dx at 22
dx at 22 hey im 22 as you might of guessed by the headline. i was dx in dec 06 had a lumectomy and had my first chemo session this monday seem to be reacting ok to it although have almost been comatosed with sleep for the first few days. I just wanted to throw a message out there to be reassured that i am not alone in this. At first i thought i cant possibly be the youngest person ever to get breast cancer and im now learning that im not. would be good to be incontact with people of the same age, nic
For nicnak Hi Nicnak
Welcome to the forums where I know you will receive lots of support and advice. You may find of interest Breast Cancer Care’s peer support service.This puts you in touch with someone who has personal experience of breast cancer or benign breast conditions and has been trained to listen and offer emotional support. We do our best to match you with someone who has experienced the issues that are most important to you, you will find the link below.
breastcancercare.org.uk/content.php?page_id=4438
Keep posting here as I am sure many of the users here will support you through this.
Kind regards
BCC Host
Sorry… Dear Nicnak,
I am sorry you have to find yourself with this dreadful disease, but you are not alone. I am not as young as you but can tell you that you will get a lot of support from this site.
Take it easy and good luck for the chemo, I had 6 Fec and found I was very tired, but its better to know you are being treated.
I know there are quite a lot of younger women on this site and on "undergoing treatement ",there are plenty of bc ladies and men to help you with any questions and just to support you if you feel like it.
Best wishes
Rosiex
Hi Nicnak You are not alone…I was diagnosed in 2005 at 27…I’ve had a mastectomy, ivf, chemo and just got out of hospital on saturday after the first of two operations for reconstruction. .I really feel on the up at the minute and can really see the light at the end of the tunnel…it was really important to me to get in touch with younger women and I went on a breast cancer care younger womens forum - which was excellent. I also took part in a young womens telephone support group which was again brilliant. I felt less isolated and felt alot better talking to women who knew what I was going through. I also had peer support who was with me every step of the way and don’t know what I would have done without her. My advice would be to take all the help you can get. Good luck with chemo, I found reflexology really helpful. If you ever need a chat or a good moan we are all here for you. Take care,
Katey x
oh my god Hi guys thanx 4 the replies. i am actually in complete shock at the moment and feel a little like a stalker but i read your story in now magazine when i first found my lump. when you mentioned about your recon it rang bells of the article and looked at your posts and found it is you (that sounds really stalkery)…its such a coinsedence. I didnt even know if it was cancer at the time but your article made me feel so much better esp the mention of the cold cap which i had never even heard of before, fingers crossed it works for me too. i didn’t have any ivf i saw a specilist and my odds are like 10% that it will effect fertility i am having zoledex injections tho no side effects yet woop. as soon as the drip was put in i wondered should i have done something but too late now i guess just have to hope. Anyway wow im still in shock your kind of a mini celebrity to me …how did your recon go? hope ur good stay in touch
nic xx
Hi Nic,
sorry you have had to join us but welcome you will find a lot of young women on here. I was diagnosed In september 2005 at the age of 24 one week before my 25 bday. I had a mastectomy with recon chemo radio and am now on Tamoxifen and Herceptin. When I was diagnoised I also felt like you I cant be the youngest person out there with bc well as you can see we are not there are lots of us out there.
Dont every feel alone we are all here for you whenever you need a good old chat moan or even a cry. Have you been on the bbc younger womens weekend away?? they are fab I would really recommend you go on one. I went and it was so nice to finally meet younger women who know what you are going through.
I wish you all the best with your treatment.
By the way there is another site for people with bc and there is a younger women section where we have 56 users we also have r own chat room that is open 24/7 and we all try to meet every Wednesday at 9 pm. the web address is www.phpbbserver.com/breastcancer
Love Clairemm
Hi Nic
I know how you feel too - was dx June 06 when 26. As the others have said, there are plenty of us younger ones about and you will find loads of advice & suport on this site. I used the peer support and would definitely recommend it. I had a lumpectomy and just finished my chemo 2 weeks ago. Radiotherapy will start in Feb. Have managed to get through most of this with a smile on my face thanks to everyone around me. I also found that time passed far quicker than I expected it to and can’t believe I’m already at the point I am with treatment.
Good luck with all your stuff 
Sarah x
Hi there Nicnak,
Your definetly not alone! Unfortunatly, there’s quite a few of us in our 20’s on this site. I remember when i was first DX, I felt really isolated and alone untill i discovered this site. I too have been on the young womens forum, had the peer support and attended the healthy living day, i’d really recommend it. I’ve also just attended a support group in my area. I’m the youngest there by miles! but it still helps to talk to others having gone through the same. I’ve got my 5th chemo this Friday, and thanks to the cold cap, still have a full head of hair! athough it has thinned considerably.
All the best with future treatments, Take care
Lisa x
To my stalker! Hi…I had a little chuckle reading your post! My first stalker…ha ha ha. I’m really glad reading the article made you feel better - that is why I did it. I hope the cold cap works for you, I remember pulling it down really tight onto my head so I had a good contact - not sure if this made the difference or not but worth a try. I’m on Zoladex too - hopefully our fertility will be ok, fingers crossed.
I had a tissue expander put in last Thursday. The operation went really well and I’m out and about now - was front row at Kylie concert on Sunday! It feels so good to have a little bump…instead of a flat chest. They will inflate me in a couple of weeks…which will be really weird. Looking forward to my new boobs, the new me!..
Would be really nice to keep in touch, my website address is on the article…so you can get hold of my e-mail address if you want to e-mail me directly.
Anyway…take care - sending you lots of power
Katey x
stalker here hey guys thanks again soooooooooo much sor replys they bring a smile to my face :o)…
I feel quite normal at the mo which is weird. yea I think about it all the time but its not worrying me yippie…I dont feel ill, dont feel tierd anymore and I still have a full head of hair (high five) need roots doing tho, iv even gone back to work for a bit. not that my boss has very sympathetic anyway she expected me in the day after i was diognosed and seems to think she knows what im going through HA.
To katey
I dont have the mag anymore :o( some moron threw it away but my mate has a copy so once iv got it off her i shall go on your website and email you, thanks so much for doing that article!!
chow 4 now
nic xx
Hi Nic,
I just wanted to say hello, and add myself to the growing list of young ones. I was dx december 03 when I was 22. I had a lumpectomy. chemo, and radio. Unfortunately last year I was diagnosed with bone mets (but dont worry this isnt the norm), and I am back on the chemo now. I know how surreal it can be being dx when so young, and if you every fancy a chat come along to the live chat sessions on thursdays.
Good luck with the chemo
big hugs
sarah
radio-wot-samigiger hey guys just a quick quiery 4 ya. i had an appointment on fri to talk about rads and the whole tatoo thing was mentioned. I know there going to be pin head sized but i really dont want more marks on my body to have to explain to people ie potential boyfs in the future. Do u know if its poss to just hav them penned on everytime? and would it be cheaky to ask?. sarah i noticed ur having rads soon what are u feeling about it, by the way u look apsolutly amazing with ur bald head i almost didnt even notice at first xx
I didn’t have tattoos as I said I wouldn’t consent to them. They didn’t like it but they put pen marks on under clear plastic tape on the middle of my chest and used some rather useful moles I have for marks under my arm.
Someone else on here had the tattoos lasered off afterwards which cost I think £200 which was a lot in my view.
I’ve seen marks which one woman showed me and they were really small but as I said I just had an aversion to the idea
Mole
Tattoos… Hi Nic
Thanks hon… that pic was Christmas Eve just before my last cycle of chemo!! My sisters (one is in the pic with me) insisted we drank champagne all night. I fell over towards the end, over exuberantly hugging a friend. Oops!! Just goes to show this thing doesn’t completely take over your life though! You look gorgeous on your pic too - love the dress!
I haven’t had my rads planning appointment yet - its a week today. To be honest, I’d rather let them tattoo me & get on with it rather than them have to mark up every time. I’ve seen quite a lot of discussions about radiotherapy tattoos (if you search you should find plenty under this forum & the ‘undergoing treatment’ forum) and it definitely seems to be a very personal choice. For me, I already have the lumpectomy & lymph node scars and I see the rads tattoos as just another marker of the journey I’ve been through. But I already have a scar on my other boob from having a mole removed, an appendisectomy scar and a butterfly on my bum so my body is pretty marked already! And none of this will stop me from sunbathing topless to avoid strap marks!!
But never feel to cheeky to ask your consultants anything. They are there to answer our questions and make sure we are comfortable with the treatment we are being given.
I know where you are coming from with the potential boyf thing… I guess you are single at the moment? I am too (split with the guy I was with 2 weeks after surgery as he couldn’t handle it) and I figure that once I tell a potential, if they don’t react well then they don’t deserve a catch like me ( have to have a sense of humour!) and if they do react well, they will love me with or without a couple of pin prick tattoos on my boob. Plus, previous boyfriends have never been bothered by my other scars. But I know how scary it feels thinking you are going to have to go through telling any new person about your bc.
Hope I’ve made some sense here!
Sarah x
good times Hey yes yes…u have made complete sense can totally relate 100%, I think il just have the tatts maybe i can change them into sumthing after hehe join the dots .
High five on the falling over drunk, I have never been out on the town so much in my life. Although this friday gone was the first time after chemo and iv been like a bear with a sore head ever since!!
Yeah im single, the boyf thing scares me alot, was one of the first things i thought of when i was told. Defo not looking for a while tho…and ur right if they dont react well there not worth our beauty :o) How do u tell sum1 tho, I couldnt even tell my friends when i was diognosed it was so unbeliveable that it sounded like a sick joke. I just told my best mate and made her spread the word. I guess we’ll figure it out when the time comes.
Anyways iv become quite addicted to this sight, i used to be addicted to myspace but i spend most me days on here now hehe,
thnx 4 reply, im back in for round 2 next monday, good times haha
muchos love
nic xx
Inflation! Hey…
Just to let you all know they are going to start the boobie inflation a week today - very exciting. I had better not get too carried away, I have visions of me being pumped up the size of Jordan! Well I you might as well get something out of all this crap!..can’t wait to hit the beach this summer with the new figure…
Hope you are all ok…
Katey x
Katey (aka Jordan) Ah, to be able to pick a perfect size & do away with the ‘chicken fillets’ & wonder bras!!
Good luck with the inflation, make sure you treat yourself to some fantastic bikinis this year!
Sarah
my space 30.01.07 11:50 am
SarieFarie
I think I spent more time going out in the first few months than I had in a long time. And even though I didn’t venture into town whilst on chemo I got so friendly with the landlady at my local she is throwing a party for me when I finish my rads!!
Glad my reply made sense - you could get something really pretty done over each dot - just be careful though, tattoos are addictive. The number of times I’ve had to stop myself going back for more!!
I did the same - told close family & friends then asked them to let other people know for me. You were only dx in dec - I 've had since July to get used to it & I think I’m probably far more open to talking about it these days than I was in the beginning.
Anyway, you mentioned my space - I have one too so if you want to look me up. Have been keeping a blog on the site for my mates etc so that they don’t have to keep asking how I’m doing / where I’m up to with treatment!
Take care hon, hope you’re feeling better this week!
S x
For Sariefairie Hi Sariefairy,
Sorry but had to edit the link to myspace. Hope you understand.
Kind regards,
Moderator
BCC