Calling all ladies in their 20's

Moonflower - Tamoxifen can cause irregular cycles, but you can definitely still get your period while on it. In fact, some countries use it as a fertility drug (used only in shorter timeframes), so definitely make sure to use some form of protection while on it! It remains to be seen for me whether my cycles will be irregular. Today, I'm just happy it's come back.

As for the kids thing, I understand what you're going through completely. I have had several people get pregnant around me since I miscarried in 2010. I ended up getting chemo for that situation (it was a molar pregnancy that wouldn't resolve on its own) and shortly after I finished the treatment for that I was diagnosed. Anyways, I get mixed feelings about others around me getting pregnant. I WANT to be happy for them, but it can be hard to feel happy about it 100% of the time. In March, the baby we lost would be turning 1. Instead, I lost a boob along the way and we are forced to wait again. Our time will hopefully come down the road. I am trying to remember that when we do finally have children, we will be that much more grateful for them. 

sjenson - I totally get your concerns. They were the same ones I had. I ended up with a mastectomy. They told me that they were pretty sure that I didn't have lymph node involvement and they were right. Of course, it could have gone the other way, but I was willing to chance that. I really wanted to avoid radiation for the same reasons as you. They have gotten MUCH better at targeting specific areas, so that's important to keep in mind. Even if they have info from long term effects, it's based on how they USED to do it. Which breast is it? Your heart is behind your left breast, so if it's your left breast, you will want to include that in your decision process. Mine was on the right, but I still didn't want to take any chances. Sometimes I wonder if I should have let them take both breasts and not just the one, but I kept my left one (the good one) so I could possibly breast feed in the future. I figured that I could always decide later to remove it, but I couldn't get it back if it was already gone. Another thing to consider is how much breast you have now and how much they would need to take away. For women with smaller breasts, a mastectomy may be better because a lumpectomy would nearly look like a mastectomy.  If you're undecided, I'd recommend a lumpectomy because you could always change your mind later. Are you getting chemo? If so, maybe you want to ask them if you could do neoadjuvent therapy (chemo before surgery) since that would give you more time to decide. The outcomes are supposedly similar for neoadjuvent (chemo first) and adjuvent (chemo second) therapies. Hope that helps a little.

Hey girls. Thank you so much for the responses as it is good to bounce these off of people that are not in the medical field taking care of me and have gone through it. Unfortuntely, I am also in the medical field and work at a Children's Hospital in an ICU. I feel like I know too much too which makes me even more fearful...granted this is totally different. Anyways, I did have gene testing and BRCA 1/2 came back negative...so that was a relief! I am on week 2 and they don't want to be pushing it past week 3. I have a surgery slot open for me next week so I need to decide pretty much..now. My lump (from what they know) is small, less than a cm and is at the bottom of my boob far enough away from the nipple. It doesn't appear to have any lymph node involvement so we will see. We will be doing the SNB in surgery and go from there at this point. I live in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area so yes around big centers. Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee is a big medical center and well known in the US for Cancer Care. They are my second opinion and I will be sticking with my first.

 I understand that a unilateral has those risks, but yes HOPEFULLY someday I will have kids. I just got married 3 months ago...no kids...want them. So, I guess in the most ideal situation I would love to be able to have kids and breast feed. I am not considering a bilateral because I would like to keep one of my own if there is no increased risk. Since there isn't because the BRCA is negative I would take my chances I guess at this point on doing just the one. I think what scares me is the worst case scenario is it spreading and me having to do radiation regardless of a surgical option..I guess that is out of my hands though...

MMM - I've heard of large tumors, but this is the first time someone I've communicated with has had a tumor that size. I am glad you got it checked out right away and are taking care of it since I hear about many women ignoring lumps while breastfeeding thinking it's just a clogged milk duct.

As for the kids thing, I always wanted two, but I think at this point, I should feel lucky if I end up with one. It's always hard when WE don't get to make the decision but the cancer does it for us. I don't know what your ER status was (was it highly estrogen positive, or just weakly estrogen positive?), but my oncologist at Stanford University has done research on pregnancy after breast cancer and there doesn't appear to be any higher risk of recurrence overall. Of course, every case is different, but just wanted to share what I've been told.

 sjenson - I wanted to tell you something else about lumpectomies vs mastectomies, and hopefully I don't confuse you further! I was told by my surgeon that even with a lumpectomy, I may have trouble breast feeding in the future and that it may not feel the same sexually. I know these are not easy questions to ask your surgeon, but I recommend asking anyways. I am part of a young women's breast cancer group and there are those who chose to go with a lumpectomy who have said that it just doesn't feel the same. I don't mean to make the decision harder for you, but wanted to give you some other things to think about. I think MMM also came up with some good questions/things to think about.

kk. I an 99% er pos so very. My tumor was 15cm mushed xuring the mammogram. And pathologically 9x6x4 so roughly the entire upper hemisphere. I was not given a mx choice but before we knew the size its what the hubs and i had been discussing. I do wish i had gotten my second opinion bf surgery. Mda sd they would have done chemo first.



Im am on weekly taxol #9, next in fac starting feb 20. With the taxol i still have most of my body hair and even still some of my head hair. Though i know it will fall out for fac. Have any of you gained weight. This taxol is killing me. Ive swelled up like a freaking balloon...

MMM - Oh, and I agree that they should probably have done chemo first with a tumor that size, but I have been told that the outcomes are similar, so don't second guess that too much.

Rosaa - There will be scars no matter what you do (mastectomy or lumpectomy), but they should be well hidden under your clothes, so I doubt it will be a concern for your work. The port could cause some scarring, so have them put it further down (out of the bikini line sight) if you haven't already had it put in. Otherwise, there are scar creams you can use to minimize the scarring.

As for your work, I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could be honest about your situation. In the US you would have job protection if you had to take a disability leave, but I'm not sure what country you're in. Also, the US has laws that require breast reconstruction (even lifts or implants on the other side if you have only one side removed, for symmetry) to be covered under insurance plans, but again, it may be different in other countries.

 Thanks for the positive wishes about having children. I know I'm not alone as there are others on this site who are also forced to wait. I can only say I'm more than 3 months into Tamoxifen, so that's 3 months closer to having a baby. And if I ended up with twins, that would be fine with me! My husband might freak out though lol!

I feel almost a little silly posting here as I am still so unsure about what is actually going on. For the last two days I have found comfort in reading this thread. I felt like I have been through all of your journies and have some peace seeing all of you beating your diagnosis. I want to give you my history and then my current situation and will gladly accept any and all advice/support. 

 I am 26 and have been married for 5 years. I have two amazing (sometimes beyond silly) children. A 4 year old son and a 3 year old daughter. I was diagnosed with endomitriosis at age 12 and then polycystic ovarian syndrome at 19. Because of this I have been a "regular" at my doctor's office for so long that I don't even wait in the waiting room anymore, just go in the back and sit and chat with the nurses until it's my turn. I was told that it would be beyond difficult for me to have children, but God had a different plan. 2 weeks before my wedding my husband and I found out we were expecting. Then 6 months after my son was born, we were pregnant with our daughter. Fast forward to last year and my ovaries/uterus had finally given up. I first had an oomphectomy (removal of my left ovary) and then in October had an ablation performed.

I went to my doctor Friday for my 3 month check up where he found a lump in my right breast. I had noticed it a few months ago but was so oblivious to the fact that women our age can actually get diagnosed with bc. It started pretty small, almost the size of a grape. When my dr did the exam his facial expression changed and excused himself from the room. I felt for myself the lump and it is about the size of a ping pong ball (but not as round, more flat). He came back in the room with orders in his hand and sent me downstairs to the imaging center. They performed an u/s and then a mammogram. This was at 4:45 and I had to leave to pick the kids up from school. My doctor called last night and said that he wasn't going to worry me but he felt it necessary for me to have a biopsy. He said he scheduled it for Monday afternoon and then would meet me at his office afterwards. Is this normal?

CourtP - I agree with Nanna. You seem to have an awesome team. Some of us have had to fight to get our doctors to take us seriously. It's nice to know there are people who don't need to fight to get things taken care of. Anyways, I hope it comes back as just a cyst. The waiting is hard as Nanna said, so try to keep yourself busy this weekend. We are here for you no matter what!

Hey girls

I caught a cold   but am ok as well i talked to a cosmetic surgeon and he told me that it is possible to deal and remove all scars left from surgery they have a new technique where they use fat and even tissue with blood to remove them . It is early to talk about that nw i have first to deal with chemo and surgery !!! but someone that is used to look beautiful will feel dying when she sees  herself left with scars and no hair ((( am sad coz I found on another thread a little girl aged 15 years that is newly diagnosed with BC she feels so lost and she asks whether she could find someone her age to talk to . I told her about this thread and how many lovely women willbe here to support her . For my job it is abroad so not the same law as in USA that s y I need to have no scars when I join back wish me good luch girls I hope u r all doing well and for the new ones Welcome even if i feel really sad for you coz u r here but we will help eachother as always we are fighters

kk- Thanks for the info on your period. I'm starting to get concerned. It's been 8 months since my last chemo and no period yet. I guess I should de-stress and maybe worry after a year if that happens. Some days I feel like I'm going to cramp but then it just goes away. This may be TMI but my discharge seems to have returned to normal. So I'm taking that as a good sign. I'm no longer drier than the sahara down there. ( oh and on my hair...it's only been 8 months since my last chemo. And I have had my hair trimmed once. She may have cut more off than I would have wanted so I think I just need to be more patient. I actually had my friend cut the back last night because it was much longer than the top. It looked like a mullet...so I had to nip that in the bud.) Also, my doc gave me info on the copper birth control. I may try it if I need to but at the moment I don't have a significant other so I'm not worried. But I def would if there was a chance I could get pregnant.

Moon- I started Tamoxifen about 5 days after I finished radiation. They were going to give me a bigger break but I am on a clinical trial and I had to start within 3 months of finished chemo. Plus I didn't want to wait too long because I do want kids one day and I didn't want to prolong the tammy any more than I had to.

sjenson- I can only tell you from my experience that I really didn't have much of a choice. My cancer was in my lymph nodes already so I would have had to have it either way. But I did only have a lumpectomy and I am at peace with this decision. I just couldn't stand the thought of losing my breast. But I know from talking with others here that it is doable. Nothing about this journey is easy, but we get through it the best we can. I think it's perfectly normal you have so many questions and are indecisive. It's a big decision. I was pretty indecisive myself.

kk- I haven't seen my gyno...I've been meaning to make an appointment and will soon. I didn't get the shots to stop my period. We talked about it, but I decided against it. I finished radiation in August so I've been on tammy now for almost 6 months. I'm not too far ahead of you.

What anti nausea meds are you on, if any?  I know here alot of us get zofran, phenegran or the generics for those to help.  Also, sometimes it could actually be heartburn from the chemo so ask your onc if you can take pepcid or some other anti heartburn meds.  I know they give me pepcid during my chemo.  An increased sense of smell is definately a side effect of chemo.  I haven't had it but I had it when I was pregnant.  I thought I had BO all the time, but no one else could smell me.  I wouldn't worry about it. Ask one of your friends who you trust if they can "smell you"  but its prolly just a SE of the chemo   Sorry it so yucky for you. Feel better rosa.

Hello ladies looks like you all have been busy answering questions, well I have another 1 for you....its been 3 weeks since my mastectomy and I had my expanders put in and though things have been going good I have broken out in a rash across my chest that just will not go away. My PS seem to think it was due to dry skin but I have been using lotion and it still will not go away and its itching so bad that I feel as if I could claw my skin off! N E Way my question is did any of you have this problem, what can I do to make it go away?? I know Im gonna ask my Onco tomorrow what I can do but right now Im going crazy I just want the itching to stop!!! Anyway hope all of you are doing well....Rossa hope you get over your cold soon!!

CourtP: Wow. Your health team sounds great. Good Luck with everything, and keep us posted, we are here for you! 

Rossa: I hope you start to feel better! I felt that my sense of smell was a bit off. I also felt that I smelled, and others never noticed, actually I still feel the same way (for a few days) when I reveive my Herceptin treatments... usually a nice long bubble bath helps!

Still no word on Tamoxifen... I'll keep you posted! 

Take Care! 

Sjensen Hi why did choose to have a mastectomy while u had the choice to have a lumpectomy? am as well confused bteween both 

Girls has anyone had his hair growing back during chemo?? my hair fell and started to grow back !!!! and i feel some changes on my lump i think it started to shrink i hope it ll vanish I just hav two rounds of chemo n the 3 rd is next week i feel so good i think I beated chemo I can go out and i dnt feel tired no nausea or pain and am keepin a diet n am keepin away from sugar n sweets how s evryone???