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tuesdays
tuesdays Member Posts: 12
edited June 2014 in Caring for Someone with Breast cancer

Uhhh, I can feel the fight that is going to happen over the weekend already.

 We got the MRI results back, all I was told is that they found another spot in her other breast. I guess they only scanned her breasts? I feel like they should be checking to make sure the cancer hasnt already spread! I mean if its in both breasts already with now a total of 4 lumps WHY THE &#%#* arent we checking other areas???!!! Am I wrong? I knew in my heart in the beginning of it all that it was gonna be a horrible amount of cancer. Who knows how long they have been there. Literally, none of us will ever know.

 Back to it all, so apparently they arent gonna do anymore testing? Ill ask more questions once I am face to face with everyone this weekend (hence the argument). And were already talking about how they are just going to remove both breasts no reconstruction. Like HOW the freak does my aunt think that my grandma will be fine with that? She has told us NUMEROUS times already that she does not want her breasts removed and then to not even think of reconstruction. This is a woman who is going to forget over and over again that she had surgery to remove them but were not gonna even try to fix it and make her feel a little womanly?

God my dad is going to be so uncomfortable once I call him after work cuz I am going to advocate for my grandma like you wouldnt believe. I feel like no one else in the family is, so I am going to! Wish I was invited to the MRI this morning I have so many questions.

Apparently we still dont even know what kind of breast cancer it is and wont know until they do surgery to remove her breasts? How is that possible everything I am reading shows once you have the biopsy it tells you that information! Am I wrong? Not everyone does surgery so how do we not know? Or is my aunt and grandpa not asking the right questions? Uhhhhh! And because of my age I am treated like a child with this.

Sorry for venting, I feel bad for bf I went off on him last night and I feel like I am going to go off again tonight.

nikki

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  • fusgeyer
    fusgeyer Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2012

    I think it is awesome that you want to advocate for your grandmother. I have breast cancer and this is what I can tell you based on my experience. The biopsy should be able to determine the grade of the cancer (grade I, II, or III) this is not the same as stage. Receptor testing on the biopsy sample should have been done. You should know if the cancer is estrogen positive, progesterone positive and or HER2/nue positivie (sometimes called overexpressed.) This, plus imaging records (diagnostic mammogram, Breast MRI and ultrasound) are enough to determine what type of breast cancer your grandmother has. At this point, without examining the lymph nodes and the actual tumor, they cannot tell you what stage (from 0 to 4) the cancer is.

    Your grandmother is entitled to reconstruction by law--Medicaid, Medicare and most private insurance companies must pay for reconstruction. A bigger question is if your grandmother is healthy enough to undergo that type of surgery. Talk to a plastic surgeon who is very experienced in breast reconstruction before making any decisions and before undergoing any additional surgery.

    Prior to my mastectomy (I had a choice between lumpectomy and mastectomy), my oncologist ordered a bone scan and a full body CT scan to be sure that the cancer had not metastasized. They also ordered a MUGA scan prior to starting me on certain biological treatments to be sure that my heart function could handle the drugs. This may not be necessary for your grandmother.

    Not sure where you are located, but there are numerous Cancer Treatment Centers of America and Mayo Clinics around the country. Your grandmother might be better off working with a facility specializing in cancer treatment.

    I have a series that I write on breast cancer called My Battle with Breast Cancer. You can find it here: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/170377/lynda_altman.html and http://www.everydayhealth.com/cancer/living-with-breast-cancer.aspx

    Hope this helps 

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  • crystalphm
    crystalphm Member Posts: 1,138
    edited June 2012

    How wonderful you want to help your grandmother! cancers are often defined when a biopsy is done, but the final diagnosis doesn't come forward until the cancer is removed. That is when they can really lab-test each cell to see the whole picture.

    After the first surgery, please remember your grandmother may not want the following surgeries needed for reconstruction. Step 1 is to get rid of the cancer. Step 2 is to make choice for the future.

    As you know more, you may want to show your grandmother this website if she uses the computer, if not, then read some posts to her from the different areas here that affect her.

    She is lucky to have you.

    Oh, and I am 56 years old and chose no reconstruction and really do feel very womanly. Breasts don't define us.

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  • tuesdays
    tuesdays Member Posts: 12
    edited June 2012

    Thanks for your advice ladies.

     This is where we are right now. I got some more information. Apparently anything that we have learned has been through phone calls. Not one face to face appointment. And this is all through her GP! Like what is that?! Her GP wanted her to come in tomorrow for a face to face appointment but my aunt feels that an appointment with a GP is a waste of an appointment.

    My grandpa is calling a cancer surgeron this morning to make an appointment for the earliest time possible.

    As of right now the only treatment we would possibly consider is having the lumps removed. My grandma wont even talk of having her breasts removed (which I knew that). And thankfully everyone is supporting her in this decision as of right now at least. I will support my grandma in whatever she decides and will stand by her no matter what. We will not do any chemo or radation what so ever. That is due to my grandmas health she would never live through it. So I am glad we are all on the same page. Man I wish we knew all that information but apparently we dont. Uhhh. I just want answers, that I really know we should have by now. Maybe next week?

    nikki

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