Calling all ladies in their 20's

Hey guys! I'm 21 years old with no family history of breast cancer. A few months ago I found a lump on my left breast that was hard and immobile. Me and my mom decided it was nothing to worry about because we do have a history of cysts and fibrous breast tissue. Then, about a month ago I found a much larger, irregular, immobile and weird textured lump on my right breast. My mom checked it out (she's a nurse) and decided I should get it checked just to be safe. I wasn't freaking out until about three days before my appointment with my doctor. My right breast became way more itchy than usual (they've been itchy quite a bit before) and swollen. It's about twice the size of my left breast. I saw my doctor and he did seem a little concerned so he wrote an order for an ultrasound like I requested. I had it done today and the radiologist said there is a mass in my left breast and it's probably a fibroadenoma but to come back in 6 months to check it again. She also said they didn't find anything my right breast. Which was very weird to me because the lump in my right breast is palpable just like my left one. My breast is huge and is so itchy it's uncomfortable to wear a bra! My nipple is also changing appearance; it's grown larger as well and doesn't have defined edges anymore (if that makes any sense?) The radiologist said that because of my age they won't do a mammogram and the swelling could be hormonal; it hasn't changed with my menstrual cycles and I'm not on any form of birth control! Is every doctor going to just over look all this because of my age!? I'm so scared and I feel like I don't have any answers! I feel like no one will take the time to give me any either! Should I push for more tests or I am just over worrying!?

Any advise or comments would help! Thanks in advance!

anyway I haven't been on the forums much lately but I wanted to say I had undergone revisions on 5/28th. I'm back to having tissue expanders. I really hate having these bloody grenades on me and I just wanna shower and be able to sleep on my sides again!!! 

I had one drain removed in Thursday and I have another appt this coming Thursday to remove the drains. Hopefully the can remove the test of the 3 drains. I'm tired of having them. 

I find it more weird that I am in more pain now than I was for my bmx. They have to cut into the muscle a bit to separate the muscle tissue from the implants. Right now my PS said they he wants me to wait 2 mths after the drains removed to start expansion. It looks so weird. I can't stand the back pain I'm having though!!! Sorry for my rant mode there...but how is everyone else?

Hi everyone--I don't know if I have ever been in this thread before (I've been offline for a bit during my chemo) but I just wanted to introduce myself.  I was diagnosed at 28 with invasive lobular cancer on my right side and had a double mastectomy with tissue expander placement.  I just finished four rounds of chemo and am now on tamoxifen...I think my last step would be my implant swap surgery.

Autumnday just wanted to respond to your post--I think you should definitely get it checked out.  Is there by chance another breast center around where you live?  When I felt a lump in my breast I ended up getting an ultrasound and the ultrasound actually found another lump that I couldn't feel.  I also got a mammogram which didn't show much more information than the ultrasound.  I did not have any issues with my skin or nipples so my situation is a little different.  Good luck and keep us posted!  Hopefully whatever test results will come back negative!

Just wanted to chime in: Autumn, I think you should see the surgeon. Let us know how it goes.

Lucky, why did you have to go back to expanders? Sorry if I missed an earlier explanation. I'm sorry you're having a hard time with the recon .

Hi loves,

In case any of you guys are in the north nj/nyc area, I wanted to let you know about a new support/networking group I'm running beginning this month. It's through the Young Survival Coalition. More info on our meetup page:

http://www.meetup.com/Hudson-County-Young-Survival-Coalition-Face-2-Face-Network/

Hey autumnday21 I was wondering if you ever went to see your breast surgeon? Did your symptoms go away? Hope everything is going well for you. I had nipple bleeding at age 25 and ultrasounds and they found a lump and were monitoring it every 6 months. My ob/gyn recommended a breast surgeon but I put off going for about 2 1/2 years. I ended up with a diagnosis of ADH at 28 and needed a lumpectomy. I put off having the lumpectomy (all of the waiting because I had no insurance or money!) and after having the lumpectomy several months later my pathology reports came back as DCIS grade 2. I am very lucky I decided to go and see the breast surgeon and of course everyone's case will be different but I never suspected anything was wrong especially when they were just telling me to monitor it by ultrasound. I never would have found it without going to the breast surgeon. The best of luck to you!

autumnday21 I'm so happy you told your pcp. The fear does suck and it keeps you from not wanting to know but trust me when I say the regret from not going sooner sucks too. I felt like if I would have just went to the BS years ago it wouldn't have advanced and I wouldn't have had a lumpectomy and now I'm going to have to do radiation soon (which is scaring the crap out of me) but all in all I'm very happy I caught it early. I pray for all your results to come back negative and if there is a problem they will find it and you will deal and be just fine! :-) But don't let it go!

Hi Shelly, I'm so sorry about your diagnosis. I'm glad you found BCO. I had a BMX with impant recon in 2012. The recovery is tough but doable. Here are some things that I found helpful during my surgery:

Things to have in the hospital:
- Sleep mask! For some reason they leave all the lights on all night
- Ear plugs
- Slippers
- Nice smelling lotion/essential oils. Put people to work massaging your feet and hands!

Things to have for recovery:
- Visiting nurse, if your insurance covers one. If your insurance doesn't, this might be a good thing to ask people to help with/contribute to. It made me feel so much more at ease to have the nurse come. It was only about 3 or 4 days, but I felt so much more safe/less panicked. The hospital social worker can help you set this up. Mine did it for me the day I was released.
- Zip front bras, like this one (http://www.sears.com/hanes-zip-front-sports-bra/p-018J0079000P). I bought several sizes, and tried everything on after surgery. There was quite a bit of swelling, so it was good to have a few sizes. I liked feeling the tightness of the bra, it made me feel more secure.

- Short, light bathrobe - it's hard to pull pants up and down, so this will make it easier to go to the bathroom by yourself. Also scores major sympathy points
- Pill organizer box - opening the bottles was very hard
- Soft ice packs- target makes these ones with velcro loops that are great (http://www.target.com/p/up-up-hot-cold-reusable-pack/-/A-14517968#prodSlot=medium_1_47)
- Dry shampoo and baby wipes — there's usually no showering allowed the first few days
- Something to hold the drains when you are allowed to shower. I used an ace bandage-- tied the ends in a knot and put it around my neck, then safety pinned the drains to the knot. (You will still need help with things like washing your hair, etc. But the first shower feels so good!)
- Ginger candies and ginger tea to help with nausea
- Lots of pillows -- It's hard to get in and out of bed, so sleeping on a giant pile helps. I got one of these pillow chair thingies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NGN9O8/ref=s9_hps_ft_g201_ir06?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0N7WQFN5PTVPAQ9BCXFQ&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_p=1988249062&pf_rd_i=1000965041

Do you know about the Young Survival Coalition? It's a support org for young women with breast cancer. There are meetup groups nationwide: www.youngsurvival.org. I highly recommend them -- I don't know how I would have gotten through treatment without the friends I made at YSC.

You can do this. It's messed up and not fair and awful, but you can and you will. Big hugs!

Hi Ladies,

I'll be honest and say I haven't read all the posts as this thread has been going a while now but I'm going through the most recent and working backwards. I just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions.

I am 28 almost 29 and was diagnosed November 2012 when I was 26. 45mm DCIS tumor, 2 surgeries, 6 rounds chemo and radiation. Started tamoxifen July 2013.

I've recently been accepted into a medical trial about fertility and pregnancy after hormone positive breast cancer and on endocrine therapy. I had been having zoladex injections since December 2012 with my last wearing off just a month ago. Unfortunately attempts at harvesting eggs for embryos before treatment failed so I have nothing stored.

My 3 month wait for the tamoxifen to clear my body is due to end in 2 weeks and I was just hoping some of you ladies could share with me how long it took for your periods to return (for those on zoladex within in a similar time period - 26 months) and any other information you think I might need to know.

Thanks ladies

Hello, I am new to this message board and I also wanted to briefly introduce myself.

I am 29 years old, diagnosed about a month and a half ago. I have ER+/PR+/HER2+, grade 3 IDC with a 2.3 cm primary tumor, a sub-centimeter satellite tumor, and one ~1 cm lymph node confirmed positive. My doctors have told me that I'm "somewhere between stage 2 and 3." Since they started chemo prior to surgery to halt additional spread, I may not ever know if there was additional lymph involvement that wasn't picked up by PET CT and I may not ever know my precise clinical staging prior to treatment. Will receive Adriamycin, Cyclophosphamide, Taxol, Pertuzumab, Herceptin, double mastectomy, possible radiation, and Tamoxifen for 10 years (hopefully).

I don't know if others have done this but I've looked through every page of this message board to try to follow the stories of young women with my diagnostic profile since the message board began... I think the scariest part has been when people who previously posted stop posting. Given my HER2+ status, I find that I can deal with the chemo, the hair loss, the double mastectomy, fingernails falling out, even the prospect of never having children (something I've badly wanted for my entire life). The hardest thing for me was when I dug beyond the information that my doctors readily shared with me to learn about HER2+ related risks in the next few years and how our youth is not necessarily on our side...

Anyone else at my stage of this thing and digging deeper into similar issues?

Btw, I'm being treated at Sloan Kettering in NY. Wondering if anyone else on this board is currently being treated there...

hi, I'm 25 years old. I found a lump in my left breast. I have 2 different spots in my breast that indent. My Dr ordered a mammogram, I went for my appt today. Because of my age They didn't do the mammogram. They just did the ultrasound. The ultrasound didn't show anything so the guy said it was just fibers and the indentions were just my ligaments. I don't feel 100% satisfied in what he said. These things are not something that has been there my whole life. They are recent changes. I know my body better than anyone. I'm so frustrated right now.

rhp268- my Dr did order a mammogram, the radiologist refused to do one because of my age. I really feel as though I was blown off. I just want to be 100% certain. It's my life They are betting on. I've already spoke with a breast center in a larger city. They are requesting the ultra sound images from my local hospital and will call me to set up an appt after they receive those. I'm also getting another appt set with GP to refer me to a specialist. So it's going to be another waiting game, but one I am sooo willing to play if it means I get peace of mind.

don't do adrymacin!!! You should do the TCH chemo regiment. they refer to adrymacin as the red devil & it can cause permanent heart damage. TCH is much kinder to you even though it sucked to go through.

I wouldn't research anything online. I had the same prognosis as you... You're likely stage 2b.. There's so much they've learned about her2.. Don't let it worry you.

I am considering removing my ovaries I was told there was a 17% chance it would work better than tamoxifen and I'm her2 positive the soft study said it worked 30% better than tamoxifen for my type of cancer sooooo that's enough to sway me in that direction although instant menapause is going to SUCK!

my recommendation is to truly be there for her, let her cry to you & vent to you & take her anger out on you. Know that this slump she's in is temporary & things will get better. Try to motivate her & enable her to live a normal life. It's so difficult to enjoy life when everyone around you is walking on eggshells when they see you, bringing up cancer & "how do you feel" questions. The best thing my husband did for me was treat me like I wasn't dying & we always planned fun things to do and look forward to when I would feel better from chemo. Do that for your fiancé