30 & diagnosed

Kimberley30

Hello All,

 My name is Kim, I am 30 years old. I was just diagnosed with breast cancer myself. I am a non smoker, with noone in my family that has had cancer. my Dr has no clue where this came from.

I had atleast 7 mamagrams, and 1 biopsy before it was detected. I started to bleed from my nipples, that is what made me notice it, and bring the issue to the doctors.

 My Dr has now told me I need to have my breast removed, and get reconstructive surgery. I am trying sooooooooooooo hard not to break down and cry. I am trying to smile as though I wasnt just told this. I guess the reason for this site is to hear how other people are coping & dealing.

 I hope and pray that we all with get through this from the help of God, our families & friends.

May God bless us all!!

Love Kim

Cris30

Hi Kim.

My name is Cris, my wife Kerry was dx last week with BC she is 34 and like you the Doc's have no real answer as to why she has it, she has done all the right things, early kids, breast fed and is very fit. Some times there are no answers.... All i can say is our hopes and love are with you, and this is the time for you and your family. keep strong. x

Ps try the chat room, there are some truly nice people in there , they have been so good to us.

Kimberley30

Thx alot, ur concern for your wife just brought tears to my eyes. Thx

LittleFlower

Hey Kimberley,

I'm so sorry that you're dealing with this.. ughhh.  I was diagnosed at 29, and that was almost 3 years ago.  Believe it or not, life will get better.  I remember all the mammograms and biopsies and I didn't really believe it for a while.  I had NO RISK factors like you.  Young healthy no family history, non smoker non drinker... etc.  The truth is we just don't know WHY!  Focus your energy on getting through your treatments, surrounding yourself with a good support team (including this website)  remember always, You're not alone.

LittleFlower

Kimberley30

LittleFlower,

You are so right, I feel as though I havnt shed enough tears, or realized how swerious this is. I am meeting with a ps this coming friday, and then my surgery is June 5th, ughhhhhhhh, its all happening so fast! Well thanks a lot for your encouraging words hun, nothing makes me feel better then knowing someone else can get thru it as well!!

God bless you,

Kim

sg8535937

Kimberley,

I too was dx when I was 32 with no history. I went for the most aggressive treatment I could. I am in Windsor, Ontario, I had a mx in Aug 07 went for chemo and rads and am currently talking tamoxifen. Just this past Oct I went in and had the other breast removes along with a total hysterectomy as my genitic results came back BRCA1+. I am having tissue expanders put in wednesday to start the reconstruction. Stay strong and you will be surprised how well you will do. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Best Wishes,

Sandy

Anonymous

Chiming in here!  I was 31 at dx.  We were trying to get pregnant at the time, and I was extremely tired, nauseous, and my left breast was sore. 

Just one breast. 

My husband actually found my lump, even though I had just had my annual gyno. check up a few months before. 

It is terrifying, and completely unnerving, but I promise you, you will get through this.  I am almost 4 years past dx, and believe it or not, I haven't ONLY had breast cancer!  I've had ovarian, and colon cancer as well!  

You can do this.  Come here, and ask any question.   The women here are the greatest! 

Love and prayers,

Deb

Kimberley30

thanks alot for all your kind words! i have seen more support then i imagnied. it is overwhelming!

I love all you ladies as if i have known you all my life!

My 3 closest friends an i just got a matching tattoo, for them to show support for what i am going through!

I love all of you from the bottom of my heart, and YES we will get through it all TOGETHER!!

Cris30

How you keeping? Hope you are K?

Cris 

lexislove

Hi!

I found my lump at 29 and was diagnosed at 30. I have finished all treatment and living life.My daughter was only 2 when I heard those horrid words,"it's malignant."

My 2 year cancerversary is coming up in September. When I was diagnosed I never thought i'd get to that point. But here I am, doing better. Any q's just ask!

Kimberley30

Cris30,

To be completly honest, I dont know, i try VERY hard not to think about it! Is that bad?

Microgal

Hi Kim.  I just joined this chat today.  I am 41 and was diagnosed on 4/3.  Every day since then I feel like I have been living in a bad dream.  I had my lumpectomy on 5/6 and also an axial node removal.  They removed 10 nodes but thankfully only one was cancerous.  I'm going tomorrow for my bone and CT scans to make sure there wasn't any lymphovascular invasion which is just one more thing to be scared out of my mind about.  Since they didn't get clean margins from my lumpectomy, I am now opting to do the bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction....just waiting to get the surgery date.  I am also going to have to do chemo and meet with my oncologist this Friday.  I have taken this extremely hard. Before I was diagnosed, my husband and I were preparing to start the process to adopt a child (besides having breast cancer and cannot have children).  Now of course that has been put on the back burner because I have to deal with this.  I have tons of anger that I'm having trouble getting rid of.  I'm hoping this anger is normal.  I hate feeling this way but don't know how to get rid of it.  I was hoping that maybe by coming here, it would help me start to wrap my head around all of this and try to get a positive attitude.  I do have to say that just by reading the few posts I have, I now realize that I am not alone.

Kimberley30

Microgal,

No hun you are farrrrrrrr from alone. I called my doctor after talking to you ladies to find out the names of what kind of bc i have, turns out I have 2 .. DCIS which is extensive (hope I got that right)  and Invasive Ductual, which is behind my nipple I cannot remember all the words, I am hearing impaired so the tty machine is easy to forget.!! I go on June 5th at 730 am, to get it removed and an implant put in, I am meeting with my ps tomororow. Also I requested a copy of all the documentation as it is better to read then hear for me!  I will detail you all later when I recieve it.

I feel so many different emotions as well. This really puts in perspective of the meaning good days & bad days. I guess we all eed to help eachother with words to help ease all the pain// madness// questions & so much more! I hope this site helps you alot hun!

God bless you

Cris30

Hi, Some times not thinking abou things only make you bottle things up, try keeping your mind occupied with fun stuff. I have been trying this with my Kerry and she told me the othere night thats it has been of real help. She told me that not thinking about it , is thinking about it.

We are here for you if you need to rant, and rave, or just chill. We live in the UK and are usually on the chat rooms at about 2am GBT. don't know what time that is were you live but if you like to tallk thats were we can be found.

X 

Kimberley30

Hey Cris30,

for some reason I cannot get into the chats!

Kim

Kimberley30

Hello all,

I wanted to inform you that I have had my masectomy (hope I spelt that right, im still drowsy) And i am home, they put my expander in and I feel GREAT!!! its sore a bit and different because i am not a big fan of meds .. but i have a great supoort system and im so happy that all is going so well. I will find out by the 15th if my lymph nodes were negative, so fingers crossed!!

And thanks to all the good and kind words from everyone on this site, again may God bless us all

Love Kim

lissette80901

hi kim, good to hear you felt great after surgery.  I'm curious to know how you are doing now??  I did 3 months of chemo with the hopes my tumor would shrink and I could get a lumpectomy.  Didn't work so I go in June 16th for a mastectomy. Wandering how you're feeling... I guess I want to hear it's going to be ok.  :-)

Kimberley30

lissette,

 the BEST advice I can give u is : STAY POSTIVE !!!!! Do not ask yourself, why me? I have not shed 1 bad tear .. pain, afterlook nothing! I know that there is a plan for me with all this, and God will see me to the end!! The pain to me was tolerable. A lot of pressure, as it felt like to me that I was walking forward and someones hand was on my right sholder holding me back! I still have my drain in, im hoping my nurse comes today with the news its coming out! The home care was AMAZING, I have a physical therapist thats amazing as well. I have seen my breast without the bandage and I was happy, it looks way better then I imganied. Like I said even though it looks like you are going to go thru the WORST thing ever, as long as you keep a postive attitude, you will be fine!

Good Luck and let me know how your feeling. I feel bad posting that I have had a postive expierecnce with this, as some woman on here have faced so much pain etc. I am not trying to "show off" "boast" or say that God isnt helping them. All im saying is keep a smile, as big as your picture (by the way you are gorgeous) and I know you will come through this as strong as I did

GOD BLESS US ALL .. I love all of you ladies

Love always, Kim

dah0123

Hi Kim,

Wishing you all the best.  I was diagnosed at 34 with no family history.  They said I probably had it for 10 years before it was discovered.  It has been 14 years for me now.  You will get through it and it will give you a new perspective on life that you will come to see as a gift (though I would never say that getting cancer is a gift - I had to have bilateral mastectomies at 34 and have my ovaries removed as a precaution).

Stay positive and act positive when you feel it, but if you can't and feel sad or angry sometimes, don't PRETEND to be positive and bottle up your emotions.  The best thing is to not let your mind wander -- re-focus on the "good" whenever you are aware of negative thoughts.  If you like to read, I loved "Love, Medicine and Miracles" by Dr. Bernie Siegel.  Love that man!

Debbie

Kimberley30

Yea I totally feel the dont bottle up your emotions ... but to be 100% honest i havnt felt any bad ones? is this normal?? i feel like this is a blessing in disquise. I will be healthy and happy.

Im GLAD to hear you have been doing so well!! this a total mindblowing thing that we are all facing, but exactly what you said Stay positive and act positive when you feel it !! You will be the first to hear from me if i ever expierence a bad moment

Love Kim

Kimberley30

Hello all,

Just to update, My Dr took out 3 lymph nodes and all were clear so because of my masectomy I am proud to say I am cancer free !! I am being refered to a specialist to see if there is any need for radiation chemo etc.

Love you all Kim

Anonymous

Kim, that is great news!  Please keep us updated! 

yasminv1

Kim,

Good to hear you are cancer free. I too was cleared cancer free last week. I too had extensive DCIS and IDC. It has been a tough road and tough choices to make for us at 30 years old. We are strong!! Good Luck to you!

LauraC86010

Hi Kim-

I am Laura.  I am 30 years old (in April) and was diagnosed with DCIS, IDC, and Paget's Disease May 15, 2009.  The only way I new that I had something going on was the bloody discharge from my nipple and the skin broke open and it drained for 7 days.  I had a mammogram, biopsy, and diagnosis with 5 days.  My doc moved very quickly.  I had my double mastetomy and reconstruction on May 29th, just a mere 2 weeks after my diagnosis.  I am 5 weeks post surgery now and actually feel human again!  I start my chemo tomorrow.  If you ever want to talk let me know.  (colbylaura@gmail.com)

Tabatha00

Hello everyone!!!!!   My name is Tabatha and I'm from Florence, Alabama (doing the Miss. America wave and the fake smile)  lol

 My road is much like some of yours, or maybe not.  I have quite the history of breast and ovarian cancer in my family.   My sister was 29 when she was diagnosed with bc (she is a healthy 41 year old), my paternal aunt got bc when she was 37 was cancer free for 8 years until she got ovarian cancer at 45 and passed at 47.   My paternal grandmother got ovarian cancer at 83 and passed at the age of 87.

I was dx with bc on May 22, 2009 (just 1 month shy of my 38th birthday).   So, it has been a roller coaster for me.   I had an excisional biopsy on May 22 which means they take the tumor out completely but the Dr left positive margins because he knew I wanted a mastectomy.   In the meantime I decided to go to a large Breast Health Clinic in B'ham, AL (2 hours from where I live) and did the ct scans w/contrast, bone scan, mammo's and ultrasound of my axilla nodes.   Everything came out clear EXCEPT there was a small 2.0 cm "thing" in the bottom pole of my right kidney.   My breast cancer team said it needed to be addressed first.

This is where I would like everyone to hop on the crazy train with me and I'll stamp your ticket!  lol   I went to see a urologist and he told me it was most likely cancer not related to the breast cancer.   So, next step I had to have a kidney biopsy and the radiologist who did the biopsy said they see this ALL the time and that I've probably had this for 5 years or more (same thing my breast cancer team said) and that it's slow growing, they take it out and I'm done.  No further treatment required.

Go back to the urologist for the final results and it is renal cell carcinoma, clear cell, grade 1 (which is fantastic because that is the slowest growing cancer you can have is grade 1).   So NOW I am having laproscopic surgery on July 30 to take this "thing" out but the bad part is I won't know if they were able to save my kidney until I wake up.   How crappy is that?   The urologist said the "thing" is close to my ureter and if it's attached itself it may cause too much damage to remove it and therefore they would have to remove the whole kidney.   Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh GREAT!

This freaks me out (of course) so I talk to my breast cancer team and they told me since the main tumor was out even though I still have positive margins the odds of those margins spreading and doing any damage or making the breast cancer spread are slim to none.   That eased my  mind a bit.  

Anyway, so not only do I have breast cancer but I also have a kidney cancer.   TOLD YA IT WAS A CRAZY TRAIN.   lol     I told them it wasn't losing the kidney per say that bothered me it's just I don't want to lose a kidney and then have to go through chemo.   My plan is to go through chemo first and then have bilateral mastectomies.   I just have to leave it all up to God because right now and this very moment I am where God wants me to be so I will walk in faith.

Good news is if they can remove the kidney "thing" laproscopically then I'll be able to start chemo in 2 weeks.   Yeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaa.   I have never wanted to start chemo so bad and that's just sick (no pun intended).

I say all that to say this.  I tested for the breast cancer gene and was found to have a "variant of unknown significance" in the BRCA 1 gene.   Which means, they don't know if this "variant" is a cancer causing variant or not.   My deceased Aunt never got tested even though we asked her too.   I am ER/PR- as well as HER 2 -.........Triple Negative and so was my Aunt.   So, my parents tested and my mom doesn't have either gene but my dad came up with the very exact same variant I do so while I knew I had a family history of breast/ovarian cancer it's not going to change my treatment any.   I'm going to have this kidney "thing" out, start chemo 2 weeks later......doing 9 treatments every 2 weeks and then will have bilateral mastectomies.   I'm gonna give my kidney a good talkin too and tell it to behave since he's been acting a"foo up until now. 

Whew, didn't mean to write a book but my life is complicated.   lol     So, I look up to all of you fellow survivors and appreciate the stories you tell of living and survival.

Kimberley30

UM WOW, I havnt been on here in a bit and wow im sad to say i have missed alot!! I was told that my cancer was caused by hormomes so its 10 to 15% chance it might come back somewhere else, With chemo its 7 to 8%. The odds seem so low to me that i dont know weither or not i want to do chemo ... i feel that I have lost and sacrafised enough. I noticed that i have some anger issues now, but overall i feel happy and blessed. i couldnt tell you if deep down im mad, or sad cus i feel happy all the time. so many different issues we are faced with daily its crazy.

I hope everyone is doing well, I am done my reconstruction now, and in 2 mths i go into my p.s and we book a date for my implant. he is goinig to lift the other one now, because one is mega perky (the expander) and my real breast is all saggy, lol, but i bet we have all seen the laws of gravity when it comes to the "twins" HAHA

I am now finishing my last year of college, and a month after getting my masectomy i got married in the beautiful island of Jamaica, i can honestly say it was gorgeous and my situation didnt bother me or my husband!!

So .. God Bless us all, and hope if anyone is in the Durham Region area of Ontario, ill see you at the CIBC walk for the cure, on October 4th 2009 !!!