Looking for Mom's Who Have Battled Breast Cancer

I don't have any advice to share but I just wanted to encourage you and I will keep you in my prayers- good luck-

D.:

I personally didn't have Breast Cancer, however my mother did. I have to say it came to a shock to us to find out she had it (and known about it a few months prior to telling us). She had surgery in October 2000, went through 4 rounds of extensive chemo, in addition to 6-8 weeks of radiation. In with that she had a lumpectomy and I am happy to report she is cancer free. I think there were a few key factors: 1- she found it early; 2 - it didn't spread (as in your case) and 3-she kept a positive outlook on it despite the illness associated with it.

I, however, was a mess seeing her - but she came through like a trooper. Please know that that is something that you can be cured.

During that time I had a co-worker who had to have both breasts removed due to not being able to take the chemo. She had reconstructive surgery - it was a long process (almost a year - they did a little at a time) -but she did well. They did a "tummy tuck" and took that "fatty tissue" and made it into her breasts.

At the same time - I had a friend's mom who had it - she ended up having a mastectomy with one of her breasts. She is healthy and doing well to this day.

So please keep your positive outlook. :-)

Let us know any updates.
K. C.

Hi D.,
I'm so sorry for this very disturbing diagnosis. Please don't dispair. You have many options. Please respond off this site (____@____.com). I have pertinent information I would love to share.
S.

D.:

Best of luck to you and your family! I am fortunate enough to be healthy for now...but this happened to a cousin of my husband's. She basically 'flunked' a routine mammogram, and that's how it was found...In Alabama. That was 11 yrs ago, so obviously, all turned out fine. Her youngest child was about 6 or 7 at the time. She had the mastectomy and reconstruction and has never looked back. It happened to her mother as well, and the mother is also fine. The mother is a 15 yr survivor. P.

Hi Dianne. I am so sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with this life altering disease. However I did notice that you have two 6 yr old babies. I have not had this myself but my mother did, and she passed away when I was 13 years old and she was 52. This really devastated me. All I am going to say is do what you have to do so that this disease does not leave 2 more children motherless. Do whatever the Dr says that you have the best odds at. My mom was diagnosed in 1984..... so well over 20 years ago she passed April 23rd 1987 almost 20 yrs ago. They did not have the treatments back then that they have today so I am confident that you will come through with flying colors. Consider doing whatever it is that is going to save your life in the long run. I beg you to look at all the options carefully not only for you, but for your 2 little babies. This is such a touchy subject for me, and it leaves me in tears when I hear that one more mother has been diagnosed. My heart goes out to you and your family. You are in my thoughts and prayers my friend & remember that you are not alone in this.
J. C.

Hi D.,

This is very scary news and I'm sure you are on a roller coaster of emotions right now. I am 38 and a 3 year breast cancer survivor. It's been awhile since your post, so I'm wondering where you are in treatments right now? Did you have the mast. or lump.? Update me on what's current and I can answer any questions for you.

My diagnosis was 2 different cancers in the left breast. Invasive and DCIS. The area was so large the breast had to be taken. I had a mast. with lymph node involvement. I was estrogen neg. but HER 2nu postive grade 3. I went through chemo and Herceptin. No radiation. I have 3 daughters ages 16, 12 and 9.

Please keep me posted, would love to chat with another survivor:)

K. (Hilliard Mom)

I have not gone through this on that level, both my mother and my grandmother lost their lives to breast cancer, they chose to ignore their issues. I say KUDOS to you for taking action and your situation looks very good! My prayers and thoughts are with you and your family.. God bless!

D.,
First I must say that your prognosis looks good, hearing you have cancer is a very tough thing. I will share my story with you, do not know if it will help, but sometimes it is just nice to hear from someone who has "been there, done that" and is still around!! I was diagnosed Oct. 2001, I was 38 yrs. old at the time. My daughter was 5 and my son 18 months, very difficult time for me. My husband and I got the news on our 8th wedding anniversary, I told him no matter how bad the rest of our anniversaries were, none could be as bad as that one. My lump was pretty large so I had to do 6 months of chemo, then I had a mastectomey in April of 2002, then I did radiation 5 days a week for about 6 weeks. It was a tough time, but I managed. I did not opt for the reconstructive surgery, I do not really know why, it just did not seem that important to me. One of my daughter's teachers was diagnosed at the same time and she did have reconstructive surgery. She said she thinks the reconstructive surgery was worse than the mastectomy, but she would definately do it again. That is just a personal choice there, no right or wrong answer! I guess I was just so worried about my kids being without their mommy that I just wanted to get everything over with and go on. I am currently a 5 year survivor - Yeah! I go to my oncologist every three months and I do take tamoxifen daily. If you have any other questions or just want to talk feel free to e-mail me at ____@____.com
I will keep you in my thoughts,
Good luck!
D.

Hi D.. This is my first time on the site, too. I have been going through treatment for breast cancer since September, and am a 46-yr old married mom to two children--an 8-yr old girl and 5-yr old boy. I'd be happy to answer any questions about my experience if you'd like to know specifics, but I've had a mastectomy, chemotherapy and I just started radiation. I plan on getting reconstruction in the fall.

Whether to have the lumpectomy or the mastectomy will really depend on your own comfort level regarding reoccurance. 7% is such a small chance that I would tend to go for the lumpectomy, since I know what a huge deal it is to have a mastectomy. On the other hand, I almost elected to have a bilateral mastectomy (both breasts), even though there's a low chance that the cancer would ever spread there, just because I didn't want to have that "ticking time bomb" hanging over my head.

My two best pieces of advice are: steer clear of the Internet for a while, or at least limit your exposure to 20 minutes or so at a time. There's a lot of information out there, both accurate and not, and it can be completely overwhelming to plow through it all.

The second piece of advice is to get a second opinion from a surgeon who specializes in treating breast cancer. It sounds like you have very good odds, no matter what you choose to do, but it's always good to get additional input from another expert.

Again, feel free to email me at this site and I'd be happy to relate more of my experience. --A. PS. What is a SAHM? I'm new to the lingo!

Wow, I'm sorry D.! I can't say I've been in your shoes but I'll definately say a prayer for you! I'm happy to hear it's non-invasive!

S.