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Three yr HER 2+ Survivor

On Aug 17,2007 I was diagnosed with Her 2+, Hormone Negative Breast Cancer, I have a family history on my dads side of the family, I asked to be started on Mammo's at 35 and I was told that because the history is on my Dads side of the family I had nothing to worry about. Luckily I know that his blood runs through me, and for some reason one morning I did a self exam and sure enough found a lump. I knew the second I felt it I had cancer, I went to my family dr, then for a mammo and ultra sound then to surgery, I started chemotherapy on my 35 birthday, I dont know why I chose to do an exam that day in the shower, but I thank God daily that I did, I hate cancer but I sure learned alot from it, I learned that theres no need for stress in my life, not to be so quick to judge others, to stop and smell the roses, to let my kids know that I Love them every moment of every day, and so much more, I had 16 chemotherapy treatments, followed my 36 radiation treatments, I was blessed with an amazing oncologist, and staff. I hope there is a cure for this ugly disease soon, not only breast cancer but all cancer, We cant stop till there is!!!

Beth Slone
willard, OH

Survivor, Now Fighter

I lost my dear mother to breast cancer in 1961. She was 38 yrs old; I was 11 yrs old. So, it wasn't a huge shock when I had breast cancer in 1994.( 16 yrs. ago) A .5cm lump was found on a mammogram. I was Stage 1 with no cancer in any lymph nodes, so didn't require chemo or radiaton. I did choose to have a mastectomy due to the history.

This past Spring, I found a lump on my other breast. A mammo and ultrasound showed suspicion, but, even though a biopsy's results were benign,the medical personnel weren't convinced of the results. I chose to have a mastectomy. Out of 23 lymph nodes that were removed, 5 were cancerous. I am Stage 3 and will begin my treatments very soon. .

In addition, a week after my mastectomy, a hematoma was discovered and I had surgery to remove that. After another week, I had a massive infection and was hospitalized for 4 days. I return to the hospital this week, hoping the infection is healed enough that I can begin chemo.

So, after being a survivor for 16 yrs, I'm now fighting. And I'm doing it with humor. My own motto I created is: Fight with Funny!

My computer friends may not be here locally, but they ARE here...in my heart. They have been sending cards, calling me on the phone, and continually post comments to let me know I'm in their prayers.

I was cancer-free for 16 yrs. The "cliche" is that after 5 yrs, the chances are slim of a re-occurrence. You never know. Anything can happen. It is not written in stone. God Bless.

Karen
Daytona Beach, FL

Clicking in honor of...

Why do I click? I click for my mom. December 28, 2001 she found out that she had a massive lump the size of a jumbo egg in her left breast that was only able to be found via a biopsy. Neither mammo or ultrasound could penetrate the shelf wall on the side of her breast so the only other option was a biopsy.

A week after that we found out that not only did she have invasive ductile breast cancer, but she also had inflammatory breast cancer. A rare and very aggressive breast cancer that affects only 1-5% of all breast cancer cases. Inflammatory breast cancer is a Stage 4 cancer. The end of January 2002, my dad died. February 2002, he was buried and the next day my mom started chemo. In August of 2002 she had a radical double mastectomy followed by 6 weeks of radiation.

She is an 8 year survivor of not only the invasive ductile breast cancer, but also the inflammatory breast cancer. Out of the small percentage who survive IBC, only 25-30% survive the next 5 years. She is one of a very small handful who made it to 5 years (and past) without a recurrence of any kind of cancer. God has been very gracious to her with regard to what she has been through with her two kinds of breast cancer.

I click for her!

Nicole K
Austin, TX

Newly diagnosed

I've been newly diagnosed with Breast Cancer August 2010. I've already had two surgeries one lumpectomy and the second having my left breast removed. I will meet with the oncologist this week to find out what the next step is. I'm a strong individual with a lot of love and support of my dear friends and family. I've always had the mentality that it would never happen to me, think again my dear friend... It has happened to me and I will beat it. Much love and many blessings to all of you staying positive is the key!

Susan Morales
Mesa, AZ

The "C" Word

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 1999. I had had signs of cancer to the breast so I went to my PCP and he immediately sent me for a mammogram and set an appointment up for a surgeon. After the mammogram didn't show up anything the surgeon did a sonogram. There three lumps were discovered. He did biopsies the same day and by Tuesday of the next week I was having surgery for a radical mastectomy.
I am now an almost 11 year survivor. Each day I click so that others can have a mammogram. I also participate in the Relay for Life in my local county each year.
I have a tee shirt given to me by a friend that says on front "Official Monthly Breast Examiner" and on the back it says "Touching Boobs Saves Lives." I wear it proudly so that others will do their monthly exams.

Ann Marcus
Cartersville, GA

my family story

I was adopted as a baby. In 1994 I searched for my birth mother and discovered that she was already deceased. She was only 52 when she died from breast cancer. Two years later I searched for my birth aunts and found one living 15 minutes away from me. She told me that my grandmother, her mother, had also died of breast cancer. I don't have any photos of either my mother or my grandmother to post. If I didn't live in a country that allows access to birth records and if I hadn't searched I would never have known about my family history of breast cancer. With this knowledge I can at least be more vigilant than I would have been otherwise.

Anonymous
Brisbane, Australia

Mum and I went through it together

Last July Mum went for a routine Breast screening and they found two lumps in her right breast. I was so scared for her, then her doctor said due to a family history my sister and I should go for a checkup. I thought I was ok i checked myself all the time so i went just to give mum peace of mind. They found that i had small spots of cancer through my left breast. So two weeks after mums mastectomy I was in hopsital having mine.

THe pathology came back and it showed that mine was grade 3 and was quite a large area so i started chemotherapy and had radiation because of my age. Im 37 Mum was lucky hers wasn't as bad and she didn't have to have chemo or radiation therapy. I am thankful that she didn't.

She was very distressed because i had to have it all and she felt so guilty that she didn't. We have also discovered that i have the BRCA2 gene so now i am terrified that i may have passed it to my daughters. I have twin two year old girls. i had just thought things were looking up for me after 7 years of IVF we got our little miracles and then a year later i was diagnosed with breast cancer. The chemotherapy was rough but with mum helping out and taking the girls for me while i had my treatments it was a lot easier to deal with.

Now 1 year has passed since i started chemo I will continue with my checkups for the next few years but otherwise i feel great and am looking forward to have a new life with my girls and my wonderful husband.

Brenna Lee Allen
Young, Australia

Mum's thoughts and feelings post diagnosis

The visit, the results My Daughter's sticken face...
And my husband's "You will be fine" Journeying home my mind full of thoughts...

Memories of my mum and me as a twelve year old, looking at the spring flowers on the Grave Daffodils, Tulips, Freesia Wishing she was still with us Her Loverley smiling face......

Now it is my turn to face the treatment..... But things have changed..

Treatment ....People talking about Cancer. And I will fight this for all my family and for me too ...

For I remember on that journey thinking and saying out loud I hope I see the Daffodils next Spring....

And yes four times I have seen them since that day....

And hope to see them many times in the future ...........

kim
Hull, United Kingdom

Head Shaving Party

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, my biggest fear was losing my hair. The day of my second treatment I decided to have a head shaving party at my beauticians. I invited 25 friends and family (men and women) to make it a fun event. My daughter wrote a poem: Some Reasons You Shouldn't Miss Your Hair. A couple of the reasons are: You will save a small fortune on hair care products and haircuts, and you will save money on the water bill by taking shorter showers. But the biggest reason you shouldn't miss your hair is because you hair does not define you, your heart does; and you have a beautiful heart. Her coment, not mine. I had wonderful support from my family and church family. Without a good support system, it would be very hard to go through treatments and side effects of chemotherapy.

Thelma Krantz
Reynoldsburg, OH

Scared

2006, I had recently gotten my life on track and was really loving life for the first time in years.
Okay so we had a check your breast class this morning, as usual my mind was way far away.....la la la. Later on I am getting ready for bed. I notice what looks to be a discharge stain in my bra, hmmm. I squeezed my nipple..eeewww. Something resembling pus and blood. Mind you, I had NEVER checked my breasts in my life by myself and my last mammogram had been in 1999 or 2000.
The next morning I told the nurse on duty that I had pain, a lump and discharge. I saw the Head Nurse the next morning, she checked... confirmation. I had an appointment for ultra sound about three days later at Stanford Hospital. The Radiologist said it looked like calcification. Soon it was official, it WAS calcification. Okay, so they called me in for a staff meeting. I walked in.... Counselors, Doctors, Program Head.... doesn't look too good. It wasn't , seems they were telling me that upon further examination...it wasn't calcification after all. So they were explaining and talking and whatever, I was smiling and nodding. Head asked me "Pearl do you understand what their saying? Uh..no? Turns out they wanted to do biopsy. On the bus in Oakland going to traffic court, scared. Phone rings. Pearl......This is the VA... Nurse Whatever...looks like youve got... A Little Bit of Cancer. Whaa??
A toal maectomy followed...4 years ago. Anger, denial, fear, self hatred..whats next? Oh of course, Frugs. Finally acceptance, gratitude that I had been in a place where I noticed it. Grateful for the past 4 years, Recovery, My Family. Today Im trying to live. God Loves ME. CHECK EVERYDAY!.... Okay?

pearl
Oakland, CA