Time for mammogram. Had been getting mammograms since early thirties because mother had 3 sisters with breast cancer. Noticed dimpling in right breast. Technician checked with radiologist and they wanted to do ultrasound. Gyn told me I needed to meet with surgeon. Met with surgeon and had double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery on December 23, 2013. No cancer in lymph nodes!!!! Meet with oncologist January 7 to see plan of action. Still have drain tubes
My name is Kim at the age 47of in June of 2013 i was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer it is a very aggressive kind and has spread threw my body and bones. I have all ways been the kind of person to keep things real, so the reality of this is it will take my life. But it also give me that rare opportunity to live my life to the fullest. To spend everyday with my 2 children and make sure they know just how much i love them more than life itself. Each day i have is a new memory were making. Now i'm hoping i get a few years out of this or if i get real lucky a miracle from god to heal me. I get up everyday and fight for the love of my family and friends i'm not ready to give it up.God bless everyone fighting this battle, never give up hope and never give up the fight!
My husband and I had a home, careers we loved, great family and friends and were planning on expanding our family after Labor Day. June 4th, 2013 I found a lump in my right breast. Within a few days I was in to my OBGYN who recommended a mammogram, ultra sound and biopsy. I went and had that all done and was told by my Radiologist that I would be receiving a call the next day with my results. June 12th, 2013, 10:30AM, I received a call that forever changed me. "Emily, you have cancer." To be technical it was Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
I decided to "nip it in the breast". Since then, I've had a double mastectomy, 22 lymph nodes removed, egg harvesting and chemotherapy. I will be going through Herceptin treatments until November 2014 and 10 years of Tamoxofin.
I followed through with full testing genetic panel. I was BRCA 1/2 negative, ER/PR+, HER2+ and found out that I have Li-Fraumeni. Women who have Li-Fraumeni have a 100% chance of getting a cancer in their lifetime and men have a 70% chance. Since having Li-Fraumeni I have a chance of passing it down to my children, so my husband and I will have our embryos tested.
My husband and I felt like the rug was pulled out from under us. I had just turned 27, with no family history. We kept thinking there was a mistake, or we were in a dream and would soon wake up. But we weren't. When I found the lump I had so many people telling me not to worry and that it probably wasn't anything, but in my gut I knew. I followed my instincts and I hope everyone follows theirs because no one knows their body better then themselves!!
I (the redhead) reached out to Ann Marie for advice on my upcoming bilateral mastectomy on Dec. 13th through her Facebook page & blog. She wished me well days ahead as she would be having her DIEP on the 11th...ironically at the same hospital. We exchanged phone numbers hoping to be able tp contact each other while in. She was released from ICU not long before I returned from recovery. Moments later, she came into my room...it was so emotional to see her & see that she pushed herself to walk to my room. We met again the next morning in the hall to say goodbye & grab another picture together. She's been such an inspiration to me, and to have her there "by my side" while going through a recovery herself was amazing. She is so supportive & understanding, not to mention hysterical. She's always there to listen...but this isn't just any friendship...she's a "breastie," a term you wouldn't understand until you become one... I would hope for anyone going through this, that they would have this type of support along with their family & friends.
The photo I have attached is me with my best friend in the world, my mother. Her name is Harriett and she's 64. In December of 2013, after approximately two years of bleeding and pain from her left breast (with no detection of it in a mammogram), she was diagnosed with high grade ductal carcinoma and invasive ductal carcinoma.
Monday, January 6th at 9 AM, she will undergo a lumpectomy and removal of her nipple (and I'm assuming the milk duct); later, she will have radiation. Of course, an eventual mastectomy and chemotherapy are possible, but that is a worst-case scenario.
This site has been a great comfort to me during this time. If I could take the cancer away from her and deal with it myself, I gladly would ... although I know that wouldn't make her any happier. She's both my best friend and my mother, and the thought of anything happening to her makes me sick to my stomach. However, we are happy to have a great surgeon in Greensboro, NC (Dr. Streck if anyone knows him) and are praying for her to heal fully. I can't imagine my life without her!
Thank you for your daily inspiration, for your brave fights, and for your incredible spirit. This site has been a true blessing. Please pray/send positive vibes/whatever it is you do to put goodness out into the world for my mother, Harriett Phipps, on Monday morning at 9:00 AM EST if you think of it. She isn't on Facebook, but I continue to share the light and positivity of this website with her!
I finished chemo in sep 2013 and radiotherapy in dec 2013 for invasive ductal carcinoma,i received bone scan results today that show i have bone metastasis.i am soo scared.I there any one out there who has been through this and survived?
In May 2013 I discovered a lump in my right breast, immediately my mind jumped to the worst possible scenario, cancer. My grandma had just overcome stage 4 breast cancer, so it was a logical thing to jump to in my mind. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor, to which he said it felt like a cyst. As you could imagine that was music to my ears, but he still wanted me to go to an ultrasound. Off I went to the ultrasound appt, to my disappointment it was not a cyst, but a swollen lymphnode. Ugh. Back to that big ugly C word, cancer. Yet my doctors didn't think it was cancer because I am too young, as I am only 23. My gut feeling was that it was cancer, but I had three doctors tell me otherwise, so home I went to forget about the lump. Until July when I noticed more changes in my breast, I waited a week before I called my doctor because I didn't want to believe what I knew in my gut. Finally made an appt to get a biopsy on a Friday and had my worst fears confirmed on Monday. Later I was diagnosed at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to have stage 3 invasive ductile cancer, all this was happening a month before my wedding, talk about stress! Luckily my doctors said treatment could wait till after we got back from our honeymoon. The day we got back from our honeymoon I started chemo, 8-20-13, and I am appy to announce that January 2nd, 2014 was my LAST day of chemo! Then I will be off to the next step of treatment which is surgery followed by radiation. Can't wait to be called a survivor!
Oh and there is no way I could do this journey with out my loving, amazing, goofy husband. He puts up with my mood swings and when I am feeling down he can always make me laugh! I have so much support from my friends and family it's overwhelming, so thank you everyone, love you all!
It was black Friday when I went for my mammogram ( Friday the 13th) I was busy getting Christmas present , I went and it hurt me and the lady said I can see something there you will be recalled I didn't think that much of it so I put it to the back of my mind carried on getting ready for Christmas and it was following Friday when I got the call I went had 7 photos done and a scan and when they said I had to have a biopsy done it hit me had to wait a week which was the 23rd of December , the doctor said you have breast cancer I just looked at my husband and said shall we go shopping I didn't cry . My cancer nurse clarie said come with me so we went to another room and she explained things the treatment and my operation which was the 21st jan 2014 , I will have 2 have radio and chemo I am really scared my husband lee doesn't think that much of it hes words were well its not that bad not that bad I said I wanted to kill him why do men not understand . I want to cry but cant I want to shout and scream but what is the point . I no that I have to have one breast removed and my lymph glands I will let you no how I get on
I am now recovering from a double mastectomy ~ I found a lump in my left breast during a self exam ~ I am waiting on my Oncotype DX test results but as far as my dr is concerned I won't need chemo ~ great news ~ but I believe I was part of a Christmas miracle ~ everyone asks me how I found the lump and my response is always the same "my mom told me" I believe with my whole heart it was her ~ my mom passed away I'm December 2009 ~ she had breast cancer,intestinal lymphoma and throat cancer but it was the throat cancer that ultimately took her from is ~ I would never have done the self exam that day, I had never really done one before,I wasn't even thinking about it,I was just getting ready to go in the shower and for no apparent reason at all I decided at that moment to do it,that's when I felt it and the rest they say is history ~ my Christmas miracle ~ I caught it early, stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma, I opted to do the double mastectomy because I want no chance of it coming back ~ I love you mom and miss you so much, thank you for watching over me and protecting me <3
My diagnosis came on May 31, 2013. The weeks to follow were a blur of tests, decisions and praying. I was 38, married with 3 "chicks", ages 12, 9 and 3. The Martin McBride song, "I'm gonna love you through it" could have been written for me. I decided very early to never ask "why me?" I would take this 1,000,000,000 times over one of my chicks. I had a single radical mastectomy and a single simple mastectomy, chemotherapy and I'm having radiation right now. I was stage IIB, triple positive with a very aggressive, fast growing cancer. These last 7 months have really been a blur. I have relied very heavily on the support of my BREAST FRIENDS. It seems that my life will forever consist of tests, but at least I'm alive to do it!!!
