<p>Do you ever get that feeling that you are being chased by something and you just can’t get away? </p>
<p>Three years ago, a very close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had six months of chemo, surgery, then radiation. She is in remission. Then my 35 year old cousin was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She suddenly started having horrible back aches and vomiting. In the ER, they discovered the cancer and that it had already metastasized to her bones. She has been on chemo for more than year…trying to buy time. Her youngest child is 12. Since she was only 35, she had never had a mammagram.</p>
<p>Then my neighbor died of breast cancer. Then my very closest friend was diagnosed in August with an aggressive version of breast cancer; she just completed her 6th chemo and will have a double mastectomy next month, followed by radiation and three reconstructive surgeries, and five years of tamoxifen. </p>
<p>And tonight, my mother has gotten bad news after a round of tests. She will have a biopsy asap, but the isotope test is positive for breast cancer and is 80% reliable. I am trying to be optimistic, but I’m upset. </p>
<p>My mom’s doctor has said that breast cancer is almost epidemic these days. Doesn’t it feel like this is true?? What is going on…have we screwed up our environment, or our food supply? I want to know why this is happening. :-(</p>
<p>I am <em>SO</em> sorry that you have been touched so intimately by this dreaded disease. I will be holding your mother in my thoughts and prayers as she faces these tests and awaits her answers.</p>
<p>I <em>do</em> know what you mean by the feeling of being “chased” by something. I cannot disclose what it is in my case, but I totally understand your feeling, and my heart goes out to you and yours.</p>
<p>May you be given the strength to deal with that which is laid before you.</p>
<p>One option to consider is prophylactic mastectomy. Some women, particularly if they carry either BRCA1 or BRCA2, the two breast cancer genes, choose to have their breasts removed and reconstructed with implants BEFORE cancer strikes.</p>
<p>It’s an extreme measure, but for some women it’s the only way they can get peace of mind. Seeing their friends and relatives die of breast cancer just becomes too much.</p>
<p>ldmom, just want to give you a hug. {{{{hug}}}} It does seem like too much to bear and way too many women touched by this. I’m sure your support will be the help that gets them through this.</p>
<p>I have known ( one)woman who has done this
but I also know several who have had breast cancer and survived for longer than 5 years
I am not sure of all teh genetic explanations, but when your mother and sisters have it- there sure would be a question in your mind.
I think there is probably several environmental links to cancers inc breast cancer.
However, I would also say ( not knowing how old your mother is), is that a relative getting breast cancer, after 50, puts you at less genetic risk than if it was say your sister- ( I apoligize I am not very good at putting things- I know it is difficult to have any close relative ill- )</p>
<p>Thank you all so much. I’m just beside myself tonight. When my closest friend was diagnosed, I couldn’t get it together for weeks. I was so upset. My mom’s news has left me numb. The one advantage we have with her situation is that her test (scintogram I believe), is fairly new and provides early detection. </p>
<p>coureur - what you describe is something we are seriously considering in our family. We now have two females on the same side of the family affected. Both my cousin and mom are going to go in for genetic counseling, as are my sister and I. If the gene does turn up, then I will insist my d be tested as well. The advantage to prophylactic mastectomy is the ability to use implants. My friend will have to have ‘tunneling’ done to reconstruct her breasts with tissue from her abdomen and buttocks because after radiation, implants are not feasible. So a much more painful and difficult reconstruction after cancer treatment…three surgeries in all.</p>
<p>E-kity - My mom is 67, so hopefully you are right. I plan to have a long discussion with my doctor tomorrow about this. He’s been bugging me to come in anyway (I’m way overdue).</p>
<p>I lost my cousin (more like a sister) to this almost exactly one year ago. The most emotionally painful thing I ever dreamed of…</p>
<p>I have switched my family to organic dairy products (milk, cheese, butter, etc) and eggs due to the presence of hormones in the other types. The organic stuff tastes much better, though it is more expensive. I understand there has been an indication of a link to the presence of hormones in dairy products and breast cancer…at any rate, it makes me feel a bit better to do something…
Idmom, my heart and my prayers are with you. I get it…</p>
<p>My best friend, a surgeon who is 54 and healthy, had a prophylactic mastsectomy when she was in her mid 20s. She came from a family in which her maternal grandmother and aunt had died by age 32 of breast cancer. My best friend feels that her mastectomy saved her life and also extended her mother’s life by decades.</p>
<p>Her mom had a prophylactic mastectomy when she was in her early twenties and lived until age 62, when she died of lung cancer. It is not known whether the lung cancer is related ot the breast cancer gene. However, my friend’s mom had never smoked. </p>
<p>Lung cancer is, I believe, the #1 killer of women when it comes to cancer. Most people don’t realize that because breast cancer gets so much attention. The possibility that lung cancer may be linked to the breast cancer gene is something to consider, however, so you also may want to talk to you doctor about whether you should get regular chest X-rays.</p>
<p>When it comes to breast cancer, yes, there are many women who have it. I personally know at least 5 women who have had breast cancer. All are doing well, including one whose breast cancer metasticized to her overies two years ago. </p>
<p>The Lance Armstrong Foundation is an excellent place to get free information and free counseling support about any kind of cancer. It also will send an informative binder of info free to people who have cancer. The Susan Komen Foundation is an excellent place to get info about breast cancer.</p>
<p>ldmom – I really sympathize with the stress, sadness and fear you’re feeling. It really does seem like it’s closing in on us. </p>
<p>I think one reason my own anxieties are heightened at the moment is that for this entire month, we are bombarded with reminders of how common breast cancer is and how scary the diagnosis is. I feel that I can’t even turn on the radio or sit down at the computer without encountering some “Breast Cancer Awareness” message. The messages are well intentioned, I know, but they really increase the anxiety level among the many of us who are plenty anxious to start with.</p>
<p>One thing in your mother’s favor, ldmom, is that post-menopausal breast cancer is generally slow-growing and, if caught early, rarely fatal. It’s often the estrogen levels that feed the cancer.</p>
<p>I’m so glad that your family is going for possible BRCA testing - I was going to suggest the same thing. BRCA is much more common than we thought even a few years ago, and much of the insurance worries about being tested have sorted themselves out. BRCA + people are at high risk for ovarian cancer, and that is even scarier than breast. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year, (her Mom had died of the disease), and at the urging of her doc friends, she and her sister were tested and found positive for BRCA.</p>
<p>One reason breast cancer seems to be more common is that it is caught much earlier than it used to be, people are treated and survive to tell their stories - we who diagnose and prognose on breast cancer are beginning to think of it as a chronic, manageable disease. That attitude is why we emphasize family history and BRCA testing, as well as mammograms, it helps pick out patients who present young and often don’t do as well. There are other new prognostic factors that select out patients who may not do as well, so that they can get mroe aggressive therapy. The good news about that, is that women who have lower risk breast cancers can get less aggressive therapy without increasing their risk of recurrence - more women cured with less treatment.</p>
<p>ldmom, you must be experiencing so many emotions right now. I think many of us take our health for granted. We allow ourselves to put things on the back burner that should be done on a regular basis. I am guilty of that. Years ago, while in college, I had a benign tumor removed from my breast. I had to have mammograms every six months for two years and then once a year since. Your post reminds me that I am four months past due for my yearly check up and mammogram. Thank you for reminding all of us that our health should be a top priority. I hope your friends, cousin and mother recover fully and I do hope that you and your sister get good news from the doctor.</p>
<p>I am so sorry to hear that so many lives near and dear to you have been touched by breast cancer. My Mother-in-law was treated for breast cancer about 12 years ago and celebrated her 81st birthday this past summer. You will find the strength to help your mom through this.</p>
<p>Oh my! That certainly is a load for you. I wish you well and my thoughts and prayers are with you and all who you speak of. My sister-in-law is having a doulble mastectomy today in fact. Having one close to you is tough, I certainly understand. Hugs for you</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your support. My hugs back to all of you who have lost a loved one or have watched a loved one suffer from cancer. It is really encouraging to hear all the comments about post-menopausal cases being successfully treated since this is my mom’s situation. She had further conversations with the surgeons today. They feel pretty certain they’ll find malignancy, but the mass looks very, very small and they are very optimistic about her treatment. We hope she’ll get in for biopsy in the next day or so here in Houston. Kinda tough for my d though. She arrives home for fall break tomorrow a.m. and we’ll tell her then what is going on.</p>
<p>I made my appointment for November 13th. No more procrastinating for me. How about the rest of you…on top of it? Please, please get that appt if not!</p>
<p>I have a BIL and aunt battling cancer right now. The aunt had breast cancer in each breast (two separate cancers, diagnosed 10 yrs apart) many years ago, and now is settled in her lungs, which is the fatal one. I had two other aunts with post-menopausal breast cancer who died of old age, not of cancer.</p>
<p>So sorry for you, LDmom. You have a lot on your plate. Cancer just plain sucks. Prayers for your family.</p>
<p>I’m sorry I didn’t visit this thread and add my sympathy and best wishes earlier…I didn’t understand the title. My husband does quite a lot of stereotactic breast biopsies, and the treatment methods and technology available right now are amazing, as is the skill of so many surgeons. There is reason to hold out hope for a good outcome, keep your chin up.</p>