My gallbladder went on Monday

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Gallstones are very common in all people, particularly middle aged overweight women, apparently.  I guess many women with breast cancer might fit in that category. I've had gallstones since my 30s but have little issue from them, so so far have avoided the need for surgery. 

Hi,well my situation was so different, I was 17 years old and having abdominal attacks of course with my age no one even thought about it, until I had an attack in the middle of the night and the locum suspected that my gall bladded was the cause, so straight to hospital to have that out,I had early stage ovarian cancer at 29 followed by stage 4 breast cancer at 58 and everything else in between, not sure how many black cats have crossed my path or ladders I have walked under, not much left between my neck and my knees{thyroid removed at 25}

wendy55

Best wishes @Joannie from jennyss

Unfortunately, gall bladder problems tend to be age-related and diet related as well.  My mother-in-law calls it "Fair, fat and forty" as this is what used to be said years ago - caucasian, Western diet, and past forty.  I've heard that it tends to affect women more, too, particularly after pregnancy which fits in with the hormonal stuff.  My sister had gall bladder problems after pregnancy.  I did too, although I didn't know it was that for 5 years - I just thought I had somehow injured my back up near the shoulder until I started getting severe attacks and ended up in an ambulance. A gallstone stuck can be a really serious health issue as can other gall bladder failures so, while the gall bladder is really important, if it's finally packed up, I believe that surgery is a reasonable response.  As long as the surgeon has explained that it can have implications for the digestive system.

No none of this is pleasant and I believe you definitely did the right thing in your situation. Having a blockage could have led to other serious issues. I was just lucky to have options.

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The gallbladder is an important part of the digestive system and I felt that since there was an alternative method to removal then I should do it. Also having it removed doesn't mean that the issues disappear. You can still get gallstones.

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My onco said its quite common for chemo to cause gallstones. I refused to have mine out though and went on medication instead.