<p>Yes, please, be sure to get that annual mammogram. Don’t assume that an all clear mammogram is the all clear for the year sign, though. Regular self checks are very important too. No matter how much that tech smooshes and smashes, not all the tissue is going to show up on that film. I’m just thankful to be living proof to that little tidbit.</p>
<p>I had a mammogram (do it yearly) four days ago and I was even telling the technician that as unpleasant as the procedure is, I can’t understand why so many women avoid it because it really is just a few moments and not so hard to bear and SO worth it. </p>
<p>Hugs to each one of you who has a loved one currently dealing with cancer. My dad died of lung cancer almost three years ago and it was SO difficult.</p>
<p>Idmom, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. On a positive note, my MIL had breast cancer when my H was 4 years old–had mastectomy and lived another 50 years with no reoccurrence. I’ve had two friends with breast cancer–both are well beyond the 5 year mark now and doing very well.</p>
<p>I recently went for my first screening colonoscopy. My GI dr. said that more women die from colon cancer each year than breast cancer–but it doesn’t get the same press coverage. So when the rest of you 50 year olds are scheduling your mammograms, go ahead and schedule your colonoscopy too.</p>
<p>dogwood makes a great point. My mom’s mammagram was clear a year ago. And this year’s mammagram didn’t show a mass, just areas of assymetry. It took the isotope/nuclear study to show this very small area of cells with high metabolic activity. BUT, she did feel an area of density upon self exam…said the area was just firmer than normal. So self exam is a crucial part of the process.</p>
<p>Crossed posts with mkm…I plan to ask the doc to go ahead and schedule the colonoscopy even though I have a few years until 50. My grandfather died of colon cancer and like ovarian cancer, the symptoms don’t appear until late stage. So if you have a family history, I’d ask the doc about that getting that test.</p>
<p>ldmom06, Also coming in late to add my hugs and best wishes. This must be just so, so hard for you right now. One of my closest friends, the mother of one of S’s best buddies as a child, passed away from this dread disease. She did possess the BRAC gene (both her mother and sister died of the disease. Tragically, she was diagnosed (in her twenties) with a late stage of the disease <em>just</em> before she had decided in her own mind that she would do the planned preventive double mastectomy. Advances in medicine did allow her to live for ten more mostly healthy years.</p>
<p>With this story and others like it in mind, the only advice I have to give that hasn’t been mentioned already is the same as I tell anyone close to me when serious medical issues arise and that is to be sure to scope out and research the best of the best in terms of medical care, even if it means travelling out of your way for it, or paying out of network insurance costs if that seems advisable and if it’s possible. Get second opinions as a matter of course and even third ones if you need to. </p>
<p>My thoughts are with you, your cousin, mom and friend - am sending vibes of wellness to you and your loved ones. R</p>
<p>ldmom06,
wow…best friends, mom…you have been hit hard…when these things happen, it is like a tsunami that engulfs you…and perhaps you find yourself waiting for another shoe to drop… my favorite fun thing tied to a mammagram was a statue in the room where I get mine done… it was an African type of figurine… topless… very regal pose… her name is “Queen Nefer-Titti”… it always makes me laugh… so you may want to get one for your home…or smaller versions to give your mom and girlfriends… </p>
<p>there are GREAT get well cards out there these days…I have a terminally ill friend in a nursing home right now…and one of her good friends has sent a new card every day…and they are hysterical…laugh out loud cards… my girlfriend is exec dir of a cancer group up here…their fund raiser is a comedy nite…“Laughter is the Best Medicine” is the name of the evening… so I am wishing you a few grins in between all the medical updates and tests etc…</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear everyones struggle with cancer. I feel very lucky to still have my father 11 years post-leukemia (it was pretty scary since his older brother died of leukemia at the age of 4). I wish the best to everyone involved and for peace to those who are (unfortunately) at the end stages.</p>
<p>This may be a naive question…but which isotopes do they look for in the isotope study? I’m an isotope geochemist and since I don’t work with biological stuff (obviously) this is news to me.</p>
<p>I’ll give you the CPA (layman) version ophiolite…bear with me. 
</p>
<p>My mother, who is an RN, explained it this way…on the xray, the isotopes cause the normal breast cells to look like dots scattered evenly and any area of cells that has high metabolic activity will cluster the dots into a solid dark spot. There are several things that cause high metabolic activity including certain benign masses and injury to the breast; but according to her doctor, in at least 80% of the cases, the cluster is malignant in nature. The resolution of the nuclear study is much better…if you compared her mammagram to this nuclear study, the area of concern on the mammagram is much larger than the area of concern on the isotope study. The explanation is that what appears on the mammagram is not just mass, but blood supply, other tissue asymmetry, etc. And the isotope study actually gives an identity to each cell and you are looking at a much more refined image. So the first mammagram was alarming and the subsequent isotope study gave us a comfort that the area of concern is very small. </p>
<p>I understand this is pretty new technology and the ultimate goal is to provide a diagnostic tool to replace biopsy. For now the preferred course of action is to have the study because results that are negative for metabolic activity are 99% reliable. If she had gotten a negative, she could have walked away, without a biopsy, with peace of mind. But since she rec’d a positive, the next step is surgery and biopsy. In my mom’s case, I would think if she has good margins around the cluster, they will remove it and the margins and send all off to the lab. Essentially a lumpectomy. But I will know more after she speaks with her surgeon and calls me this evening.</p>
<p>Prior to ordering this study, she had a regular mammagram that looked suspicious…and then two diagnostic mammagrams and an ultrasound that did not allay her doctor’s concerns. He then ordered the nuclear study, which confirmed the need for surgery.</p>
<p>I hope this makes sense; or that if anyone else here with medical background knows about this study, they will weigh in and tell me if I have it right.</p>
<p>And I agree with maineparent, humor is essential! My friend cracks us all up by whipping her wig off and throwing it across the room as soon as she gets in the door of her home after an outing. She hates that itchy thing. Much prefers the baseball cap with the built-in ponytail. She and I have a routine, we put on our phone headsets and clean our toilets together while chatting. We do a few minutes of medical updates and then it’s on to the fun gossip…lol! She is an inspiration; she still exercises between her chemos (though the last two pretty much knocked her to her knees), she doesn’t miss a football game (her daughter is a senior on drill team), and she still cleans, cooks and takes care of her family. She is one hard-headed lady…business as usual, life goes on.</p>
<p>My d turned me on to an MTV show that is also inspiring. (And we both ‘hate’ MTV…lol!). Road Rules/Real World Challenge has a young woman, who is 20 years old at the most, recovering from ovarian cancer. She just completed chemo and the episode where she finally took her wig off in front of her peers was sooo touching. She is an adorable girl…for her alone, I recommend the show.</p>
<p>ldmom, our hearts go out to you. What a lot to deal with in such a short time! All the info I have concurs with what others have posted - your mom is post-menopausal and it was caught early, so all signs point to a good outcome.
I was diagnosed in my mid-30’s with a class IIB tumor - those were some dark days but it’s now been 14 years and I’m healthy and fit (well, OK, not as fit as I should be!). I’ll PM you with the website for the Dr in Houston who did my recent (much delayed) lumpectomy reconstruction. SHe is fantastic and worked with my insurance co to get everything covered. There are newer choices than the “tunnel” flap if you decide on prophylactic surgery.
CHeck with your Dr, but it is my understanding that if you test negative for the BRCA genes and there is no history on your husband’s side, your daughters don’t need to be tested. I worried about my girls testing positive and having that information “out there” on insurance databases. Would that cause them to not get a potential job or coverage in the future?</p>
<p>PS - love the idea of chatting with a friend while cleaning your respective bathrooms! Mine might look a lot better that way.</p>
<p>Cleaning the bathroom while chatting with a girlfriend is a GREAT idea… that put a huge grin on my face…go ldmom06…no worries about you… you are making tilexade out of tilex!! go gal…</p>
<p>" had a mammogram (do it yearly) four days ago and I was even telling the technician that as unpleasant as the procedure is, I can’t understand why so many women avoid it because it really is just a few moments and not so hard to bear and SO worth it. "</p>
<p>FYI to those who haven’t yet had them: It’s not unpleasant for all women. The only unpleasantness I’ve ever experienced with mammograms is the coldness of the machine. I’ve never had pain. I’ve also heard that if one avoids having mammograms just before one’s period (when one’s breasts are likely to be swollen), pain is less likely. If it weren’t for some of the jokes that I’ve heard about mammograms being painful, I’d never know that some fid them painful.</p>
<p>I think it depends on how much they try and flatten them-
mine dont really want to go flat- but it isn’t so painful I can’t breathe or anything- ( but i also wonder if they can see anything since the tissue is very dense)
you shouldn’t be having them right before your period anyway- you should have them right after- that is when they are softer and easier to discern abnormalities</p>
<p>speaking of tests= now they have digital xrays for those of us with denser tissue/haven’t gone through menopause
<a href=“http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Digital_Mammograms_Outperform_Standard_Ones_in_Some_Women.asp[/url]”>http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Digital_Mammograms_Outperform_Standard_Ones_in_Some_Women.asp</a></p>
<p>wow great link e-kity! I especially like the fact that this is a UNC-CH study! 
</p>
<p>My d went to a pre-med meeting there and she tells me UNC researchers are doing some great breast cancer research there including delivery of chemo through ‘trojan’ nanoparticles…particles that trick the cancer cell into absorbing them. Once absorbed by the cancer cell, these particles release the chemotherapy drug and kill each cancer cell from the inside out. One of these scientists was at the meeting looking for seniors to help in the lab on some of this work…and being quite the little talker, my d convinced him to at least consider her in the spring semester even though she is a lowly freshman. She offered to sweep the floor and wash beakers and he may take her up on it. Imagine how wonderful it would be if chemo could be delivered straight to the cancer cells instead of having to poison the entire body. The drugs would be so much more effective and harsh side effects could become a thing of the past. My d was so excited by the presentation given at the meeting, she called me at 10 p.m. to relay all the details.</p>
<p>btw…I also have never found mammagrams painful and I had them crank that machine as far as they could get it. It’s kinda like the blood pressure cuff…it’s uncomfortable and you don’t really enjoy it, but it’s not anything that is unbearable.</p>
<p>My yearly mammogram is the one time when I’m glad I’m small-chested! Makes it much easier and the test is apparently more accurate - less tissue to get through.</p>
<p>I also have to say that I’m lucky - my company sponsors a mammography van that comes once a year and parks outside my building. The van is run by one of the premier cancer centers in the area, so quality isn’t an issue. It takes a whole 10-15 minutes to get it done, no travel, no time off, no nothing. Couldn’t be more convenient. The thing that gets me, though, is that so few women seem to take advantage of it. I guess they don’t know or don’t want to face the issue. Sad, really.</p>
<p>With my SIL, she had yearly mamms. Always normal till the last one.</p>
<p>My mom had her surgeons appointment today. The surgeon was very optimistic, feels very certain she does have a malignancy, but that she may get through this with lumpectomy and radiation… and possibly skipping chemo. </p>
<p>Interestly, she said my mother probably had this tiny malignant mass for at least five years and that it has just finally became large enough to look suspicious on a mammagram. And that is all she really had at first, no overt mass on the initial mammagram or diagnostic mammograms that screamed tumor, rather she had just an area that appeared subtlely different from her previous mammagram. The subsequent nuclear study (scintimammogram) is what indicated that there was likely an actual malignancy. I say this because if anyone has a suspicious mammogram that a doctor says is probably fine, or that they’ll just watch…it might be worth asking for a scintimammogram/nuclear study rather than waiting. My mom is going to be fine because of this early detection.</p>
<p>The following is an easy to follow explanation of the scintimammogram:</p>
<p>"What is the difference between a Mammogram, Breast Sonogram and Scintimammography?</p>
<p>A Mammogram is obtained by using a very low energy x-ray that passes through the breast. This information is recorded on special x-ray film to show anatomical detail. Mammography is well documented for early detection of breast cancer; however it is not as efficient in dense breasts. Breast Sonogram uses sound waves to show the patterns of the breast. The sonogram is useful in separating nodules shown on mammogram into cysts and some patterns.</p>
<p>Scintimammography uses a radioactive tagged (tracer) material given intravenously that will concentrate in metabolically active cells; for instance cancer cells (if present) to a much greater degree than normal cells. The scintimammogram technique has a high sensitivity for differentiating between scar and cancer as well as other benign conditions and cancer."</p>