<p>jg0339 – Just saw your post. Thoughts and prayers headed your way and I hope you get encouraging news from your doctor on treatment options.</p>
<p>three kids and jg0339- my thoughts are with you both…</p>
<p>Hugs to all…I’ve been there. </p>
<p>The only suggestion that is a blanket suggestion for all women: Try and find a testing facility that has a doctor there that will read the mammogram on site and while you wait. If there are questions about what was seen you will have an answer before you leave: be it a follow up with your doctor/more views/or go home you’re fine.</p>
<p>Jg0339,been there and now almost 6 years out! I followed my docs plan, went with it. Glad to be posting to you now.</p>
<p>jg0339- I’m so sorry to hear the news. Yes, telling our kids is really tough- especially our daughters. Best wishes to you, and I hope that your surgery goes smoothly and your treatment starts right away. If you don’t already know about this website, it’s a godsend for those of us living with this disease.
[Breastcancer.org</a> - Diagnosis, Prevention and Awareness Information](<a href=“http://www.breastcancer.org%5DBreastcancer.org”>http://www.breastcancer.org). </p>
<p>It has the most up-to-date medical information and a wonderful discussion board that will help answer a lot of your questions as well as give you some important questions to ask your doctors.</p>
<p>I agree! Breast cancer.org!</p>
<p>Hugs, jg, wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>as ellebud knows I am also a BC survivor x3. I had my second primary when my first child graduated from HS, My first when I was 34. If anyone wants to pm , me feel free. I am also a nurse. I am living a normal life.
For women with dense breasts, depending on the degree it is important for you to get a mammogram and and /or an MRI/ultrasound. The dense tissue appears white as does the tumor and can hide cancer. women can be diagnosed at a later stage because the tumor is not seen. My sister has dense breasts and thought it was because she had no children. Not so. However it can give you a 5x greater risk of developing breast cancer, there is an organizaton called ARE you dense that provides info. My second cancer was not seen on mammo it was lobular, when i asked them why i was not ordered a MRI they said it wasnt 'standard" well I had had a biopsy that was a precursor to actuall lobular cancer and through a miscommunication was not aware of this. I would have insisted on an MRI. Not trying to scare you just wanted you to know. Iwrote an article about this at work. I am hoping the new 3D mammograms will be better. If anyone needs a Boston surgeon let me know.</p>
<p>Well, I’m meeting with the breast surgeon today. Lots of information to process, but I don’t think I want to look at too much yet. I’ll handle it as it comes and I don’t want to many “ifs” at this point. Next will be MRIs and CTs, then I’ll have more to go on. Telling the kids happened a day earlier than I expected. Thank G-d for my kids. They’re close to each other and to me, I’m really lucky. They all want to be here for the surgery. It’s funny, it’s beautiful outside, I love fall (well, Tampa fall is not like northern fall, but I’ll take it!), life goes on. I can function like this so far. Wish me luck.</p>
<p>Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Threekids:</p>
<p>I am a 3 1/2 year breast cancer survivor. My thoughts and prayers will be with you. If there is ANY upside to this is: you’re gonna get pampered. Get used to it!!! I know you will keep me posted…glad to hear your family was so supportive. Best wishes…</p>
<p>^^PS: Ellebud, my “reservations” lady…you too? :(</p>
<p>Yes…me too.</p>
<p>I am a 6 1/2 year survivor of: breast and thyroid cancer (one chemo zapped the thyroid as well.) Then…four years ago I was diagnosed with CLL (no marker) at stage 0. And 2 months ago…Parkinsons. I am ok…I do admit to asking for (and receiving) happy pills.</p>
<p>And I, like others on this board am happy (bad word choice) to share our thoughts, coping mechanisms, and just a cheering group.</p>
<p>Threekids, I hope your dr. was able to lay out a good plan today. Be kind to yourself. There is a lot to digest. Fortunately, there are a lot of CCers who have been through similar health crises and are willing to share their experiences. The compassion this community shows for those who are struggling with health issues is just amazing.</p>
<p>I was diagnosed with CML 10 1/2 years ago. Have been on daily chemo ever since, which keeps things under control but does not eliminate the disease. I had oncs who insisted on an antidepressant because my chemo could trigger severe depression. The antidepressants didn’t flatten my personality or give me a lot of side effect issues. Just made it easier to cope. After my heart attack in May, the docs pulled me off the happy pills because of cardiotoxicity. We are in a wait-and-see mode to see if I need to go back on them vs. the risks they pose to a compromised heart.</p>
<p>I will also put in a plug for counseling. It is good to have a safe place to vent. Sometimes your loved ones can’t bear to hear what you desperately need to get out of your system and process.</p>
<p>Ladies, no personal experience here, just big hugs to all. I do second ellebud’s post about finding a mammography facility with radiologists on staff so some followup procedures can be done during the same visit. Here in the greater Seattle area, Evergreen hospital’s Breast Health Center gets two thumbs up from me.</p>
<p>I found a small lump a few weeks ago. My doctor sent me for a <em>diagnostic</em> mammogram and a <em>diagnostic</em> ultrasound which were last Friday morning. She said that with the <em>diagnostic</em> label they would be able to do whatever look-see was needed right then – and they did.</p>
<p>The radiology tech doing the ultrasound couldn’t actually find the problem and the radiologist, on site, had to come in and scan for it. The good news is that it was just a fatty lipoma, small and in an unusual spot. The doctor was able to tell me before I left that it was a tiny benign lipoma and the rest of my mammogram was clean and clear. So nice to get that news immediately!</p>
<p>cpn55; phew; what a relief for you! </p>
<p>Met with my surgeon yesterday; as my husband described her; she’s a combination of a wise little owl and Yoda. I’m scheduled for a lumpectomy for stage I mass. As Threekids said, it’s a lot to process. I’m also trying to not get ahead of myself or research obsessively online. </p>
<p>Give me a day or two, then I’ll re-read all of your suggestions. Meantime, I’m trying to stay normal, maintain a wicked sense of humor and not be overtaken by this stuff (yet).</p>
<p>Jg0339:</p>
<p>I had the same diagnosis 3 1/2 years ago. I am now cancer free. PLEASE feel free to pm me with any questions or if you just want to vent. I’ve already pm’d with threekids and would be happy to help you in any way I can.</p>
<p>Been there, done that. As I told threekids…fasten your seatbelt…you’re in for a bumpy ride. Really so sorry. But enjoy the pampering and all the positive attention. Your life will definitely go back to normal even if it takes awhile. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. GOOD LUCK.</p>
<p>Chocchip…me too for the push for normalcy. Not as hard as I thought so far. I still get up and the sun is still shining. I’m still grateful for a beautiful day. It interferes often as I go about my day, which is filling up with appointments, but that will eventually end. I’ll be watching that light at the end of the tunnel the whole way, as it gets closer! Today at the eye surgeon’s office (my husband had his second cataract removed yesterday) the car battery died, have to get a new one sometime today, my daughter needs my car to drive to Orlando for a planned vacation, I have to get a birthday gift for my twin, I’m meeting with the plastic surgeon at 11:00, whew, I’m tired thinking about this stuff! Still with butterflies! </p>
<p>jg: I’ve elected the mastectomy option because of the location of my 1.5 cm lesion. You’ll have radiation, then, with a lumpectomy? I’m hoping for no chemo at this point. Interesting how our hopes are redefined. </p>
<p>My kids (24, 26, 28) want someone with me at each appointment. They’re wonderful, but my twin or best friend will be with me. It’s way too much info for a patient to process alone.</p>
<p>Best of luck to each of you going through this now, or having gone through it. I’m getting a little tired of pink!</p>
<p>I HATE October. The pink ribbons…the very nice salesperson at one of the stores I frequent put a scarf around my neck as a “gift” from the store. I don’t want a sign on me with everything that has gone wrong. I want to live my life, go to doctors’ appointments which hopefully will stay stable…and help others.</p>
<p>Best wishes to all of you struggling and surviving. It’s every woman’s anxious thought in their mind that one day it might be them. You give us a sense that yes, it can happen, but their is hope and normalcy and life does go on and you just have to squeeze this in and move forward. I admire everyone for their grace in handling a difficult diagnosis.</p>