Breast Cancer

mmtdrsn

Hello Everybody,

I am sorry for starting a new topic as I am sure someone else had done that before but I just dont have much of time;

My sister (36 years old, single) was diagnosed 4 months ago with IDC Breast Cancer and all the doctor she visited so far have said "chemotherapy" to start with asap. ( I dont have much info about the level of her disease, the type of chemotherapy that doctors indicated etc and she doesnt want to give me much information either). But the problem is she doesnt want to go through any surgery/chemotherapy becase she thinks that it will never work anyway, she will just have to stand all those pain and what chemo requires and then die. Furthermore, she met many with IDC cancer who went through chemo and it didn't work and they now feel worse and the disease has spreaded all over their bodies...

I know, you never know and everybody's situations are different but she just doesn't want.. And she thinks doctors just want money and directly suggest chemo..

My questions are that is that really true that chemo only delays the death and not much work on IDC? Are all those Chemo types requires you to be desperate, bald and so on? How big the chance of getting rid of the IDC after chemo? And lastly, how can one live with IDC without receiving any threatment?

I will try to get her to another hospital hoping they can offer any other treatment than chemo..

I thank you so so much in advance and hope everybody a good health.

Mehmet

exbrnxgrl

I am sorry that your sister is going through this. Breast cancer, IDC or any other type has many complex variations which effect treatment decisions and, ultimately survival. Since you know little about your sister's bc, it would be impossible to give you specific info. However, to say that chemo and surgery never work and it always comes back is just plain wrong. There are many caring oncologists who do not just want your money. Yes, chemo can be tough (I am told, since I have never had chemo), but there are drugs to make it easier. Are there guarantees that treatment will prevent it from coming back? No, that is the reality of the beast. Wishing the best for your sister and hope you can get her to go for a second opinion.

Holeinone

meh met, I hope your sister will come to BCO & visit with women that are in her situation. 

Oncologists, obviously do not suggest chemo to make money. They are doing there job, and chemo is the best science has come up with so far. Is it easy? NO, but many women do survive. At her age she needs to find a Dr. she is comfortable with.

IDC, I think is the most common type of breast cancer. Your sis is lucky to have you, try to get her to get more info & make some decisions.

mmtdrsn

Thank you a million for your posts. I would LOVE to visit BCO with her but we are currently located in Istanbul, Turkey. Well, she did her research and docs didnt speak to her promising about the situation of her IDC.. I will stop nagging at her for the time being since this only makes her huff and puff and feel worse.. She thinks she will recover though.. The only thing I could do is that either finding a doc who is really willing to help her or find someone here who has been going / has gone through her type of IDC and make her talk to that person.

And as docs didnt speak promising to her about the future (cos of the situation of the tumor i reckon), they just seemed to her offering a chemo straightforward and then let's see what happens attitude..she doesnt want to depend on chemo either even tho she gets rid of the tumor for some time.. anyways..

Thank you all again and I will keep you updated if the situation gets any better.. wishing you all a rapid recovery..

Mehmet

Lily55

she can request surgery first and wait for that pathology to come through?

YoungTurkNYC

Mehmet,

My mom is in Istanbul living with Stage IV cancer.  She has started off with Stage Ia (earliest invasive stage) in 1992.  Since 2001, she has been Stage IV.  That is 13 years of living with the most advanced stage of breast cancer.  She had to have chemo only a single time.  There are SO MANY OPTIONS.  It is gut wrenching to me for such a young woman to have to deal with this.  I am 42 myself - relatively young.  For a second opinion, please go to Dr. Serdar Turhal if you have not done so.  He is absolutely amazing - a complete and pure idealist but at the same time, at the very top of his profession.  My recommendation of him is without any reservation.  Please private message me if you need any more information.

Also, I have gone through chemo for five months. I am happy to talk to your sister, in Turkish if she wishes.  She can private message me anytime.

juneping

mm - I am so sorry about your sister and whatever the Tx she chooses is such a personal decision. Bc she's the only one has to live with the consequence. 

Some ppl have absolutely no problem after chemo and even say they felt better than pre cancer. And some got serious SE after only one TX. No one knows. 

If your sis's BC is not the aggressive kind  may be she can start reading some books about BC. If it's the aggressive kind then she needs to make a decision quick. But regardless, I wouldn't wait more than three months to start any kind of TX. Look at her biopsy report and see what it says. It's a serous decision and I would highly recommend to look at it from all angles then make a decision. 

Like lily said, have the surgery first and make the decision base on the pathology report. Even tho the new trend is to shrink the tumor first then cut it out but it's her body and she should be able to demand a more conservative method for her body. Her doc should be able to respect that. 

I also don't think doc wants to make money hence recommends chemo. But bc that's all they know. And that's all they teach at med school. 

My experiece with my sis was I didn't want to share too much with her bc she didn't know much about BC. But when she came to take care of me after the surgery....I was so touched that she actually studied about BC and it was so easy to communicate with her. So I would suggest you do some homework and understand all kinds of BC...make notes if you have to and talk to her. Once she realizes you do understand BC....she will open up. 

Kicks

Surgery first is not always the best option.  The SOP with IBC is neoadjuvant chemo (chemo before surgery).  It is also become more prevalent with other types.  Shrinks the mass and gets better margins so the surgery does not have to be as invasive.

juneping

oh if it's IBC, she does not have the time to wait. She needs to act fast. Mm can you find that out?