My Sister 33 with stage 4, im 37

Debpurple,

 My prayers go out to both you and your sister.I am 41...so not to old either and beginning this scary process to.My core biopsy is scheduled for next tuesday.I found a lump 2 months ago,and already had a mamogram and ultrasound...mamo showed nothing,ultrasound showed lesion and 1oclock and clustering of cysts at 6 oclock.Hopefully we both with be b9

Debra,

 We're all in this "Sisterhood", aren't we? This is a great Forum...giving us a place to hear from others who are on the same journey.

I too was recently diagnosed with IDC. I am in NC, like your sister. If you don't mind me asking, what city does she live in? I am outside of W.S.

I had a lumpectomy, and am now waiting to meet with the Medical Oncologist. I understand it is typically 3 weeks or so between surgery and meeting with the Oncologist.

Right now I am anxious (but not frantic by any means) to know what my treatment will be. My surgeon indicated Chemo would not be ruled out....but of course that is determined by the Oncologist. The fact that I am Grade 3 makes me wonder if I might have to have Chemo.

Since both you and your sister are in Breast Cancer treatment, I understand the reasoning for you to have a Mastectomy.

Take care.....and we'll both just take one day and one step at a time.

Carol

Hello debpurple. I am so sorry to hear about you and your sister. May God be with you both through this journey. I too just recently found out that I have invasive ductal carcinoma, and I am 32 years old, I have three kids, and a wonderful husband and family supporting me.

If I may, you said that your sisters pet scan was good, that there are no signs of cancer anywhere else in her body, just wondering why she is stage four.?? I'm still very new to this, trying to learn as much as I can. Come to find out I am the first person in my entire family that has been diagnosed with IDC. Well, as far as we all know.

I've been quite scared with this situation. My PET and CT scans are showing three areas of hypermetabolism. The one which is most concerning is the mass in my chest. A soft tissue mediastinal mass. Which has grown quite a bit since my last PET and CT scans. The thoracic surgeon told me he believed it to be a thymoma.

I have not had any surgery yet, or treatment. I have done a lot of research online and I am very concerned that I may be at stage four. Even my primary oncologist said" If the thymoma is related to the breast cancer, then that would be very bad". I am showing three nodes all under 1 cm in my lungs. However, the PET said it has not technically spread to the lungs.

I am so worried. I am trying to stay positive and strong. Lately all I do is stay in bed all day, can't do much of anything anymore. I also have Lymes Disease, so without my daily morphine and dilaudid, I would be unable to walk or move at all.

My BRCA tests came back negative.

Does your sister have any other issues that she is concerned about?

Oh, just to let all of you know... Yes, I am only 32 yrs old. However, I knew something was wrong with my breasts. It took me requesting specific tests, and actually came down to me demanding MRI and biopsy, which at the time the docs treated me like I was nuts, only to find out they were wrong. They kept saying, "you're too young, no family history, you don't have cancer, you're worring too much, do you have anxiety issues??   AAAAHHHHHHH!!

This has been a nightmare for me. I just want to go up to every single woman and tell her to go get tested. Not just a mammo either. Mine is normal, yet I have BC,

So now, I'm trying to convince my sister and my mother to go have breast MRI's. My sister is 30, and my mother is 56. My mother already has colon issues, pre cancer of colon and in her esophagus, so she really needs to get checked.

My health has been so bad that my husband , myself, our three children and our dog had to move  in with my parents. I have just been so very ill. I thank God that my parents were willing and able to take us in to help us through this difficult time.

My children are coping as best they can. We try very hard not to talk about things around them. However, I let them know that they can come to us and talk about it any time, and ask any questions they want to.

It's just heartbreaking.

Would you mind sharing more about your sisters situation, or is she available to talk with?

I'm just so concerned about being at stage four, and what that will mean for me.

I'm sorry for going on and on. I needed to let some of this out, sometimes I feel so alone dealing with this. Even though I have my family.

I would love to talk to you all. Especially if there is anyone out there who know anything about bc spreading to the thymus gland.

Thank you for reading.

I will be praying for you and your sister and for all the brave women out there going through this difficult ordeal. May God give you strength and peace.