Ladies in their 30s
Comments
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steph, my MO mentioned it early on when I asked about clinical trials. I believe it is open to those who are er/pr+, her2-, who are considered early stage and who will take tamox or AIs for at least 10 years.
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Hello everyone! And happy holidays!!!! I wanted to join this group. I'm 39 ( diagnosed at 38). Single mother, have a wonderful daughter (19 years old) who is helping me a lot to go trough the treatment. My goal is to get better and help her to graduate from a college. I REALY hope I'm going to make it.
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Ok Cajun I am her2 pos but I will ask my mo about it when i see her next month anything else to battle this disease I am down for! Had my ooph and on a anastrazole going very well better than I thought
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welcome ruska! How are you feeling?
Steph, I hear ya. Throw the kitchen sink at it and then throw something else. I'm encouraged that you are tolerating the AIs well. I'm a little nervous about it.
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inks, my friend was dx at 25 and again at 32. Both times triple pos. She has been on a second round of tamoxifen for 2 years and now she and her husband are going to start trying. There is research that indicates that pregnancy reduces the risk for er+ gals as far as a recurrence. Hugs!
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Cajunquin,
I guess I'm still very scared even though I finished the chemo, today was my last treatment. At the same time I have a hope!
What about you, how are you feeling?
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Huge congrats on finishing, woo hoo! Are you heading for rads soon? I'm so glad your daughter is supportive. Praise God for family.
I have 1 more DD Taxol. I did fine until Taxol, which I swear is trying to kill me. I am highly allergic and have relentless bone crushing pain for 5 days afterwards. If unmedicated childbirth is a 10, this is a 9 for days on end. But, I have my pink wig and party hat ready for my 9 hour infusion on 1/18, assuming I can get through the infusion without an Epi pen.
So normal to be nervous as trx comes to a close. It's sort of like, what now?
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Hi,
I have lumps on both breasts that I'm concerned about. Both breasts feel heavy and sometimes painful. I also checked for possible lumps under my armpit and I have not found any. By the way, I am 31 y/o my family has no history of breast cancer. My menstruation came when I was 15 y/o, I first gave birth at the age of 18. I occasionally drink alcohol and smoke. I have multiple lumps on both breasts that sometimes painful. I can feel them whenever I do self-examination. I am worried that it might be cancer. I have it checked last year at a hospital here in the Philippines around April and the result was Benign but I have not gone back to the doctor since. I wish to make an appointment to have it checked.
Please advise if there's anything I need to worry.
Thanks and God bless everyone.
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Aghie,
My exact symptoms were a feeling of heaviness in my breast and a painful lump which turned out to be cancer. Sometimes doctors will say things like "cancer is not painful" which is completely inaccurate. Please do have these lumps checked again and obtain biopsies. Sometimes doctors also tend to dismiss concerns of younger women due to the young age.
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young, we have a similar profile. How are you doing on Femara?
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hi ladies,
It's been a long time since I posted, since I have been focus on my treatment. As a reminder, I'm 29, diagnosed 2 months after my August 1 wedding, found the lump myself. Triple positive, tumor originally 1.5 cm.
went through 6 rounds neoadjuvant chemo (TCHP) and had a BMX 2 weeks ago yesterday, with reconstruction beginning during that surgery with expanders.
I just wanted to follow up now that I have final pathology, my tumor shrunk to 5mm, clear margins, and no node involvement (they took about 3 to test, all clear). So, I'll continue Herceptin and hopefully Perjeta through October, but as of now, and after 5 terrible months, I am cancer free.
We didn't freeze eggs prior to starting treatment, and are at peace with adopting, and can finally get excited about the future. While we never know what the future holds, my doctors are all very optimistic.
I wanted to share a story with a happy ending, because I found that too many times people felt the need to share worst case scenarios that left me nervous and scared. Everyone is different, but if you trust your team and remain as positive as possible, you'll make it through.
Convos on after care will happen soon, so I'm unsure on how that will go, but for now, small (big) victories.
Wishing you all the best.
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Thank you suzer! I wish you the best life and all the happiness in the world.
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Cajun you should DEMAND abraxane. I had two allergic reactions to taxol and insisted. Abraxane works better and is a breeze.
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Anyone here took a lot of antibiotics before diagnosis?. I did for lynne disease and developed the tumor later
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I guess it depends on what "a lot" is. I had 2 c/s in 2 years, so that was a good bit. However, I probably already had the tumor then.
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what is c/s?
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Hi Ladies,
I'm new to this thread. Dx at 33 yrs, 3/4 TC, one more to go and then my rads and then probably go on to take Tamoxifen for 5-10 years.
I have been reading that after taking Radiation, if there's a recurrence to the same breast, it will be difficult or impossible to do a reconstruction (followed by mastectomy). Does any body have any idea if there's any truth to this ?
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Hi Sarah - sorry you have to be here, but welcome. Once the skin has been radiated - it is thinned out and can be difficult to work with. Some plastic surgeons prefer to do the final reconstruction before rads. Some will do it after. But my understanding is that the quality of the skin after radiation can present more chance for a failed reconstruction. Good luck!
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Cesarean section. I'm having my TE swapped a year after after rads. My PS would not do it any sooner.
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hey ramols & cajun
thanks for replying to my cry. Its so difficult with so many question popping in my mind about this stupid breast cancer.
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hi all,
Popping in to add myself to his group. I am 32, dx IDC Feb 3/16, grade 3. I don't know stage yet but have had my CT, MRI, CXR, echo, and bone scan last week. Just waiting on results. I'll be doing neoadjuvant FEC-D starting his Friday. I am just ready to get going with treatment. I was just married last Saturday and we have a daughter who will be 2 in a month. I had egg retrieval today to do embryos preservation. Anxious for my first chemo treatment.
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hi HolaSandy,
So sorry you had to join us and just a week after your wedding. Hope all the scan and tests bring you good news.
I did FEC-D and you can pm me if you have any questions.
Keep us posted.
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hi Hola
sorry you have to be here just shortly after your wedding, hope all goes well with the tests.
I am 33 yrs old and I'm on my last chemo cycle next Wednesday 3/16. I'm on TC regimen, 4 cycles and then I will be starting my radiation after a few weeks.
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Hello
Also just adding myself to this thread/ group.
I am 31 dx with IDC grade 3... Not sure on stage. I go for a PET scan on Friday and possibly start treatment next week.
Still can't quite believe this is happening
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Hi ladies,
I'm going to join the party, too.
I'm 35, diagnosed this week with ILC. I live in Australia and have three kids under 10. I read some statistics yesterday and found that in 2009 there was just over 700 women in Australia under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer, and only 22 of them had ILC, so I'm feeling quite rare!
I'm going to see the oncologist on Monday and the breast surgeon again on Tuesday and I guess we will have a plan by then, but at the moment we are talking chemo and then surgery
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hi ladies! I just wanted to welcome you and pray for you. For those with very young children...I just want to HUG, HUG, HUG you! I was paralyzed with fear for months after my diagnosis. It does get better!
Sarah, congrats on finishing chemo!!! I am winding down. 5 more rads boosts and a complete hysterectomy 4/12.
I buzzed off my rat hair tonight. It was thin and colorless from chemo and made me look old. I shaved my head in Oct. and hadn't touched it since. I'm so look ready for my real hair to start growing in. I had no idea it would take so long.
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hi, been diagnosed with breast cancer can be the most over whelming feeling of all.
Since last November when I got diagnosed, its been like I am watching my life from outside my body. Going to doctors, taking treatments, medicines, feeling all the crazy side effects, feeling both emotionally and physically out of it.
After having done with chemo last week, I will be starting radiation soon.
It does get better eventually I like to believe. I am feeling better today than I was feeling yesterday. So there's hope in that.
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Hi! My name is Liz and I live in New Jersey. I'm 33 and was just diagnosed stage 2, grade 3. Starting chemo at the end of the month.
I'm writing because we're similar in age, and I am also anxious about starting chemo soon. The exact drugs haven't been decided because my med oncologist said wanted to do an oncotype test to make sure the "weak positive" on the ER is not actually a negative (he has a feeling I'm actually triple negative).
But the thing freaking me out most in the short term is egf harvesting and I am sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you might tell me what it was like for you?
I met with a fertility doc this week and went to the injection training class yesterday morning. It left me incredibly overwhelmed and I cried all day yesterday thinking, I can't do this. It was like the straw that broke the camel's back.
But I don't want to betray my future self (and my husband, who is putting NO pressure on me, but still) so I'm sleeping on it and calming down. I'm wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me a little about your experience with IVF? I think if I hear some feedback about what it's really like I'll feel better.
Thank you and hope you are well!
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Hi Liz,
I'm sorry you find yourself in this position and I hope this info is helpful for you. I did the egg retrieval on March 8th while on Ativan and they gave me fentanyl for the pain during the procedure. As well as local freezing.
Prior to the procedure I had to do gonal-f injections daily and then certrotide in the last couple days leading up to the procedure. I also took oral letrozole. Are those the same ones you will do? Although there is always a level of discomfort about giving yourself injections, it is temporary. And for us we just kept saying this is a means to get another baby which is something we had planned on trying for at this time. So we are on a bit of a delay in our plan for that, but this was our best option with the most promising result. That said, you do have other options if this is not right for you. You can certainly do nothing and hope that chemo doesn't put you into early menopause (my cousin knows a woman who had surprise twins post-treatment!) or you could ask about a med like lupron and whether it is an option for you. I am also taking those injections once a month to protect my ovaries in the chance that I might want to get pregnant again once this is all done.
I hope this helps and please feel free to message me with any other questions. Take care
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hi Liz,
The nightly injections were not bad for me. I took gonal-f as well as 5mg of letrozole. Went to the clinic every two days to measure the progress. The hardest part for me was the last injection (the trigger) because I read the instructions wrong and used the wrong needle to inject myself and it wouldn't pierce my skin. I took antibiotics before the procedure and was given some pain meds for the procedure. The piercing of the uterine wall was a bit uncomfortable and one of my ovaries was really bouncy (sign of healthy ovary as th doc said) and it took me bit longer to get all the eggs. After the eggs were harvested they fertilized them and I ended with 6 five days old embryos (15 eggs harvested). I had no problems after that.
It's doable especially if you want kids and want to have a sort of insurance/back up plan in case chemo affects your fertility.
Chemo reduces the fertility levels and many women have had kids naturally but it was a risk I didn't want to take especially with the type of chemo I had to go through and the ER/PR levels.
Also, check if you can access funds for these procedures to help with the expenses.
Good luck and hope all goes well with your process.
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