Confused radiation or mastectomy
Was diagnosed with early BC in June last year just shy of 42nd birthday. ER and PR + HER2- . I also carry BRCA2 mutation. My oncotype test came back with high risk. Lumpactomy done. Chemo done. Started hormone therapy - letrozole and zoladex monthly. Am now at crossroads of either doing radiation or mastectomy possibly bilateral to reduce risk. I don't know which option to take. Any experience or guidance would be most appreciated <3
Sydney oncologist recommendations - Children after early hormone positive breast cancer.
Hi everyone, I’m trying to find a Sydney (or Wollongong) oncologist recommendation for a friend of mine. Preferably with an interest in fertility preservation/pregnancy for young cancer patients. My friend is only 28y & was in the process of planning for an elective double mastectomy (due to genetics), when they found Grade 2 hormone positive cancer in one breast. She is three weeks out from her double nipple sparing mastectomy, with a plastic surgeon in Wollongong. Even though it wasn’t in her lymph nodes, she has just been told that she will also need Chemo & hormone therapy. Having children in the future is very very important to her. The oncologist she saw in Wollongong essentially told her there was little chance for that, as she would need to be on hormone therapy for 5years with the precautionary removal of her ovaries at 35. I know each cancer case is different and very complex, but I would like her to feel like she has all the current information, exhausted every avenue, & has access to the most up-to-date modern options available. (She wasn’t even offered the option of Zoladex to protect her ovaries during chemo.) If anyone has a recommendation for a good second opinion oncologist in Sydney/Wollongong, we would be so grateful! I’ve heard good things about Prof Jane Bieth & Dr Sanjeev Kumar?
Anxiety-surgery next week
Dear all, Just needing some support after reading a lot of stories on here. I was diagnosed with BC back in June 2020- triple negative breast cancer with 3 lymph nodes involvement. I started chemo very shortly after with the AC/Taxol-Carbo combination and the keytruda immunotherapy every 3 weeks and is still going. I am 37 yo and also have the BRCA2 gene. I finisjed chemo on the 3rd of December and since then my anxiety has really increased. On the last day of my chemo i also had a scan and while at the scan the technician told me the size of the tumour and it appeared to have increased in size since my mid chemo scan which frightened me. After the scan the technician told me that the dr has said chemo has worked. I called my surgeon after who then said to me the scans are good and i shouldnt worry about it and she also said that the scans are as good as it can be post chemo. Even though she said that it hasnt seemed to have managed my anxiety. I feel my lump bigger compared to middle of chemo and the last two days i feel like i can feel the lymph node lumps in my armpits which i didnt feel since mid way into chemo which has been freaking me out. Throughout my chemo my surgeon and oncologist has indicated im doing well the mid way us have indicated the tumour is shrinking but my final scan seemed to have indicated an increase since the midway scan and i had reassurances from my surgeon and that hasnt made me feel better. Now im freaking out and need some feedback on how everyone have done and experiences with neoadjunct chemo as im hoping for the best outcome at surgery. Sorry long message. Thank you.
Newly Diagnosed also have BRCA2 Gene
Hi, Sorry I'm a newbie, apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong section. I have just been diagnosed with DCIS. Had a lumpectomy 1 week ago and will get results tomorrow. They have said if it's nothing worse will be followed by a course of radiation. Although - everything appears different for me because I have the faulty gene. My team of people are ever so gently "pushing" me to have a double masectomy to remove all risk. I also had my ovaries and tubes removed a month ago - as risk reducing surgery (as also a high risk of Ovarian cancer with BRCA2). Which has thrown me into early menopause. I am 45. Wondering if there are any others on this forum with the BRCA1 or 2 gene that are having a similar experience.
IDC, 30 years old, BRCA1
Hi, My name is Steph. I’m 30 years old. I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer (IDC). I also have BRCA1 gene mutation. i have had sentinel node biopsy which came back clear (3 lymph nodes taken). this coming Tuesday 10th of April I will be under going a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction (expanders/implants?). My Mum had breast cancer 5 years ago, aged 57. A little about me... I am a single mother to an almost 7 year old boy. I have an identical twin sister. I work as a nurse in aged care. i would be interested in chatting to other women Dx with BC around my age. I’m also happy to chat with other women of any aged dx with BC. thanks
Newly diagnosed at 32 and Brca1 +
Hi all, I would like to share my journey so far too. I keep reading all these amazing posts and I 've been drawn so much power from all of you!!! I 've recently relocated from UK to Sydney with my husband and our little daughter and we were really happy to enjoy our new full of sunshine life here. I have had some abnormal bleeding since we first arrived and I decided to visit a GP. I 've been really cautious with any symptoms as I 've lost my mum from ovarian cancer and was tested positive with the Brca1 gene. I have also tested positive few years back but all the doctors in UK were reassuring me that I am too young to get any type of cancer at this moment. I was terrified that I had ovarian cancer, I had an ultrasound and I couldn't sleep until I got the results back. Long story short I 've had they found a polyp and a cyst. Few weeks later I had another ultrasound to see if anything changed, the cyst was gone but the polyp was still there and they booked me in to have a day surgery to remove it. Following all this testing my GP (thank god) suggested me to have a breast ultrasound too just for screening. They found a tiny cyst and suggested to have a biopsy done just to put my mind at ease. Her actual words was - "If it was someone else I wouldn't suggest a biopsy, it is definitely a cyst, but because of your history I would suggest you to have it done just to put your mind at ease"!!! Results came back, triple negative breast cancer!!! I just couldn't believe it !!! I just had a baby! I am so young, how it is even possible!!! I couldn't sleep or eat for 2 days (I 've got the results back on Saturday) until I met the doc on Monday. She reassured me that it is curable and I should calm down and I did. I started feeling lucky, happy that I was in Australia and I found it so early. If I was in UK I would probably found it when it would have be a massive lump. (They don't check you if you have no symptoms). I have started AC chemos last week and they are going really well. Minimum side effects at the moment and still no hair loss. Does anyone know when you start loosing hair with AC? I will get 2 cycles of chemos following with double mastectomy as even with an early stage cancer I have lots of chances for recurrence. With love Catherine
It's all happening very fast....
My name is Sam. I am 45 years old and one week ago I was diagnosed with grade one lobular carcinoma in my right breast, a 12mm lump. I've been told I've caught it early, it's small and not aggressive so it's going to be OK. It has been the same size since December. I feel like this is all quite surreal and I'm having a dream and I'll wake up tomorrow and it will all be over. My mum has 2 sisters. All 3 of them have had breast cancer at some time in the past... all have had bilateral mastectomies, all are survivors and my mum is the most recent having had her mastectomy in early 2005. All have also had their ovaries removed due to risk of ovarian cancer. I have had this insidious disease hanging over my head for as long as I can remember. Every year I would go to the clinic for my mammogram/ultrasound/physical examination and every year I would feel sick wondering if it was my turn. My mum's 2 sisters are BRCA positive, my mum is BRCA negative...so I was always told that I couldn't possibly be BRCA positive. Needless to say I have had the genetic testing last week and will be interested to see what those results show. I have 2 cousins who tested positive for the BRCA gene... both have had preventative bilateral mastectomies and reconstructions. What a family.. I have made this train move along very quickly... diagnosed on Wednesday. At GP same day.. genetic counselling and test on Thursday, appointment with surgeon on Friday. Booked in for surgery next Thursday 31 March. Despite my surgeon advising that conventionally I would be recommended breast conserving surgery, radiation etc., the decision for me was a no brainer... I cannot deal with this beast again. I am having a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. I will have a sentinel node biopsy during the surgery and if that shows cancer cells then I will also have my axillary lymph nodes removed. Further treatment to be determined after the surgery. I have an appointment with my plastic surgeon tomorrow to discuss my nice new healthy boobies. I am trying to live life as normally as possible until my surgery, more for the sake of my husband and kids than anything. I know that when next Thursday comes I will be a mess, my stomach will be churning with nerves, but I can manage that. But I am scared.... every time I get a pain in my right breast I wonder. I'm getting pains in my breast today... is it getting bigger.. is it spreading? I was having pain in my upper back and shoulders over the weekend but a good massage and lots of stretching and yoga fixed that up... tension. What's it going to be like after my operation? I'm scared that I will have to have chemo... I really don't want to have chemo after all the horrible stories I've heard about it. Is it as bad as they say it is? What if over the last week it's become suddenly aggressive and is worming its way throughout my body? And most importantly... can i drink wine? I'm doing OK... I know I'm doing better than many other people as I've been preparing for this for a long time. In a way I feel relieved... I keep telling myself that I just have to get through these next months of surgery and possibly treatment, and then life can go on without the threat of breast cancer hanging over my head. But it still really sucks! Any comments/suggestions from anyone out there in blogland would be much appreciated. :)
Hello all
Hello everyone i am new to the forum and newly diagnosed with breast cancer and am looking at people i can talk to that are going through the same thing as I am. I have lots of decisions to make as to what will be best for me. I have been told that I will have the operation to take out the breast cancer and have some lymph nodes taken out to see if they have cancer in them on the 15th of March and going to the doctor tomorrow to talk about double mastectomy as i have the BRCA1 Gene. I have been tested every 6 months since finding out i have the BRCA1 Gene and kept telling the doctor i would only think of mastectomy if i ever devoloped cancer in my breast. So i have some big decisions to make.