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

[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.

[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.

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

*hugs* Keep us updated, doll. :)

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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]

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.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

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

[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!

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

A biopsy shouldn't be painful - they can use numbing gel or creme, then they inject the numbing agent (but ask them to use the cream so the needle doesn't hurt going in - they might think you're a pain in the ass, but lidocaine needles hurt like hell).

Keep your chin up, darlin', and come back to update this post when you know more, OK?

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

Good, I'm glad its so soon. Well, it'll be a reduction of scar tissue, at least. But more surgery yuck. I'm a gcup right now, and I've been kinda considering seeing a plastic surgeon but, well, you read my friends only posts. That's just begging for a huge can of worms to be opened. Where did you find your bras? I have never seen a gcup in my life and I always have to go up a band size and down a cup size (or two).
Stay home and do your vicodin till you feel better! Make sure you have tons of fiber with it, it can constipate you, and your tolerance skyrockets rather quickly, so just be careful to not take too much too soon. Please keep us posted on what happens. Good luck this afternoon, I'll be thinking of you.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice and I will do that! I'm a big wuss and considering the boob hurts just grazing it I can't imagine a needle!

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

I can see why you don't want to go to a surgeon! They didn't make 32G bras so I had to be fitted for a 34FF. I had to go to a specialty store. I called it a mammal sling.

I'll eat my fiber tablets with the vicodin. Thanks for the info!

[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.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

I think its awesome that you did that for yourself. One of my best friends had a reduction too, and she is so much happier. Its amazing how much emphasis people put on having big breasts when this society itself makes it nearly impossible for a woman with big breasts to function (bras, clothing, the fact that small women with large breasts look terrible in more formal clothing). It takes guts to have that surgery, guts that I just don't have. I admire the women that do it.

[restlesspoetry.livejournal.com]

In his case they put him under, because he was in so much pain. It was like a minor surgery and not that bad. The recovery was worse, since they had to stuff the hole with "packing", as they call it, to make it heal from the bottom up. He had to go back to the clinic every other day for a month, and it was gradually packed with less stuff until it healed. Today he's fine though, the scar is maybe an inch long and has faded nicely. I don't want to minimize your worries or anything, but I know that it would have been a lot less stressful for both me and him if we hadn't expected the worst! Either way, good luck. I'm hoping for the best for you.

[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!

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

At the time of the surgery I was 22, 4'11", and 125lbs. I was TINY. I became a tomboy in junior high b/c I got sick of guys looking at my chest and girls saying I stuffed. It was hard playing sports and cheerlead. All of my boyfriends never believed me until I showed them!

Thank you so much. I knew I had to do it not only for image reasons, but health reasons. The day after my surgery I hugged my surgeon and burst into tears b/c I was so happy!

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for that info!!

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

You and I are like twins, its so weird. I've never met (online or IRL) someone that similar to me. We're the same age, I'm 4foot10 with the scoliosis (5foot2 without it, so I totally use that height on BMIs and my license!), I'm about 5-10 pounds heavier than you, and we both had the same size boobs. Its like you really can feel my pain about size, unlike everyone else who has to fake it! That makes me so happy, seriously. The only difference is that I have asheblonde hair, which I'm not too fond of, and you have fabulous red hair (a look I've been emulating with joy for about a year now)!

[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.

[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 :)