17 years clean recent dx of second cancer

Fran, welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're sorry that you've had such shocking news, but glad you found this wonderful community to support you.

You might also want to post in the forum Surgery - Before, During and After to connect with women who have had bi-lateral mastectomies, and get their experiences.

Best wishes,

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You don't mention if this doctor is an oncologist. It's worth a second opinion at an accredited cancer center if you have one near you. It almost sounds as if someone is writing you off due to your age and that isn't right.

Why would the doctor discourage you with doing a bilateral mastectomy by saying it would be "too long"?? Well, I would find a surgeon who won't fall asleep on a too long surgery! I would have listened to him if he had an actual professional opinion or had some stats or even medical advice to give but for him to discourage you from the surgery because its "too long" is unacceptable and unprofessional.

Fran - I am so sorry you are going through your second breast cancer.  I had a recurrence in the same breast 19 years after my first.  Like you, I had had a lumpectomy and rads the first time so was limited to a mastectomy the second time (you cannot radiate the same breast twice).  I chose a bilateral with reconstruction and a year after finishing chemotherapy I feel terrific.  

It is a shock to get a second diagnosis, for sure, but you are not alone.  I wish you the very best

Joan

Dry chemo? Whats that, a pill?

I found my own cancer about 3 months after mammo. I looked at the report after dx and it said breasts are extremely dense and a lesion could be obscured. Pissed me off that an ultrasound or SOMETHING was not recommended. Just sent me on my merry way. If you don't hear from us everything is fine. Yeah right. Anyway, yes, its very common for a mammo to miss cancer. I don't trust them one bit and consider it worthless radiation for no reason. But that's just me. Hope your surgery goes well. I think after its done you will have a better idea if you want to pursue surgery for the other side. I decided on bilateral because otherwise I would have had to be monitored with MRI. Plus I am very small and never wore a bra. I didn't want to be lopsided and have to deal with straighten things out with bras or prosthetics. I hated wearing bras and now with hot flashes it really would have been miserable.

I'm in the '6 months after a clean mammo club' too. But I have several friends whose BC was caught very early because of a mammogram, so it works for some & not for others.

fran14: you may have no side effects but the most common ones are flushing (hot flashes) and some joint pain....my friends have been on it for some time and no problems, even the above two didn't show up. I had b.c. twice so am on tamoxifen for 3 years and then letrozole for 7. Letrozole can cause some bone thinning so up your Vit D to at least 1000 I.U. per day (my oncologist's recommendations). The pain takes a bit to go away and it will.  Try not to worry too much. You, at 79, are already a fabulous survivor!!!!

Fran, hugs to you fran. It sounds and they did say they found it small. Let's hope and pray that the mastectomy is all that is needed.

Keep us posted and be strong.

Kosh

HI Fran, Sorry to read of your recurrence, it does seem like you're getting on and doing well post surgery. I hope the pain subsides soon.  I think it's smart your Onco is checking your estrogen level.  Hopeful at 78 the estrogen level is very low and the anti estrogen may not provide much benefit for the SE's.  It will be interesting to hear what they  find and ultimately recommend. HUgs

Bevin

Fran,

As of yesterday, it appears that I might be in the same boat as you. I had my first at age 29 (no family history nor risk factors), took an extended dose of chemo and an extended dose of radiation. I found that lump myself and was still nursing my youngest child. It was extremely aggressive.

Yesterday I visited a third doctor in about a weeks' time period. All say they don't know, but that it appears to be cancer again....same breast. It shows up like a breast cancer, but (like the first one) is not typical. I'm now 47. I go in for a lumpectomy on the 21st and have already been told that if its positive, I get to have a radical mastectomy because I already had the radiation to that breast.

The only positive I could think of was "gee, I knew my fat would come in handy down the road..." (for reconstruction), but inside .....I'm shaken. I don't want the kids to know everything yet and my parents do not know yet. Why have others worry when the pathology isn't back yet??? Only my husband knows. Unlike the movies where you have that supportive spouse that says the 'right' things, he doesn't handle it well and I'm left to handle it all alone....again. BUT, I do know this....I did this before!!! I got through it before!!!! I can do this again!!!!! There is a reason why I found this immediately the first time and a reason why I found this new "thing" the second time.....and that reason is so that I can beat it!!!!!

The great news is that there is so much more they know and can do compared to when I (we) had our first round in this fight!!!!!

Surround yourself with knowledge people who can give you the information you need and remember this....you are NOT the only one going through this....again. And, by your post, know this...you've helped others (me) by not feeling alone.

-NG

Just seeing this board....I too was 30 when first dx, no history, nursing my 3rd child..total shocker....Stage 1.   15 yrs later, I sneezed, broke 4 ribs and THAT ended up finding a 2nd cancer exactly where the first had been and at Stage 3 b now.    Both my tumors were missed by mamms, ultrasounds and MRIs.   Only showed thru biopsies (altho first biopsy was "normal") and thru palpitations.   I did have RADiation twice, 6 weeks each, bec the second time the breast cancer was found it was also found to have spread microscopically thru the skin.  I had a DIEP flap mastectomy, chemo and then the 2nd rad.  (Drs say they NEVER do Rad 2 x for breast cancer, and NEVER when you get a mastectomy...but I did...and my drs were all specialists at UCLA saying I needed to )

Celebrate each day.