Younger Survivors?

Hi My names Brooke i'm Eve's daughter thankyou for the reply's i've been through a lot lately but im now recovering i had my 3 month check up and everything went well! im back to having checkups every six months. Thanks heaps for your replys where are you all from?? We live in Melbourne, Australia i'll come on again next week and say hello.
Take care
Luv brooke

Hey Brooke
You really put things in perspective for us! I remember myself at 13, and I CERTAINLY would not have been together engough to deal with this as well as you have. I probably would have locked myself in my horses stall (with my dog and my music) and not come out at all.
Hang in there little sister!
Carrie

Oh - Im from Long Beach, Southern California.

Hi,
My name is Michelle and I am 38 years old. I have been diagnosed with Bilateral BC.
I had DCIS only in my left and IDC and lots of DCIS in my right. Bilateral meastectomy 04/02.
multiple tumors, largest 1.6cm, 5/15+ nodes, ER+/PR-.
I noticed the lump after the birth of my 20 month old but waited to go to dr for over a year. I also have a 3 year old.
Doing CEF chemo for six months and then 20 rads and tamoxifen.
I feel great today as I am on the two week off period of my cycle.
I feel pretty positive most of the time and sense that I will be around for some time to come. We are still making big plans about the future.
Michelle

Crystal,

I am also a young woman (26 now, diagnosed this May when I was 25) with positive lymph-node involvement (14/16 positive nodes). I am sorry to hear that you are still battling this disease, but I was also very happy to hear your positive outlook!! I, too, struggle with remaining positive, but at other times I find great strength and control in being positive. You are right - you can beat this!! If I've learned anything so far it's that sometimes numbers are just numbers and we have more control over our lives than they do!! Continue to stay positive - I'll be thinking of you and sending positive energy your way!!

Hi! I am another young survivor. I was diagnosed with IDC in September 2001 at the age of 36. I had a 1.3cm tumor in my left breast with 1 positive node. ER+/PR+, her2-. I had a lumpectomy, AC and Taxol and 30 rounds of radiation. Right now I am doing fine (except for the emotional trauma associated with this disease).
I have two boys, ages 5 and 9. I feel for those of you who haven't yet completed your families. It is hard enough going through this without that added emotional burden. The hardest part for me was worrying about not being there for my children as they grow up. Even having a wonderfully supportive husband who is also a great father doesn't make up for not having a mother.
I wish all of us long and healthy lives. None of us deserved this.
- Gail

Just moving this up to the top for the benefit of our newest younger members.

Lisa

I was 38 when diagnosed in 10/03 with IDC, ER+/PR+ and one positive node. Did a mastectomy with SNB and had 8 total nodes removed. Then chemo with A/C + Taxol Dose Dense. No radiation.

Son sam was 7 months old when I was diagnosed...it is with great joy that I live each day, now cancer free (at least that is what the docs assume in my body...my soul is becoming cancer-free each day).

To the newly diagnosed, I will say what I was told when I was diagnosed, you can get through this...there is life on the other side of surgery and chemo.

Choose happy.

My best to you.

I was 39 when I was diagnosed in 98. I am happy to say as by reading this you will know...I am still here.... I had reoccurrence several times and fought back and now am taking weekly herceptin and one week of each month I take xeloda... I have been on just about everything...anyone wishing to chat????

I am a young survivor. Dx when I was pregnant at the age of 26. I was dx with stage 1 bc, double mast, reconstruction, chemo, hysterctomy and tamoxifen. I really want to raise awareness to other young women that breast cancer can happen at any age. Take Care all

Hi, I was 25 when I was first diagnosed with grade 3 BC 1 lymph node involved, had lumpectomy, chemo and radio. A year later found another larger unrelated grade 3 BC with 5 lymph nodes involved in other breast, had another lumpectomy and much harsher chemo. 6 months later I decided to have a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery at the grand old age of 26! This was such a hard thing to do being so young but I got through it ok. I am now 34 and in February it will be 10 years since my first diagnosis and 9 years since my second! My husband and I are only now confident enough to try and have a baby, wish us luck!

Corinne

Claire G,

Thanks so much for your positive reply, it made me feel a whole lot better about the possibility of having a baby now. I have fought for so many years with myself on whether this was the right thing to do, for me, my husband and the potential child. But if Im going to do it, I thought it really should be now or never, as I am not getting any younger, but still very glad to be getting older if that makes sense!

Thanks again!!
Corinne

Corrine,
My daughter was 31 when diagnosed, had surgery, chemo and radiation. We have been searching for information on childbirth after breast cancer. We participated in a great teleconference earlier this week sponsored by the young survivors coalition they have another planned for later this month and there is another from the living beyond breast cancer site planned for December if they are nearly as informative as the first one you will be glad you listened in and you might even get a question answered. Good luck.
Jennepher's (very grateful for this site) mom.

Wow...I am amazed at the ages at diag. I have IDC stage 2 grade 3 w/no node involvement... I had a lumpectomy even though the docs suggested double mast. because of the gene and 100percent paternal history...thats right...every female up to me...although fortun I have a boy and there are only 4 girls out of all the great grands of my grandmother so hopefully if we can get them past it...maybe it will atleast skip a generation. I was diagnosed Oct. 28 and had my first chemo yesterday. I dont have a port since I also have lupus SLE.

This is so amazing! I looked in the forum for young women - but there are so many more people here! I am 24 and was diagnosed with IDC and DCIS last month. i had a bilateral mastectomy 3 weeks ago, 2 affected nodes. i start chemo tomorrow (to be followed by radiation and THEN possible reconstruction).

being so young isn't the part that bothers me because i have found that there are so many of us. i would like to hear from any other young single women or young women in school. there are so many older women who have volunteered advice but no one in their last semester of law school worried about finding a job and studying for the bar immediately after chemo and not knowing if they'll ever date again. sorry if i sound frustrated - but i guess i am

It is also so great to hear how many of you have gone on to have children. I never wanted kids but of course when someone tells you that you might not be able to, all of a sudden it sounds like a good idea!

Thank you so much to everyone for being here and being strong

Hi, my name is Allison. I was dx with stage 2 bc in right breast April 8 2003, I was 28. I had a needle biopsy results showed susp. cells. I went into surgery April 11, not knowing for sure if I had breast cancer or not, the doc did a frozen section while i was out. He told me before surgery when i wake up and i have an incision under my arm i had cancer. Anyways I woke up to bandages and tube under my arm,CANCER! I had a lumpectomy and node disection. What made the situation worse it was during the SARS outbreak so I was not allowed anyone with me before or after surgery, it was so hard being alone and waking up to such a shock. Then two weeks later I went back to surgery because the doc needed to widen the margins, they were clear. Three weeks later I started 6 months of chemo CEF, it made me so sick. Between surgery and chemo April2003-nov I was in bed for most of my son's 2nd yr, it still makes upset thinking about not being there for him,thank God for my mom and husband. After that 5weeks of rads. I finished rads Feb 2004. Last Nov.4 (2004) I made the decision to go back and have a bi lateral mastectomy I was going crazy thinking about bc coming back. I had a skin sparing mast and tissue expanders put in. After 2 1/2 months the ps and I had to make a decision because the expander was not working on the radiated side. I decided to have another surgery, bi lateral tram flap to be done April 27 2005. I am sooooo nervous, it is such a long surgery and what if it fails too. My other delema is that chemo put me into menopause. I am 30 now and my son just turned 3. Since i am in menopause I am questioning having a hysterectomy, I would of liked another child but since that won't be possible, why not go for it. I was wondering if anyone else has a similar delema or has already gone ahead and had the hyst. Also if anyone had a bi lat tram flap I would like to know how it went for you.