Best Of
Re: I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
Re: When you're all done.........but still undone by cancer
I had made, then deleted, a long post that said basically, cancer knocked me on my ass for many years. Diagnosed in 2017 and the lingering life effect is that I no longer undertake big projects because I am afraid the cancer will come back and kill me in the middle of whatever I am doing. And someone else will have to deal with my mess. I am pathologically averse to leaving work/mess/bother for someone else. Thus … here I sit, like a mushroom. I had my bucket list dog become available, a lifetime longing to own an Irish Wolfhound and the chance finally came! But at that same time they found a suspicious 'thing' in my good boob, which slammed me on my face mentally and emotionally and I said no to the dog. Turns out the thing in my boob is an unknown blob that they are still watching every 6 months (ultrasound) all these years later. But the dog opportunity ended. Because I didn't want to be in treatment or die and leave Hub with an untrained, monster sized dog to deal with. That is just one example of how cancer, even though it is no longer on my mind 24/7 like it was for many years, still has me hobbled and bound. I do my daily tasks and chores. But bigger life projects, they ended. Because the fear of returning cancer stopped me in my tracks.
Now I truly do feel like I'm waiting to die. This is not to say that I spend my days wringing my hands that the cancer is back and I just don't know it yet. No. But in the bigger scheme of things, I have become diminished to almost nothing, to avoid leaving a mess someone else has to wrap up. Before I had cancer I was blissfully unaware that my days were numbered. I knew it, we all know it, but I didn't KNOW it, if you know what I mean. Before cancer, I would have gotten that Wolfhound. I would have started building a house on our other property. I would have hired a landscaper (heavy earth moving equipment) and removed much of this forest and hauled in soil and built some gardens after stumping and sod removal. I did none of those things. They are long term projects. I do not feel like a long term person anymore. I get a lot done most days, but there is a sorrow, a heaviness of my reality that travels with me now. Something fundamental and not positive, changed in me. Although when someone tells me they have cancer and they have that look of bewildered shock and you can see they are trying to articulate some feeling that they have never, ever had before, I can nod in understanding because I know. That I DO absolutely know. Can I advise them how to 'make peace' with it? Sorry. No. Can't. I don't think I expect to make peace with it. I expect to carry it, like dead weight, everywhere I go and in everything I do. Or don't do.
Re: STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
@rockym that just sucks that that dr didn't just lay out the facts about your options.
I just had a visit today with the plastic surgeon. He repeated everything the breast surgeon said. I too have had a recurrence In Same breast. Actually of a different kind of breast cancer.either way they both said and ive read that an implant is risky if you've had radiation. Or you could go with a flap surgery. Figure on 6 hours plus 6 week + recovery. Or go flat. I've opted to go flat cause at anytime could change my mind and have reconstruction.
I was hoping for fat grafting since I'm not so big but the fat requires blood vessels to attach and a mastectomy is a must.
Ugh. Good luck finding a better doctor.
Re: STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
Hi Rocky, Sometimes the biggest name hospitals are not necessarily the best places to be a patient. I ended out going to the #2 cancer center in the city (but in the top 20 nationally) because someone who went to the #1 in the city (top 3 nationally) told me that while she got good care she felt she was regarded like a medical record who was too "ordinary" to contribute to their research and didn't have input towards her treatment plan. I have received excellent personalized care and also have access to good doctors in any other specialty needed for SEs. I hope you find a good fit for your surgery and followup.
Re: Radial Scar
Hi @emmay92, I’m glad your birads5 imaging was not cancer. Radial scars are benign but grow in a tissue environment that is favorable for breast cancer. They can also hide tumors on imaging. I had a mammogram callback for architectural distortion which resulted in a birads2 score. Two and a half years and two additional clear mammograms later a 3.2 cm tumor was found after an oral surgeon told me I had cancer somewhere since I had osteomyelitis in my jawbone (strange but true.) The pathology report said the tumor margins contained numerous radial scars which explained why it was missed. Since I probably have radial scars remaining in my breast post lumpectomy my surgeon recommended that I have a manual breast exam by a provider experienced in this twice a year so that anything not visible on imaging can be caught as soon as it is palpable.
From what I have read the chances of cancer occurring with a radial scar are anywhere from 2% to 40%. If this happens it is usually DCIS but in a few instances (like mine) it is invasive. Be vigilant and in addition to mammograms have yearly breast exams done by a women’s health provider who is specifically trained in this. Hopefully you’ll remain cancer free.
Re: September 2024 Surgery Support Thread
hello,
I had a left breast mastectomy on august 26. I had neoadjuvant chemo AC. I was told that they will be removing some lymph nodes as well. After I woke up from the surgery they treated me like I had the lymph nodes removed. However later I found out that none of my nodes were removed at all! And I have not heard of this before. Anyone had this happen?
Thank you in advance.