Please bring me back to reality

Deb,

As others have said, weight loss often occurs with the stress of cancer diagnosis

However, the "mild anemia" also seen last year is more troubling ( unclear if you were non-anemic on prior tests) coupled with an iron prescription. I believe you have posted you are 63, and were given iron. Note generally in post-menopausal women and men, unless they are vegans, or have abnormal GI absorption anatomy (like post bypass for obesity) or celiac disease, they should not be iron deficient from diet. Iron deficiency at those ages is a sign of occult bleeding somewhere until proven otherwise ( usually GI), though it could be benign, (like from polyps) or from prior blood loss from a major surgery.

Did your doctor say he actually worked up your anemia and found a pattern of iron deficiency, or did he just say "take iron" without more work-up? Iron deficiency has a specific pattern ( microcytic, hypochromic cells, low blood iron and high TIBC, or at least low ferritin in early stages) If you are iron deficient, you may need a GI workup for blood loss. If you are not iron deficient, and are "normocytic normochromic" on your cell sizes, differential is broad and can include cancer, low thyroid, marrow infiltration, and in early stages low b12, easily treatable, plus a long list of other things.

I suggest finding out more from your doc about what kind of anemia you have, how long, and why he thinks you are iron deficient, with specifics

I lost almost 10 lbs in 2 months but mine was before my DX. I had heard quick weight loss can be a sign of cancer. I had stopped eating sugary foods so I thought that was the reason. It wasn’t. Several months later I went in for my annual mammogram. One breast was larger than the other. I knew it was probably BC. It was.

My mother had BC. Now my sister and I both have it. High risk but the truth is the majority of BC cases are not genetically connected.

A lot of women take anxiety meds. It’s normal and understandable. We have been dealt a DX we certainly didn’t ask for but have it just the same. We have all been blindsided by it and forced into surgeries and treatments as part of the process.

I am cautiously optimistic. Early stage, low Oncotype score, Grade 1 IDC and an 8% chance of a recurrence. No guarantees of course. 6 years out last August

Hi edwards..your stats sound the same as mine. I did that life math calculator which said 8 pct chance of recurrence. Just curious what treatment you went with?

I lost 5-10 lbs between first diagnosis and surgery (@ 5 weeks). Surgery and chemo took some more off me. Your weight loss seems normal to me, considering.

Anemia can appear as a symptom of certain cancers (lymphoma and breast for example), called "anemia of inflammatory/chronic disease":

"Anemia of cancer may also be evident at initial diagnosis. Activation of the immune system appears to be the driving force for a global diminution of erythropoiesis, analogous to chronic inflammatory conditions observed in anemia of chronic disease.3,5 It is postulated that the immune system may be mobilized to stimulate production of inflammatory cytokines that can impede erythropoiesis. Consequently, there is insufficient differentiation and proliferation of erythroid precursors, leading to anemia.3 Inflammatory cytokines can also impair iron metabolism which can result in reduced serum iron levels and iron retention within the reticuloendothelial system.3Tumors can also produce cytokines, which induce iron sequestration, thereby decreasing RBC production."

https://www.healio.com/hematology-oncology/news/on...

So Deb, your anemia is not unheard of if you have breast cancer. When I was first diagnosed with lymphoma I had also severe anemia, which went away when I got into remission.

StephK, we have an ILC discussion board here too. It was invaluable to me because as you know we are a smaller group than the IDC'rs and ILC tends to behave in a bit of a different way than IDC.

Post your questions and concerns you might have there, too!

Hugs.

Claire in AZ