Hormone Therapy advice for young women who want to have children
Hi everyone 😊 I’m seeking some advice on what hormone therapy is best for younger women who want kids in the future. I have Grade 1 multifocal IDC+DCIS, 80% hormone positive, ER- cancer & I’m premenopausal, with no children. I was told after 2 years of hormone therapy I can try to fall pregnant (…but am hoping 1.5 will be enough?) I have been given three options for hormone therapy: •Tamoxifen only •Zoladex + Tamoxifen •Zoladex + Exemestane (Aromasin) All offer similar coverage in regards to my type of cancer, but I was wondering if there are any differences in regards to future fertility? ie. longer detox periods required before falling pregnant, or potential fertility issues after long term use, eg Zoladex or Exemestane? I have also read that Exemestane (Aromasin) is an *irreversible* steroidal aromatase inhibitor. I don’t want to be on anything that could irreversibly damage my oestrogen production.. Fertility-wise, does anyone know if this is something to avoid until after having children? I’d really appreciate any advice & tips for having the best chance of getting pregnant in 2 years! XDiagnosis - not so good
Hi All Thanks so much for all the kind words this morning. Can I please have some more. Very bad news today Large, HER + Hormone + Fast growing+. Have to have chemo first and see oncologist Friday. Would much rather have it out! Had CT today and bone scan on Wednesday. Surgeon did say she was confident it hasn't spread and apparently she is not known for saying things she doesn't really mean.(no lymph node evidence) She was very straight forward and did try to explain the whole chemo first thing but I didn't get it. Another waiting game. Seriously anxious and completely losing it. Single parent to a teenager doing year 12 to add more sorrow to the mix. I read all of the brave stories and encouraging messages on here and hope I will get to be more like that soon. Thanks for being there. xx
Going through chemo with young children
Hi everyone, I've just had 1 cycle of the AC chemo treatment and since then both of my children (2.5yr old toddler who attends daycare; and 8 months old baby who is being cared at home) had been sick with different bugs. Last week I was supposed to have my 2nd AC treatment but it has been delayed 1 week as I had a skin infection. Then over the weekend I got a temperature over 38 so had to go into ED where they took x-ray, blood and urine tests etc. The doctors think it's viral but to be on the safe side they gave me some oral antibiotics to take home. I'm just wondering if anyone has gone through chemo with young children in daycare? If so, did you get sick a lot from your kids and that in turn delayed your chemo treatment? Did you pull them out of daycare or how do you manage your compromised immune system and kids bringing all sorts of illnesses from daycare? Any experiences or advice are much appreciated. Thank you!
BC, Surgery, Chemo & Baby
Hi All This journey we are all on is not for the faint hearted. When I was diagnosed I was 26wks pregnant. It was Xmas. I had a masectomy within a week of diagnosis and then straight into AC chemo. After 3 rounds I was induced at 36 weeks (so chemo didnt run into "delivery" time) .... and I thought I would just post some happiness here. Introducing Cooper Roy.... he makes me smile :) Chemo restarts next week, one more AC round to go...then Taxol/Herceptin starts, but I have my little man to cheer me through it. Amazingly he is perfect and apart from being early he seems completely unaffected by all that is going on. Em xx
Finally! We have a chemo start date. Time for a mountain retreat
My soul is fed by going back to my roots. It's impossible to explain the peace in my heart when I drive through areas that are few in vehicles and plentiful in trees, crops and stock. After one of my lowest weeks, we decided to grab the opportunity and flee to the mountains. The Bunya mountains holds a special place in hubby's family and his dads birthday would have been yesterday. So we packed his mum in the car and set off. The minute we turn off at Tiaro towards Woolooga my heart immediately feels lighter. It was a mad rush to get over there as I had my inititial consultant with my Medical Oncologist, then more blood tests and then sort out for an ECG asap. I'd forgotten I needed that test. Because chemo/radiation has a small risk of messing with your heart, they test it first to (a) make sure its in good nick and (b) have a base line to check back on. Hubby reckons I don't have one so I'm all good there lol. Going into the consultation with the oncologist I was so very anxious. I wanted this treatment to start yesterday. The fact that the cancer is now in the glands in my neck was freaking me out. The words rare and aggressive kept cycling round my head and I was back to the old way of thinking, am I going to survive this. Its funny how the bad stuff creeps in and the good stuff gets forgotten. I know its not in the bone or any of the main organs. I'd only just gotten those results. I guess I was a bit stunned to find out the second biopsy results of the neck. I'd completely convinced myself that the swelling / lump in the neck was a combined result of the initial surgery, the cold I had developed and the antibiotics I'd taken for a slight infection in the breast. So when I received appointments (out of sequence) that looked like I wouldn't be starting chemo for about 3 weeks, well lets just say I lost the plot. However, it has all been sorted, I spoke with my medical oncologist and he has already organised for my first chemo treatment to start on Wednesday 30th March. Hubby spoke with him while I was out of the room with one of the chemo nurses, and asked the question if we were to head to Brisbane to try and commence treatment sooner, would it be more beneficial and he explained that it would make no difference. Like my surgeon this doctor spoke with considerable confidence, went over everything in detail to ensure we understood, answered all our questions and we left feeling once again, we were in good hands. So here's the outcome. My entire chemo treatment plan will last 6 months. It will be done in two stages ie, one cocktail of drugs will last 4 sessions then they will change drugs. This first session will be 1 treatment every 3 weeks. The first session will last 2 1/2 hours and will be delivered via a cannula. Because they only have the use of my left arm (remember because of node removal in my right breast, they have avoid damage to the veins on that side to avoid causing lymphedema in the arm) I will be having a port inserted into my chest for the duration of the chemo treatments. Basically it's a small disc that sits just under the skin in the chest. One end of the port has a small tube that will take my chemo cocktail and the other end connects to a large vein. This protects my veins from constant cannulation. I'm rather pleased about this. I dislike cannulas. Those buggers bite going in. So Monday will be our Cancer orientation/education appointment with our cancer nurses. They'll go through the procedure, the side effects (the main being hair loss 3 weeks after the first treatment, and fatigue - the others are possible side effects) we tour the unit and they show us whats what. That will be a bit daunting but naturally I have a morbid curiosity about it. And they will run through my at home care afterwards. April 4th is my date to have the port put in at the hospital. It's all getting a bit real now. I'm constantly being told "You look so well" and probably I am apart from a few faulty bits. But I will admit, I'm starting to get tired more easily these days. I napped most of the way home from the Bunyas. Hopefully its more stress etc combined with a bit of my lymphatic being out of wack. Being given a reprieve from surgery, I'm headed off for another horsey outing today while my gorgeous girl competed in her first hack day in a lot of years. For those of you who are interested my first regime will be these two chemo drugs - Doxorubicin (A) and Cyclophosphamide (C). Anyone who has experience with these, feel free to impart some advice. Proud mum moment, its been seven years since she's competed in this type of day. And she brought home the ribbons. Excuse the rub marks on the shoulders. Had she told him she was taking him mustering the rotten sod wouldnt have had a mark on him.Feeling Overwhelmed
Hi, This is my first post after being diagnosed with Breast Cancer only a few weeks ago. I have never been so scared about anything ever before. I had a lumpectomy last week, and have only just found out that I need a Mystectomy performed next week, and am waiting on my results for a bone scan and chest x-ray tomorrow. I know that everyone has had the same feelings but I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on a) Telling the kids. I have a 7 and 5 year old. At the moment they know that I have a sore and need it removed. Do I tell them everything?? and b) How to deal with families and friends. At the moment I feel like I'm holding everyone up as they're all falling apart around me. Even to the point telling my sister that I'm going to hang up if there is any negativity. Don't think that's the right way to handle it, so I thought I'd ask for some advice off you guys that have been there. I can't thank you enough. xxx
masectomy
Hi Im just sitting here, just out of hospital after 2 days. Kids asleep excited for christmas tomorrow. I am still in pain can take weeks apprantently, am taking pain relief which is knocking me round a bit. Have chosen to have implants I think, im still indecisive even though I have inflatable things in. The idea of having a foreign body in me Im still undecisive. On a good note all results came back clear and need no further treatment other than implants if I wish to go there. Feeling ok with the look and scar but feeling a tad self conscious out and about and with my husband seeing. With tomorrow being Christmas it ll be the first time seeing everyone since op so a bit anxious. Anyways I will enjoy Christmas with my litlle children and tolerate the discomfort. I supposeim in the early days of having a masectomy,not sure how Ill feel day to day.On a lighter note must be grateful I can celebrate Christmas with my family. xx
