Forum Discussion

Cosette's avatar
Cosette
Member
9 years ago

Sisters with breast cancer

I ran across this story about sisters who were diagnosed with breast cancer within a month of each other and just prior to Christmas.


(Image: Jay Williams)

"When Amy Buller discovered that her older sister Kate had cancer, she wept for hours. A natural response, on the surface – but Amy hadn’t shed a tear for months, despite the fact that she had just completed a second round of chemotherapy herself."

You can read the story here.

Has anyone gone through treatment at the same time as a family member or friend?

family
  • Harlee's avatar
    Harlee
    Member
    8 years ago
    I met 2 sisters during my radiation treatment. Sister 1 had a mammogram and was diagnosed. Sister 2 wasn't due for a mammogram for another year but read somewhere that as her sister had breast cancer she should have yearly mammograms instead of every 2 years. So she had a mammogram too and an almost identical tumour was found. Her surgery was a week later than Sister 1 but their chemo and rads treatment was together. 
    I actually thought they were twins as they did look very similar but they were a few years apart. The younger sister was diagnosed first.  
  • Annedipa's avatar
    Annedipa
    Member
    8 years ago
    My sister passed from metastatic breast cancer exactly 13 months prior to my diagnosis.
  • ann210's avatar
    ann210
    Member
    8 years ago

    Just wanted to add, luckily for me since my sisters being diagnosed I have been having yearly mammograms. Not sure what the outcome would be if I had my mammogram every 2 years


  • nikkid's avatar
    nikkid
    Member
    8 years ago
    Funnily enough, I didn't have a sister...but sister-in-law diagnosed with DCIS about 8 months before me. Same breast. Same result: left mastectomy. I, however, have had a DIEP Recon while she now has an implant. So, of course, we nagged the other sister-in-law to go get screened. She was fine. 

    Go figure!
  • Brenda5's avatar
    Brenda5
    Member
    8 years ago
    Geez @ann210 that's no good. Lets hope though that you have a different version which is less nasty and much easier to get rid of. Hereditary just means you need to be checked on more often and hey, good diet and exercise is just as important which is two things you do have control of. My dad is now 77 and living next door to me and lives with bone cancer. He still gets around unaided and lives alone. I think his sheer stubbornness gets him through a lot.
  • ann210's avatar
    ann210
    Member
    8 years ago
    I have been diagnosed with DCIS and waiting on surgery, hopefully only a lumpectomy followed by radiation. I am 50, My oldest sister was diagnosed at 57 and passed away at 59, 3 years ago.. My younger sister was diagnosed about a month later at 47 and has had a mastectomy and still having treatment. Turns out my grandmother on my dads side,who I knew nothing of died at 44 or 47 from breast cancer. We have not had genetic testing as yet
  • Brenda5's avatar
    Brenda5
    Member
    9 years ago
    I would think there could be a few stories like that as the first thing my sisters did was go and get a mammogram to make sure they didn't have it, which thank goodness they didn't. Once I finished my chemo my dad came out of prostate cancer remission and got diagnosed with bone cancer. I have been giving him chemo tips over the phone as he is on the same chemo as I had.