Anyone else out there on the younger side of diagnosis?

Lolis197138

Clarrn, no worries, allare welcome here :-)

PawsitiveEnergy

I am 42 and was diagnosed three days before my birthday in March 2016. Stage III. Done with dose dense AC, now on to Taxol for 12 weekly treatment. I also have a 3 year old son who helped me shave my head. My oncologist said that there is a way around the hormonal therapy treatment with Tamoxifen. He said that I could 1) have a hysterectomy 2) have ovaries lapriscopically removed and take aromastase inhibitors instead of Tamoxifen. Worst side effect so far from chemo, Hand-Foot Syndrome and a 101.5 fever!

homeschool4us

I was 39, am 40 now.

etnasgrl

I was 41 when diagnosed. I'm 42 now.

juneping

was diagnosed when i was 41....

meg2016

I did chemotherapy first, so my stage was a little unclear but thought to be IIA when I was diagnosed. Just got pathology and looks like I am stage III due to lymph nodes. I was 39 at diagnosis, turned 40 in the middle of my chemo. Getting ready to head into radiation. Also making decisions about hormonal therapy right now, so reading everyone's previous comments on their choices is helpful- thank you!

Momy4ever

I just turned 41 when diagnosed, I was breastfeeding my little daughter, 5 months before my diagnosis I felt 3 round movable lumps in my left breast .. went to a gyn who told me that these are milk cysts but referred me to have an ultrasound.. the report confirmed that they are milk cysts ( galactoceles) and they shall disappear after I wean my ya daughter.

After a while I have noticed that one of the lumpsincreased in size and was painful also i noticed a thickness of skin under it, this time i went to see a breast surgeon who sent me immediately for mammogram, ultrasound... then MRI, biopsy.

In 5 months my biggest lump went from 1.3 cm to 6 cm And I have nodes involvement.

smokeywins01

I was just recently diagnosed this September at the age of 37. I had actually had my lump for an entire year. It appeared last August during a time when my dad was extremely sick. He had Parkinsons and had also been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had metastasized in the spring of 2015. My husband and I spent every weekend we could with them, helping out whenever we could, so the stress apparently took its tole in the form of a lump.

It had always been movable, and constantly sore throughout the entire month, so never in my life did I expect it to be cancer. The size also always remained the same. I have a feeling it started out as a cyst that had recently changed in the past few months. I had started seeing a naturopath to get other health issues under control, diagnosed adrenal fatigue and a plethora of digestive issues, currently gluten intolerant. She checked the lump and got highly concerned.

Mammogram, ultrasound, CAT, bone scan, multiple MRIs, and biopsy's, resulting in ER+PR+HER2+ stage III cancer. Luckily the remaining tests had all come back negative, showing the cancer had not spread past the breast and lymph nodes.

Oncologist is seeming to be convinced its hereditary from my dads side. Grandma died at 59 from breast cancer, then the cancer my dad had, which we all still belive were due to his 2 tours in Vietnam and high exposures to Agent Orange, as that is on his medical records as the cause for his Parkinsons.

Hyc1294

hello, I saw that you were disgnosed with triple negative breast cancer, any tips? I was just diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative cancer and will only turn 34 next mo

Moderators

Hi Hyc, and welcome to Breastcancer.org! We're sorry you have to be here... but glad you found this wonderful community! Besides this forum, you may want to join also the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer forum, where you'll meet others with the same type of cancer.

Let us know if we can be of any help!

The Mods

jennyboog

Dx 34...just turned 41!

Wonderwoman78

Dx at age 38 this past June. I turn 39 in February. Was shocked when I was asked to participate in a coping study for young cancer patients. I'm still considered young?! Yes!!!

Ali-me78

Diagnosed in June this year age 38, although first reported changes in 2013 (concluded fibroadenoma but never biopsied). Stage 3c

Bekadawn1

I was 43 at diagnosis. I had my mammograms on schedule and they didn't show anything. I found the lump 6 months after my last clear mammogram. Onx says unfortunately this is the case 10% of the time. No family history of breast cancer in my immediate family (paternal great aunt only) Pending genetic testing. Thankfully I was done with having my family, three great kids) but now I am at risk of leaving them without a mom and my youngest is 10

Moderators

Bekadawn1, welcome to our warm and caring community. We just wanted to let you know that we're here for you and we're so glad that you decided to join us and post your story. Thank you!

If you have any questions for us please do get in touch.

Best wishes,

The Mods

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DancingElizabeth

Hi Bekadawn1 - I was 48 at diagnosis and I too have a (well - about to be)10 yr old...(((hugs)))

jpolinske

Hi, I am 27 years old and I discovered a lump just weeks after the birth of my 4th child. My midwife dismissed it as just a clogged duct even though I had no pain. Two months and a couple more doctor visits later I was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer. I didn't start treatment until more then 6 weeks after my diagnosis. I'm now doing a clinical trial at the U of M. Any advice on how to deal with all of this while caring for kids? It's been hard on me emotionally. I am scared I won't be here for my kids and husband.

Moderators

Hi jpolinske, and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

We're so sorry you have to be here, but we're really glad you found us. You're sure to find a very valuable network of support here, along with great answers and advice!

You're sure to get some words of wisdom from our other members here soon, but in the meantime you may also want to browse and post in the Young With Breast Cancer forum, where others have been diagnosed at a young age and maybe dealing with similar issues.

We hope this helps and really look forward to hearing more from you soon!

(((Big Hugs)))

--The Mods

meg2016

jpolinske- First, sorry about your diagnosis. For me, parenting through cancer was the scariest part. You really have to take it one day at a time from my experience. And you will definitely need help. If you can find a good friend or family member who is willing to help organize the help then its even better. I had trouble with knowing exactly what I needed at each phase, but it was helpful to have someone who I could say "we could use some meals right now" and they would get them organized, or "I could use someone to take my kids to school on day x." And you will also have to let go of the mommy guilt quickly. I was traveling for my treatment and had to miss 2 kids' birthdays for treatment and other milestones like school concerts due to low immunity, etc. So be easy on yourself. This is is a time to prioritize your needs first! If you want to share the specifics of your treatment plan, etc. you may be able to get more specific advice about what to expect. Is there a social worker available at U of M? They had one available where I got treatment and they can be very helpful with practical tips for managing family life with treatment.

DancingElizabeth

jpoklinske - Welcome...when I was dx' last spring - my DD was 9. So many unknowns and the beginning was hell. I still have my very bad days... The old cliche is very true - kids ARE very resilient. Though DD's grades significantly dropped that spring...she's doing much better and her grades went back up to where they usually are.....

Anyway...I echo Meg's advice...and sorry you have to be here but glad you found us!

((((Hugs)))))

SkiChick86

Hi everyone,

I don't know if I'm officially stage III (not doing lymph node surgery to confirm until after chemo, but I do know I am lymph node positive) but if not I'm right on the border. I was diagnosed on 1/4 at age 30. Is anyone else finding trouble taking comfort in statistics when the statistics have been so wrong about us? I usually like numbers and statistics for reassurance and the statistics for breast cancer diagnosis in general and stage III in particular are really good. The odds are very much in our favor! And yet, the odds were even more in my favor that the lump I found back in April when I was 29 wasn't going to be cancer (99.84%!). I'm having a hard time reconciling those two pieces of information. Any tips?

DancingElizabeth

Hi SkiChick - I have trouble believing the odds will work out for me because EVERY time I have an appointment with either RO or MO - All they like to talk about is how high risk I am.

I mean I get it already. Makes me feel like I'm stage 4 when they say that but not dx'd yet.

SkiChick86

I'm sorry Scared67. How old are you? I think I'm a pretty positive person but the dataabout younger patients just makes me so depressed.

Waronbreastcancer

I was 30 years old when diagnosed with stage 3C. I am 16 months away from diagnosis and still very scared that it will return

SkiChick86

I am sorry Waronbreastcancer. The uncertainty of all of this is terrible. I'm not even in the treatment phase but I do wonder if I'll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for it to come back.

One thing that helps is the fact that my mom was diagnosed with stage 3a breast cancer 10 years ago. She is doing great. I'm sure reoccurance is on her mind, but it certainly hasn't stopped her from living her life. I try to remind myself of tjat

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stephilosphy00

I was dx last Nov at 29. I am turning 30 this March. The future is so uncertain I am trying not thinking too much about it.

LM070917

I am 16 months out, 35 years old, high risk and although recurrence does play on my mind, I try to push that thought away. Things definitely get better the further out you get. I also try to limit my risks through healthy diet and exercise, in the hope that it is putting me in good stead for the future.

Waronbreastcancer

It's always a great thing to hear positive stories.

@lottemarine I was also diagnosed in September 2015 and I too have adopted a vegan lifestyle, skipped alkohol and exercise more than ever (almost every day). In that way I feel great - yet I still get days were I feel very blue. Hopefully that will get better with time

LM070917

Thats great Waronbreastcancer! Yeah down days are perfectly normal. I found exercise really helps with my mental health and relieving stress andanxiety about recurrence. I also joined a young women's group run through a local charity after treatment, which also helped immensely. Just meeting other ladies of similar age. We kinda just got to pick yourselves back off the floor and move forward. Stay strong! 😀

BlueKoala

ski chick, I get what you mean about the statistics! When the odds of me getting diagnosed with breast cancer in my thirties was 1 in 262 or something like that, and the odds of me dying from it in the next five years are somewhere between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10, it doesn't feel all that reassuring! All of my doctors say my odds are better than that thanks to my aggressive treatment and good response, but even those better odds aren't any better than me not getting cancer in the first place. I find this hard.
(I was told IIB/IIIA, had neoadjuvant chemo.)