A place to greet and meet newbies to stage III
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Just want to be sure that if there are any lurkers or newbies out there needing to talk... that you know we are here to listen and help!! You are not alone!!
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Hi, I havent been exactly dx'd yet, but just came from a dr's appt, large tumor in L breast, swollen lymphnodes in chest, neck, armpit, arm. Dr says it's probably "not good" and answered my questions in a way that let me know, without being legally binded to a dx. Stage 3. Im 30 years old. Im in so much pain, but refuse to look like a drug seeker. I cant stop crying. I kinda knew this myself for a while, after researching my symptoms online..but when you actually HEAR it, it's different. I don't know why I cant stop crying..
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Sarah - So glad you reached out. Please don't be hard on yourself about crying - it's warranted. What are the next steps for you? Have you had a PET scan?
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Sorry you have to join us, but welcome. Perfectly normal to cry....you have just had the "normal" rug pulled out from under your feet. As far as not looking like a drug seeker, pain meds for pain and anti-anxiety meds for stress, and anti-depression meds for depression are really our best friends in helping us through an extremely difficult time. I am surprised your doctor guessed at your stage. Staging is not generally done until you have a final pathology report on the tumor/nodes. There is a lot of information that goes into staging, and there will be a lot of appts, and diagnostic testing coming up. Ativan or Xanax is wonderful to help slow down the anxiety and feeling like your head is spinning. There are so many things to learn and decide, the ladies here in these boards are wonderful!
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Hi Sarah. Please keep us posted. I was so scared in April when they told me Stage 3 but I have now done chemo and rads and am doing okay health wise.
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Sarah, So, SORRY, you are way to young to have to deal with this crap. I truly hope your Dr. is wrong, as Robin said, until they get in there, remove the cancer & send it off to pathology it's a guessing game. In the beginning it's so difficult to even breathe. I hope they have you scheduled soon for a biopsy. Waiting is the worst part of this nightmare...keep posting, it helps...
Linda, good to see you ! Are you missing the "road" ? I am glowing with rads...I really got red today. It was #14, so 19 to go...
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Holeinone,
Use pure aloe after each tx as soon as you are out getting dressed that's what I used besides Aquphor at night no skin issues just a little pink on the collar bone...
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thanks sherry67, I think I need to step up my quantity & doses of both those...
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Sarah...your BCO name sounds so sad..Sarahisbroken...maybe for the moment, but once you know what is going on and if its BC and treatment begins...you'll feel more whole!! Its all so overwhelming and you're in shock. All very normal and with you being 30, all so very hard!! Please, keep coming here and seeking any assurance and understanding you may need. I know for me it seemed everyone's life was going on and I was stuck in a nightmare all by myself..very lonely! Know you are not alone and most of us are steps ahead of you and can help you take your next step!! Promise the tears will stop and you will get to the other side of all this in time. Keep showing up for the tests and doc appointments..that takes lots of strength, but it will give you the answers you need to get better!!
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Just want to throw some hope for today into the mix.
Today, my sister ran into a gal she worked with years ago.
Her former co-worker had breast cancer - Stage 3C, 10 cm huge tumor, and 20 or more
nodes.
She is 8 years out and doing pretty darn good.
Made my day!
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denise-g... thank you so much for posting! that's such a wonderful thing to hear.
hope everyone has a great weekend
kay
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Hi everyone, I'm am a newbie to this site, stage 3c, 20/26 nodes. They say the recurrence rate is super high and I'm down to two more chemo then rad. Since now treatment will be over soon I'm just so scared.
Hi holeinone, I know you mentioned you feel exactly the same.
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Lin, hi and welcome. It IS scary, all of it. It does get better. It is slow going, but one day you will realize that you went about your business for an hour, an afternoon or even a whole day and didn't think about the stupid cancer once. What chemo are they giving you?
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Hi Lin123, welcome to the stage 3 forum. It is very hard after treatment is over. One day you are busy with doc apts and a care team, the next you are all done and on your own. It can be disconcerting on what to do with all your free time and worry about recurrence. I was a triple negative so that meant no tamox or arimidex. It is just watch and wait. Recurrence is always a possibility. It's hard not to worry about it. It may seem impossible but the worry will gradually decrease with time.
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I was given tac for chemo, I was always afraid to go online to read anything about breast cancer but glad to fine this forum. I know I'm not alone and so many of you ladies are so strong and positive. I hope I can be like you.
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Denise,
Thanks for the positive story, exactly what we need to hear about..
Lin123,
I am glad you found this thread, I should of directed you here, instead of visiting on the other thread that is for a different topic. But, no worries about that.
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Hi Sara. I just came here and read your experience. Hang in there. It will get better. Once you know what exactly you are dealing with and have a treatment plan, you will feel more in control. And by the way, it's so normal to cry and be shocked at this point in the road of breast cancer. This forum is very encouraging. It helps me to come here. So keep posting.
Oceana
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sarahisbroken..just checking in on you and hoping you are doing well.
Also Denise-G thank you for your blog and your words of encouragement...truly am thankful for woman like yourself who seek to support and encourage those on this BC journey!!
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Hi ladies I have not been on in quite awhile but I did skim through the post's, sarahisbroken, I hope things have gotten easier for you by now, hopefully they have figured out a treatment plan. I have been doing chemo since August, 4 rounds of A/C now I am on Taxotere and I have 4 more left.😄 I was staged initially at 3C due to 15/15 bad nodes, PET showed more bad nodes but no met's. After my 1st A/C I went to the ER with bad hip pain and long story short they did an MRI and saw some small spot's on my lumbar spine, MO said they are very small and chemo should take care of them. So when I finish chemo he say's we will MRI again and if everything look good I will move onto Rads, if he still see's anything then he will Bx. As the day draws near I find myself getting very nervous and more anxious, this whole cancer thing just turns your whole life upside down. Take care all and have a great day.💜
Shary
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Hugs, Shary.
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Peacestrong, thank you I hope everyone is doing well today, I have Taxotere # 9 tomorrow, yea only 3 more after that to go😄 It will be along day we travel 3 hours to MO for infusion and then 3 hours home and it sounds like it is supposed to snow but we will just take our time.
Shary
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hi everyone,
i am a stage 3a newbie. got my based line mammo at 39 and found out i had BC at 41. i didn't see it coming.
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Hi all,
I, too, am a newbie. It started as Stage 1, then 2b after my lumpectomy, and now after my recent mastectomy, it's Stage 3a. Latest pathology showed more positive nodes and negative (but close) margins on removed tissue. Now I'm confused if this means more surgery (what more can they remove after a mastectomy? Muscle?) or sticking with the original post-surgery plan of chemo/rads/hormonal therapy. So hard to deal with the fear and the unknown. I feel physically strong and ready to claw my way up from rock bottom, but rock bottom keeps changing (kind of like an elevator that keeps dropping without warning). Trying to adapt a new mindset that centers on the following - perspective, gratitude, patience, kindness, and absolutely living for today. A particularly hard part of my experience is having just lost my mom to ovarian cancer about four months ago, but in a way, I'm glad she never had to know about my diagnosis. As a mom of two young boys, I know how much you love and would do anything to protect your children. Thanks for letting me ramble. I so appreciate not feeling alone and being able to learn from others - truly grateful.
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You should be fine, did they say there would be another surgery? sounds like you will be doing chemo radiation, and hormonals, in any case, with your pathology and what they already know. good luck, and good for you for finding bco already. i found it the night before my first chemo, and i was so scared of starting! but i did, and here i am! so welcome!
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Thanks for the reply and encouragement. My surgeon was going to talk with my radiation oncologist about more surgery (I'm hoping sticking with radiation/chemo plan will be the decision).
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Welcome Juneping...I wonder if many of us see this coming. I feared ever having BC, but never really believed it would happen to me. No history in family and had 3 kids before 30....doesn't matter it hits whom it wants! You're still new to the thought, not to say it ever becomes real but it does become your world as unreal as it seems at times. But you gained all of us as your sisters and you're not alone in the unreal world of BC.
LGP1111..so glad you joined us..where there is numbers there is strength, or at least it is not as lonely!! So sorry for the passing of your mom. Yes, I would think she was at peace thinking all was well with you before she passed. But, you now miss out on having a mom there for you, so I am glad you are here and have us! Sounds like you have a good plan with using your mindset goals. You're going to make it through this and with that mindset, cherish each day with your sons even more!!
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Hello everybody.. my mom was diagnosed breast cancer in july 2013. She had a huge tumor around 7.6cm. And the skin on tumor site was read. I am worried that it is inflammatory breast cancer. Or the skin became red is because the tumor is too large? Anybody here can help me?
Wishing you all a long long remission..
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Inflammatory BC doesn't have a tumor, it's just diffused over the whole breast. The skin is probably red because it is involved too. Good luck with the treatments.
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Thanks GraceB1.. I hope that its not ibc.. because from what I read, it is very scary.. u have finished all your treatment? Did u have neoadjuvant chemo ?
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Art - is your Mom stage 3 in addition to the the grade 3 that you've indicated? What steps has she completed since the diagnosis last July? Sounds like maybe she has had surgery? Lumpectomy or mastectomy? Has the tumor been removed? How about chemo? Radiation? Is she on Herceptin? There are so many things to consider.
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