Forum Discussion
Recently diagnosed at 28 !
I thought i would drop by and say hello and share my experience so far
I first noticed a lump on my left breast on the areola in May but completely ignored it thinking that it is just a cyst/inflammation due to the location of the lump, lack of family history for it to be cancer and i thought "surely i wouldn't have breast cancer at my age?"- but boy was i wrong. In late August, my partner encouraged me to see my GP about it and since then my life has been turned upside down.
I was diagnosed on 9/9/16 and a week later i went into surgery to get a lumpectomy and axillary node clearance. They removed 12 lymph nodes and only 1 was affected. My cancer is also a grade 3 and Estrogen +, Progesterone + and HER2 -
Unfortunately my surgical margin has not been clear and I will have to go back to surgery with a possibility of a mastectomy this time.
Being faced with the idea of a looming death has been the scariest so far. But the saddest I have experienced is the idea that I may not be able to conceive naturally and I am currently looking at fertility preservation before starting chemo. I am looking into genetic testing to see if my genes mutated and I now carry the cancer gene.
I am trying to keep strong but I have given in to my tears and sadness on days. I am worried about chemo and for someone who likes to be control, the idea of the unknown is scary. I hate the idea of being a burden to my partner who will now also take a role of being a carer. We've only been together for 6 months and all i want to do with him is travel, explore the world and experience the romance of being in love. But I am lucky he has been supportive and still sticking by me.
I am surprised at the number of people under 35 who are being diagnosed more frequently recently- is there something in the waters? I have always thought this was a disease for the older woman but if there's one lesson I've learnt, is that this cancer doesn't discriminate and can happen to anyone at whatever age.
I first noticed a lump on my left breast on the areola in May but completely ignored it thinking that it is just a cyst/inflammation due to the location of the lump, lack of family history for it to be cancer and i thought "surely i wouldn't have breast cancer at my age?"- but boy was i wrong. In late August, my partner encouraged me to see my GP about it and since then my life has been turned upside down.
I was diagnosed on 9/9/16 and a week later i went into surgery to get a lumpectomy and axillary node clearance. They removed 12 lymph nodes and only 1 was affected. My cancer is also a grade 3 and Estrogen +, Progesterone + and HER2 -
Unfortunately my surgical margin has not been clear and I will have to go back to surgery with a possibility of a mastectomy this time.
Being faced with the idea of a looming death has been the scariest so far. But the saddest I have experienced is the idea that I may not be able to conceive naturally and I am currently looking at fertility preservation before starting chemo. I am looking into genetic testing to see if my genes mutated and I now carry the cancer gene.
I am trying to keep strong but I have given in to my tears and sadness on days. I am worried about chemo and for someone who likes to be control, the idea of the unknown is scary. I hate the idea of being a burden to my partner who will now also take a role of being a carer. We've only been together for 6 months and all i want to do with him is travel, explore the world and experience the romance of being in love. But I am lucky he has been supportive and still sticking by me.
I am surprised at the number of people under 35 who are being diagnosed more frequently recently- is there something in the waters? I have always thought this was a disease for the older woman but if there's one lesson I've learnt, is that this cancer doesn't discriminate and can happen to anyone at whatever age.
19 Replies
- Thank you! Good luck for yours @Ro10 speak soon x
- @ccasper I have recently been to a naturopath who has recommended a few diet changes for me and has recommended eating sauerkraut and drinking kombucha and bone broth for good gut health. She also recommended green smoothies, green juices, lots of veges, low gluten and sugar and she is prescribing some supplements too. I'm hoping I go ok with it, I'm young and healthy so that has to count for something! Good luck for your next round
- @Ro10 I tolerated AC pretty well but did become neutropenic. So I had a few weeks off it. But otherwise just fatigue I generally pulled up well and have continued to exercise. Glad yours was caught early. I found mine after I stopped breastfeeding too but mine is a little bit larger than yours. I haven't had kombucha or sauerkraut. Mainly eating organic, having bone broth here and there, green smoothies, lots of veg and turmeric. I need to try kombucha. I saw my GP who is holistic to help me with my diet and I feel eating well is helping me respond better. I still have a good appetite too.
- @ccasper mine was ER+, PR+ but HER2-. They caught mine quite early as I have a family history (unfortunately my mum died of BC at 35) so I just went in for a routine ultrasound 3 months after I finished breastfeeding my daughter. My tumour was only 11mm but I have one involved lymph node so am doing chemo to be safe. I'm actually a bit nervous about starting chemo and am paranoid that I will get an infection or something and will have to be admitted to hospital. How did you find the AC? Also, I noticed that you have a fairly healthy lifestyle - do you eat sauerkraut and drink kombucha and did you continue to do this while you were doing chemo?
- @Ro10
- Aw our bubs are the same age! So cute. Same chemo as me. I am having carboplatin as well as my oncologist feels it will be a good addition as mine is triple negative. So hopefully I respond well to that. Is yours triple negative also if you don't mind me asking?
- @ccasper my little girl is 14 months old. I've actually been following you a bit on here as we are a similar age and both have young children. I'm actually hoping I cope as well as you have with the chemo. I'm starting my first round this Friday. I'm doing 4 rounds of AC and 12 rounds of taxol. Is that similar to your treatment?
- @Ro10 I didn't realize we were in such a similar situation. Good luck for chemo! I start my second half tomorrow! How old is your little girl??
- Hi @baybeeh_gurl , sorry that you have had to join this forum but please know there are some wonderful, supportive, inspiring people on here that will make you feel like you can get through everything. I was only diagnosed about 6 weeks ago and I'm 34 years old. I've had some surgery and am about to start chemotherapy in 2 days. I initially was terrified when I was diagnosed but as I learnt more information and facts, I became more accepting of the situation. The reality is, A LOT of people survive breast cancer so it's definitely not a death sentence and like my surgeon said, it's a good time to be getting breast cancer as there is a lot of new treatment and information around as a result of many years of research and trials. I am lucky enough to have had a beautiful little girl before I was diagnosed so like @ccasper said, I will take my chances with fertility after all my treatment. My surgeon and oncologist both think it's very possible I will be able to have another child after all this though, especially as I'm still quite young.
Best of luck with your journey and remember there are a lot of people here that can offer supportive, advice and guidance through your journey.
Rochelle xx - Hi Baybeeh_gurl, I can't add much to what the others have said but I just want to wish you all the best with your treatment. I hope it goes as smoothly as mine did. Remember, you are just as healthy now as you were the day before they told you it was cancer, the difference is that now you know about it and can take the appropriate actions :)
