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

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

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

[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!

[amigone.livejournal.com]

done :)

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

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

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

That is so weird!! Well, I now weigh 145lbs. I got stressed with the wedding and pigged out way too much. I always put 5' on everything! I totally understand your boob pain.

Oh I love my red hair. I should post a pic of it.

[quiltingdragon.livejournal.com]

lol. I callled mine (36k) the iron maiden.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

Its all about how you carry it. Unfortunately when you're this small,its hard to hide it! Are you dieting now? I'm not even sure what my weight is right now but it needs to go down, it'll definitely help the boob thing. I'm thinking of doing weight watchers again and I'm planning on starting topomax soon, good times.
Please do! Red hair is awesome.

[quiltingdragon.livejournal.com]

Mom was stage 4 when she was diagnosed three years ago. She went to the doctor yesterday and everything looks good.

[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]

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!

[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.

[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!

[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?

[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! :-)

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

That is WONDERFUL news! Best of luck to her, you, and the rest of your family.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

I do diet. I eat 1500 calories a day and I work out 5xs a week, which includes 35 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weight training. I just basically eat frozen dinners. I also munch on 100 calorie packs when I get hungry.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

You exercise A LOT. Is it working?

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

Yup. My cellulite is going down, my body looks toned, and my body fat is going down. I was worried b/c the weight wasn't going down, but the gym people said to look at the body fat. It was going down! The weight wasn't b/c I am putting on muscle.

If anything I just feel better. I work out at work. We have an excellent gym and only $16 a month.

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

It depends on your body.

Personally, I don't develop scars on my skin, but any time I get injured, I end up with masses of scar tissue on whichever joint was injured.

So really, it could be either. If I had the best surgeon in the world, I'd still end up with a lot of scar tissue. But a surgeon messing up would definitely contribute to scar tissue for anyone.

[skeetz81.livejournal.com]

It has to be my body. The surgeon my gyno recommended to me was the only one she recommended. And he was so good! My boobs look BEAUTIFUL. The scarring is very minumal.

[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.

[thebootyfaerie.livejournal.com]

Surface scars and internal scars are different. You can have lots of internal scars with no surface scars, and the other way around.

[hardtogetover.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! I really can't do a gym here because of the traffic and the amount of people (nothing is safe between 4 and 7!) that are also doing what you're doing, but we're looking into buying an elliptical. Problem is, the less expensive ones have a 300lb weight limit and my bf weighs 320 (its like a several hundred dollar difference!). I'm debating whether we should take the chance and get a 300lb and below one or have him lose 20lb before we get one. I don't think I ant to wait that long tho.