Calling all ladies in their 20's

Hi Everyone!



I've been trying to find a chat room with women closer to my age. I just turned 24 and am through three of my eight chemo treatments. I was 23 still when I was diagnosed and the first thing out of everyone's mouths when I would tell them my diagnosis was "but you're so young!". That got old very fast. And every group I find or blog I read seems to be all middle-aged women, so it's hard to find people to talk to that I can relate to.

Welcome Alyssa! What chemo regimen are you on? 4 X DD AC and 4 X DD Taxol? Have you had surgery yet or will it be after you finish chemo?  I hear you on the "but you're so young!" comments. It's nice to have a group of others in our age group since we have to deal with different ramifications of having cancer, including fertility, etc.

Hi kk11!



I am on 4 x AC an then 4 x taxol. I actually just finished my fourth AC treatment yesterday, so I'm finally halfway done! I've been getting mixed answers though when I ask people about taxol. I had one oncologist tell me it's easier than the AC treatments, and another one tell me it's harder. Any advice? I already had surgery. On August 8th I had a bilateral partial mastectomy (essentially just a lumpectomy) with right sentinel node biopsy. I found the surgery no problem, I bounced back pretty quickly. Its the chemo that totally sucks. And to be honest, losing my hair has been one of the hardest parts. I've continued working through my chemo and even though I have a fantastic wig, I felt like losing my hair plastered a massive "I have cancer" sign on my forehead and I felt like all of a sudden everyone could tell what I was going through, ven though I hadn't told them. I'm gradually adjusting to wearing a wig and getting more comfortable in it, but it's been a lot harder than I expected!



Lulujune17 - just wanted to say your post brought tears to my eyes. Good for you for standing so strong. And I agree, theres no point in being angry or scared about breast cancer. It sucks. It does. It totally sucks, but all that energy the could be wasted on anger and fear could be put to much better use in kickin cancers ass and getting back to life. I'm sorry to hear about your miscarriage but know that it's not your fault and I'm sure you will have a beautiful and amazing baby once this is all done. And you'll be that much more thankful and grateful to have them in your life. Good luck with everything!

Alyssa,thank you and i wish the best for you too, you will have wonderful hair once you are done with chemo,i didn't lose it all,but i didn't wait till it happen,i shaved it,but some of it is growing backi agree it really screams "i have cancer" when you lose your hair,but i always smile a really big smile to any one who gives me oh-poor-thing-she-has-cancer look,and it totally changes the way they look at me,i give them the i've-never-been-better lookit really works,try it(even if they think you are in denial)LOL  ..Just try to make the most of every day,live it to the fullist,laugh,pamper yourself(you deserve it),stay around positive people,and don't let anyone make you feel sorry for yourself,you will be okay,chemo will be over in no time and you will have your hair back,your normal life back before you know it.

keep smiling and keep your head up sister

Thank you Melanie-ann.

Good night everyone,

Hugs to all

Hey Everyone. I had the weirdest thing happen today... I'm one week out since my last AC chemo treatment (scheduled to start my first of four taxol treatments next week) and should be coming into a few days where I feel relatively good again before my next chemo. I was at work today and basically fainted/blacked out, fell over and then started throwing up all over the place for about half an hour straight. It was crazy. My boss didn't know what was going on and called 911 so then the paramedics came and took me to emerg (at the hospital where I'm being treated - I wouldn't let them take me anywhere else). Of course when I got to the hospital they did the full workup on me because im a chemo patient but they really didn't find much. White blood cell count is low, as to be expected because I'm on chemo... Had a very low fever, but they said it wasn't high enough to give me antibiotics for.... It was just the craziest experience. I've never felt so shitty and delirious before. And I've never fainted before. Has anyone else had this happen? I don't know if my body is just run down or what... I just can't wait til I'm done with all my treatments and can finally get my body back to "normal" again! If that's even possible.



NannaBaby - glad to hear you got your records. They legally are not allowed to ever deny you records and probably took so long getting them to you because they knew you were contemplating a lawsuit and wanted to make sure their chart had no "holes" in it so you couldn't sue them. I worked for a doctor for a couple years and sadly they're almost all the same. They keep shitty records to begin with, and it's only when they think they're getting sued that they take the time to get shit in order. I bet the note about "no palpable mass" didn't even exist until you asked for your chart. It sucks. But at least you finally have your records!





Lulujune - thanks for the support. I actually did shave my head too. I bought a wig, and the day before my second chemo treatment, when my hair had just started falling out, I had my stylist shave it. But she said I shouldn't shave it totally bald and leave a bit of fuzz to naturally fall out. I wish she had shaved it lower than she did because watching all that "fuzz" fall out drove me nuts! It took forever and was all over everything I owned! I can't imagine if I'd have let my real hair (which was past my bra before) fall out!

Hi ladies - Just checking in real quick. I had my swapout surgery yesterday. I'm in a lot more pain than I anticipated, but part of that is because the binder wrap is wrapped really tightly around my chest to prevent swelling. I had a horrible night's sleep last night and don't think tonight will be much better. Just need to get to Monday when I can remove the wrapping and take a shower! I think I'll feel much better then!

Nanna - Glad you were finally able to get your records, but sorry that it doesn't look like you have a case. I hate that it seems they are covering their asses. Congrats on the all clear on the scans and the BRCA testing! What a HUGE relief!

 Lulu - Congrats on being done with FEC! I also had a miscarriage last August (first pregnancy), though it wasn't at 6 months...it was at 10 weeks. Still, it was a complicated miscarriage (partial molar pregnancy) and I ended up needing 2 1/2 months of chemo to resolve it only to end up with the breast cancer diagnosis 2 months after that 6 month ordeal. It really sucks and I totally sympathize with you. And I can't believe your MIL tried to blame you for it and that your husband wasn't entirely on your side. That's just wrong.

Alyssa - Taxol was easier for me in terms of nausea (had none) and overall fatigue (it was better), but it gave me other symptoms, like bone pain and neuropathy. So I guess it just depends on how well you tolerate the symptoms and it is really dependent on the individual experience. As for the hair, I felt the same way before I lost mine, but ended up quickly getting over it. I try to think of the bright side....like how I don't have to brush my hair before I leave, don't have to shave, etc. Now that I'm done with chemo for a month already, I am looking forward to getting my hair back, but I'm not paying too much attention, because then it seems like it comes back more slowly! As for fainting spells, I also got dizzy and lightheaded during chemo, but never actually fainted. If your red blood cells and hemoglobin are low, this would be the cause. Just make sure to get up slowly when you get up and like Nanna said, drink plenty of water!

Melanie_Ann - Tamoxifen has been okay. It's been about 2 1/2 weeks and so far so good. I already had hot flashes from the chemopause, so I don't notice too much different. I am a month out from chemo and no period for me either. How long ago did you finish again?

Shiramg - Are you also doing Tamoxifen or just the Zoladex? Also, what % were your estrogen positive? That might have factored into the decision to have you on both. I am just 10% estrogen positive, so very weakly estrogen positive. My onc is fine with just the Tamoxifen.

Ugh....my arm is hurting from the typing. Will have to stop now!

MinimacsMom - Ask your RE about taking Femara during your fertility treatments. My RE specializes only in fertility preservation for cancer patients, so I fully trust his input. He had me on Femara to keep my estrogen levels in the blood down. They monitor your blood daily during your cycle, so you'll know how it's affecting things. I'm ER+ as well, but just 10%, so fairly weak. We have no children yet (had a complicated miscarriage last year), so we felt it was absolutely necessary to get embryos frozen. I'm 28, turning 29 in less than a week. I also don't want to wait 5 years to have a baby (I've spent the last nearly 2 years wanting one) and would like to take a break from Tamoxifen in 2 years to have one. I just have to play it by ear and see how the next two years goes. What stage are you? Is your oncologist on board with fertility preservation? I have been told that most women in our age group will get our periods back, but chemo does age our ovaries considerably, which is why I decided for the preservation.

And try to take it easy after your MX....it's a pretty heavy surgery and you need to give yourself time to heal. I did my fertility preservation prior to my MX, so I didn't have to worry about healing from that while getting the fertility treatments. So make sure to treat your body well as it's going through quite a bit of stress right now.

If I start the treatments tomorrow like everything is ready for, I will  be able to get the eggs out in 14 days, which is 1 week before I want to start chemo.  I am concerned because I know who my onco is, but they won' tschedule my appt until i follow up with the surgeon on Friday.  Ugh, I am so not trusting my hospital right now.  My RE doesn't specialize in fert preservation but she is goign to put me on the femara to block the ER interaction.  I start that tomorrow after my ultrasound and the hormones on Wed.  This whole process is so scary.  After everything the RE has done to get my funding and free drugs, I feel bad backing out, but... I just don't know what to do.  I am blessed with one amazing 15 month old, already.  Sorry, very emotional after surgery. 

Minimacsmom- Nanna is right. It IS about YOU. I think you mentioned you just had surgery a few days ago right? I think that it makes sense to not schedule chemo until they know your surgical wounds are healing properly. As far as doing the fertility preservation, I think it's worth it if you want to keep your options open. I got the drugs free too, but still had to fork over thousands for the rest of it. Is your onc on board with you doing fertility preservation? That might help make your decision. In the end, only you can make the decision for yourself, but unfortunately you don't have much time to decide. I can't imagine having to make any major decisions like that right after my MX. Maybe sleep on it one more night? And if you have any reservations, maybe you can ask your RE and onc so that you can be 100% sure of your decision.

So after some serious discussions with my hubby we decided not to go through with the repro preservation. I am lucky to be blessed with a wonderful natural born son! I also didnt feel that it was worth the theoretical risk since i cant get into my onc to discuss it. On good news Vandy called today and i have an appt with a breast cancer specialist on 11.16! Good luck to all you other ladies and thanks for the support. my friends are super supportive but they dontreally understand so the different perspective was wonderful.