Breast Cancer...?

533>Im really scared about breast cancer so I have some questions. Do people survive if they have breast cancer? How do they treat it? Can they use anything other than chemo? Im scared. My mom might have it and I need all the info I can about it, please!
Reply:Hi





I was diagnosed with breast cancer on my 30th birthday. After the initial biopsy I had a lumpectomy (where they remove part of the breast) and had some lymph nodes removed (to check and see if the cancer had spread beyond my breast and into the rest of my body). The lumpectomy tissue was analysed and they found a second tumour in my breast. At that point I was given two choices, leave the breast intact and have radiation or have the entire breast removed (mastectomy). I chose to have the entire breast removed.





My lymph nodes came back clean. After the mastectomy I chose to have chemo. Chosing a mastectomy and chemo were my way of making sure that I had done everything I could to get rid of the cancer.





The mastectomy was a painful recovery. I had some pectoral muscles removed during the mastectomy so that probably played into the huge amounts of pain. I wasn't too concerned over the fact that my breast was cut off, at this point I kinda viewed that breast as the 'enemy' to the rest of my body and was glad to see it go. After a week post-op I was walking about and feeling pretty good but had limited use of my left arm and could not push myself up from a lying down position till a few weeks more.





My chemo lasted 12 weeks, during which time I had four treatments. I was horrifically scared walking into the treatment centre the first time but a couple of ladies in their 40's who were long time cancer patients came over to me while I was hooked up to my drip and shared some of their wisdom with me and took alot of my fear away. It helps to have family or friends with you for the chemo treatments, someone to talk to or something to read, maybe listen to some music.





My hair started falling out by the second week after 1st treatment. By the 3rd week after treatment the hair that would fall out was becoming extremely annoying (getting stuck in your clothes and itching you, all over the pillow when you wake up in the morning) that I decided to have it shaved off when I went for a wig fitting. It was actually quite a freeing experience to get rid of that dead hair. I told myself that now I just had to wait till the end of my chemo and the new life, my new life, my new hair would begin to grow again.





I was only sick on 3 occasions during chemo. They give you pretty powerful anti-nausea pills but still every now and then I'd get a little nauseaus.





One year after chemo ended I had breast reconstruction. I opted for the implant over the tram-flap as I didn't want a big scar across my stomach. The breast reconstruction took about 5 surgeries all in all and the results are fantastic, I mean absolutely unbelieveable!! And, my remaining breast got a nice little overhaul at the same time!! :-)





I was on Tamoxifen for 5 years and this past August 2007 reached my 5 year mark and am now off all treatments.





The prospect of breast cancer is scarey. It took 6 months of me complaining to doctors about a lump in my breast before anyone bothered to see if there was something there or not, this was probably because I was only 29 years old. I urge every woman of ANY AGE to INSIST INSIST INSIST that they check out any suspicious lumps. Take it from me, it isn't always 'just a cyst'. But why take the chance? You INSIST and don't let up, if your doctor won't listen find another doctor.





If you are reading this and you've just been diagnosed my thoughts and prayers are with you. Don't be afraid of a mastectomy, it's not the end of the world. I had just turned 30 when I had mine done and I found it a cleansing experience once the initial pain was gone. Bye bye bad breast!! The reconstructive procedures they have now are amazing, take the time and look at the books they have with photos, you won't believe it.





And as for the chemo, yes your hair falls out, but it grows back thicker and fuller and healthy. Yes you will look sick, but think of all the cancer cells you'll be killing, and you will get better after treatments are over. Don't let yourself ever have any regrets, you don't want to keep thinking to yourself in the years to come 'what if I had had the chemo?'.





It was 6 years ago for me and seems now like it happened to somebody else. I have moved on and live life to the fullest. But I want you to know that you shouldn't be scared. Be thankful that if there is breast cancer there and they find it then at least they found it and now you can start the treatments to kill it.





Hope this was helpful.





Best of luck and my thoughts are with you and your mother.
Reply:My friend at work had breast cancer stage 3. She just had it in one breast but she opted to get both removed. She had her breast reconstructed and everything looks normal and her husband says you cant tell the difference other than they are a tad perkier lol. As for the chemo, she will have to take it to make sure ALL the cancer cells die. Don't be scared of the chemo, it isn't that bad. Of course it affect some people differently and depending on the type of chemo. She will be tired alot, one session may make her sick, one session may not. Just be there for your mom, she needs you right now.
Reply:earlier discovery of breast cancer can be treated better,no doubt it can't be cured completely,but at least u r safe n live longer.besides chemo,i hope one day there w'd be a better medicine 4 curing this cancer.
Reply:Yes, you can survives breast cancer if they catch it early. Getting screened and early detection is the key. Treatment usually surgery, radiation or chemo. I also believe in alternative therapy too. Some women have a lumpectomy that when a part of your breast is remove and others mastectomy that is when the whole breast is remove. I had breast cancer 13 years ago. I had a lumpectomy and radiation for 6 weeks. Having cancer changes your view point on life, I think for the better. You learn how to appreciate life more. Some people can get cancer more than once and still survivor. I guess it depends on the type of cancer and what stage you are in. I was a stage 1 and I had a very small tumour. The bigger the stage number the more aggresive the cancer is. Think positively. Having a good attitude help with cancer, reduce stress and believing in your doctors and treatment plan. Modern medicine has improve a lot since I was diagnosed. More and more people are surviving cancer. It's not a death sentence anymore. I hope this helps. I will keep your mom in my prayers.
Reply:I was diagnosed with grade 3 stage 3 breast cancer four years ago, and following surgery, chemo, radiotherapy and hormone therapy (in pill form) I am currently fit and well.





I'm not going to lie to you and say that people don't die of breast cancer, they do. But if it is caught early, the chances are good. It can recur at any time, but many women live for many years after treatment. Cancer Research UK says that 75% of breast cancers that are caught early are cured (in the sense that they never recur after treatment).





Not everyone has chemo, it depends on the individual's particular cancer. Factors such as grade, stage and lymph node involvement are taken into account, and for some it will be recommended as its benefits for the patient are clear, and the percentage by which it will increase survival statistics is significant.





In others the benefits of chemo are less certain or quite small, for some it's not recommended at all, and some people decide not to go ahead with it after weighing up the likely benefits against any potential side effects.





I was afraid of chemo, but it was strongly recommended for me because I had 13 lymph nodes affected; in the end I decided to go ahead with it and now I'm glad I did - I think it may well have saved my life, and the awful side effects are a small price to have paid for that.





If there's anything else you want to ask, please email me. I hope things go well for your mum
Reply:People survive with breast cancer. Some of them survive for 15-20 years before it re-occurs.


They use all kinds of treatment for breast cancer including chemotherapy and medications which compete for the receptor sites on the tumor for estrogen etc....This is why women take Tamoxifen and herceptin who have breast cancer. Some breast cancer tumors feed off hormones.


They also use radiation.


Please call the American Cancer Society and get all the information you can. Education is very important when treating anyone with cancer.


Also, I am assuming your mother is not sure. Keep in mind something like 80% of breast lumps biopsied are benign.


Prayers to you and your mom.
Reply:Just be there with her at the doctor's office to support her if you can. Try not to worry too much until you know for sure. Just say a prayer for her.It is a big shock, but people can survive it with their family and friends' support and by attending cancer support groups.
Reply:I am a survivor of breast cancer. I was diagnosed 16 years ago (January 17th, 1992). So yes, many many women survive it. My Dr. gave me choices of how I wanted to treat it. I caught mine in it's early stages, and one choice I had was to have radiation to the affected area, with no chemotherapy. The other is the one I chose, which was both chemotherapy, and radiation. I didn't get sick from my chemo, because I chose to receive it slowly thru a "porta-cath" where the chemo was in a fanny pack that I wore around my waist, I had a small tube with a needle on the other end that carried my medicine to my porta-cath. (A porta-cath is a round plastic piece placed under the skin (surgical procedure) on my chest). I received my chemo over a 24 hour period in a slow drip delivery. If your mom does have to take chemotherapy, I highly recommend getting it this way, instead of getting it thru the vein in her arm at a (?) 2 hour delivery. Because I got mine slowly I didn't have the sickness that usually comes with the 2hour drip. I feel by doing it like I did, my body didn't get flooded with chemo, the poison that can save your life! A positive attitude @ beating the cancer helps mentally and emotionally also. I will say a prayer for your Mother.