Cancer in two places

AudreyV · January 2010

Is anyone else on this forum dealing with two separate, unrelated cancers? In May 2008 after emergency surgery for a small bowel obstruction, I was diagnosed with a rare intenstinal cancer called carcinoid. It had metastisized to my lymph nodes and mesentery and I had a second surgery less than a year later. A total of more than 3 feet of small intestine have been removed. This causes some chronic, not-so-pleasant gastrointestinal side effects, as you can imagine. In Aug. 2009 a breast biopsy revealed a stage I mucinous carcinoma. A second opinion told me that the two were not related in any way. The BC was very early stage, less that 1 cm with no nodal involvement, and I only had to have a lumpectomy and radiation. I started taking Femara about a month ago and am starting to have very unpleasant SEs as well as some delayed reactions to the radiation. I'm trying to stay positive but am having a hard time dealing with the SEs of both cancers. It seems every day I am in pain somewhere. It all happened within such a brief span of time. One year ago, I was only dealing with the fallout from the first surgery but today I feel much worse than I did then. I would live to hear from someone who has had to deal with this. I am 71 (72 in March by the way.)

Mouser · January 2010

Hi Audrey --

I only have breast cancer, so i can't really help much with the double cancer whammy - that is an awful blow! ... but i did have several surgeries in the same time as i was dealing with the bc, and my bc diagnosis is pretty much the same as yours, down to the PR- status. I was dagnosed at 63, and i'm 66 now. 4 hospital stays, 3 inpatient surgeries, 2 outpatient procedures - in 14 months...

My timeline was: bc diagnosis, lumpectomy and rads from 2/07 to mid-8/07. Abdominal hysterectomy followed by partial bowel obstruction (no surgery - it was ileus, and it cleared), 6/07-7/07. Incisional hernia surgery 6/08; mastectomy 8/08. (The mastectomy was not for anything new -- but my 1st digital mammo identified widespread ADH that the earlier mammos and MRI missed.) Femara from 9/07 thru 9/09.

I had abdominal pain for months after the ileus, and i still get funny cramps where they patched the hernia. The 2 abdominal surgeries also did something to my pelvic floor muscles, so i was mildly but unpredictably incontinent -- it's taken a year of PT to stop leaking again. I've also developed some retinal scarring, and i wonder if that wasn't helped along by all the anaesthesia (the doctor says it's just age....). In summer 09 i started getting joint pains, but didn't connect it to Femara, because i'd been on it for 18 months; i wasn't expecting new ses!!. But about the same time i realized i was in a mental fog -- forgetting things in ways i never did before. So i quit Femara at the end of 9/09

Long and short: I'm beginning to feel more-or-less normal, physically and mentally. i think the fog from the Femara is clearing, and my joints got a lot better once i went off it! But even more important, i've finally stopped feeling like a *patient*: my life isn't controlled by doctors' appointments any more.

Under the circumstances, do you really need to stay on Femara? Ask your onc, or compare the odds +/- Femara, and think about the ses... My onc said i had a good enough prognosis that he wasn't too worried about my going off it.

Sorry i can't be more help - i hope someone comes here who can better understandwhat you're going thru!

cheers, mouser

SweetHope · December 2014

In October 2014, I was happily taking piano lessons, doing water aerobics several times a weeks, loving my grandbaby and being so grateful that life was now uncomplicated and relaxing. Then I had an X-ray for back pain and BOOM It found a spot on left breast and mass in right lung (which I was sure was just scar tissue from pneumonia six month earlier). Before the cultures from the broncoscopy had time to mature, I had two lumpectomies and was dealing with a lot of nerve pain from the axillary lymph node dissection. But I was elated that the malignancy was gone. I was ready for chemo, radiation, and hormone therapy. Last week my Pulmunologist called with the sad news that there is a 2 cm nodule in the right middle lobe that is cancerous. So my oncologist put herself on hold. My PET scan is this Thursday, along with lung function test to make sure I can withstand lung surgery. I have no symptoms of lung cancer. The one symptom, unexplained weight loss, would be welcomed as I have nervously eaten my way to 12 new pounds since October. My family is devastated and I can't bring myself to tell my sister who is suffering PTSD from the loss of my beloved brother in law from metastasized prostrate cancer. I am scared. My head is reeling from all this reading. And time has become my enemy...taking too long between tests and results...while speeding away from youthfulness.

I am an optimist, I seek solutions, do not dwell on "why, why me, why now, why ever", but the Pollyanna in me is struggling.

Thanks for listening, Becky

MusicLover · December 2014

I am so sorry that you are dealing with so much. When I was dx with bc they told me that I had thyroid cancer too but it turned out that my biopsy for that needed to be sent to a special location to verify and that came back negative, minor in comparison to stage IV bc dx though. I have seen other threads like this one though, where women are dealing with more than one cancer.

Ellageneve · December 2014

Hi Becky – sweet hope. So sorry to hear about your diagnosis I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in June 2014. when I had my lumpectomy, in July, I was told that my ICD has Neuroendocrrne differentiation, which is very rare, so rare that there is very little studies on it Neuroendocrine cancer usually shows in other Places other than the breast most likely in the lungs or bones Even though my cancer was very early-stage I have just finished up chemo and will be doing radiation in February. I am also very worried that this will come back somewhere else I can only take my doctors recommendations and hope that this will be enough to stave off future cancers. I am in my late 60's and feel that I have much to live for. We have to have a positive out look. We must be there for each other. We do not know what causes cancer I have lots of cancer in my family I've lost three sisters We can only go on from here and be proactive in our care. my prayers are with you. Ella

car2tenn · January 2015

Ellageneve,

You have lost 3 sisters to cancer. What heroism to keep plugging on and giving out hope to others...I send my deepest condolences to you that you have lost so much. blessings . Carolyn

Cancer in two places

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