sorry to stir any bad feeling i am under no illusion that I might get cancer again as it is now turning out that it runs in my family, mum and aunty had dcis and my mums mums sister died of breast cancer 20 years ago and 6 years ago my grandad had prostate cancer, my mums dad, all this ,apart from my mum I found out on friday,I have already been to genetics clinic to see if I carry the gene.But I told my breast cancer nurse what has been said on here and soon I am going in for a mastectomy on the right hand side even though I do not have anything on this side,I had an ultrasound and a mammogram last week,she said this will reduce my risk by 90 percent and she said that on the side where I have already had a mastectomy It is a very small risk that there is any cancer left and I know someone said that it spreads through your blood as well as your lymph nodes but isnt that why I have been a pin cushion since diagnosis in june and all has come back clear.I know it may come back and I also know that if I do carry the gene I may have passed it in to my 3 children which really p***es me off, and this damn thing has made me think about what will happen if the worst does happen but all I get from any proffesional I ask is very positive and I am hanging on to that just now because there is so much they can do now so people can lead a long and healthy life and when I read some of your posts it made me a bit sad because I came on this website for support and I have had that in some ways but all I am trying to do is think positive and found it very hard after reading these posts so I dread to think what it would do to someone who was not so positive.
I have secondaries although I’ve been in remission since the Summer of 2005. I haven’t given up hope of living with breast cancer for a long while yet. I was diagnosed in 2003 with both bc and bone mets and have never had need of pain killers. The cancer is being kept in remission with Arimidex. Life is pretty normal (ish). I know many women with secondaries, I meet up with them several times a year. None of them are curled up waiting to die, they’re just busy getting on with life.
Debbi I have a genetic appointment soon, I have a daughter too. I can cope with my own diagnosis but have found the genetic appointment and it’s implications so stressful. Good Luck, I hope you get good news from the genetics appointment.
Debbi. I do also find many negatives on the sites but I think thats only to be expected. Those that have recurrence or secondaries, or are very concerned with recurrence and getting back to their lives, are the very ones that will naturally come on here for support on a regular basis - apart from those going through treatment of course.
Keep in mind that there are many thousands of women who each year finish treatment and just get on with it, and who no longer (or never) come online as they are busy living the rest of their lives. This is not to say that people who come on here don’t live lively, happy lives, just that one comes on here when we want to give and receive support and share experiences, but many don’t.
Living with BC Tigerlily
You’ve taken the words out of my mouth, thank you.
From a personal view, I have sadly had a recurrence after 6 years. Up to that point I had (just as Debbi says), put it more or less behind me. Yes, I did have a reconstructed boob, that never looked perfect, but I could wear normal bras and swimwear and did not have any significant discomfort. Enjoyed work and life in general and actually re-married. However , now that I had a recurrence of this horrible disease, my views have changed dramatically. Apart from the fact t that I had to have a radical mastectomy and lost the implant, I have developed lymphoedema and am taking Arimidex, with a lot of horrible side effects. I also had large lymph node involvement at level 3, so my prognosis is much poorer now. I am still trying to come to terms with all this and this site, as you said, is a real help and comfort. I have learned a lot more than I could have done by just reading booklets etc., and it is great to find that others often feel just like you do. It somehow makes you feel les alone, and also less worried, as the mind can go into ‘overdrive’, especially at 4am in the morning.
So good luck to everyone who has put it behind them, and I hope to join that happy crowd before too long. But in the meantime, I will keep posting and reading the helpful advice and give support if I can.
Birgit. So sorry to hear of your recurrence. Hoping you are soon on the road to ‘putting it behind you’ again - best wishes