Hi Summer. Really, I was so naive about breast cancer before it happened to me. Even diagnosis is hit and miss in this country as mammograms give only 50% chance of identifying a breast cancer if you have dense breasts and no-one in this country are ever told they have dense breasts identified on first mammogram. Other countries have legislation in place which requires women be told and sent for a scan (together with mammogram gives 75% chance of picking bc up) and most countries then order an MRI. In this country women with breast cancer are not given an MRI but a footballer can injure his knee on a football field and straight in for an MRI! In relation to breast cancer we are so far behind the rest of the world it's like I live in a third world country!
I have issues with Radiologists doing a biopsy when they identify breast cancer during scan. Radiologists can tell the difference between cancer and a simple cyst so why biopsy! My bc was less than 2cm when found - after biopsy it went crazy. It grew to 3cm within 2 weeks so of course that made prognosis worse. I survived surgery, chemo and radiotherapy only to be faced with 5-10 years of hormone therapy which is the worst. These drugs are wildly expensive so there is absolutely NO incentive to cure breast cancer. I found the entire treatment for breast cancer draconian and cruel and being a private patient I was bounced from one specialist to another. I felt like the ringmaster of some 3 ring circus as I was the only one coordinating anything!
My body cannot tolerate Aramatose Inhibitos or Tamoxifen. When I was put on Femera I got the mother of all rashes - I also got a breast infection and my first urinary tract infection. Although I didn't realise it at the time Femera also gave me dreadful depression with suicidal thoughts. I was put into hospital mainly to treat breast infection but my rash by this time was so bad my body resembled molten lava and I was going crazy with the itch that no medication relieved. In the end my husband looked up side effects of Femara, came into the hospital (who didn't care about the rash) and told me to immediately stop taking Femera. I did and within a week the rash and depression were gone. While in hospital I had seen at least 3 doctors including my breast specialist. Not one of them picked up that I might be allergic to Femera. Each Aramotose Inhibitor I have tried, and I have tried them all, gave me dreadful side effects which diminished any quality of life. There are natural altnernatives to Aramotose Inhibitors and there have been medical journals written about that suggesting more research into that area. Do you think that happened? No! Not while drug companies are making so much money off the misery of breast cancer patients. And as far as spending donations on breast care nurses the drug companies must be celebrating.
Women deserve better than this. Drs push drugs onto us. Statistics reveal less than 50% complete the 5 years of therapy. I am one of them. I am finished with them. I may end up a statistic and if I do then there is no way of knowing if it was due to taking or not taking these drugs. I strongly believe I got breast cancer as my gyno put me on combined HRT. No wonder I can't get my husband to go to the Doctor when he is sick!
