Member of the "6 Month Watchful Waiting Club", Unite!
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StellaDora-
We want to welcome you to our community here at BCO. We're sorry for the circumstances that bring you here, but we're glad you've joined us. Even being in a position to expect it, like you were, a diagnosis of cancer is always a shock. Just know that you're not alone, and this entire community is with you!
Good luck on your surgery!
The Mods
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Happy holidays and bc free 2016 to all of us in this group that no one wants to belong to.
Starting on the Evista soon. I just can't make myself take it .... Still on the shelf
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Hi ddw79
Happy holidays back at ya!!! My meds are on the shelf too. Goal for 2016, start taking meds.😖
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Good for you Tinkerbell!
Sorry for your news StellaDora. I had felt the same way as you - that it was only a matter of time. Wishing you all the best with your upcoming surgery.
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Hi Tinkerbell, the diagnosis is invasive moderately to poorly differentiated ducal carcinoma associated with califications and individual tumor cell necrosis' ductal carcinoma in situ, solid type, high nuclear grade. Double negative waiting for Her 2results.
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hello,
Sorry to hear Stella. Wishing you all the best on your upcoming treatment.
Best
Alicki
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Definitely realize I am a sitting duck here.
Stella I hope 2016 will bring better things for you and yours soon . It's so frightening and seems so inevitable .
I hate to start on the meds but as soon as I come back from my little trip next week I will push myself to do it.
Let's hope we can do this Tinkerbell
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Hello everyone:
My 6 month schedule is May/November.
I finished my radiation tx in October 2014. Two suspicious areas were found in May 2015. I had an MRI guided biopsy to one lump in May. Result - 7 benign findings. The second suspicious area could not be biopsied at that time so I had to wait 6 months to have the biopsy. I had the biopsy of that area in November 2015. Result: ALH.
I am new to this thread and I have not had a chance to go back and read everyone's posts. All I can say is, Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone here.
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Welcome 614 and Happy New Year to you too! I admire your courage and positive, confident attitude with your appts. My next follow up mammogram/oncology appt is 2.29 and 3/1. I am 15% lifetime risk and BRCA negative.
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hello 614,
Welcome! You ve been through a lot. I'm on a March/October schedule although I need to get something (lymph nodes) checked in a few days.
I wish you all the best for 2016. I'm on this schedule (put on it by specialist) because I ve had a series of problems in the last two years with numerous biopsies (b9).
All the best,
Alicki
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I still have not had a chance yet to go back and read all of the posts but I did read this page. StellaDora - I am so sorry. I wish you the best with your upcoming surgery. Good luck. I am sending you prayers and positive thoughts and hugs.
Good luck to everyone else. I will be more specific once I have a chance to read and to find out what all of you are going through. Sometimes life gets so busy.
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New member here - and confused by conflicting advice. Surgeon just sent me for 2nd MRI. Thankfully both were OK, BIRADS 3 but both times the radiologists wanted 6 month follow-up MRI. Surgeon is recommending I get a diagnostic mammo right now so that I get on a staggered schedule where I have MRI and then mammo 6 months later. That makes sense, except that they keep telling me to come back for another MRI in 6 months rather than in a year.
I don't mind doing the staggered schedule, but is there any benefit to doing a mammo now when I have just had an MRI? I thought MRI is more sensitive? Frankly I don't want a painful mammo for no reason and would rather wait for another year since I'm getting another MRI in 6 months. If I keep getting sent back for another MRI every 6 months, getting a mammo now is not going to help me stagger the tests. Or is there any possibility the mammo will pick up something the MRI last week did not?
Also, I saw an oncologist who recommended ultrasound with my mammos, but surgeon says no ultrasound. I really only want to deal with one doctor since I don't have cancer yet, but the oncologist wouldn't order the MRI and the surgeon won't order the ultrasound.
Both docs say no tamoxifen as preventative, and yet I have heard of people taking it for this?
Just kind of confused and not sure how to get on the best screening plan! Thanks for any thoughts.
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Its not uncommon to get conflicting advice.
Of course I'm not your doctor, and I can't read his/her mind, but I would think one advantage of having a mammo now is that they would have a baseline on which to measure future mammograms. It is certainly possible that mammograms could pick up something that MRIs cannot. Each imaging type looks at different things, and there is no perfect imaging in breast cancer that picks up all cancer and interprets all normal tissue as normal tissue. (That means there are no false negatives and no false positives.)
I assume you have not had a breast biopsy? They normally do not give antihormonals such as tamoxifen to women without breast cancer unless a) they have a diagnosis of a higher risk lesion such as ALH, ADH or LCIS or b) have a really significant family history such as a mother, father, sister or brother with breast or (in the case of females) ovarian cancer or have a BRCA mutation.
Are you old enough to be on a routine regimen of mammograms?
Tamoxifen does have its own risks and benefits; if it had no side effects (including no teratogenic effects) and was cheap then they'd probably want all women to take it. (There is a small but real risk of stroke, uterine cancer, cataracts, and other things, including birth defects in babies when the mother is taking tamoxifen.) Everything is a risk vs benefit evaluation.
If you don't have a higher risk diagnosis and don't have a high risk family history, once they can pretty much establish that your lesion is benign, then they will probably want to decrease your screening to the average level for your age.
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Leaf, thanks so much for your reply. Your explanation makes a lot of sense and I think is the kind of thoughtful detailed explanation I wanted to hear from my doc, but I guess I still need to learn to communicate better with her! I've had 2 mammos already, a baseline at age 38 and another last year. I'm early 40's now so would be eligible to do yearly mammos. I have dense breasts so that is another reason I just don't really see the point of a mammo on top of an MRI, but I've gone ahead and scheduled.
I have not yet had any biopsy - I started the MRIs last year due to being in high risk/ strong family history.
Thank you again for your advice and best wishes to you.
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Surgery was on January 8 at 3:30 it was supposed to be at 12:15 I had the surgery at the Josie Robinson Center and in New York city. The surgery was on Friday and I was discharged on Saturday, January 9 in the late morning tomorrow I am going to meet with plastic surgeon
I haven't met yet with the breast surgeon who performed the surgery he spoke with my family and inform them that the sentinel node's came back benign so he did not have to take out any other nodes I thank God for that report I have four drains two drains on each side near my armpit that are used to have the fluids released from my body into plastic bulbs where the liquid is measured and recorded.
The support of good wishes and positive energy from family and friends is certainly helping me get through this moment in time0 -
Glad to hear the news StellaDora. Must be relieved to have no mode involvement. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Drains are not so much fun.
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Hi StellaDora - Those drains sound awful. I have heard friends and family talk about them. I am glad that you sound like you are doing well.
I am getting ready to go back for another 6 month followup and I'm actually over a month late on it. Christmas and my parents coming to visit - plus not being able to find a date that they had open when my son didn't have a homeschool class or event... I always get nervous around this time. Is it crazy that I can't even remember what it was they are following up on this time? I started having some breast pain about 2 weeks ago and I was getting concerned because I am usually so careful to go right on schedule for these. Then I unexpectedly got my period. So hopefully that is what was causing the discomfort and tenderness. Although it's never been a symptom for me before.
My UltraSound on on the 2nd and I'm having knee surgery on the 3rd. Between the 2 I am feeling anxious. This is the first time I elected not to get a "probably b9" biopsied. I was just tired of being poked and cut, still healing from my excisional biopsy and this was in the same area that I had 2 fibroadenomas removed in the past. I was told that they sometimes reappear so I'm assuming, hoping, that is what it is. The area that I have high risk stuff was in the ducts when they did the excisional biopsy and this wasn't near there.
Thank you for being here for me.
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Hi Ladies - So this morning in the shower, I felt a small rough pinkish patch on my reconstructed breast under the mastectomy scar. size of a pencil eraser. the patch is on my breast skin not the flap skin. Should I be worried? 1.5 months til the 6 month check.
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Oh crap... Scary.
Hoping for good news for you.
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Hi ladies..I will begin my chemotherapy treatment on Feb. 25.. ACT with Herceptin. I hope I move in the right direction with this potent cocktail
Talk soon...
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StellaDora - I am sorry about your situation and I wish you the very best as you take the next steps. Thanks for letting us know.
trish01254 , moonlight 21, WolfsLady - any answers? how are you doing?
I had my genetic testing done in a high risk breast clinic last summer. Everything came back negative but I am considered increased risk because of family history (double that of an average woman). Oncologist at the clinic recommended evista and said I could remain a patient of hers in the clinic, seeing her every 6 months.
I don't have cancer of precancer . I have increased risk because of family history. Currently have Birads 3 bilateral faint calcifications that are being monitored every 6 months for 2 years by radiologists at a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. Biopsy on one breast came back fibrocystic changes only. Calcifications are scattered in other breast and do not require biopsy so far.
I don't have cancer or pre-cancer, and I don't understand what an oncologist can do that my GYN and radiologist are not already doing. I asked my GYN if she could put me on evista and monitor the situation. After reviewing the oncologist reports, she said she could.
Before putting me on Evista, she ordered a comprehensive metabolic blood test, cholesterol, calcium, a few other labs. and a Dexa scan for osteoporosis. Labs were pretty good but found out I have osteoporosis. I started Evista about 2 weeks ago.
Right now I'm on my 3rd antibiotic for a uti - never had uti before. According to the culture, the first antiobiotic was not the right one for the bacteria. Then was given Bactrim for 3 days. UTI came back in 48 hours. Currently on cipro for 10 days and I hope that will take care of it.
I have my next 6 month (12 month out of 24 months required) interval diagnostic mammogram in a few weeks.
Frankie
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Hi ladies
My first 6 month follow up is also coming up March 24, anxiety is starting up again. I'm so SCARED I do not know what to expect. I pray everything is good since they didn't find anything on excisional biopsy. I hope adh or anything worse is gone for good, I guess we all pray for the same results.
Djabi53 I also agree in regards to having to see an oncologist since you don't have cancer or even adh which is a marker for cancer. I don't understand that either. I wish you good luck in your upcoming follow up.
Stelladora sorry for what you are dealing with sending prayers your way.
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- I really understand that Tinkerbell. I was so anxious about my six month follow up which turned into seven months. My Oncologist now said new follow up suggestions from Memorial Sloan Kettering no longer suggest MRI only annual Mammogram and 2-3 professional breast exams.im confused.
- I hope you do fine in March. Boy do I know the fear. I took a friend with me
Frankie, how's the Evista for you? I'm on full dose for about two weeks now. I don't love it but it's not too bad . No increased hot flashes but I do feel more achy in legs and arms . Was worried that it may increase blood sugar because I am also type 1 Diabetic on insulin 24/7. So far that hasn't been a deal breaker. Hope it actually helps us.Hoping for good news for all of us
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Hi
I was wondering since this is my first follow up , I know I'm getting and mri but am I suppose to get a mammogram too? I think I would want to see what the calcifications are doing. Does anyone know if calcifications show up on an mri? I'm so anxious this waiting drives me nuts. I remember ddw but it turned out to be wonderful news. Thank God. I'm hoping for good news too.
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Ddw79 - thanks for asking. I'm not really sure how I'm doing on evista! I started evista at the same time I started with a 3 week uti. I have so many side effects from the 3 different antibiotics that I've been taking for the uti that I don't know how evista is affecting me. I have one more day of cipro and then I am praying the uti doesn't come back again. I'm afraid if it comes back they will send me to a urologist and my anxiety can't handle one more medical wiork up. This time last year I was going through a lengthy work up for endometrial and breast cancer - 90 days of tests and procedures. In addition to the side effects from the uti meds I'm taking now (anxiety, loss of appetite, body aches) I have severe medical anxiety about follow up mammograms. My appointment for bilateral diagnostic mammogram/magnification/ultrasound is 2.29. I will probably be on Xanax as the 29th gets closer. I'll have a better idea of how I'm doing with evista when I'm off cipro and after my 2.29 mammogram appt, and I will let you know. Keep us posted on how you are doing.
Tinkerbell4 - thanks for sharing your thoughts about my decision to stop seeing an oncologist. I am right with you with the anxiety piece. I just want the appointment over. I feel like I live my life 6 months at a time in between follow ups. I'm not sure what your follow up will be like. My radiologist tells me ahead of time what they will be doing. Have you tried calling to ask what to expect? I don't know if calcifications show up on mri's. Someone else on this thread may know. Hoping you/I/we all find piece around this process.
Frankie
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you have a lot on your plate with 3-4 new meds. I have more body aches now and no antibiotics so I think it's the Evista
I am right there with you on the six month anxiety nightmare .
Holding your hands👏 .
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Ddw, body, leg & joint pains are reported very rarely with Evista useso it might be something else.
You may be thinking that because you have read about women here taking aromatase inhibitors having those pains, but Evista is not an aromatase inhibitor.
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That's what I thought too. Thanks Melissa. It's probably something els
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Ddw79 - Thank you for your kindness and for caring. Let us know how you are doing.
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It's going well on the Evista. I'm still in quandary about next step. Some recommend MRI and my Oncologist says it may not be necessary according to new guidelines. So as usual the picture proves to be confusing to me. I am in that familiar quandary of not knowing which foot to put in front of the other.
Good luck all here with this journey. Thinking of all of you
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