How aggresive should I be?

Hi beachlover4, so long as youre "up to date" with yourself as in, youre satisfied that all is well at the present time,  if it were me,  I would really really look at this website and cruz around getting info on all this. You have time to get wised up PROPERLY so you can make an informed choice. There are heaps of posts about all this.  You are still very young and there are lots of things to be taken into account, like how is it going to affect you relationship -wise, are you going for reconstruction and if so, do you know the ins and outs of that. Have you thought of being tested for the BRCA 1&2? 

I think you will find that nobody would outright tell you one way or the other, what to do, coz you see, everyones needs are very individual and at the end of the day its a case of YOU weighing up all the pro's and cons and those are different for every single person on this earth. 

All the best with your decision.

Musical

Hi Beach,

I wish I thought about this option before I was diagnosed. You can still be high-risk without BRCA or even a family history. You can even find a surgeon who does nipple sparing procedures. Another option is to take Tamoxifen to reduce the risk.  

You can absolutely inherit it from the male side of the family.  That exact thing is going on right now with my brother and sister-in-law.  She tested negative, he tested positive.  Their two children have a chance of inheriting from their dad.  In addition, I know that women with bc have a higher risk of colon cancer so I would think that it is possible that the reverse is also true - women with colon cancer may have a higher risk...

My sister-in-law had an incredibly high incidence of ovarian cancer on her mother's side of the family, with a genetic component.  Her sister had tested positive and so had her ovaries removed after she had her two children and a few years later had a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.  I think she kept finding cysts and just got tired of living with the higher risk.  I would think you would somehow need to show genetics, however, to get it covered by insurance and to get some kind of medical approval. 

I personally would do it in a NYC heartbeat.  In fact, I did do it, but only one side was prophylactic.  The other was necessary.  I haven't regretted it for a moment. 

You are right Musical and I stand corrected.  I really should have known better since my family cancer history is on my dad's side.  So I guess my euphoria that my daughters (and son) are safe is not a safe bet.  I still feel my kids are ok as far as genetics since their dad (dh) is of Irish background with no history on his side.  My big risk was history on my dad's side and being genetically linked to ashkenani jews.  Of course my girls will do close monitoring because no matter what, they do have a mom with breast cancer and we know that only  a small percentage are actually from having the gene.   That's actually one of the positives of having being dx'd.  Now my children will be more diligent than they might have been if I wasn't dx'd.  No one can be too careful when it comes to this beast.

I am a little confused by your post Musical.  My daughters are 30 and 33 and at this point according to my research they are at no more risk than the general public.  All my doctors concur.  Granted that risk is much too high with I believe 1 in 7 women will now get bc in their lives.  The only difference is that knowing that I got it (and not until 63, post menopause) they are very aware and will do self exams regularly and hopefully stay one step ahead so that if they are the 1 in 7 they will catch it early.  When I said safe, I meant they have the knowledge that their mother does not carry the BRCA genes.  As I said their father is of Irish descent and has no family history of cancer.  There is no reason to believe he would have the BRCA gene.  If I have missed your point, please explain.  Thanks

beachlover4: Glad you are working with a doctor....but I would ask how else you could test other than by mammogram. I got a supposedly clear one in 2008 at age 48 and in 2009 my mammo showed "a little spot." Had a lumpectomy and lymphectomy. Didn't get clear margins and some of the nodes had BC....got a MRI that showed cancer in my breast "like a constellation." So, mammogram was not a very good diagnostic tool, IMO. So here I am Stage 3, had chemo and will need radiation. My Mom had BC 2 times at age 60 and 62. My onc. said they are seeing the next gen. get it a decade earlier (and here I am). I am BRACA neg. I have decided on a proph. BMX. Don't want to go through this again. No recon because of possible problems with radiation and also don't want to take the time. Hope this is helpful......My message: do everything that is available to find it early, or if you have had your kids and are done nursing, consider proph BMX. You might be able to save your nipples, and saving your lymphnodes is good too......

Good luck and keep your eyes open! 

Musical,

I guess I am confused that from your post I felt you thought I didn't treat mine aggressively...........I had surgery, chemo and rads and now taking Arimidex.  I also didn't know what you meant when you referred to my daughters "background".   As far as I know, and according to my inquiries, at this point they have no more risk than the average woman.  They just know that it can happen and it did happen to their mom.  

beachlover4,

Just in case you don't already know,  it is a federal law that all mastectomies and breast reconstruction costs from bc must be covered by insurance.

thegoodfight

"I felt you thought I didn't treat mine aggressively"

 Not at all ...if this is the portion that has offended you ....

" unless of course your life doesnt mean much. Im not just glibly saying this either, and I fully understand there is a point of diminishing returns if youre suffering to the point of no quality of life. Each person has to weigh up the facts."

...then those words were meant in general and yet were supposed to be encouraging to you at the same time. I think we know (or is this a language barrier thing) that sometimes "you" can refer to people in general, and sometimes it refers to speaking in the 1st person.

What I meant from "your daughters background" was exactly as I said it ,  "with their background as you state it, "  and in stating quite a bit of your family history as well as saying "you cant be too careful with this beast" I THOUGHT I was just simply agreeing with you.

Hope that makes it clearer as to what I meant.

Musical