Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

IllinoisLady

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best.
- William Arthur Ward

Chevyboy

Happy New Year gals! Okay, so WINDY.... don't be afraid.... I know the feeling when you first hear "we think".... and "let's do a biopsy" and then finally "it's breast cancer"..... Just knocks the sails right out from your world.

I was diagnosed at 72.... and look at me now! Been 10 years out... I had a lumpectomy, which they implanted a Mammo-site device..(don't know if they still do that) But through those tubes, I had radiation seeds going into the "balloon" in my breast for about 10 minutes twice a day for only 1 week! Radiation done!

It's just so mind-boggling to ever know what to believe, and what to take! Just try and research, and do your best, and believe most of your doctors... Hah! One of mine told me I needed chemo... The other didn't …. I chose at my age, and what I had read, that I just didn't want to do this.

So seeing myself 10 years out, and still getting "clear" Mammograms, I am so happy to be where I am, and doing what I do!

That broken hip from a spill when I twisted my ankle... and the fall on my face against the fence after I painted the shed, slows you down for awhile... but just keep plugging along! And my hearing aids! YES, didn't hear a thing last night.... Hah!

Gotta get ready for Spring.... and spend all my Christmas gift-cards on out-door "stuff!"

Puffin! OMG!!! and I whine about 10 inches!!!

And CONGRATULATIONS Wren! You go girl!

Klstutzman

I was diagnosed with stage 2b idc estrogen progesterone positive herc2 negative breast cancer in January 2012. My oncologist decided to keep me on anastrozole another 5 years as long as my bone density scans come back ok. I get one tomorrow. I feel more confident on the anastrozole and have not had problems with it. Until it becomes a real problem with my bones I am staying on it.

Hope this helps.

Have a wonderful, healthy 2020!!!

Ps; I am 64.

IllinoisLady

Welcome windysea22 though as usual we are sorry that you needed to find us. I don't know much to share other than I do think your Oncologist should be able to give you some percentages as to the increases in chances of thwarting a reoccurrence of your dx. It is hard to know what to do. I looked on the 5 yr. pill as extra insurance in the arsenal of things one could do ( if recommended as part of the tx. program ) . Whether foolishly or not, it seemed to me from what I heard and read at the time, that while I needed to feel concern at every step along the way -- even now, that the first five yrs. were very important. Just to say that for me, I chose to take the pill because that was the time I felt like I most needed anything extra to combat my dx.

There isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer, but how you perceive ( with the help of your medical team and yourself ) how you feel about the steps you take in your tx. and care. It is your personal choice to make and they can help you with the numbers.

We all react differently to medications and other txs. and when you have more answers you hopefully will feel/know what is right for you. Others will share information with you and these ladies have far more and much better knowledge. I am wishing you well.

redhead403

My MO gave me the option of taking Arimidex or not. I am 69 and already am osteopenic. My margins weren't clear so I need Radiation. My ca is intermediate not agressive. Stopped taking HRT 3 mos ago and having hot flashes. Don't know if that helps. My thought is how much pain and aggravation do the physicians think we want at our age. My breast surgeon says I can live to be 100, but do I really want that?

petite1

Happy New Year to All

carolehalston

Windy, I can't (and wouldn't) offer any advice about another woman's treatment choices. I was 66 when I was diagnosed 10 years ago. My bc specialist prescribed arimidex for 5 years and I was able to take it without too many SE's. I began taking a low dosage of Effexor at the same time to help with the hot flashes and menopause symptoms. I had never experienced menopause because I was on HRT, which I loved. I would still be on it today if I hadn't developed bc.

There was talk of taking the arimidex for 10 years when I came to the end of my 5 years and I didn't even consider it.

Good luck to you. I hope you'll let us know what you decide and keep us updated on how you are getting along.

I am on my own on this first day of 2020. DH is off to play golf again today. The gym (YMCA) is closed and golf will allow him to get some exercise. My golf group is taking a break because of the holidays or I would play, too. The weather has been good for golf. I will probably take a walk to get exercise. I used to walk 3 miles regularly before developing foot ailments and having foot surgery. I will also do some New Year's Day cooking and maybe even get a few household chores done. There is plenty to do instead of sitting.

Now we'll have to get used to writing 2020!

windysea22

Thanks everyone. I don't know the difference really between the med you are mentioning and Letrezole, but I'm assuming it does the same things to bones, etc.

The dizziness and constant headache are annoying, but I'm more worried about the bones.

I am familiar with path reports for other cancers, but the BC seems to have so much less information, or rather, fewer specifics just using that word "Aggressive." So yeah, it WAS, but they got it all, though I'd rather have better margins than 7 mm, and it had not spread to lymph nodes. From what they told me, this type, while often easier to treat (EP) also tends to come back either in the same breast or other breast.

I'll keep researching, but yeah, quality of life (for me) is very close to as important as life (at this stage of mine.) I'll keep with it for now, but it really does seem that the side effects are hitting me hard already, and I've been on it less than five days. It seems like a lot when I have no evidence of disease, and I'll be doing radiation.

I promise I'm not whining about such mild side effects when others have been through so much worse, vastly worse, in order to survive. I'm just trying to weigh my odds here, AND my choices. I will talk with my *new oncologist next month in more depth now that I've been on this. I have a very trusted oncologist from my other cancer (NED since 2000 and surgery, with no meds.) If she weren't a 6 hour round trip drive I would have already met with her. As it is, in spring as days get longer, I will make an appointment with her and make the trip.

Thanks again, I appreciate it and all other tips. I'm hoping the 4 week whole breast radiation goes well, lympedema is my biggest dread there, since I already have a touch (mostly armpit) from the surgery lymph gland removal.

keywestfan

Sandy, I found your observation that slim women are more frequently prescribed anastrozole than letrozole interesting.I wondered how MO made that decision for me.

Here is the rather neurotic - reflecting as a long time psychotherapist- dilemma I have. Going to beloved Key West for a few weeks to attend their Literary Seminar which is wonderfully stimulating in so many ways- like last year sitting with Joyce Carol Oates on one side of me, Judy Blume on the other. DH a few seats down.

We always stay at The Gardens which has 17 cottages and we are in # 14 which we love. Last year on January 21, in the shower I found my lump. Here’s the dilemma. Has this paradise of The Gardens and #14 been ruined for me, will I have PTSD in the shower, or can I change my perspective and think how lucky I was that I found it there when it was still small? Hope I can reframe this and not sink into so scary flashback.

Am looking forward to Sarabeth’s Strawberry Shortcake. I’m not a dessert eater, but could devour 43 of those in a row.Would post a picture from last year if I could figure out how

keywestfan

HikingLady

windysea22 Sending you good wishes to navigate all this, and the decisions ahead. I agree with the advice above, by IllinoisLady It's very individual. And, I agree with carolehalston -- I wouldn't dream of giving advice, but I'll share my history and experience.

Questions I would ask MO, if I were in your shoes: what's my exact benefit if I am on the AI? That is, if I don't take it, what's my % risk of recurrence, and if I do take it, how much does that % go down? What exact risks are there if I take it?

My MO spent a lot of time explaining the fine details of my post-surgery pathology report---many of which aren't on this site's options to set into our profile. The path. report specifies things like 'proliferation rate' and 'grade' and 'lymphatic involvement,' and there are some specific DCIS descriptors that inform treatment decisions. My MO says that the NCCN data are what inform DX and TX these days; we have a lot of data mined at this point, and there's less guesswork than 20 years ago, or than the first time I had breast cancer (and was cured!). Which is to say, it's evidence-based, and the recommendations aren't "we think." Instead, they're "we've seen." This is a big difference over how treatment was decided in previous decades. Statistical probabilities are still not certainties, but at least they're better than anecdotal treatment reports, or guesswork. I appreciate being treated in this era of breast cancer treatment.

I have 3 friends who've had ER+ DCIS, and each has been given a different 'best outcome' treatment plan, so it is very tailored, these days, to the exact info in your DX. If you feel comfortable setting your My Profile to 'public,' we can see where you are in your journey.

I have made my decisions always with my MO's extremely specific guidance about how much a particular treatment plan would improve my outcome (=reduce recurrence which for me would be probably Stage 4 mets, have a good shot at curing, etc.), vs what the downside/risks are, and whether those risks are worth it. There's no crystal ball, so you just have to balance it all. In my case, I've written it down on a T-chart, with [+] and [- ]side for all decisions. My MO has weighed in to interpret and contextualize all these decisions.

Usually, the decision to be on an AI is because the benefit is really huge, and it will reduce recurrence risk, statistically, a lot. In my case, it lowers my risk of recurrence so hugely that I really need to be on it for best outcome, statistically. By a long shot.... I already had osteopenia, so I will have a DEXAScan every 2 years, and I also get a bone med (Zometa) infusion every 6 months. My side effects from Anastrozole are okay; manageable.

carolehalston

My bone density is normal, possibly from so much weight-bearing exercise for years. Maybe just lucky while being unlucky! Who knows

Wren44

I have osteopenia, but it didn't get worse during 5 years of anastrazole. I took Claritin (the non-drowsy kind) because I heard it helped with the side effects. I felt cold all the time while I was on it and would have welcomed a hot flash or two. I'm back to normal body temps now. I was 71 at diagnosis and am 79 now. So far so good. Sometimes people have side effects from one AI but not as much with another. I would definitely report the dizziness to the doc.

Wren44

Keywestfan, That strawberry shortcake would overrule my fear of PTSD. Eat and enjoy.

IllinoisLady

Shortcake would do it for me as well. I will say that I tend to always look for a way to accentuate the positive, but it is not instantaneous. It may take a while for me to get there. Here's hoping you do fine without so much of a hint of a flash-back. Keywest.

Taco1946

Windysea22 - all of the AI's work to suppress the natural production of hormones (your diagnosis should show that you are ER+ and or PR+. ). Try to make your profile public so we can respond to your questions more specifically.

I've discovered SE's versus QOL decisions have to be very personal and are related to family considerations, age, general health etc. My MO's comment when I started AI's was that I was a "very healthy 71 year old". I also had a fantastic dexa result so I admit ostreoporis (can't spell this well enough to even have spell check help) hasn't been much of a consideration for me. Your MO should give you a statistical probability resulting from taking AI's to aid in your decision.

People respond to the different AI's differently. I am much happier on femora than I was on Arimidex. Others would say just the opposite. Stay as active as you can and be certain to hydrate whatever you take. Talk to MO about SE's. Many people keep a journal so they are clear how often or how challenging they are.

I also remind myself that I am 3 years older than when I was diagnosed and some of my aches and pains are age and genetic related rather than caused by AI's. I had a knee replacement in July but I'm not the only one of my friends who have "artificial" something.

I've mentioned before but will mention again, for most of us our stress level goes up over the holidays which always makes my aches and pains more noticeable. I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine and getting off the holiday pounds with more golf and fewer cookies.

Welcome. Questions are always appropriate.

Taco

petite1

That strawberry short cake looks wonderful. I enjoy KeyWest and had a Cheese Burger in Paradise with a cold beer. We haven't been down in years. I also fund the lump in the shower and glad I did. Early detection is the key.

MCBaker

I got a fitbit again. There are so many things in my daily routine that I need to do to get good sleep and avoid morning headaches. Nose rinse and two different sprays, muscle relaxant at bedtime, oral antihistamine, moving gym-time to late afternoon, air filtration, my dog crated overnight and bathed, prayer and meditation to reduce anxiety, change sheets weekly, gabapentin, three cups of coffee as soon as I get up, and good hydration throughout the day.

It all requires a certain amount of obsessive-compulsive personality traits, which I don't think I have. I regard myself as being more of a free spirit. Well, at least it isn't diabetes or something like that.

IllinoisLady

The well-known maxim, "While there is life there is hope," has a deeper meaning in reverse: "While there is hope there is life."
Hope comes first, life follows. Hope gives power to life. Hope rouses life to continue, to expand, to grow, to reach out, to go on.
Hope sees a light where there isn't any.
Hope lights candles in millions of despairing hearts.
Hope is the miracle medicine of the mind. It inspires the will to live. Hope is the physician's strongest ally.
Hope is our shield and buckler against defeat.
"Hope," wrote Alexander Pope, "springs eternal in the human breast." And as long as it does we will triumph and move forward.
Hope never sounds retreat. Hope keeps the banners flying.
Hope revives ideals, renews dreams, revitalizes visions.
Hope scales the peak, wrestles with the impossible, achieves the highest aim.
"The word which God has written on the brow of every person," wrote Victor Hugo, "is Hope." As long as we have hope no situation is hopeless.

Wilferd A. Peterson

carolehalston

I have fond memories of visiting Key West a number of years ago. I don't think it was quite as popular (touristy) then. I loved going to Sunset. It felt so inclusive when the small crowd of people clapped when the sun disappeared below the horizon. Of course, we visited Hemingway's house and saw the 6-toed cats all over the place. I would definitely go back if opportunity presented itself. I enjoyed the small island atmosphere.

I was shocked when I woke up and looked at the clock this morning. 8:20! So I will be later than usual going to the gym. It will be good to get back to a non-holiday schedule at the gym. On Tuesday I was on a treadmill when a young man appeared beside me on the adjacent treadmill and said apologetically that the gym would be closing at 11:00. It was already 11:00 so I had to cut my exercise short. That's the down side of the YMCA. It closes a lot for the benefit of employees. The smaller gym, Anytime Fitness, in MN is always open to members with key fobs.

Good information and shared experience on the AI's and tamoxifen.

MCBaker

Yeah, Anytime Fitness is a Silver Sneakers eligible gym here, and where I go. It is a few blocks away, so I get my ankle brace on and my hiking poles, and walk over. We figured that 4:00 or 5:00 would be best, given exercise has an energizing effect, then a crash. Maybe later would work, but that is past sunset this time of year, and walking on ice past sunset is hazardous. But steel-tipped hiking poles, and grips on my shoes make even that relatively safe.

centerhill08

Hello! I'm new to the forum and am thrilled to find a discussion board for "more mature" people with BC (I'm 61). I beat colon cancer back in 2010 and was ticking along quite well, until I was diagnosed with bc this past July. I had a lumpectomy followed by radiation which ended in December. The bright spot in all this was I did not have to go thru chemo as I had for the colon cancer. That almost killed me! My question for you all is about Letrozole side effects. I've been on the med since the middle of December. In the past two weeks, I have started having trouble sleeping, which I know can be a side effect. I am also having hot flashes, but they are preceeded and followed by pretty severe chills. So 24/7 I am alternating between freezing and sweating. The hot flashes I can handle, but the chills make me want to just curl up in bed under blankets. I've been on vacation from work for the past two weeks, and am trying to figure out how I'm going to handle this once I'm back. I am constantly layering up, then undressing...it's exhausting! Has anyone else dealt with the chills/hot flashes cycles? Thanks!

IllinoisLady

centerhill08 Welcome and glad you found us. Put this forum/thread in your favorites so you don't lose us again. Others will chime in here because I don't have any good answers for you. I took Arimidex before it was generic ( and after ) and didn't have too much for hot flashes ( mild ones on occasion ) and no chills. I was though constantly cold during chemo and needed layers almost at all times.

Someone should chime in here later. Again welcome. Glad you are here, and I'm wishing you well.

windysea22

Again, thanks for all the help guys.

Finally went in for blood work, and yup, infection.

I would have spotted it sooner, but the side effects matched the whatever this is I have so perfectly I put it off. Started AB a few hours ago, temp is finally normal, and perhaps the Letrezole will not be as big a pain as I thought.

(still worried about the bone thing though.)

Chevyboy

Good Morning gals.... Okay now CenterhillO…. Hey girl, you are barely even old enough to be considered "older"... Hah! I mean my daughter's are 61 and 58! And they seem like "kids" to me still... lollol…!

And I don't really know anything about what you are describing, except that maybe check with your Doctor, or Oncologist, and tell them what is going on with you... Yes, it probably is the SE's of what you are taking, but ask them what you can do about it all...

My youngest Daughter still throws her clothes off every once in awhile, and she isn't even ON anything... And my HUSBAND is always so damn cold, it drives me nuts! Maybe it's just what our bodies are going through, and how everything has upset our internal workings. So talk to people who might have some knowledge of this stuff... I mean someone who is in the business.... Or even research your SE's, and look on this forum for answers....

I'm sure a lot of these gals can help you. So yes.... check it all out, and see if others can help you not be miserable anymore!

IllinoisLady

Above all, let us never forget that an act of goodness is in itself an act of happiness. It is the flower of a long inner life of joy and contentment; it tells of peaceful hours and days on the sunniest heights of our soul.

Maurice Maeterlinck

IllinoisLady

Oh my but I'm not sure but what we had a bit of rain through the night. My car is looking pretty wet but I haven't been out of doors yet. We will have some more today or it could wait till towards evening. Could have some slight snow mixed in but I'm thinking ( as it does often ) it will stay too warm here. Still, no matter -- it will be gray which doesn't take long to get to me. Erg !! Well, plenty to do inside so I can keep going. Otherwise no big plans.

Puffin -- hope things are getting better and better for you. I haven't kept a check but I doubt your snow has any melting going on. Dh's adult children and grandchildren all live in the Sioux Falls area so that is about the only place in that direction that we hear about. Most of the weather from that way is more general than specific for the most part.

Chevy, I think men are it seems to be, always a bit colder. I have all my energy in the early part of the day so I'm usually up first, doing the morning chores ( lg. or sm. ) sooner. Getting dressed sooner -- well, all the things that can encourage a bit of a warm-up. So Dh complains if I hold the door open too long with the cats and dogs needing/wanting in or out. Sssh, Dh thinks waiting for the cook ( me ) to make breakfast counts as work. He has to spend all that energy giving me his soulful hungry look. Just kidding about that -- but it is these sorts of things ( his lack of energy usage ) that he doesn't think about while wrapped up in his robe drinking his morning cup from his easy chair in front of the t.v. I do know from old back injuries I think h does have some impairment of blood flow, but then again -- you get that going by expending some energy.

We just have to face some of the changes that come as we age. I come from a family of stoic women who don't give in easily so it is easier for me to plod on with the viewpoint that one of us ( no matter which one and we do change roles now and then ) has to keep us going. Like my arm issue or your hip, Chevy.

Wren44

My Dad wore long underwear for the last years of his life. If your DH isn't doing that, he should get some. If he's in his recliner, think about one of those heated throws. I have a fleece throw around me while I'm on my computer. It helps a lot.

Taco1946

Letrozole certainly can give you hot flashes. It's cutting down the remaining hormones so puts most of us into "another menopause." My MO changed the mild antidepressant I was on to another and my hot flashes went away. Joint problems are still bad but I had orthopedic work before BC and a knee replacement this summer. My dexa scan was very good though. Glad you were able to figure out the chills. That's a reminder to all of us that while there are real SE's on AI's, not everything is. Keep asking questions and talking to MO. The first AI isn't always the best. I wish someone could figure out why but at least there are options. My DH, a retired general surgeon, reminds me that twenty years ago almost everyone had a mastectomy and took tamoxifen.

Chevyboy

Yes, I know all the ways he should stay warm.... Hah! I have made so many blankets by crocheting them! Even bought a fleece/flannel throw.... but when he sits there without his shirt, and whines that he is cold, I just look at him, blankly, and act like I don't hear, until he knows I do..... ! And he will NOT wear a light T-shirt to bed... He HAS robes, sweat-pants, T-shirts , but he would rather think he is freezing....

So I get up in the middle of the night, sweating when the house is 80 degrees, and turn the heat down to maybe 70.

Oh yes, heated throws, heating pads, and those little rice-bags that I made, that we heat in the micro-wave, but it's just easier to complain I think! Oh wait.... then comes the "my mouth is so dry.... My nose keeps running.... my lips are dry.... my knee hurts, and what is this thing on my side?????

So I look up from Perry Mason, get up & fix him a cup of tea, and finish watching the show. Sometimes I just think, because he is older, that he just needs a little more attention.... It's so different when older men get older... Hah! I try and not be crabby, and be more sensitive to him... so keep me motivated girls!