Haven't had biopsy yet, but
based on the symptoms, I'm pretty sure they're going to tell me it's IDC (it's definitely a duct thing because of a wee bit of discharge every day, and it's far too huge to be DCIS)... now I've been reading about how basically it's the TYPE of cancer you have, not the treatment, that dictates whether you're likely to survive.
Would someone mind telling me... how "survivable" is IDC? Is it the kind of thing that traditional treatment can extend your life for a good 15-20 years, or are there cases of super-long-term (40 years or more) survival? (I'm only in my 30's!)
My doctor said it's possible I have two separate types of cancer, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. 
Thank you in advance (even if there is a thread I haven't been able to find that spells this out, I would be so appreciative)!
Comments
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I think it is common to have two different types of cancer. I have IDC and DCIS. My tumor was .8 cm or about the size of a sweet pea. BC is survivable now. There are many women on this site who are at stage IV and have survived for many many years.
You will be advised of all your treatment options and you will be in a fog trying to decide what is best for you. Ultimately, it is up to you. Request to have the Oncotype DX test done on your tumor. It will give you percentages of recurrence. Because of that test I am now doing chemo, because my score was in the mid range.
You will need many more tests, MRI, PET and probably more, but before treatment starts they will know whether the cancer has spread and that will also be a determining factor on what threatment you will need.
Juannelle
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Julie, it is VERY survivable.......My sister is 3 yrs out and I am almost 3 years out form IDC diagnosis.......MY question is this......If you don't know you have breast cancer yet then why does it say in your signature that you are not going to do chemo?........You sound so much more upbeat today too than from the post you placed on the palliative/hospice board........Also Why did you change your name from SuperScared to CrunchyPoodleMama?........I'm sorry but you have been posting almost the same stuff since September....I'm sorry but we have had a few Munchausen Syndrome problems on here and this sounds like one to me.........
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Funny you should mention the munchhausen thing Hollyan - there is a recurrence on a few threads at the mo!!!
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Don't apologise Holly. Your suspicions appear well founded, and shared by many.
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WARNING ... I'm very sick and cranky today.
Crunchy .. I've been seeing your posts all over this site ... in just about every forum, including Stage IV and Palliative. Maybe it would be a good idea to wait until AFTER your biopsy and the results to determine if you have cancer and what that treatment will entail.
I had many, many cysts over the years. Some the size of a lemon and I was able to hold them under my skin. They were round/oval and movable. The doc always aspirated them to determine if they were cancer. At this point, the most important thing is to determine if you have breast cancer or some other cystic disease .. then you can make decisions regarding treatment and which oncologist or healthcare provider to establish a relathionship.
Hey Hollyann .. good to see you!
Bren
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Bren-- Sorry you're feeling sick and cranky; but the posts you write under those conditions are spot on!!!!
Hugs...
otter
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CrunchypoodleMama...I have a big favor to ask you. Could you please stay on one Thread instead of opening new ones? I'm sure Its getting little annoying and confusing for others too. and tell us in which of many ones you will post your DX. Thank You.
Sheila -
Thanks Otter! I seem to be following you and Hollyann around today.
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Check out Papillomas....
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BARBE1958
Papillomas ?????? been trying but nothing
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You have no idea what you have based on symptoms. You don't even know you have cancer. I had cystic breasts my entire life, so when I found my lump I figured it was just another cyst and ignored it. Lots of non-cancers cause breast discharge too.
Get a biopsy and then post in the appropriate section of the board.
If you are posting these kinds of questions in the palliative care section, then I'm kind of shocked. I've never even read that section and I do have REAL cancer. That section is not for people who guessing about illnesses to ask questions of people who are trying to die well or who have loved ones dying. No wonder the Stage IV gals want to be kept separate, if this is what they have been subjected to.
Ann,
suddenly cranky
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You guys, I've been PMing Crunchypoodle and she does NOT have Munchausen's. She lives in the same town I do and she's going for a biopsy with a very well known local surgeon at the same specialty clinic I went to 8 years ago. She's just extremely frightened and anxiety stricken.
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Her mammotome is on Tuesday so let's all wish her the best of luck.
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Joanne, google papilloma, you'll get a lot of info!
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Girls, I get it, I'm an idiot and should not be posting before I have all the answers. I've apologized all of the place and am apologizing here too. I will not start any new threads until I get the biopsy results.
Like I explained on this thread, on other forums I've been on, people want you to post in the forum that's appropriate to the topic. I thought it was that way here. Obviously I was wrong and I'm sorry.
As for the Munchausen thing... until someone explained to me yesterday that there has been a rash of trolls pulling that kind of crap here recently, I would have thought that was the most absurd accusation I've ever heard. I have NOT lied about anything I've said here (unless I was misinformed and passing on that misinformation) and I do NOT have Munchausen's. Depression, yeah, probably... my husband and I have lost four babies since 2005 (no living children) and I've been beaten down and am probably way more emotional than the average person who first gets told they have bc.
It's been a rough few years... then to be told while still in my 30's, before I even have a chance to have a take-home baby (the infertility term for a precious baby that survives and is born alive) that I have cancer, well, it's devastating. Then to be reamed alive because I posted a couple of stupid things and ask too many questions... well, that seems cruel.
Again, I can understand your acting this way toward me because of my mistakes, but PLEASE don't treat another newbie like this. I'm not sure if the sight of a grown woman sobbing and scared and crushed at being accused of things that seem outrageous, would make you a little more sympathetic or whether that's something you would laugh and high-five each other about, but I beg you not to do this to another newbie who comes here for help and answers and may make mistakes and post in wrong forums and post too many questions.
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Re: bloody discharge from the nipple...
Here's a good explanation: http://womens-health.health-cares.net/nipple-discharge.php
"Most bloody or watery (serous) nipple discharge (approximately 90%) is due to a benign condition such as papilloma or infection. A papilloma is a non-cancerous, wart-like tumor with a branching or stalk that has grown inside the breast duct. Papillomas frequently involve the large milk ducts near the nipple. Multiple papillomas may also be found in the small breast ducts further from the nipple. Of the benign conditions that cause suspicious nipple discharge, approximately half is due to papilloma and the other half is a mixture of benign conditions such as fibrocystic conditions or duct ectasia (widening and hardening of the duct due to age or damage). Most opalescent discharge is due to duct ectasia or cyst. Suspicious nipple discharge is due to a malignant (cancerous) lesion just ten percent (10%) of the time. Discharge caused by a malignant condition is almost always on one side only (unilateral). Discharge that is coming from both breasts (bilateral) is usually benign. Papilloma usually causes discharge from a single breast duct."
otter
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I kind of resent the pleading not to treat all newbies "like this." Like you were badly treated.
The people on this forum were very kind to me in my earliest newbie days, and I have seen long-term people on this forum who still take the time to answer the same questions over and over again to give frightened women some peace and information. I have also answered these questions myself, in repayment for what was done for me.
I've seen people patiently respond to you, despite your hysterics, even when you posted to the palliative care section of the board, where you clearly don't belong.
You say yourself, other forums prefer you post in the proper place, and you think this forum doesn't? You are wrong - the proper place for you is the "not diagnosed but worried" section.
You have not been diagnosed with cancer. You have been told over and over that until a biopsy is done, nobody can know if you have cancer cells or not, and yet you've insisted on diagnosing yourself with fatal IDC and say you want to die with dignity - and now you are blaming people here for the way they are acting towards you? (Which seems to be with kindness and patience)
I sincerely hope you do not have cancer, and go on to live a long, happy, drama-filled life.
But, to tell the good and kind women here they are doing something wrong and not to do it again, when it was you who was doing something wrong, is.....well.......wrong.
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I think we should have a special forum just for ScaredCrunchyPoodle person. No really. That way, her posts can't be in the wrong forum, because it would be her own forum.
Then we could all stop talking about her in EVERY other forum.
I can't imagine what the drama level is going to be like in a few days.
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I am embarrassed by all the rude posts.
Don't you angry ladies remember the terror of first being diagnosed? I wish I had done more research before my treatment. She is just looking for answers. And she has apologized to anyone that she has offended. What do you want her to do?
Instead of being so mean and angry to Cruchy, why not just ignore her posts if they bother you?
I can't believe that this is a support group sometimes. Geeez.
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It has been so interesting to watch the boards lately. I do have a couple of comments.
1. Crunchy has the ability to put her foot in her mouth on the internet. Her goofs are huge and hurtful to others. Even as a newbie, she should be more aware of whom she is writing to. I hope for her sake that everyone can get over this. I think she is truly repentant for writing inappropriately.
2. I find it interesting that she has gone to three excellent surgeons and wanted to go to a fourth but prohibited by her insurance policy. They all told her the same thing, a biopsy, but she wanted another kind. I think it is kind of arrogant to be as new in breast cancer jargon and treatments as she is, and to presume what kind of treatment she should receive from a surgeon. They know infinitely more than a newbie to the site. When I was diagnosed, I found a reputable surgeon, and he was like God to me at that time. If she was as scared as she indicated, she would have had one of the surgeons do the biopsy immediately, and if subsequent surgery was needed, she could shop around. Her actions in going from surgeon to surgeon do not indicate fear but indicate instability or inability to cope. Sorry to say that.
3. Crunchy, also a word of warning. That list of anti-cancer stuff you posted reads like a list of all the cancer scams available. There are many people out there scamming people for money. They build on people's fear. When I am doing research on any aspect of breast cancer, I go into advanced search in my search engine and limit the search to either .edu or .gov sites. That eliminates most weird sites.
4. Please remember that there is a difference between saying a supplement/treatment makes you feel healthier/better/like dancing around the house, and saying it is curing cancer. Any claims that a particular treatment can cure cancer or reduce recurrence MUST be accompanied by scientific support. The ladies here do not have time for games.
I hope all goes well with your biopsy tomorrow. They will probably tell you in a couple of days. With cancer my doctors have all been quite quick to call back. The biopsy itself is a piece of cake. They just put on a little topical anesthetic and insert a wire. Very little pain and very little after effects in my case.
Hoping and praying for you that it is benign. Sorry that you have had such a bad initiation into this site, but I trust you also learned some lessons.
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Dear Ann/CoolBreeze... of all the people I have offended, I am the most sad about having offended you.
In October, I read most of your old and current blog entries and you gave me so much encouragment through your honest but humor-filled posts. I posted a comment to you (my business name posted -- Julia G. Photography -- even though at the time I was wishing it had not automatically included that... none of my clients and most of my friends didn't know what was going on with me at the time). You wrote back something very kind, and ended it with "We're going to be fine, you and I." I nearly cried to read that, even though I knew there were so many unknowns ahead.
As I've said many times, there have been MANY helpful, kind posts, even in spite of my idiocy, and I've posted and PM'ed various people how much I appreciate it. I don't know if you've read some of the things that have been said to me, such as that cancer has probably been attacking my organs for the past 6 months (that is what originally sent me into a panic and, after two hours of crying and not being able to sleep, that's when I posted the horrible, sickeningly insensitive palliative post, to my eternal regret), that I have Munchausen's (let's please be accurate: yes, I am frantic and acting somewhat bipolar, this whole thing has turned me into an insensitive flake and I am all over the map... losing four babies in three years turned me into an emotional basket case and apparently things affect me more than they should... I'm sure I've left many things out... but I am NOT an intentionally horrible person. I promise you I'm not.)
Anyway... CoolBreeze, I'm not asking you not to hate me; I know that's too much after all the insensitive posting mistakes I made. Just know that I have immense respect and admiration for you and what I thought while reading through your blog last month, "If she can get through this with grace and humor, maybe I can too," still holds true. So, I thank you for that... it's one of the few hopeful things I am clinging to.
LJ, a new friend I've made here has spoken so highly of you. I wish we hadn't gotten off on the wrong foot. I apologize for hurting you.
You are not as devilishly clever as you think. The only reason why you are getting away with so much sympathy peddling here is because you happen to come along at a low time in this forum's history and some are dealing with guilt and uncertainty after being alerted by our resident trolls to beware of fakes, and, generally speaking, "lions and tigers and bears," to quote Dorothy. You have gotten the attention you seek. Sorry, I'm out of violins. If the picture of a sobbing grown woman is supposed to make us melt, you are in the wrong place. Mostly, we deal with morphine drips and slow deaths. Some of us deal with disabling pain, others with madness and a few with the thought of leaving young children behind.
Ath, I guess I deserve that. But about this:
How about offering other people some sympathy, support and an ear? That may help you to stop sobbing.
I am guessing from that comment, you've only looked at the threads I've started, not the replies I've written to people in hopes of offering them some encouragement.
I don't know what else to say. I'm actually not a drama-filled person. I was actually very normal, happy, and upbeat until I started having miscarriages. I know there are women here who have gone through that and you know how devastating it is. If you want an example of how this made me go from one extreme to the other, here's a good example.
When this news feature was filmed, I was 9 weeks pregnant (we'll pretend that my bloatedness in this video was because of that). It was our fourth pregnancy and we were told that everything was going great this time; we saw a healthy heartbeat on ultrasound two weeks before. (Sorry for the goofy news piece; I'm a children's photographer and they wanted to do a piece on taking better photos.)
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/17096727/index.html
Three days later, I was told... for the fourth time... "I'm sorry, I'm not seeing a heartbeat." I know losing a baby isn't 1/100 as bad as getting diagnosed with bc. But to me, it felt 1000x worse. My life was wrecked for a year or more. I don't know if I ever smiled except when I had a portrait session and had to be "up" for a client. I spent most of that year staying in bed (on days when I didn't have sessions), crying, asking God why this kept happening, and trying to pull myself together.
I guess when I started being told by doctors that I have bc, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Yes, I admit it, I'm a basket case and I didn't realize that was coming through so loud and clear here. Once again... I am truly sorry to everyone I have hurt, offended, and angered. I don't know how else to say I'm sorry. I'm realizing that I guess I can't make it right.
baywatcher and motheroffoursons, thank you so very much. Weirdly, it's the kind posts that are making me cry today. But it feels good to cry from a little kindness. Thank you...............
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JULIE
I do honestly wish the best for you ,i know how much emotions can take over and i do believe in your sincere apology and i exept . i think it is a very good idea that you wait until you have been diagnosed before you start another post and then when you know what exactly your up against that when I'm sure you will get all the support from these women here as they are all very supportive and very helpful Ive never had any harsh comments from any one ,i know things will be totally different for you and the relationship you will have here with everyone .Just wait a little bit longer everything will be OK for now just breath
JOANNE
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Julie,
We all tend to think the worst when a lump appears. But so very many are benign. It is understandable that the miscarriages rattled you. But please understand that of us were also in the midst of life traumas when we found our lumps, and yet we were able to understand that we should post in the "Worried" section until our lumps were confirmed cancerous.
You wrote
I guess when I started being told by doctors that I have bc, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Doctors cannot tell you you have breast cancer before a biopsy proves it. If one does, a lawsuit is warranted and they know that, so they tend to use that term very carefully. So when I see you using the plural, suggesting that this happened several times, it makes me wonder. Did this really happen, or are you unconsciously re-writing history in your mind?
Some people have been sharp with you but I don´t think you have been mistreated here. You made several posts on other threads in which you seemed to be refusing to seek treatment or even a concrete diagnosis, yet you wanted sympathy for your "breast cancer". That tends to upset people who took the difficult step of facing diagnosis and then the plunge into treatment.
It any case, it is a relief that you are finally getting a biopsy. Here's hoping that your lump is one of the 90% that turn out to be benign.
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As pitanga said-"Did this really happen, or are you unconsciously re-writing history in your mind?"
I'm very sceptical now as to anything you say and claim. If you are having a biopsy, then I hope the result is good. But I'm afraid that if you come back and post otherwise, I will find it very difficult to believe you-and I won't be the only one. Since you feel that you have been so badly treated here, it might be wise to find another forum, and make a fresh start there-hopefully having learned from bcorg to have a modicum of common sense before mutiple postings claiming that you know better than the medical profession in all it's forms.
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Totally agree with you Elaine.
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Some of you ladies really just enjoy being mean and nasty, don't you? If you get Julia to leave the forum, all your fun will be gone. Be careful what you wish for. Can you say karma?
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I have read all of these posts and threads and have had to bite my tongue. Honestly, no woman on this site wishes that anyone would get a cancer dx. That assumption is ludicrous. It is also obvious that there has been a lot of inconsistencies in Scared/Crunchy 's posts. My first reaction was that this was not a scared woman worried for her life. This seemed to be a scared woman that wanted validation for her misinformed opinions and refusal to listen to informed opinions. Her rejection of those opinions and then her subsequent hysterical roller coaster ride through the site can easily be misconstrued.
As has been said before, she claimed to have loads of research, but it was obvious that she never read any of the information on the site (not the discussion boards). She bypassed the information pages and came to the boards in search of validation that women did not need conventional tx and when she didn't get it, she searched for sympathy and pity that she might die from refusing them. All of this while refusing to get an actual diagnosis.
I am sorry, Desdemona et al, but I have lived in the metro Atl area and still live in Ga. She could very easily have gotten a dx before now. I live in a rural area and had mine within a month. It took a month because I insisted on a second opinion from the Medical College of GA.
Is it any wonder that this poster has had some members question her integrity? I do not think they have been mean or insensitive. Her posts basically consisted of "is there any way to get what I want and not listen to my doctors?" When people said no, she became more hysterical. We have all been here. I cannot recall anyone no matter how hysterical and I was suicidal when I first posted here, behaving in this manner. It defies description.
C
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I'm confused. According to desdemona222b, Julie has been diagnosed with cancer - (see the thread below). And Pitanga is absolutely right, a doctor even remotely concerned about his/her license will never call cancer unless they have a definitive diagnosis - e.g. cancer cells in a syringe. Any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous and any doctor who would do otherwise is not a doctor that anyone should be going to. The rules of professional responsibility (across professions) are basically uniform throughtout the country - I sincerely doubt doctors in Georgia have that much latitude.
On the other hand, if she has not been diagnosed, then she really needs to tone it down. The "cruel" women in this forum have been very patient with her, but the hysterical, drama filled posts (especially on the palliative thread) are unfair to all of us, especially to the many brave and dignified women at advanced stages who anguish, every day, over leaving their families.
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/83/topic/743477?page=1
[It took awhile to get in with each of these doctors, and it takes several weeks to get into the outpatient facility they use for biopsy. And although the diagnostic process is not over for her, she HAS been diagnosed with cancer by two of those doctors.] -
CMHarris59, FTW.
(For The Win)
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I have to agree...I live in GA also and within 2 weeks I not only had a diagnosisand a second opinion but I also had my surgery date set up........I live in the ATL area also...I go to Northside Hospital.....I go to Breast Care Specialists of Georgia...They are all VERY good doctors there.....I don't understand why ANYONE would wait 6 months if they feel there is a problem..I didn't wait that long.....I have a strong family history so I was my own advocate and got what I needed when I needed it....I have even advocated for another poster here who happily found out she was cancer free and had B9 results........Scared/Chunky has been all over these boards and what is it with the link to a news article supposedly about HER???.........I have had 2 miscarriages and was physically, mentally and emotionally abused as a child...It didn't turn me into an hysterical pewrson when I was diagnosed........I didn't even post that much...I just went on certain boards and asked questions....I didn't start my own posts.........I just don't get it.......I am not being mean or horrible.......I am jsut trying to understand what the motive is if Chunky hasn't even been diagnosed and her refusal to even do chemo before she is even diagnosed????,,,,,,
Chunky you said
My doctor said it's possible I have two separate types of cancer, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
UH...They can't tell you this without a biopsy.........If they do they are liable for a lawsuit.....Who are these doctors?.....I will avoid them like the plague.......
,
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