But you’ll get through it. Sending good vibes your way and a

But you will beat this.

some precautionary radiation therapy, but no chemo. She’s great now. She had very little discomfort from the surgery.

I'm sorry.

Keep us updated. We are here for you.

Focus on the next step, and I hope the doctor has a good plan of action!

that all are still here and doing well. One has survived breast cancer for over 20 years, and the others for several years. Hoping your surgery goes well, and your treatment as well. Hang in there!

of your treatment goes as smoothly !!!

what size the masses are? I had a 5 mm mass and they said I was a stage 0 (first time in my life I was glad to be a 0). I ended up being a stage 1+ ~lumpectomy with radiation only. This was 4 years ago and I've been okay since.

Probably be sent by my breast surgeon or my primary care doc or someone for an MRI and whatever other imaging to help determine staging.

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It really helps me be more hopeful!
❤️❤️❤️

And if at some point you need to take the time to cry, take it for the momentary release that it is.
And then the next step.

I didn't cry until later, was too busy trying to beat it. I had a complete mastectomy, but knew from the biopsy that it had not progressed much beyond the cell walls. After surgery I knew for sure I'd had stage 1 and that is was in my ducts so estrogen related. That was 25 years ago, these days I think they do a lot more in=depth analysis.

I didn't cry until I had a 6 month staph infection from an incompetent plastic surgeon and then I only cried from the extreme pain and frustration.

Still - 25 years later and the breast cancer has not recurred. YAY! Hope that happens for you too!

Thank you so much for sharing your story! ❤️

to you. Take care.

Take good care of you as you take your journey to better health.

Step by step. You are gathering information and have a plan.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Big hug!

Wishing you continued strength.

Be good to yourself. There will be days when your need to prove nothing has changed is at war with your body. Listen to your body when it wants to sleep or just lounge.

It all sounds like platitudes until you've been through cancer yourself.

All my best! ❤️

The logic is that if they do chemo and the masses shrink, then 1) the chemo is effective and 2) the surgery doesn't have to be as extreme.

My mother was diagnosed in 1994 and died in 2004. They have SO MANY other treatments now. But I dread getting my mammogram every year. I always pick out wigs while I'm waiting for the results. So far I'm good.

Last edited Sat Jul 22, 2023, 08:40 AM - Edit history (1)

... cancer. Be determined and do not give up!

We are Team Warrior Woman, your Force Multiplier, at your command, ma’am.

🕊thatcrowwoman

Breast cancer is beatable. It's a long road but my mom survived it in her 70s after surgery and a short bout of chemotherapy.

You will too. Sending you prayers and healing.

originally diagnosed as Epstein Barre/CFS. The supplements don't affect the function of your immune system per se. They are for the detritus of a system that is compromised and in the case of Fisetin, is shown to disrupt breast cancer cell/tumor proliferation. Fisetin is a natural flavonoid. The Mayo Clinic has been doing human studies on Fisetin, and some studies have been done using it as a successful adjunct to chemotherapy. You should ask your oncologist about it. I have done the Fisetin protocol am amazed at the long term benefits.

Make an immunization against it someday.

And that was 6 years ago. My last MRI did not show the brain lesions, but some problems with white matter from, I think, a prior seizure disorder, which has resolved itself. I went on a gluten free diet a few months ago to see if I could improve cognitive issues like memory and it has helped. I've spent my life coping with the mystery illness, CFS.
As to Fisetin, Renue is good place to order it from. Theirs is liposomal which means it it more bio-available. As for dosage, I will research the dosage they used for the chemo with Fisetin study. The Fisetin protocol may well be dosed differently. My experience with Fisetin is that it wasn't just physical, it "reset" my brain. Not a scientific parameter at all, but I gained a sense of focus and being present in a positive way that has stayed with me. I have every vertebrae in my neck herniated from an auto accident 3+ years ago, and was told I need surgery. I'm waiting for a better procedure because the surgery is risky. Fisetin gave me the ability to function without pain meds. I can safely drive now too. It also helped with symptoms of a brain stem injury and problems with balance. YMMV.

Know we’re here for you.
You are a LiberalLoner, but you are not alone.
🕊thatcrowwoman

He or she can coordinate your care and help you pick a surgeon.

Doing well.

Attitude is 1/2 the battle, and yours is great!

Single mastectomy with one positive lymph node.

The only painful part of the surgery was the drain. Once that was out, there was little pain.

Chemotherapy has improved since then. Try not to panic.

Do not go to an appointment alone, take someone who can also listen. I remember it was hard to grasp that the things they were saying were about me. My husband was great, he would need to remind me of things the docs said. It is a little bit of out of body experience.

Thanks for keeping us updated.

My mom, my aunt and my sister.

Cancer sucks but it can be beat

Good luck! 😀👍

mine, despite my mother, maternal aunt and maternal grandmother all having breast cancer, was not due to any genetic marker. It was caught very early. I had an odd mass in one breast and referred to an oncologist who sent me for an MRI to see what it was. MRI showed cancer in the other breast but not in the original one. Had needle biopsies which confirmed cancer (MRI breast). Surgery was scheduled with lumpectomies and first likely lymph nodes and reconstruction all done at the same time. The surgeries showed no spread to lymph nodes and clean margins around the known cancer. Biopsies confirmed stage 1. The hardest part of the recovery was sleeping at a 45 degree angle for the first week. Pain was minimal and you're completely out for the surgery.

This was followed a couple of months later, after healing, by 3 weeks of radiation and now I'm on an estrogen blocker for 5 years. (The surgery was mid-November 2022)

It doesn't have to be a death sentence. It can be nothing more than an interruption in your routines and life and then things go back to pretty much normal.

you need.

From a 6 year survivor of a kidney transplant and counting.

She had 14 great years after the surgery. Brought a lot of light to a lot of people. Mom is one of my heroes. Lived to 77.

I wish the same for you - that you have many good years left!

And I’d like to add myself to the many good wishes. Looks like you’ve found it early so that’s a great start and so many new treatments these days so trust your doctors and let us know how you’re doing. 🫶

I'm about 5 years after my experience with breast cancer. But I remember my PC doc telling me that I may not believe it now, but there is a very good chance you will look back one day and you'll see it as a bump in the road. I did not appreciate that comment at all when she said it. But lucky for me, she was right. Whatever it turns out to be, it is an opportunity for you to live in the moment everyday as you live this experience. Embrace the lessons and the people you meet on the way.
Be mindful after treatment how much you and your body have been through and protect yourself for a while. I got bit by a mosquito after my radiation txs and I contracted West Nile Virus. It almost killed me. I don't think I would have been affected if I weren't still so vulnerable. Good luck and happiness is what I wish for you L. Loner. 🤟🏻

🤟🏻✌🏼💗

I did have an endometrioma (thankfully benign) and the worst of the pain was over for me by day 2.

The very worst was when I came out of the anesthesia and a nurse was holding a pillow over my incision and told me to cugh, and I did. That would have been unbearable if it had lasted more than a couple of seconds. After that, it wasn't that painful again until the latter parts of the first few periods the pain meds were supposed to last for. The surgeon had instructed them to give me the meds when I asked for them rather than waiting the full whatevr it was, and they didn't. But the second one lasted longer than the first, and by the third or fourth I was getting relief for the full time I was supposed to be getting relief.

Not saying it was a walk in the park, but I was a very good patient -
i wanted out of there, and was willing to work for it. I went around the ward seversl times every day, dragging my IV pole, and I requested and got a little gadget that one breathed into or out of - I forget which now - but it had a little ball in it that you were supposed to be able to lift to the top when you recovered full lung power, and I used it religiously also.

I still had to argue a bit to get out, because for the last few days I was running an allergic fever (and confusing the staff terribly because my blood tests were conclusive that there was no infection.) But I had had one before, shortly after I had gone through allergy testing and was quitting everything I was allergic to at once, so I knew what it was and was able to show that and to suggest it was fumes from their cleaning products to which I was reacting, and I got let out (and the fever went away.)

It sounds like you have a good attitude which will help you tremendously.

Health now and always! ❤️

and I had learned the importance of being proative in recovery from friends who had had abdominal surgery before I had mine. That's really why I shared. Having an idea what to expect and how to respond makes a huge difference. I'm now in pretty good health for 77. (aand my doctor says I look aroound 15 years younger.) I wish you uneventful surgery and an easy recovery.

And it was a pretty long recovery…I remember I had to sleep in a recliner for the first couple of weeks…it was heaven when I finally was to the point where I could lie down in a bed…

I’m hoping the breast surgeries won’t be as hard to recover from, but if they are, they are.

I still have that scar, barely visible, running basically from hip to hip…it was a pretty big incision.

Mostly I want to get started, get some appointments going, get an MRI to see if the cancer has spread, etc.

❤️🌹

as people from San Franciso say, like Market Street - Twin Peaks to the Waterfront. That might be why I was in a bed from day one (and when I got home with a cat on me - a small cat as our cats went.

And yes, the most important thing to know is whter it has spread. I certainly hope not.

...a six year survivor, with no signs of recurrence after a lumpectomy.

We all wish the same for you.

She is 85 today, and in so many ways, as strong as she ever was! Sees the oncologist on an annual basis, and has received a clean bill of health every single year.

She lost her own mother to the disease in her early 60s back in 1982, just to give an indication of how medical science has progressed over the years & decades.

Wishing you the very best in your treatment, and will continue to keep you in my thoughts.

My 1st cousin and a friend both lost a breast. My cousin opted to not have any type of breast reconstruction and my friend did. Both are doing well and happy with their decisions. Of course, recovery for both was a process.
Hugs for you.

Get some good referrals as soon as you can.

And surround yourself with pretty things (and people) who keep you uplifted. Treat yourself to a little something nice and affordable every day - like a fancy new chocolate bar whose brand you never heard of, or a walk through a new park you just discovered. Or an arboretum near you. Or a neighborhood playground full of happily squealing kids. Or surveying all the gardens in the neighborhood where you can marvel at the design or creativity or plantings you never saw before. A good garden center can serve that, too.

I don’t know where you live but undoubtedly within a short drive there might be parks, or shady tree-filled areas or beaches or hills or mountains or canyons worth drinking in with your eyes. Or fancy neighborhoods or shopping areas with unusual or impressive architecture. Or a day at the library - all those books and new subjects to explore. Or a gourmet grocery store. Or watch bees working in a flower patch. I do that in our garden out front. They’re fascinating!

Fill your senses and your spirits with new scenery and details and flavors and scents. Doesn’t have to cost anything, although there might be a local candy shop or bakery…

Or find a good spot to watch the sunset (or sunrise!) or the surf. It can be mesmerizing.

Watched the hummingbirds….it was so peaceful…

Invasive mammary carcinoma with ductal and lobular features.