Breast Cancer

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Since my post about the results of my breast examination was deleted since it wouldn't generate discussion I'm going to post one that does. In case you didn't see it, my gyno is sending me to a breast surgeon because I either have inflammatory breast cancer or a TON of scar tissue from my breast reduction 3 years ago. Does anyone know of anyone who has survived breast cancer I could possibly talk to? I'm only 25 years old and possibly facing stage III of inflammatory breast cancer. I'm scared to death and I need people to talk to who have gone through this.

Do you guys just have any suggestions how my husband and I can deal with this? The gyno gave me 800mg ibuprofen and Vicaden, which is really helping with the pain, but doesn't help with the thoughts I may have cancer. Last night I kept trying to stay happy, but I could tell my husband was visibly upset.

Can anyone tell me anything more about cancers and treatments? I don't mean to sound conceited, but I have gorgeous red hair and I don't want to lose it! Will insurance cover treatments? Can you survive late stage cancers?

Also, is it really true birth control raises the possibility of breast cancer? I just need some support.

Comments

[---majka.livejournal.com]

My sister in law is 28 she was diagnosed with breast caner 4 months ago
she had a lumpectomy 2 months ago and just started chemo last month
she does chemo once a month and will be doing radiation 5 days a week

she's not much of an internet person but if you leave me your email i can pass it along to her, i dunno if she's up to it or not but it doesn't hurt to ask

we live in canada so insurance does cover treatments here
as for hair, we just bought two GORGEOUS 100% human hair wigs(which insurance also covers) for her online that when she wears them they look exactly like her real hair
i just cut her hair for her because they told her her next chemo treatment will make it all fall out

sorry i can't really answer these questions but like i said i can pass your email along

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks!! My email is mechastain@gmail.com and I'd love to talk to her.

[cbackson.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit confused--I saw your post yesterday, and thought your doctor said it might be an inflammatory breast infection.

I'm sure that people here will have information for you, but you're asking some specialized questions to which you might get a better response in a more focused community. I'm sure there are some breast cancer support communities on lj.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

No he said inflammatory breast cancer or ton of scar tissue. If I wrote infection I didn't mean that. I thought it was an infection. He said since I'm not breast feeding and the breast reduction cut my milk ducts it's not an infection.

I also feel comfy here.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

When are you seeing the surgeon? Also, I had no idea you'd previously had reduction surgery, that could account for your problems. Scar tissue in weird places can really mess your body up, and hopefully that's what it is.
I'm a big fan of seeing a four-legged mammal with a mane and tail in the distance and thinking its a horse, not a zebra. I try my best to convince myself its the least scary thing until I know better. The vicodin should help with that a little. It won't get rid of your fears but it will help to calm you down, so don't be afraid to use it.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I see him at 1:30CDT this afternoon. Yeah I was a G cup!! They took off 5lbs. It's just so weird it hit 3 years later. I'm hoping that's what it is. Isn't it ironic I need another breast reduction in order to fix it? I'm going to tell them don't mess up my left one!!!

The vicodin helped out a lot last night. I fell asleep and stayed asleep. I probably won't go into work tomorrow or Friday so I can stay at home and take it during the day.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_crystalmyth/]

*hugs* Keep us updated, doll. :)

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much and I will! You can friend me because I've been posting a lot on it there. :-)

[restlesspoetry.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to tell you a story about my partner. He is female-bodied, and suddenly had one side of his chest swell up and become very very painful. An ultrasound just showed an "abnormality". They couldn't tell us anything more than that until they had done a biopsy. Well, he went in for the biopsy and when he came out of surgery we were told that the abnormality was actually just an infection in a gland, that on an ultrasound came out to look like a 5x5 inch lump! They drained it and he was fine. Recovery took a while, but the relief that something that scary wasn't as bad as it seemed was huge! So, I know this is a hard place to be in, but sometimes it's easier not to expect the worst. I will cross my fingers for you.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh!!! I'm trying so hard not to expect the worst. Was the biopsy painful? How do they drain it? I hope he is much better!

[ba1126.livejournal.com]

I'm just a random reader, but I'll urge you to stay calm and not expect the worst. Sometimes they have to tell you the WORST thing it could be, just so you won't ignore it. I would guess that scar tissue is MUCH more likely to be the answer, but cancer is not the end of the world, if that's what it is. Good luck.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! Yeah my gyno told me it may be cancer because he didn't want to lie to me about all the options.

[ncsu-lady.livejournal.com]

I have not seen any information sincerly linking birth control pills to breast cancer. While many women with breast cancer have taken bc, overall it currently does not show a causation (just so you can understand what i mean, correlation does not always equal causation. when i teach this to my bio students I show them a graph showing the decrease in pirates which correlates to global warming. Just because there is something there, does not always mean its the cause).

I know its hard, I hate this for you. But the first thing to realize is to take this one day at a time, wait til you have the results in hand. Worrying now, while easier said that done, will not help. Continue to focus on helping yourself with the pain but keep up *doing* things so that the time til your appointment and the time til you get your results appears.

If you are concerned about your insurance, please call them. Yes some insurances cover only certain things but the best thing to do is just find out if it will ease your concern.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that info. My husband grew up Catholic and was taught birth control pills are like evil! and he has a distorted view on them. He doesn't care if people take it or even me because I was given them b/c my blood doesn't clot well and the BC pills help my period. He told me last night they raise breast cancer risks 40%. I immediately said bullshit b/c I think my doctor would tell me!

That's why I came to work today. It's helping me stay distracted!

[poledradog.livejournal.com]

***hugs***
I don't have anything useful to add, as I have no experience with this. I've been watching for a post from you (must have missed the one that was deleted) and wondering what your doctor said. May I friend you, even though I don't have any experience to offer? I'm concerned for you and just want to see how you're doing. I totally mean that in a non-creepy way.

Regarding birth control, I've read mixed things about that. My recollection is that it reduces the risk of some kinds of cancer, but raises the risk for others (I think one was breast and one was ovarian, but I don't remember which risk was raised and which was reduced). In any case, I've seen a lot of mixed data. Just remember that whatever has happened, it doesn't do your mind or body any good to beat yourself up over what you could have done differently, and there is certainly no room for blame. You did what you did for your health to the best of your knowledge, and now you have to continue to do that based on what you find out. Please try not to make a bad situation (if it even turns out to be bad; maybe it won't!) worse by beating yourself up over it.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

LOL of course you may friend me!! I'd love that a lot and thanks for your concern.

[amigone.livejournal.com]

Hey

I don't know anyone who has survived breast cancer, but I do want to say my thoguths are with you, and that you will be fine.

There's an old medical saying that when you hear clicking hoofs, look for a horse, not a zebra. I guess that means you should be concerned with things it's more likely to be. IBC is really, really rare.

Good luck. If you need to talk or vent, my contact info is on my info page :)

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!! You may friend me! :-)

[ellinht.livejournal.com]

My uncle survived 2 bouts of severe late stage breast cancer. I know he is a man but if he could survive it anyone can!

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

OH WOW!! That is wonderful for him!! I'm so glad he survived. That put a huge smile on my face!

[jitteryladybug.livejournal.com]

My paternal grandmother survived breast cancer, though she had to get a double mastectomy to remove the cancer fully, she's still alive today, over 20 years after the fact.

Please don't worry until you have all the information and its actually something to worry about! (Though I sincerely hope its not cancer!) Its best to anticipate the worst sometimes, but other times its better to not think about the possibility of the worst because there's nothing that you can really do to prepare yourself and the stress of worrying is just terrible.
Try to be strong, and take some time out of your day to go out of your way to sit quietly and try not to think about anything at all... Breathe deeply and just try to relax. Taking the time to just breathe helps me a lot when I need to destress a little, and I can't imagine a more terrifying and stressfull place to be than yours. :hugs: Hon, you're in my thoughts.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

That's awesome your grandmother is still alive. I love to hear stories of survival. Thanks so much. I'm doing breathing exercises right now! :-)

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

Don't know much about the cancer, but I've had my own problems with scar tissue.

According to my physical therapist, it generally takes two to three years for scar tissue to harden and lose its elasticity. When it first forms, it's stretchy, so your body doesn't even notice it. But after two or three years, it can start having problems. That's why a lot of athletes start having joint pain two to three years after they quit a sport.

I know my scar tissue was in a different location (hips), but it was broken up with ultrasound, not surgery. It might be worth it to check that out, if it is scar tissue. If you can't also do physical therapy on the location, though, ultrasound might not be enough on its own, so I don't know.

Whatever it turns out to be, best of luck to you.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

That's why it took 3 years. Is it because my surgeon messed up or is it something you just have to hope your body heals right?

[foureyeddarlin.livejournal.com]

Hi there.

breastcancer.org (http://www.breastcancer.org) is a good place for information and has both message boards and chat rooms for users.

Oral contraceptives have recently been linked with a slight increase in breast cancer risk in a review of several previously published studies. Your husband may have seen a legitimate statistic that breast cancer risk is raised by 40% from oral contraceptives. However, that 40% would be the difference between a 2% chance and a 2.8% chance of developing breast cancer: it does not mean that if you had a 10% risk of developing breast cancer that your risk would be 50% after taking oral contraceptives.

here's an article on the study: from breastcancer.org (http://www.breastcancer.org/research_genetics_20061107b.html)

Facing a biopsy can be a very scary time. I hope that the procedure is easy for you and the results are benign. Take care.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the information!

[papermuse.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to tell you that about 3 1/2 years ago I had a breast cancer scare. It turned out it was a very deep but benign cyst that I had to have removed. I know its scary, but its always good to remember that there are other possibilites besides cancer. And I know you have had a breast reduction, but there is still a possibility of just a plain old infection-women have been known to breastfeed after a reduction (my surgery on my left breast cut into some of my milk glands-thats how large the cyst was, and I still had milk like a herd of cows), and I personally have had an infection long before I became a walking milk bar ;).

I hope you find out quickly just whats going on to give you some peace of mind.

[ex-aria-sta.livejournal.com]

Sweetie, while I've never had cancer, I have been on chemo (it's for more than cancer) and have an extremely extensive medical past, especially for being 26. Honey, I was supposed to die many times and am in medical books by name as a medical oddity. Even if it is cancer, do't let anyone convince you that you will die. I mentally made the decision that the diseases I had may have been in my body, but they weren't my body. Just intruders. And I'm the master at the helm of my body and the army that will fight to defend it. Your mindset can make a HUGE difference. Those who give in to death and defeat do die. They rarely recover. But those who fight have a better chance at winning, even when the odds seem against them.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and fight like all hell. You're young. The young, while they get sick quicker, also have a higher chance of recovery. You're going to be okay, Sweetheart.

[rainbowaster.livejournal.com]

I'm not the poster, but I just wanted to say that that was really moving. I've been having a lot of physical and mental things going wrong lately, and this actually really made me feel better.

[rainbowaster.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of people who have gone through breast cancer and came out fine. I hope it's not that, but even if it is, it's not hopeless.

As far as birth control, they often put people on the pill if there is a history of breast cancer in the family because it lessens your chances of breast cancer. My friend's mom had cancer and they put her on it as a preventative.

Good luck! I hope it turns out alright!

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

According to what foureyeddarlin posted here (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/9575132.html?thread=114179036#t114179036), birth control pills are actually linked to a temporary increase in breast cancer risk.

I haven't seen any sources to support that it actually lessens the chances of developing breast cancer. Do you know of any? :)

[tinker19bell.livejournal.com]

I don't really have anything to add about the cancer or the birth control.. but I just wanted to say that I really hope everything works out, and that I'll keep you in my thoughts! I was looking forward to your next post :) Will you keep us updated? Hang in there and be strong. <3

[https://users.livejournal.com/-82ndstreet/]

I feel for you. I'm only 17, and (thank god) teenagers dont usually get breast cancer, but my dr found a benin tumor in my right breast, and that alone scared me to death. The surgery was scary, and i'm way more at risk for breast cancer in the future.




I wish you the best of luck.

[blonde-amelie.livejournal.com]

i used to work at a cancer hospital, and my office ran educational classes, support groups, conferences, etc for current patients and survivors. i met tons and tons of breast cancer survivors. check out this website form t he Komen foundation, they are excellent and provide good info in addition to funding research and whatnot to help find a cure.
http://cms.komen.org/komen/AboutBreastCancer/index.htm

I think the others suggestions to try not to worry too much at this point are good. even if it is cancer, there are lots of treatment options and thigns that the doctors can do now.

once you know more specifically whats going on, my next suggestion would be to find out everything that you can about your condition, whether its scar tissue or something else. use the internet, your local hospital/doctors offices, etc. being informed about the condition and treatment options is beneficial to both you and your partner.

[juliesgotagun.livejournal.com]

my mother had cancer when i was younger, fortunately it was early-stage and she survived. i wish you the best, love, and i hope that everything works out for you :)

[lickitylilacs.livejournal.com]

I had actually never heard of inflammatory breast cancer until today when a friend of mine posted this link...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s9_UrVtc6c

What are your symptoms? How long have you had them? I'm sure everything will be okay! Stay strong, watch funny movies:)