Member Since: May 12, 2007
Last Login: September 9, 2008
Birthday: July 17, 1966
Location: MI United States
Occupation: Associate Reference Librarian
Biography
Diagnosis
| Diagnosis: | Dx 4/9/2008, IDC, 3cm, Stage II, Grade 3, 3/13 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2- |
| Diagnosed: | April 9, 2008 |
| Type: | Invasive or Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma |
| Recurrent? | Local recurrence (in the breast where it started, or in the skin and underlying tissues where the breast used to be) |
| Metastatic? | No |
| Stage: | Stage II |
| Lymph Nodes Removed: | 13 |
| Positive Lymph Nodes: | 3 |
| Tumor Size: | 3cm-3.9cm |
| Tumor Grade: | Grade 3 or high grade |
| Hormone Receptor Status: | Tumor does not have estrogen or progesterone receptors |
| HER2/neu Status: | Tumor does not have an excess of HER2/neu receptors or genes |
Recent Posts by Joan2844
Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: Sep 9, 2008 09:11 am
Upcoming Vaccine for Trip-Negs!For months, Dr. Joseph Baar, director of breast cancer research at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and medical director of UH's Center for Survivors of Breast Cancer, has been waiting to get approved for funding to test a vaccine for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer to help fight recurrence.... http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1220949186108841.xml&coll=2 Joan Dx 4/9/2008, IDC, 3cm, Stage II, Grade 3, 3/13 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2- |
Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: Sep 3, 2008 01:22 pm
Nervous about CarboplatinMy doctor wants me to start carboplatin in a few weeks. It sure seems to have lots of side affects? Can anyone tell me about their experience, good or bad, with this drug? Joan Dx 4/9/2008, IDC, 3cm, Stage II, Grade 3, 3/13 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2- |
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Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: Aug 27, 2008 03:10 pm
Ultrasound Reveals a Potential RecurrenceKay, I had a similar situation as you, and I would definitely encourage you to follow up on this. I had a lumpectomy in Feb. 2007. Had hardness/firmness near the incision, and daily pain. Hard to describe, but a constant ache that nawed at me physically and emotionally. My mammogram in October 2007 indicated that the area might be suspicious, but we wrote it off as being surgery/radiation related. Lots of scar tissue there. That must have been the cause. But, in March 2008, the bad news -- a routine MRI showed increased blood flow to the same area (now very large), and this indicated cancer. Cancer needs blood to grow. I was dx with a recurrence in April, had a mastectomy in May, and now am doing chemo over the summer. It has been very hard, but so far the cancer has been contained in my breast. I'm overjoyed about that. Please do get this checked out more thoroughly. Trip-negs have a high rate of recurrence, as you know. It is hard to find a recurrrence for sure, but the sooner, the better. I wish you all the best.
Joan Dx 4/9/2008, DCIS, <1cm, Stage 0, Grade 3, 0/0 nodes |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Chemotherapy - Before, During and After, Created: Apr 9, 2008 05:54 pm
Anyone start their period after finishing chemotherapy?I finished radiation (TAC) in January 2007. Hadn't had a period since October 2007, and April 2008 just "started" again. Anyone have a similar situation? Joan Dx 9/26/2006, IDC, 3cm, Stage IIb, Grade 3, 2/13 nodes, ER-/PR-, HER2- |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Surgery - Before, During, and After, Created: Apr 9, 2008 08:51 am
Lumpectomy & Fluid Retention AfterwardWondering if anyone has had a similar experience.... I had a lumpectomy and re-excision in 2/07. An MRI done at the end of 3/08 showed a large, suspicious area. When it was biopsied yesterday (still waiting for results) the doctor extrated more fluid than tissue. We are hopeful that the MRI saw scar tissue and fluid that collected after my surgery. Has anyone had a similar experience? My husband did some reading about radiation "boost," which I had -- apparently it can cause similar problems like mine? I meet with my radiologist (routine follow up) later in April.
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Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: May 20, 2007 07:25 pm
New Website just for Triple Negative CancerThis is a response I received from a recent email to the folks at the website -- very encouraging! The email address for this group is info@tnbcfoundation.org. I was very encouraged to get a personal response to my email.
--------------------- Thank you for coming to our website and sharing your concerns on the content. As you probably know the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation is a new charity which just started last December so we are still in the learning stages. The foundation started in honor of a very dear friend who is suffering with triple negative breast cancer and her goal in life is to help others with this disease. The last thing we would want to do is make the situation worse for the people we are so desparately trying to help. We are having a board meeting in two weeks and the issue of rewording the website will definitely come up. We are having our first fundraising event on June 6th and have already raised money to give a grant to help research triple negative breast cancer. Our advisory board is helping us find the right facility to fund. We will absolutely look into posting research and clinical trials. Your feedback is very important to us so please stay in contact. We are hoping to start a message board where people can share their thoughts and once we do we are going to ask you to post your experiences. Thank you again for reaching out to us. We wish you all of the best. Sincerely, Sharon Fredman Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation trustee |
Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: May 19, 2007 06:39 pm
New Website just for Triple Negative CancerWhere did you find their email address?
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Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Radiation Therapy - Before, During and After, Created: May 19, 2007 07:21 am
April '07 Camp NukemboobiesI read this thread, and was really encouraged -- you all have such great support for everyone already!
I finished my rads in April 2007. Let me encourage you that it is not that bad! I'm a 40 year old married mom of three young boys, so it was not easy for me. BUT... I found the radiation technicians to be wonderful -- no question was considered "stupid" or unwelcome. You'll be working with this staff for the next 6 weeks -- try to build up a good relationship with them. The ones I worked with were very professional and caring. In my hospital, we had one common area for the women to change into hospital smocks. We all had set times to be there, and we chatted everyday. Those women quickly became my friends -- we just had lunch together this past week! Cherish the women you meet. Some will help you. Some will need your help. Your attitude about the radiation also makes a huge difference. I tried to think of it as a few minutes of "quiet time" I had just for myself everyday. Time that I could like still (literally!  ) and just collect my thoughts. Sometimes I tried to imagine the radiation beams going straight to my cancer site and zapping the cancer, but... I have to admit that I'm not very good at that kind of thing. Maybe it will work for you. Finally, let me say that the time passes quickly. The first 2 weeks are hardest -- new routine, stress of a new, unknown treatment. Fatigue didn't bother me as much as I had been told about... I enjoyed the ladies I met, and feel strong to have successfully finished another round of treatment. Each of you ladies are STRONG! Continue to encourage each, other, believe in Christ, and get healthy! |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Lymphedema After Surgery, Created: May 15, 2007 07:55 pm
Oh, my aching arm?Thanks for your reply... I already have the baseline measurements, so that is good. You're right -- our bodies do "talk" to us. I see my onc in about three weeks. I will mention it then!
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Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Lymphedema After Surgery, Created: May 15, 2007 05:32 pm
Oh, my aching arm?I had 13 nodes taken out of my left side. This was in Feb07. I finished rads about 2 weeks ago.
My left shoulder and upper arm has a dull ache in it; it gets worse as the day progresses (and I get tired?). It is not enough to keep me from doing things, but it is uncomfortable. I don't think it is lymphedema as I don't really have any swelling. Has anyone had a similar experience? |
Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: May 14, 2007 06:50 pm
New Website just for Triple Negative CancerI agree that the website is a downer -- if they had a way to "contact us" I might suggest they use more tactful information, especially on their homepage.
On the bright side, I am hopeful that this will lead to more research/attention for trip-neg cancer. This is a good first start -- let's pray for their success and be thankful that someone is finally giving trip-negs some well deserved attention... |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Alternative, Complementary & Holistic Treatment, Created: May 14, 2007 02:31 pm
LOW FAT DIET PROVEN TO PREVENT BREAST CANCER"Lance Armstrong said he hasn't changed anything since his diagnosis and he is an 11 year survivor to date....
Julia Child ate more butter, cream, red meat than anyone I know personally...she had BC but lived to 91." Gotta love Julia Child! Thanks for that info -- I knew about her and her BC, but had forgotten. I'm sure she also drank her fair share of wine. I enjoy red wine, but am haunted when I drink it. Or eat sugar. Or... any of the 100 things we're not supposed to do anymore! At the end of the day, I believe my future is in God's hands. He already KNOWS whether I'll live 5 more years or 40 more years. It doesn't matter what I eat or don't eat. What treatment I have or don't have. My feeling is that having a healthy body will enable me to persevere better through anything I might have to go through again, medically speaking. That is the motivation for keeping myself healthy. And, for allowing myself some wine or sugar from time to time!  |
Posted in:
Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis + Triple Negative, Created: May 14, 2007 02:13 pm
New Website just for Triple Negative CancerI found a new website: www.tnbcfoundation.org
The website states its mission as: "Our mission is to raise awareness of triple negative breast cancer and to support scientists and researchers in their effort to determine the definitive causes of triple negative breast cancer, so that effective detection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment can be pursued and achieved." Check it out! (I found out about it by having a google "alert" for 'breast cancer triple negative.' |
Posted in:
Tests, Treatments & Side Effects + Alternative, Complementary & Holistic Treatment, Created: May 12, 2007 06:10 pm
LOW FAT DIET PROVEN TO PREVENT BREAST CANCERI've seen this information in a couple of different articles. Just by googling "low fat breast cancer," I found an article about it on www.cancer.org, dated May 2005.
The women in the control group ate about 33 grams of fat each day, versus the other group which ate 51 grams, or more. The results of this study: "After about 5 years of follow-up, the low-fat diet had helped some of the women—those with estrogen-negative (ER-negative) tumors—lower their risk of recurrence by 42%. ER-negative tumors do not have estrogen receptors on them and therefore don't respond to hormonal treatments like tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors. That makes them more difficult to treat than hormone-sensitive tumors (also called ER-positive tumors). The diet did not significantly lower recurrence risk in women with ER-positive tumors" I think the problem is with quick foods and restaurants -- both of which are staples of the American diet. Mine included. If you cook for yourself, 33 grams/day is very reasonable. I'm still not there yet -- if you have any great ideas, please let me know. With my husband and my three boys, nutrition is a hard, hard thing for me. |