scarednancy

Hi,
I scored a 9 on my Stage I, ILC 1.1 cm tumor. I had a lumpectomy, radiation and now tamoxifen. I noticed that this board has a lot of stories about women getting Stage 4 after being treated at stage 1 and 2. I wonder how many women get treated for Stage 1 and 2 and never get breast cancer again. I have a best friend who was treated 14 years ago and is doing great with NED. I would love to hear more stories that have a happy ending.

Cancer has made me an angry person. It has stripped me of my dreams and plans for the future. I no longer care about saving for retirement since I don't think I will ever see it. It has made me angry that it has inflicted its wrath on so many nice women on this forum. It makes me angry that the doctors don't find the cause and cure. I know they have made great advances on treatments but that's not good enough. It makes me angry that we have no control of our bodies and don't even know that the beast is in us until we get specialized tests. I firmly believe that breast cancer would be cured if the medical field really wanted it to. We BC victims keep a lot of them in big $$ by needing all our treatments. I guess you could say I'm just plain angry and don't see any bright side to cancer.

Hi,
My ob/gyn gave me Xanax the week I was diagnosed and when that ran out I got a new one from my oncologist and just recently got a years prescription from my GP. I can't sleep without it and since they took my Lexapro away it is all I have. I found out that Lexapro interfers with the Tamoxifen. It would have been nice to learn that from my oncologist but instead I had to learn it on this website.

Hi,
I have a 2 million right now but my company rasises it as necessary as they are self insured. Please try not to worry about that happening. I am the HR manager for a company that is owned by another huge company and no one has ever gone over the lifetime max. As medical costs go up, so do coverage. Good luck and please concentrate on enjoying life.
Nancy

HI,
I had ILC, pleomorphic,grade 2, no nodes, ER++, PR-. I had a lumpectomy, radiation and Tamoxifen. My oncotypeDX was a 9 so the docs said NO CHEMO. I was thrilled and hope I kicked cancer in the butt forever. Good luck with your treatments.

I can't believe how many of us were 49 when diagnosed. Mine was 3 weeks before my 50th birthday. I don't know about the rest of you but I had mammograms every year since I was 40.

My daughter and I saw No Reservations last night and loved it. I guess my idea of a good movie is one that leaves me with a smile on my face. I'm 50 and my daughter is 20 so it appeals to all ages.
Nancy

Hi,
It makes me mad that you have to wait for more tests. I think all women should be able to have their mammograms read on the spot and if there is a problem it should be immediately followed by an ultrasound and biopsy if necessary. The waiting is the worst pain we can have. I wish you all the best.
Take care,
Nancy

Wow, I've never heard of either of your tumors so I did some research and I find you are very lucky. The prognosis for your types of cancer is much better than for the rest of us, ILC, IDC or IBC. They said yours is very rare. May I ask how you found it and how old you were?

Hi,
My breast cancer surgeon who works at a large hospital and does breast surgery on a daily basis never even considered a masectomy for me. She said it would be totally unnecessary for me since I had such a small tumor, 1.1 cm. I, like you, get concerned when I read about all these woman who go for a bilateral masectomy and have the same size cancer as me or even smaller. It really confuses me when women with LCIS and DCIS have bilaterals when I read that they are not even considered to have cancer at Stage 0. It seems like our surgeons, oncologist and radiologist all have different ideas about our treatments. I know my OB/GYN said I needed my ovaries out as soon as she heard I had ER+ cancer but within a week my surgeon and oncologist said it was unnecessary. It sure gets confusing. It seems the more I read, the more questions I have.