what to expect

daughter23 · October 2006

Last week my mother has had a lump cut out of her breast. After tests they have concluded that she has stage two breast cancer. Today she has just come out of her second surgery where they have taken half of her breast and some lymph glands. After more tests are done and results are back she will either start treatment or go back in for a third operation next week. Although she is very open and willing to talk to my brother and i about everything i still am very unsure what to expect.
My mother is young, fit and healthy, how badly is this going to effect her. We have been told that she will have radiation and more than likely chemo. What can i expect? What are the best things i can do for her recovery. We are all very positive and know that she will be just fine. My only worry is is that she had mamagrams and ultrasounds but neither picked the cancer up. please give me some advice.

jacksmom5-2006Oct14 · October 2006

Everyone is different, but I was diagnosed last December with stage II, 5 positive nodes and had chemo and radiation. The best thing that you can do for your Mom is to be there for her and help her when she needs it. Chemo is not as bad as it used to be. There are lots of medications for nausea and they can give medications to help boost your white count (to fight infection) and red blood cells (to fight fatigue). Depending on the drugs given she may have decreased appetite, some foods may taste funny (using plastic forks and sucking on sour Altoids helps). She should drink lots and lots of water starting a few days before treatment and then during treatment. I found it hard to drink a lot of water the day after treatment so when I went in for my Neulasta injection (to boost white cells) the next day they would give me an IV. Also I highly recommend getting a port - it makes getting blood drawn and getting chemo so much easier. Chemo can be very hard on your veins. I found the biggest pain of radiation was just having to go in every day for five and a half weeks. The treatments themselves are painless and take about five minutes. I found breaking vitamin E capsules and applying it to my skin helped a lot with keeping my skin from burning. (Do this after - not before treatment). They also gave me creams to put on my skin but I found that the vitamin E worked better. I am three months out from my last rads and feeling great. Also if mammograms and ultrasound did not pick the cancer up she should probably have breast MRI. Good luck to your Mom.

Sue
ILC Stage IIb 5/20+ nodes, 12/05 L mast
4 AC/4 Taxol 5/06, 28 rads 7/06 R proph mast 09/06

Serendipity26 · November 2006

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. My mom just found out she has breast cancer for a second time. The first was 13 years ago. I was 13 then i'm 26 now. How old is your mom? my mom was 50 the first time. I was one of the main caretakers for my mom 13 years ago and I will be her main caregiver this time. My mom had a port it did make things much easier. From one daughter to another It's the hardest thing to watch your mom go through something like this. Chemo has come a long ways. My didn't lose all her hair 13 years ago and she never felt naushous. She slept alot and didn't eat much. She said food didn't taste good. She ate a lot of toast. Stay positive and look at it as a fight for your moms health. I'm sure the odds are in her favor. I spent a lot of time with my mom and plan on that now. I moved home a few months ago to go to school. My dad works out of state right now so I will be her sole caregiver. How old are you? Do you have a lot of support from family and friends? Our neighbors used to bring us dinner almost everynight. That was a big help. I hope you, your mom and family are doing well. I will keep you in my prayers. Keep us posted.

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