Calling all ladies in their 20's

Hi ladies,

I am 27 and recently diagnosed almost 3 weeks ago. I was always told by my OBGYN that I have fibrocystic breast tissue and it was normal to feel small lumps/areas. I randomly had an inkling to do a quick breast check when I discovered a small, hard lump in my R breast. Unlike the other fibrous/dense breast tissue, this was different. It was hard and immobile, so I was immediately alerted something was wrong. Initially I was told it was most likely a fibroadenoma and it was benign. Fast forward to ultrasound, painful 4 hour biopsy and mammogram and I was told I had IDC. I have a primary 2.3 cm tumor ER+/PR+/HER2-, with a small second tumor and one lymph node both tested positive.

After a slew of tests/biopsies I found out that it is currently stage II with the potential to be III or more depending on the result from the PET/CT scans I am about to have next week.

Like many of you have indicated, I too am so sick of the "you are too young," "how can this happen to someone so young and healthy.." It seems like majority of the women I talk to are typically between 45-65 and it does make it slightly difficult to try to connect with them, so it is nice being a part of this group.

I was told I am going to have chemo prior to surgery in an attempt to shrink the tumor and I am nervous about losing my hair. I never really considered how much of my identity is surrounded by my hair. I know some women just shave their heads and can feel okay about it, and I wish I was one of them.

For those of you who have already gone through chemo, do you have any tips for us newbies about the process or wigs/hats? I have heard that wigs tend to be super itchy and difficult to wear for long periods of time.. I considered using cold caps during my chemo in an attempt to save some of my hair but I have read mixed reviews if they work or are even worth the time and money..

Thank you all for sharing your stories and helping to support all of us going through this battle together.

nature lover: I started losing my hair 2-3 weeks after my first chemo treatment. Rather than watching all the hair fall out I buzzed my head, planning to wear wigs. I was so attached to my hair and it was one of the things I dreaded most about chemo so I just knew I was going to wear my wig. I wore it exactly 1 day. it looked great but I hated it. So I stuck to scarves and hats the whole time. I am now 3 months PFC (post final chemo) and am now wearing headbands only as I have over an inch of hair growth. Best of luck to you!

Hi, there seems to be a few of us here in our 20s? Just looking to get in touch to hear how everyone's doing.

Hi Laura! Wow you're 25.. I know you must be tired of hearing that you're really too young to have to go through this. I'm just 2 years older than you are and 2 years sure seem like a big difference already. Sorry to hear that you lost your mom to bc. It must be extra terrifying for you to have to deal with a cancer that has claimed the life of a loved one. I hope you have enough friends and family to support you physically and emotionally through this journey.

The idea of recurrence shakes the core of me. I'm at stage IIIc, or maybe even early IV - my bc has spread through my chest bones, almost to the other breast. I'm a new Christian and have just started to grow a relationship with a God, and learning to trust that He has a plan for all of us gives me comfort.

Religious talk aside, when I shared my fear or mets or recurrence or basically the dark uncertainty of the future with one of my doctors, she told me something valuable with me that I'd love to share with you and everyone else who reads this -

Whether late or early stage, we have found our cancer, and are doing all we can to cure it. Chemo, mx, and whatnot. So if we are doing all we can, then we should focus on what we are doing now to get rid of it from our bodies. So when we find ourselves in fear, we can learn to direct that fear into a question: what can we do for ourselves right at this moment?

So far I've found that my answer to this question is to enjoy the moment and pamper myself, I recently went on a bath products spree to spice up my showers. It's nothing big, but it gives me great joy. And I've found myself to worry much lesser about the future. I hope this helps you in the same way as it did for me.

You are right about life being tough some times. I guess we're in the low for now. What's your treatment plan like? I've finished 4 sessions of AC. The first weeks of the cycle were the worse! I'm having taxol now and it's much easier, but I find myself facing more fatigue as the weeks go by.

Keep in touch if you need someone to talk to. My thoughts are with you.

Hi 27heart, How are you? hope you are doing ok. That really is good advice to live for the day. Sometimes it doesn't seem enough though. You wonder when life decided to get so hard. My sessions i did 12 cycles of taxol, followed by surgery and now have finished 2nd of AC. Have 2 more to go and then followed by herceptin for a while after. Are you going to start herceptin?

Hope your doing ok!

Thanks Melanie Ann! I will definitely post after the baby is here. Just two more weeks! I'm sorry to read about your hair situation though. I had AC and Taxol and my hair has come back. No bald areas. But I do wonder a bit about the long term impact to my hair as well. I have always had thin hair, but I wonder if there's now just a little less of it. I don't think it's enough for anyone else to notice though. As far as using cold caps, I do think it's important to get your oncologist's blessing in case they believe there is a medical reason to not use them since everyone's situation is different. But otherwise, I have seen people use them successfully!

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this site and have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer on October 22, 2015. That date will always stay in my memory when I received the dreadful call from my doctor which took my family and I for complete shock. I'm 27 years old and I had a lumpectomy last Monday. I'm still a bit sore, but doing well! I'm trying to stay positive and just look for the good even though it can be challenging.

Did anyone work during treatment? If so, how was it?

Looking forward to chatting with you ladies!

Hi everyone - thought I'd give you all my update. I went into early labor (6 days) last Monday (11/23) at 2am with strong contractions every 5 minutes. Went to the hospital twice that day just a few hours apart and was admitted at around 12:30pm. I got my epidural at 2:30pm, but our baby went into distress just 20 minutes later. Fortunately, a team rushed in and was able to get it under control. A few hours later, I was given Pitocin to speed things along, but shortly after that our baby's heart rate dropped again and was down to 50 (should be 110-16). We were rushed into the OR and an emergency c-section was performed. Our son was born at 5:43pm. The cord was wrapped around his neck and my very strong contractions were causing his heartrate to drop. It was a scary and overwhelming experience but his vitals were great right after birth though. He lost a significant amount of weight the first 2 days, but has since been gaining it back slowly since (he's 9 days now). We've been home since Friday night and my milk came in (on my non-mastectomy side) right before leaving the hospital so we stopped supplementing with formula. I've been almost exclusively breastfeeding and pumping since. Only used formula once so I could sleep a longer stretch. I just wanted to share because for those of you who had a single mastectomy or radiation and worried about breastfeeding after breastcancer, it may be challenging but it IS possible!

Michelle - Nice to know there are inexpensive or free options for freezing eggs! We really need insurances to cover preservations! I know your'e recently diagnosed, but I do hope you can expand your family after this. As for stopping menopause, I would consult with a fertility specialist, but they can give you a Lupron injection to "sleep" your ovaries during chemo. It just depends on your situation.

Monique - Welcome. I was 28 when I was diagnosed back in April 2011. I'll never forget that day either. Are you getting chemo or just lumpectomy and radiation? I did work during half of chemo because my FMLA ran out and I needed to keep my benefits without converting to COBRA. I was able to do just 4 days every 2 weeks (the ones right before my next treatment) and it was during Taxol which was good because AC had me completely wiped. Those 4 days were also from home, so that meant no commute. Not everyone has that luxury, but my boss was really good about allowing me to do it.

Hello, I just joined this group last weekend.

I'm a 30-year-old (Turned 30 not too long ago but I'm sure I had BC when I was 28-29 years old.. I posted here as I can relate myself here more than 30s group) woman and I just got diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma stage IIA (T1N1M0), grade 2 tumor with 1.5 cm in size (largest dimension, ER+/PR+/HER2+(FISH) in my right breast..

I got married last March and my husband (28 years old) and I were going to have a baby next year but I don't think it's going to happen

Currently I'm going through IVF to freeze embryo before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. I was also told that there may be increased risk for ovarian cancer.. I don't have anyone with ovarian cancer in my family, but it's still scaring me. Can anyone give me an insight?

I also had chronic nipple discharge since I was a teenage girl. My breast surgeon examined me and she thinks I got sebaceous cysts in both nipples.. There's a possibility that I may need to get a mastectomy because of my nipples and because of some satellite regions that are suspicious looking near the primary tumor (found by breast MRI). I'm going through MRI biopsy this Thursday. I'm super nervous.

No one in my family had breast cancer, and it was found that I don't have recognizable gene mutations that significantly increases breast cancer risk. Maybe I wasn't supposed to do IVF and just go with neoadjuvant chemo and just bet on my luck that I will be able to kids later?? Right now I'm just waiting my follicles to grow so they're ready to be retrieved. I'm also waiting for the biopsy day and I've been praying that it's nothing serious... At this moment I'm lost, confused and I get easily anxious at everything around me these days.

Your suggestions and comments would be greatly appreciated!

Hi dear, I'm still active. I'm currently recovering from my surgery. How is your treatment plan like? It's not easy dealing with all these no matter what age we are, but it seems like it'll go away eventually.

mb12, zoladex protects your ovaries during chemo. I started taking it at the beginning of my chemo and will continue in cobination with aromasin ( al hormone therapy). Zoladex Is a monthly injection, but it does come with a few menopause induced side effects; mainly hot flushes for me, but it's not that bad and if it means my ovaries are protected then I'm happy to do it.

Hi Katp712, you have certainly come to the right place for information and support. Having just been diagnosed in December the best advice you can take on board straight away is to BREATHE! You are right, it is a lot of information, so quickly, just know that there have been plenty of women who have gone through this, your specialists know what they are doing. Ask questions, lots of questions. I have started a journal to note down this whole journey, through the ups and downs which I am finding helps. CRY, when ever you want! you are allowed to! I am 27, have had my partial masectomy in December, today I start my fertility treatment so that one day I can have a little one running around the best thing about this is you have options and things are moving forward. This process will over whelm you, so remember to breathe. You will beat this!!!

It is good to know there are option, I am currently on my second night of injection for the procedure to collect eggs. There is a lot to it but knowing there is that option is amazin... Hope each day is getting better for you 

mags1001,

You need to go get a second opinion ASAP. The exact same thing happened to me when I was 22 and it ended up being breast cancer (not to scare you). This was a year and a half ago. I had pain and dimpling with a slight thickness in my breast and I went to my obgyn and she sent me to get an ultrasound. They then referred me to a breast surgeon and he dismissed me because I was too young. Two months later my breast was so swollen and large because the tumor had gotten so big and my mom demanded they do a biopsy. Sure enough it was stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer and it was in my skin and lymph nodes by that time. So PLEASE find someone that will do a biopsy. I hate that doctors don't listen to young people and I would hate to see someone go through what I did. Don't let it go. I live in Michigan and love my new surgeon if you're from here by chance. Good luck and keep me posted

Mags1001,

I found the thickening in June 2014. Got an ultrasound beginning of July 2014-it came back normal. OBGYN said I could go see a breast surgeon if it would make me feel better. I couldn't get in until August 2014. At that point it had become a mass the size of a grape. He did another ultrasound and told me it was most likely nothing. Within a few weeks it had become larger. I called the office back a few times and I was told by his PA that I was worrying for nothing that there was no way this was breast cancer (even though i told him there was a strong family history). I wanted the biopsy but PA said to wait until a week after my period. Called back, same thing-she dismissed me. At this point it was the size of a plum, my skin was dimpled and purple, couldn't exercise or sleep without pain. That was at the beginning of October 2014. My mom called and demanded a biopsy. Went in they did the biopsy and he sent me home on antibiotic for mastitis. Two days later the diagnosis came and it was IBC. I immediately found a new doctor which I should have done months before. Best case scenario, you have the biopsy and its nothing. My cancer was very advanced by the time it was finally diagnosed. Please let me know how it goes. Do not let them dismiss you! You need to get the answer you deserve!