Ladies in their 40s
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thank you. I will talk to him at my next appointment. He doesn't seem too concerned with side effects. He let me know that I have to work to keep weight off. I have 5 pounds left and it is t coming off at all. I usually walk at night because the heat is so hard. A few weeks ago I was at a party and poof! I had a hot flash and the sweat just ran down my legs! No one noticed but just weird.
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Hi,I was put on a low dose of Effexor to help with the hot flashes as I was not sleeping at night either. The Effexor really did help. I am now 45 and have been on it about 9 months and do still get an occasional warm up in the night but that is soooo much better than it was.
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hi NDgrrl,
Have you noticed and side effects from this medicine? I will have to ask my doctor. My necks sweat a lot. Yucky!
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Hi I really have not noticed any side effects on the Effexor as I am on the lowest dose. The doctor tried to double the dosage but all it did was make me hotter and want to eat all the time. I talk to my pharmacist and she told me that sometimes the reverse happens and you get hotter on a larger dose. I returned to the lower dosage and it does help. I take the Effexor the same time I take my Tamoxifen so I don't notice if it makes me sleepy or not as Tamoxifen does that on its own.Good luck
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Hi. Thanks for starting this thread. Nice to b able to chat to ladies around my age.
I am 46, single mum, have 2 daughters (8 & 10yrs old), and no other family in New Zealand. I do have great friends who help a lot but of course I feel bad to ask, as they do so much.
On 23 June I found out that my surgical biopsy was showing advanced, high grade DCIS. I asked my BS if I could wait until the school Xmas hols for surgery as then I would b on holiday ( our long summer hol). My BS said that I have 2 months not 6 months. ( I had had clear mammograms due to dense breast tissue, I found the lump, estimated to be about 3.5cm).
The waiting is hard.
I had had a mirena IUD, for 5 years. It stopped my periods which I loved at the time. I've had it removed (25 June). My BS requested an MRI, which needed to be between day 10 & 18 of my cycle, but I haven't had periods, they decided to book MRI for 16 July, I still haven't had a period. I have a post MRI appt on 28 July.
My BS says a mammogram would be realistic as I have small breasts so wouldn't have much left. I have decided, for peace of mind, I would like a BMX. my BS will do that if I want it but considers it over treatment.
Initially I tried to make myself content with going flat as I knew I couldn't afford a reconstruction. But a reconstruction is funded if that is what I want. I was still thinking of going flat. Then I went into my local breast cancer society to talk about it. The lady there said I was far to young to go flat, and I'm single. She said if my surgeon is offering a recon I should do it.
I spoke to my Mum who had a mastectomy and recon 20 yrs ago. She said she would agree with a BMX for symmetry and peace of mind and wishes she had done that 20yrs ago. She also said to have the recon so now I'm seriously considering it, maybe it would b nice to b a bit closer to 'normal'.
But I work and am a single mum, the recovery is harder and longer and more appointments.
Sorry this is so long! Any thoughts?
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ali111 sorry you had to join but you will find this site so helpful. I had reconstruction done right away, as they said with me being a younger age the perfect skin......able to reconstruct without difficulty a good thing. Not to scare you but sometimes I do wish that I had nothing at all. I am battling an infection in my left breast and just had to have that implant out.....go figure I was just starting to get used to the pain that I've had from day go. The implants do take some getting used to I will admit... And maybe being larger breasted is the difference, but I don't see what the big rage is to get implants put in if you didn't have to. Lol. Like cheerleaders etc.... I'm pretty easy going and I went "with" it for reconstruction. I guess what I'm saying is do what you feel is right for you. Don't let anyone talk you into anything you don't feel comfortable doing. Another laugh I'm a psw and give a lot of "older" people baths....it's funny to see a 90 yr old lady with implants. Lol. Food for thought. Some days I like it and some days I hate it. That's just me. Hugs.
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Hi Ladies. Im so glad that I found this thread again. Im still battling the hot flashes and I am especially not sleeping Goldie. Lets see I had to have my scheduled pet scan bumped up to this week because of sternum pain. Im on Arimidex so I am sure its just the meds causing bone pain. I hate these scans cause my ILC didn't really show up on any mamos . I just don't have faith that it will catch any cancer until its too big. How are ya'll handling scan anxiety? What is your scan schedule or test schedule or whatever your oncologist has you do?
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Hello, I'm 47 from Ontario, Canada and was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma last week. I have an app't with the surgeon on Friday then surgery....
I have two girls, Meg is 19 and Kate is 10, been married for 25 years and I can't seem to catch a break!!
My brother was diagnosed with Sarcoma 2 years ago and on the same day as my biopsy, he was told there wasn't anything else that could be done for him. He is now on palliative/pain management care....he's 40.
My husband lost his job 3 months ago and we've barely been able to keep up with the mortgage payments and bills as it is. He finally started a job last week, which he hates. It's half the pay and no benefits.
I am a home childcare provider and two of my 5 kids are off to school this Sept. and that leaves me with half the pay...I had a new one to start, and I was looking forward to this little one...I've had to call the Mom and tell her I couldn't take him after all. His first day is in two weeks, and that's not fair to take him on when I don't know how long I'll be off.
The scariest part for me is, I don't want to die. I spent 12 years of infertility treatments for my girls....I feel so blessed to be a Mom. I can't die, it would kill my Mom to lose two of her three children, I can't do that to her.
I need to know when my surgery is, I need to know how long will I have to take off work, I need to know how much pain I'll be in.......I guess I'll find that out on Friday...
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Lori1967 - so sorry you are joining our ranks here and for all the difficulties you are going through. Been there and done that myself in a similar way, so wanted to send you an internet hug! Be kind to yourself this week. These first few weeks are the absolute hardest, but it does get easier. Do not be afraid to ask your MO or GP for something like Ativan or Xanax to take the edge off for a while. You are going through a lot right now. As for your kids, they are resilient and will handle things in their own way - mine were about 10 and 11 at my initial diagnosis. Lost a brother, also, at 38. My heart goes out to you. You have found the right place here for support on breastcancer.org.
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Lori, I just wanted to send you a hug. Im sorry you are going thru so much.
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Lori - I am so sorry for all that you are going through. Sending hugs and prayers your way. We are here for you.
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omg Lori I am so sorry you had to join this group. Hugs n prayers that everything will turn out
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Lori, I hope things will work out for you. You have a lot of people here sending you hugs and love!
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Anyone here on Tamoxifen whose BC was only "weakly" hormone +?
I finished rads on Monday (yay!), still getting Herceptin through the remainder of this year. I know that the next step my onc recommends is starting Tamoxifen. I am not sure that I want to do it. So far, I've pretty much blindly followed dr advice (chemo, lumpectomy/SNB, radiation) but I'm less sure about this recommendation. My BC was only 15% ER+ and <5% PR+. I'm questioning whether the tiny reduction in risk will be worth the SEs. Mainly, I'm afraid of becoming "old" before my time. Pre-BC, I was not menopausal. Last period was in January, been in chemopause since then.
Would love to hear the experience of you ladies with Tam.
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Hi, I have been on tamox since December 2012 and don't have SE's....My stomach felt a little funny in the first 3 weeks but nothing after that. I am still premenopausal...was hoping to be in meno after chemo but 3 months after last treatment, back it was. I am highly ER/PR + though.
Michelle
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oranje_mama,
You may want to try it out, and perhaps you will discover that you will not experience any side effects. If you have side effects, you can always decide to quit.
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thing is, I am still experiencing SEs from chemo and rads. I don't feel like subjecting my body to yet more drugs right one, especially when it seems that no one knows for sure whether Tam would be effective! I'm going to talk with my MO about waiting a while before starting. I'm still on Herceptin through the rest of 2014, so it's not like I'm not doing anything at the moment.
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oranje, 7 mos on tamoxifen for me. No side effects except for no period since starting tamoxifen. Yay! I was 87% and 96% Er/pr positive.
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Hi everyone!!! I am 46 years young and just diagnosed in sep 2014. I have been married for 27 years and have two grown sons and a precious 4year old granddaughter. I just started chemo 5 days ago and taking one day at a time!
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hi Grammy,
So sorry for the circumstances for which you had to join us here but welcome. I hope to be 2 years out from this soon (with some testing coming up which is making me nervous), but please do not hesitate to ask any questions you may have. I would love to be of help and support.
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thank you for the warm welcome Youngturkny!!!! My thoughts are with you during your new testing!!
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sorry you're here, Grammy, but you seem to have the right attitude to get through it. I'll have my one year anniversary coming up. I have to find a new onc as mine took a sebatical and I only have three months of tamoxifen prescription left. I'd actually prefer no tests or scans, but I think they'll at least do a blood test. We will see. Gotta find a doc first. Good luck to you all!
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welcome Grammy. Great place to unwind sometimes. Stenokim. Congrats to u on your anniversary soon. I too have one coming up on one yr since surgery. This is the day that changed my life. For the better. Hugs to all
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thank you all for your warm welcome!!!
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thanks gonein40. I've never let this diagnosis consume my life. I've moved on, though I admit sometimes I have thoughts creep in when I have a weird pain, etc, thinking oh, I hope it's not cancer. But for the most part I'd say my life has changed for the better too. I hope someday I can say it's been 10 years, then 20, and so on. Kim
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Welcome Grammy. Glad you found BCO and this thread. This was a wonderful resource and great support for me when I was in the thick of things with my treatment. I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary. I feel like things have got back to normal but I try not to take anything for granted anymore. And I now hope for the most boring follow up visits ever.
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Hi everyone. i am new to this board as i was diagnosed in october 2014. i am 44 years old and after a routine mammogram and 3 biopsies i was told i had multifocal DCIS with possible microinvasion on my left breast.
i had a mastectomy 2 weeks ago with a sentinel node biopsy and a tissue expander placed in.
I just had my pathology report today that showed that 1 lymph node out of 5 removed had signs of microinvasion Grade 2. The surgeon staged me at Stage1b. And my tumor is ER positive.
i am meeting with a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist to discuss a course of action. I was hoping that surgery would be enough but it seems that i would need more than that.
I would appreciate anyone with a similar diagnosis to share their eperience.
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Hi Justgrateful-
I had a different diagnosis from you. But I am 2+ years out from diagnosis and am doing great. I'm sure you are as shocked and stunned as I was at age 47. The hardest part is the fear while waiting to for the treatment plan (and for me, figuring out how/what to tell my kids). Once you have it you can figure out how to best approach chemo etc. Chemo was not fun but doable for me. Everyone on these boards is great and you can find all kinds of tips to help you get through. Big Hug! It sucks but this is a great online community to help you get through.
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just grateful, welcome to the club that you never wanted to join. My diagnosis is a little different than yours, but I turned 48 a month or so befor diagnosis, so I'm not much older than you. There are many boards here than can be of help to you. Once you have your treatment plan, you'll feel like things are more under control. Needing chemo was a surprise for me and a lot to absorb. I'm heading in for my second round (of 4) tomorrow. Do you have a family? How are they handling this? I have two teenage boys, 15 and 19. Everyone seems to be ok except for my mother in law, but she tends to the dramatic anyway. My extended family lives out of state, but we have lots f close friends near by
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I was dx 9/24/14 at age 45 with ILC stage IIIa. Had a BMX with TE's placed on October 24th, 2014 I celebrated my 46th birthday yesterday with my hubby and children. We have 6 of our 8 still at home and I homeschool them. I start chemo December 1st .. AC with Taxol (AC 1 every 2 weeks for 4 treatments and then Taxol 1 a week for 12 weeks) followed by radiation and a hormone blocking pill (Tamoxifen) plus complete my reconstruction about 3 to 6 months after radiation ends.
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