Refusing radiation treatments?

Vik11-

What type of test is that???

vik11

That is true, if the cavity is too close to the skin, they cannot do the internal rad.  That is what happened to me. It would fry the skin.  I also have a B cup.  

Dakota212 --

So,the test is called Breast Specific Gamma Imaging. It is like a PET Scan specific to the breast/chest area. It will reveal any cancer in that specfic area.



Shayne --



Isn't it interesting that women who are in the bc profession lean towards mx. I have to tell you that despite my reservations, it does have it's upside. I am getting conflicting #s with regard to recurrence %. One facility says <5% and one says less than 1%. Either way, the odds are pretty darn good. Will know more after meeting with RO on Tues. with regard to Savi applicator. Appt was rescheduled with plastic surgeon to Sept 7. (Darn!!) Had hoped to get all info on same day to begin deliberations. Went on herbal menopausal remedy yesterday since I gave up HRT and seeing some od those nasty old symptoms which I don't need at this point in time. Boy, is it wonderful to communicate with wonderful women on this board who know what I'm talking about!
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Infobabe and Shayne --



Nothing was mentioned by my bs surgeon about being too close to skin. Perhaps RO will get into that more in depth. It gets to be so overwhelming that we only hear so much. My husband is so great and he picks up things in these appts I do not. He has been a wonderful support and has his own opinion on which way he thinks I should go, but says he will support anything I choose. I also have wonderful support from my kids and dear friends. So very important! I have to admit I feel pretty lucky in this ugly situation as my husband's cousin was diagnosed when I was and hers was rampantly invasive. Gone thru chemo, etc. Don't know if I could handle that! Praying for guidance every day.

Beesie and Infobabe, hehe um er you won't believe this or maybe you will but I um forgot to ask about a copy of my pathology report!  I couldn't believe it, I remembered while waiting but it was over 90mins later that I was finally called and I plum forgot.  Anyho it would of just been shoved into the deepest darkest corner of my room never to be looked at.  I have all the info in my notes of what was what and I'm all about moving forward - 'life take 2' a better, happier life.  I'm cancelling my rads next week, IF, IF I am one of the 30% well I'll see about rads then - if it's an option but I'm going to do everything in my power to be one of the lucky 70%.  There's also a  small part of me also wanting to prove all the nay sayers wrong! Only time will tell!!  Will have a mammo early next year and have regular checks etc so I'm not anti-medical at all despite the zero care level given apart from removing lump and advising on chemo and rads.  I had to use my own inititive to find alternatives and a lot of info myself - as I've said previously no medical staff mentioned diet, vitamin D and excercise etc including how to calm from stresses etc. I know plenty of healthy people still get cancer but adopting a healthy approach afterwards COULD be just as effective if not more so than conventional medical stuff.  I don't know and alternatives may just work for some and not all, some may only be cured by medical treatments-regarding preventative, it's all a very fuzzy grey random area.  That's why decisions are a very individual thing that everyone else should respect.  I feel sorry for my sister to have to tell all her very conventional extended family that I'm going against the traditional 'norm' but she'll live, if she herself is unlucky enough to have any type of cancer then she can go full on medical and I won't stop her, it will be her choice.  Finally about cows milk/dairy that I wrote in previous post, yes the big China study is very 'fuzzy grey' regarding if cows milk/dairy can have an effect on contracting bc but I've just chosen to adopt this as part of my overall 'life take 2' approach and I no longer like the taste of cows milk.  I still have dairy though, the thing is not to take things to extremes - that's what my naturopath advises anyway.  So ladies this could be my last post - I'm in the process of creating my own website blog - it won't be about bc though it will be about all things positive, natural, healthy and fun.  All the best to all of you

Infobabe

I do now have a clear understanding it's just I don't have a written official copy but yes will be interesting to see how I go on the phone asking for a copy.  I'm sure I'll be asked to collect at my next appointment.

We will need to agree to disagree as there is no way I would select chemo and rads when there is no immediate danger and have been given the all clear post surgery.

Now I'm more determined than ever to send you a 'I'm fine all clear' post in five years time!

Vik... I chose to have a BMX even when all my docs considered it overkill... It's a personal choice, but I am glad I did it... I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but if you don't like the idea of implants, why not consider DIEP or GAP flaps? It uses your own fat, no capsular contraction, no rippling, no pec muscle interference, no pain afterward, no increased risk of LE...

I beg to differ..... and unfortunately I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

I don't disagree on the pathology report. Jo-beth, I do think it's a good idea for you to get a copy of your pathology reports.  If you ever need to see another doctor, having those reports will be very important.

Where I disagree is on what you need to be telling us here. You don't need to tell us anything.  In your most recent post, you didn't ask for our advice or our thoughts on what you are doing; you told us your decision.  Whether I or anyone else understands your decision or agrees with it or not really doesn't matter one iota.  You say that you have the information you need to feel comfortable with the decision, and that's what counts.  I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you do come back in 5 years, happy and healthy. 

Please let's everyone remember that the role of this discussion board is not to offer medical advice. None of us are in a position to do that. The best we can do is offer support and information. If someone chooses to share the specific details of her diagnosis, we may be able to explain the different options that are generally available to someone with that diagnosis, and we may be able to discuss the possible implications of each of those options. If the discussion includes recommendations on what this individual should do, I believe that it's going too far. I think it's going too far when we try to influence or direct or steer someone down one path vs. another, when we put pressure on someone to accept a particular treatment, when we challenge them to explain their decision, when we judge someone else's decision, when we tell someone that they making the wrong decision. The way I see it, it doesn't matter if the directing and influencing and judging is blatant or subtle. Saying "I think you should have treatment X" is really no more directive than saying "I had treatment X and it would never have occurred to me to not have it"; the intent of both statements is to influence someone to make the decision to have treatment X.

Every diagnosis is different from all others and every woman dealing with a diagnosis is different from all other women. No one can know what's right for someone else. That's not to say that we can't help. We sometimes are able to add clarity to the information that someone has received from her doctors. We often are able to provide information that makes upcoming discussions with doctors more informative. If I can do that for someone, that's pretty terrific. Of course, while some of the women who come here want this type of help, there are others who don't.  Some who come here just want emotional support, or perhaps they want to know that they are not alone in going through this experience.  If that's the support that someone wants, that's the support that they should get.  If someone doesn't want to know anything about her treatment options or doesn't want to share information here, that's okay.   After all, we are not here to offer medical advice or to advise someone on which treatments she should have, we are here to offer support. 

My apologizies to any who are offended by this post. I'm absolutely not directing it to any one individual; this is something that I've been wanting to say for quite a while now. In my 6 1/2 years on this board, I've never seen so many judgemental posts, so much directing and influencing and telling people what they should be doing. I've made comments here or there but mostly I've turned away and shut down the computer and said nothing. But just over the past few days I've seen several of these types of posts, so today I decided to say something and say it clearly.  

Edited for grammar corrections and typos only.  

one of the things we all need to realize that we get to tell who we want what we want to tell with no obligations for anything else

Bessie, hope I have not tried to tell folks what to do but only say what I have done

Thank you Beesie, my little earth angel!

Firstly infobabe on a previous post regarding finding notes, I related info on the post surgery outcome which is all I wish to share. Just for a quick recap, it was 'triple negative' IDC invasive, 2mm clear margins and clear node that was removed. I'm not going to get into size or further details and I don't wish to update my profile so I have this little badge displayed on every post.  Just not me.  I did feel I was being steered quite clearly going down the medical radiation path even after I've made it clear I will not be going down such path.  I think we may all greatly underestimate the human spirit and power of the mind. I've said often going natural for me is not just about diet and excercise they are just the basics - I'm changing who I am as a person, my lifestyle, the way I think, my optimisim and my faith.

Just by the way I'm Australian writing from Australia.

Thanks Shayne for advice I will ask for my pathology report to be sent in mail - seems you had a better post medical care experience than me, I'm happy for you. 

I can only hope to be able to share a post in five years and hope you are all around to see it that's if the world doesn't end 21st December 2012 but that's another story not for here!

Bye for now

Jo-Beth

I too wish you the very best of luck.

I was trying to figure out exactly what you have and compare it to my own diagnosis.  I have done what you intend to do but our situations are completely different so I cannot advise you further.  

Vic11 - I applaud your spirit and tenacity!!  Remember you are paying these doctors for their expertise.  You GO GIRL!!!

Shayne & infobabe --



Thanks ladies. It's good to get validation on what you think is the right thing to do.

Bdavis --

You are correct. I did mean I will talk to ps about doing a unilateral. I am still new to this aspect of bc and still learning from you all.

Maize,

Once I recovered from the inital diagnosis DCIS grade 3 I pondered about the radiation option. My local doc did 3 lumpectomies to see if we could get clear margins, we didn't.

I then traveled to a breast center in Seattle and opted for a bmx with reconstruction. I am glad I made those decisions. I am 4 weeks out from my surgery and feel great.

When I met with the breast surgeon following my BMX they discovered two areas of micro invasive cells. She turned to me and said, " This should confirm your decision."

I was frightened of the effects of radiation, but in some ways was relieved that I didn't have to really make that choice.

I was also relieved to not have radiation or chemo that the BMX should have taken care of the breast cancer.

The relief I have now is amazing. Went in for my yearly mammogram and on July 27 the whole world seemed to shift. The waiting, the reading and the deciding was by far the most stressful time I have had in my 61 years.

Sending lots of good energy your way to give you strength to get through this trying part.

Thank you, Beesie, for the clarification !

Beth