast stage 0

2nd.            DX 14 years later - new primary right Breast

3nd.            DX 26 years later left breast again Stage IV

LezlieB

I had a fibroid tumor in right breast at age 17, (1971) Lumpectomy took care of that though I was terrified at that age of the threat that it was cancer. Back then they just put you into surgery to do the biopsy and made you sign all the papers allowing them to do a mastectomy if it was cancer. When I went in I had no idea if I'd come out with a boob or not. I was just getting used to them too! LOL!

Then nothing till 2001 when I was DX with DCIS in the left breast, had lumpectomy (asked for double mastectomy to prevent any future chances of BC but the Dr's wouldn't hear of it. Thought I was over-reacting.

Did radiation and Tamoxifin.

Almost exactly 7 years later to the day I was DX with IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer) in the same breast as before and found calcifications in the right that they wanted to check further.

Pet Scan showed mets in lymph and liver...

Had chemo (ACT) and then Herceptin and bi-lateral mastectomy in January 2009.

Now for more chemo and radiation. I'm kind of fried because IBC is so aggressive and if the DR's had listened to me back when I wanted a double mastectomy I wouldn't be facing IBC now.

I know, woulda, coulda, shoulda......hindsight does no good, but I sure wish I'd been more forceful in making the DR's listen to me back then!

Wally333

1st. DX was left breast stage 1 (2000)

2nd.DX was 7 years later left breast stage IV

Westie

My sig. line tells of my Dx.  I am out of treatment and have been quite well since Christmas.  Yesterday my Radiation Onc. found a lump on the mastectomy side!