We are the Breastcancer.org Community!

Wisconsin

DX 2007 DCIS Stage llB, bilateral mastectomy.

2009 Bone mets to spine and ribs.

54 at age of diagnosis, now 62.

I thought I was the poster girl for early diagnosis. My sister and my mother had passed away from breast cancer, so I was very active in getting mammograms and MRI's early on. Now I am 6 years out since my DX of breast mets and doing pretty well after many radiation treatments and spinal surgery. My sister and mother did not have a community of women to turn to. I am fortunate to have found women at BCO who are knowledgable, kind and supportive. They 'get it' and I know they understand exactly what I'm going through. Their encouragement and strength gets me through tough days. I am grateful.

Danny from Long Beach, CA here. This year I am 47 and first got my diagnosis from a routine mammogram of DCIS, Stage 0. Then every week it got worse with a triple negative tumor on the other side along with two positive lymph nodes. Color me Stage 2 and BRCA1 positive. I consider myself very lucky to have caught it all so soon.

BCO is the place to get the real skinny and share the gruesome details. Everything that doctors don't tell you and thatfamily and friends don't know, and wouldn't want to. A huge thank you to everyone that makes it possible, from the moderators to the active posters to the lurkers!

Hello my BCO friends! My name is Robin and I am 61. DX at 60 9/2/14. IDC/ILC combined 1.2 cm stage 1c grade 1. I live in Yucaipa CA which is in Southern CA near Palm Springs.

I have met so many wonderful people on this site. I have made a lifelong friend who lives in Pittsburgh PA. We keep in touch with each other usually on a daily basis. "The picture above was taken 6 weeks after BMX with my wonderful husband Dave and my two grown daughters. I am so blessed with life and my Lord. I am gearing up to walk in the Believe Walk on October 4th!

I'm Charlene, from Reisterstown, MD, a suburb of Baltimore. Original diagnosis in February of 2012: Stage IIb, Grade 3. Metastasis diagnosis in Spring of 2014: First bones, then lungs, then liver.

BCO has helped me from the very beginning, from when I felt the lump but had not yet seen the doctor to the way people handle facing death and how they become involved in studies. They miss me when I'm gone for a while. I am exceedingly grateful for bco.

I'm Rod, aged 65, from the state of Queensland in Australia. I'm the touch of blue among the pink, perhaps representing guys who make up the 1% of total annual breast cancer diagnoses. This may be a relatively small percentage but, interestingly, it is equal to that of the women under 35 diagnosed each year.

I was diagnosed in March 2014 with IBC which was treated with chemo, surgery, radiation and now tamoxifen. Currently NED, and am obviously doing my best to stay in this category by enjoying a healthy diet and regular exercise. Oh, and having lots of fun with my friends and family. I also do volunteer counselling for men recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

I have to say that BCO and its wonderful array of bloggers have been a source of encouragement, information, and fellowship. As a guy on the forum I sometimes feel a gender disconnect, but I have never experienced any discrimination or been made to feel anything but welcome.

Bouquets to BCO for building a platform for such diverse and interesting commentary.

Diagnosed at age 48, IDC IIa Grade 2 ER+PR+/HER2-, clear nodes. My oncotype was 19, and after a long discussion with my oncologist, I realized that I needed to go through chemo. The prospect of losing my hair was the most devastating side effect possible. That night I madly googled to see if there was some way to avoid hair loss, and came across the Penguin Cold Cap site. PCC inventor Frank Fronda immediately made contact with me and his first piece of advice was to sign up for the PCC discussion group on BCO. I joined on page 16, one of the early US users of cold caps. I went through 4 rounds of chemo with a full head of hair (and growing), to the amazement of my entire care team and most of all myself. I literally had not another person to support me except the women on the list. I didn't fully realize what pioneers we were, and I remain committed to getting word out so that women know they have a choice in how to handle hair loss due to chemo. Thank you BCO for making this possible for all of us! You changed my life in profound ways and I am eternally grateful.

Btw, a year after finishing treatment, I had the amazing experience of attending the Nobel Prize Ceremony with my husband. There I was, in a ball gown and tiara, with an up-do. Thank you BCO.

I was first dx with stage 3 triple negative in my left breast at age 39 Nov 2012. Bilateral mastectomy. Radiation. Chemo.

Stage 4. Mets to sternum dx Feb 2015. I've had radiation. Breast cancer is a thief. It steals our lives and leaves behind physical and emotional pain. You never know what you can endure....until you have no choice.

I go to this site throughout the day everyday. For information. For inspiration. For comfort. I hope to someday be the one sending out comfort.

Dx'd at 39 stage 3 IDC hormone positive cancer. Bilateral mx, chemo, rads.....lots of struggles along the way. This board has been a lifeline for me so many times. Insomniacs thread, my chemo group....so much support, understanding and love.

For the last 6 years, starting at Age 40 I routinely went in for Mammogram Screening and every year I was always called back for a 2nd look with UltraSound on the left side. It was always advised I had very dense breasts with cluster of cysts. In October of 2014 I had my 1st 3D Mammogram and this time all came back clear and I was not called back for an 2nd look. Six months later in March of this year I felt a lump in my left breast that led to several tests, Mammogram, Biopsy, Breast MRI, etc and on April 22nd I was diagnosed at the age of 45 with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

Biopsies confirmed my cancer is Grade 1, 95% Estrogen & Progesterone Positive & HER2 Negative. All initial tests showed the tumor as small at 1cm. Although testing negative for the BRCA gene there are strong hereditary factors: Maternal Grandmother Breast Cancer, Maternal Aunt died at age 37 from Ovarian Cancer; and my own Mother is a Colon Cancer survivor. The Genetic Counselors have advised it is quite possible for my family the gene has not been isolated yet. I underwent Bilateral Mastectomy with Tissue Expander Placement on 5/28/15 and the pathology results confirmed the tumor was much larger at 3.4cm with 2 Lymph Nodes involved. I started a 20 week Chemo Regimen on 7/31/15 and my last Adriamycin/Cytoxan infusion is on 9/18/15 and then I will move on to 12 Weekly Taxol treatments. Once Chemo is complete I will move on to Radiation and then have my reconstruction finished and will also at some point start taking Tamoxifen.

I am fortunate to have a huge support system in my family, friends and local community - the generosity of others astounds me daily. What has given me the most strength to endure what this disease takes from you is finding and becoming a part of the breastcancer.org community. I have virtually met and connected with so many fiercely brave woman and I will cherish these connections forever. There are not enough words to describe how amazing it is to talk to others who are going thru the exact same thing, cheering each other along the way thru the darkest of moments.

I have also found all of the articles on breastcancer.org to be so helpful and informative especially when I was first diagnosed and also when preparing for each phase of my treatment. I have reflected back on many of them to prepare for meeting with Doctors to discuss upcoming surgery or Chemo Regimen or different options for helping to manage Side Effects.

I am a Survivor and will beat this disease and find myself so blessed to have found and become a part of such an awesome community at breastcancer.org.

Thank you so much!

Mary

I was initially diagnosed back in 2004 a few weeks shy of turning 50 years old. I saw the breast oncologist the next day after learning my diagnosis and she did the surgery that afternoon. Diagnosed on August 31st and had lumpectomy September 1st. Words cannot express how I felt at the time. I was stressed out for many years prior to the diagnosis. My ex would not give me a divorce. Took matters into my own hands and filed for divorce and it was granted I think in the month of April 2004. My mom was acting very strange and took her to see her primary and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in August. I had missed one year of having a mammogram because I just didn't feel like going. So after my mom was diagnosed I decided to get the mammogram in August...it came back positive for breast cancer. I was in a funk for a long time. Trying to take care of my mother, even though I had other siblings who did nothing. I survived that period and 9 years later I was diagnosed again with TNBC. The second time was worse for me mentally. No one could console me, not even my sweet husband...we were married in October of 2008. He was with me at each and every appointment, surgeries, follow-up visits, taking care of me in the most sweet and patient way. The women from this board helped me to move beyond cancer. It was hard mentally, the treatment was tough, but now I am 2 years out from that second diagnosis in 2013. I elected to have a bilateral mastectomy. I understand it is not 100%, but I did it along with chemo AGAIN. I'm comfortable knowing that I did all I could do to beat this beast and have no regrets.

My name is Theresa Jones. I was initially diagnosed with stage 2 a breast cancer in 2009 at the age of 42. My mother and sister were diagnosed in 2008, just a year before me. I tested negative for the BRCA 1 & 2 mutations. I opted for bilateral mastectomies with latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction. Tamoxifen was the only treatment I needed due to low Oncotype score. Despite this I was diagnosed with a recurrence in my right hip and both lungs in 2015 at the age of 48. This was a HUGE SHOCK to me and my family! I'm now being treated with Femara along with monthly Lupron and Xgeva injections.

This community has been my lifesaver! Whenever I have a question, doubt or just need to vent the wonderful people are there for me! I don't know what I would do without them! It made me realize that my stage 4 diagnosis is not a death sentence and I have many years to come. For showing me this, I will be eternally grateful!

I give thanks every day for BCO and this community!

Loving this thread

hey there,

Diagnosed the first time Triple negative back in 1990s....given chemo and a poor prognosis, yet here I am

Diagnosed again Oct 2014, triple positive this time , I cold capped to save my hair this time... Here I am 1 mo after finishing Chemo in mid May harvesting my spinach

This is a great thread - you all are so inspirational! I'm loving reading everyone's stories and seeing everyone's pictures. It's a real day-brightener.

Hey Mods, This site is a great idea!

I can hear Julie Andrews singing,

"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.

Getting to like you; getting to hope you like me."

Can't you?