Forum Discussion
Her 2 for the second time
Hi there, I have just been diagnosed with my second Her 2 cancer after 6 years NED, however this time it was hormone negative DCIS. Does anyone know if you can have Herceptin for DCIS?
37 Replies
- @au0rei you’re very right in all that. Some stress is good, and it also depends on how we perceive it and deal with it. No one can escape it, but it depends how long we suffer, whether we get help or not, whether we’re in constant flight or fright mode etc. People pleasers are found to be more susceptible to illness than others. There’s also what they call ‘emotional cancers’, although I need to do a bit more study on that, but from memory breast cancer is one of those.I hope you learn to set boundaries with your father. I know it’s hard but it’s crucial for your health. It’s a very long process but any progress is better than none💟.And to me, illness and diseases are not random at all. There’s always a cause. They don’t ‘just happen’, and they can be prevented.
- @Keeping_positive1 I also think it’s scary that we have to pretend it doesn’t play a role in illness, when it has already been proven scientifically that it does. Even GPs will tell you that certain things like headaches etc are from stress, but then it appears that cancer is not related at all 🤔. Hmm, I don’t think so. I know with me it was. I even knew a year before my diagnosis that I might get sick in some way from all the panic attacks and anxiety I was enduring. I just didn’t know what to do to stop it. And there you go, I got breast ca. I was healthy in other ways, just not emotionally.I also am happy when I read women on the forum are taking steps to improve their lives, change jobs, work less, do more self care, and most importantly not be people pleasers. I was a massive people pleaser. I’m now learning to set boundaries and say no, as opposed to before when I’d say yes to everyone and everything, to my detriment. These sorts of things are really important in healing from illness.
- FLClover said:Reflection is good to help us understand why we got it, and therefore fix the root cause. This is an unpopular opinion but I’ll say it anyway: I believe we get illness due to lifestyle and other external causes, and no, I don’t think we intentionally do things to get it. It’s ridiculous to even have to say I don’t think that, as no one wants illness. But it is because of either lifestyle, diet, external toxins etc. This is a good thing because it means we have the power to change those things, heal, and prevent recurrence. I don’t like the idea that I was ‘just unlucky’. That doesn’t go down well with me. I like knowing I can change what I think caused it to be healthier and happier in future. There’s actual science to back this up. Not ‘quacks’, but reputable and highly qualified and experienced cancer specialists. This is why I think reflection is good.Anyway, I just hope we each find our way and not have to deal with this ever again.
Yeah I dont want to believe everything is just random. - Keeping_positive1 said:
The mention of the cortisol hormone never really gets a mention in breast cancer world, and its role it plays and raised levels gets ignored. It seems scary that we have to pretend that cortisol does not factor into the role it plays on the immune system and developing breast cancer cells.Yeah this cortisol thing, I heard from one video and I was really concerned. We all cope differently regarding stress. And stress can affect our hormones and make us miss a period. So I am not surprised if stress causes hormones to go crazy and affect our breast cells.Our body can respond differently to stress too. I have a friend who gets very bad acid reflux when she is under work stress, so bad that she has to be hospitialised. - Afraser said:I don’t think there is any doubt that stress is not good for our health. But almost everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives, often at multiple points and not everyone gets cancer. When we are looking for a reason, a stressful period seems obvious. Because not having a reason is particularly unsettling, cancer can sneak up
unexpectedly. Cancer may be exacerbated by many things. Did we drink more, smoke more, eat less healthily, exercise less when stressed? Possibly and it still may not be a cause. But there’s no doubt, we recover better and stay better if we can reduce stress in our lives.Some form of stress is good eg in exercise stressing our muscles to the extend that there are micro-tears to stimulate muscle growth. Some form of mental stress is good for us to form more brain connections and make us smarter and slow the brain ageing process...Fasting can be stressful too but we discipline ourselves not to eat so that our digestive system can shut down and focus on detoxing etc.But a lot of the stress that we experience nowadays are awful... it can be day to day interactions with people, especially people who are selfish and causes negative stress to us. What others do can often affect us. We are all in some kind of entanglement.
I had to endure the selfishness from my father recently, till I was experiencing tremors and shortness in breath... I had to see a doctor and she tested my thyroid which came back normal. And my anxiety score was very high. I was referred to see a psychologist. She told me I have to really draw my boundary for my very demanding father. If he does not change and I am already doing my best then stop giving him attention for the sake of my sanity. And my children are more important, they need me.Some of us have strong conscience and we just want to do everything we can to please others. And we often end up feeling guilt and all these negative feelings. I am really learning to let go, trying not to please everybody and learn to take care of myself. I for one is quite easily uptight and I am really wanting to learn to relax. We all have different personalities. Some of us are naturally more delicate and fragile in our spirit while some can go on doing evil things and be able to get good sleep at night. I guess the fragile spirits can end up getting sick physically. - I think the amount of stress some of us women were under at the time perhaps also caused the bad habits you mentioned @Afraser . Many women here have talked about changing some habits now which is good. We cannot separate the stress from the bad habits forming because of trying to cope better in a very stressful period in our lives. I am pleased I hear women on the forum talking about cutting back on heavy work schedules, going to the gym, cutting back on alcohol and going for walks and exercising. It must mean that they were not leading the best lifestyles in the first place. I was so exhausted, then when I got diagnosed with breast cancer I sort of was relieved because I had to slow down. So many women these days are leading such crazy lives and being everything to everybody. We won't learn until we understand more imo.
The mention of the cortisol hormone never really gets a mention in breast cancer world, and its role it plays and raised levels gets ignored. It seems scary that we have to pretend that cortisol does not factor into the role it plays on the immune system and developing breast cancer cells. - @au0rei I completely agree with you. That’s exactly what happened with me. Mine was hormone positive and I believe my hormones did go berserk due to the negative effects of too much cortisol.I also strongly agree that the causes can be multi factorial. It does depend on the type of cancer and the lifestyle and environment of the individual. Lots of things to consider.Reflection is good to help us understand why we got it, and therefore fix the root cause. This is an unpopular opinion but I’ll say it anyway: I believe we get illness due to lifestyle and other external causes, and no, I don’t think we intentionally do things to get it. It’s ridiculous to even have to say I don’t think that, as no one wants illness. But it is because of either lifestyle, diet, external toxins etc. This is a good thing because it means we have the power to change those things, heal, and prevent recurrence. I don’t like the idea that I was ‘just unlucky’. That doesn’t go down well with me. I like knowing I can change what I think caused it to be healthier and happier in future. There’s actual science to back this up. Not ‘quacks’, but reputable and highly qualified and experienced cancer specialists. This is why I think reflection is good.Anyway, I just hope we each find our way and not have to deal with this ever again.
- I don’t think there is any doubt that stress is not good for our health. But almost everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives, often at multiple points and not everyone gets cancer. When we are looking for a reason, a stressful period seems obvious. Because not having a reason is particularly unsettling, cancer can sneak up
unexpectedly. Cancer may be exacerbated by many things. Did we drink more, smoke more, eat less healthily, exercise less when stressed? Possibly and it still may not be a cause. But there’s no doubt, we recover better and stay better if we can reduce stress in our lives. - FLClover said:I’m not shocked I got it either. I know why I did. I was under immense stress and had also suffered traumatic events. This intensity of anxiety and stress can cause the immune system to weak and all sorts of turmoil in the body. It’s actually also been scientifically proven that it can be not only a strong contributing factor, but the actual cause. There’s ways to avoid this kind of stress to prevent recurrence etc.
Yes I agree with you @@FLClover. When we are mentally or emotionally stressed especially for a long time, the constant high cortisol level can really be detrimental and our immune system can be suppressed. I think our female hormones can go berserk too and maybe trigger cancer but then the immune system is suppressed and cannot deal with it. I am not saying all cancers are caused like this. Little children can get cancer too and we really don't know why this happens. UV rays from the sun can also cause skin cancers. Indeed it can be multi-factorial. I do try not to be too caught up with reflection but reflection does help us to try to prevent it from recurring. Even fear itself can affect our mental and physical health in a very negative way. - I’m not shocked I got it either. I know why I did. I was under immense stress and had also suffered traumatic events. This intensity of anxiety and stress can cause the immune system to weak and all sorts of turmoil in the body. It’s actually also been scientifically proven that it can be not only a strong contributing factor, but the actual cause. There’s ways to avoid this kind of stress to prevent recurrence etc.
