25 yr old with IDC stage 3

Hi Aimee,

I'm relatively new here. I was diagnosed w/stage 3 IDC with lobular features in Aug.  Since, I have had a masectomy, 5 months of chemo and I'm currently half way through 33 rounds of radiation. 

I have to say the most difficult part of all this for me was the waiting on tests results and waiting on a plan of action.  Even though it is a tough journey, I have seen many good things through this.  I have faith in God which has made a huge difference for me.  I trust His plan for my life and whatever comes my way.  

Today, as I sat waiting on my treatment, a lady shared with me that this morning she sat on her porch listening to the birds she began to thanking God for different things and she said she even thanked Him for her cancer.  She said she could never do that until today.

When I came out from my treatment I dressed and sat down to talk with another women and she shared with me how good God has been to her through her journey and I shared with her what the other lady had said. She told me she could see that and she wouldn't want to go through it again but a lot of good has come from it for her that wouldn't have happened without the cancer.

For me, I call it a hard blessing.......one I never would have asked for but I'm better because of.

I hope that you will come to a place that you can say....I'm better because of cancer.

Also, you have come to a great place. There are so many encouraging women here from many different situations.  And though you may never find yourself thankful for cancer, I believe you will find yourself stronger than you ever knew you were.

Thanks for letting us join you in this.

Fonda

Hi Aimee,

I am so sorry for your diagnosis--especially at your young age.  I can also understand the feeling of being in a nightmare...  I don't know if it will help to tell you that this is probably the worst part.  At least for me (and I know I've heard many other women say this, too), I felt like things were quickly spinning out of control in the beginning, and as though I didn't know what to expect or where I was headed or how long I would live.  Each decision seemed overwhelming and like a life or death choice.  It was terribly overwhelming.  But it does get easier...

With each new piece of information (i.e. Her2 status, MRI results, lymph node biopsy results, etc.)--even though each new piece of information made my prognosis look bleaker--I found that I felt a bit more in control because I knew more about what I was dealing with.  And all of this information helped us form a treatment plan.  Just having a plan in place was strangely comforting.  

One of the other things that helped me was getting multiple opinions.  After the Breast Center sent me to an independent surgeon and to the big hospital here (to see a different surgeon and an oncologist) & they made my treatment plan, my independent surgeon recommended that I get another opinion from a doctor at the cancer center.  I was against this because I just wanted to get started with the chemo and didn't want to wait even another few days for another opinion.  But I'm glad I took that extra bit of time.  The second oncologist said many of the same things and came up with the same plan, which was really reassuring for me.  (And I ended up going with him because he offered a lot more personal care than I would get from the hospital--he was exactly what I needed at the time).     

You will probably find that once you start treatment, whether it is chemo or radiation or surgery first, it gives you a sense that you are at least doing something to fight it.  This was huge for me--I had such a hard time waiting for all of the decisions to be made and for chemo to start.  But once it did, I felt a bit more in control of things and it made it all seem less nightmarish. 

I hope you don't mind my rambling.  I'm just thinking back to the first few days after my diagnosis (exactly 2 years ago!) and thinking of the things that would have been helpful for me to hear.  You are already much smarter than I-- I waited a year after diagnosis to join this site--it is such a great place for support and answers to your questions from people who have been there.

And, like beacon said, try to take it one day or one hour at a time...     

My heart goes out to you & I wish you all the best...  Feel free to PM me any time. 

Hi Aimee. I am relatively new here too. I'm also younger than the average age of BC diagnosis, though not as young as you. I understand the feeling of living in a nightmare. It does get better. Once you have a treatment plan, it helps. There are still days (like today) when all I want to do is cry, but there are some beautiful, wonderful, inspirational women on here who have shown me how to fight. I pray for strength for you and for us all in this journey.

Aimee - my heart goes out to you - I am older than you but still was shocked at a diagnosis at age 38 earlier this year.  

One thing to clarify that I am wondering about... you said "stage 3" but your sig says "grade 3" - two different things...the grade is the tumor itself (mine is grade 3 also, which is of course aggressive but lots of people have that grade in their path reports).  You won't know the stage until you know more about the size of the tumor, node involvement, etc...I have a 3 cm tumor and 1/4 nodes involved so with a grade 3 tumor, I am stage IIb. My onc doesn't really put a lot of value in the staging as far as stats, etc...we haven't discussed that once.  

Have you met with a breast surgeon or oncologist yet to know your treatment options?  Trust me, you will feel so much better once you have a plan in place.  I am "just getting started good" with my chemo, lol, but I have learned so much and am more than happy to answer questions if you want to PM me.  I get wrapped up in my own stuff sometimes but then I recall how people reached out to me when I first posted here so today I am trying to reach out to just diagnosed folks and let them know it does get better.

((HUGS)))