My name is Myriam, I’m from Spain. My mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer at 67 years old. We are so scared, because no one in our family had this illness… We would like to know stories of women of her age with this desease. I am so scared because she’s old. Any story will be very helpful.
In addition, my mother did a pre-surgery biopsy last month, and doctor said that her cancer is not agressive, but, how could he know before “open” it or post-surgery biopsy? Should I trust him?
Thank you to you all in advance, and lots of hugs.
Hello Myriam.
I am very sorry that your mother has been diagnosed with BC.
Biopsies help doctors to know the details (pathology report) about the tumour, they are of much impotance along with screenings to decide the treatment.
Please note that AECC in Spain offers many services to patients and their relatives, including councelling and there is also a free phone number in which you can contact them 24h.
Hi kindness 91
Oh bless you sweetheart I’m sending you and your Mum all good wishes!! I’m 64 years old and I’m also the first in my family to receive a breast cancer diagnosis. I’m in the UK so can only speak about my pathway here but I can absolutely say that I have total faith in my oncology team.
I had no symptoms at all, no lumps or anything so I was diagnosed following a routine mammogram and then biopsy, ultrasound and X-ray. I had a lumpectomy and mammoplasty in September, then radiotherapy in January 2024.
Every professional I have seen ( and as I’m sure your Mum is finding out), we see a lot of professionals along this rubbish path, but every one has been amazing with me and I’m awaiting my next appointment with the oncology team which will be in March.
It sounds like your Mum has a wonderful family, as do I, including my daughter who is 32 and has been a rock throughout which is awesome!
The people on here are so supportive to anyone who reaches out and I’m sure will be there for you throughout!
Take care and I wish your Mum a speedy process and a fantastic outcome!! Xx
Hi @kindness91 or Myriam, I was 66 when diagnosed and am 68 now. I also had a pre surgery biopsy which told the doctors that, like your mother, my cancer was not aggressive and that, after surgery to remove it I would have radiotherapy and tablets to take for 5 years and should live a normal life thereafter. After the surgery 5 weeks later, that was confirmed. So it is quite usual for doctors to have a very good understanding of the situation before taking the tumour out. I’m so sorry that you are so worried about your lovely mother but please trust in the medical team as they do this all day every day AND trust in your mother because us old people are tougher than you might think
Hi Myriam! My twin sister and i will be turning 63 next month (and 60’s isn’t old, lol!), and last February my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer also. Her doctor told her that, after the biopsy, her cancer was not aggressive either. She didn’t have the surgery for 3 months, but everything turned out well. It was low grade and smaller than originally thought. She had radiation for 4 weeks and will take hormone block pills for 5 years. She had the oncotype test, and the results came back with a zero recurrance score. I am sure that your doctor was correct when he said that your mom’s cancer was non aggressive, as a lot can be told from a biopsy! It’s been a year now since my sister was diagnosed, and she is fine, back to normal, doing all of her regular things that she enjoys! She just had a 6 month mammogram (they will do mammograms every 6 months for I believe 3 years), and everything looked great! Just try to hang in there! I’m sure your mom will do great!! <3 Lots of love to you and your mom!! Janet
Thanks a lot for answering me Only symptom that my mother had was a lump, nothing more… So, for this reason, we believed that it could be benign :(.
I wish you all the best during this difficult path, I’m so glad that you have found a great team that takes care of you as you deserve You are so sweet and brave, you deserve all wonderful things in the world Sending all my love to you and your family
Thank you so so so so so much for answering me and telling me your story. I’m so happy that you are good at this moment and your cancer wasn’t aggressive. They said that she will have radiotherapy 100 % sure, as you, but, at the moment, they didn’t say anything related to chimio. I wish everything went as well as for you
Thank you so much to all the wonderful, amazing, lovely and brave woman that have answered me. You give hope to our scared hearts. Thank you so much, you’ll always have a friend in us
Thanks a lot for answering me, from the bottom of my heart (I didn’t want to be rude saying “old”, maybe I should have used another more polite word :(, my vocabulary isn’t so fluent yet, so sorry!!! ).
I’m so glad that your sister is now happy and healthy Thank you for telling me her story Doctor said that my mother will need radiotherapy 100 % sure and pills, but, at the moment, we don’t know nothing about chimio… I hope it will only be radiotherapy.
Hi Miriam sorry to hear about your mum , I’m 67 had symptoms and was diagnosed with breast cancer long story ended up having mastectomy and node removal to be honest the recovery wasn’t to bad and my daughter was worried because of my age , I was with a couple of women older than me having lumpectomy all recovers well , so don’t worry your mum will be fine
You are so welcome! LOL, when I was your age, 60’s seemed like old too! But so many people live to be in their 80’s and 90’s now, to me it just doesn’t seem like
“old” anymore!!
I do hope that your mother does well. My sister didn’t have any bad side effects from the 4 weeks of radiation either! Please keep us informed on here about how she is doing! Non-aggressive early stage breast cancer can be cured many times! So glad your mom’s was caught at an early stage!!
Much love to you and your mom!!
Janet
Finally, my mother had her surgery last 5th March and everything went well. Surprisingly, her tumor was waaay smaller than expected (they believed it was almost 4 cm, and it was only 1.5 cm). I’ve asked about this incredible change of tumor’s size in Spanish forums, and they told me it is so infrequent. Could you, please, tell me if your sister’s was so different after surgery? I tried to send you a DM, but it seems it is not possible here!
Hi kindness91
Thank you for sharing the update on your mother. I bet she’s giddy that her tumour is smaller than expected.
In my case a 22mm intermediate grade 2 DCIS was expected however after the lumpectomy it turned out to be a 55mm intermediate nuclear grade 2 DCIS plus 2 small low grade nuclear invasive ones.
I’m now almost 7 months down the line from my operation and feeling on top of the world that the treatment is finished and I can put it all behind me.
My very best wishes to you and your Mum xx
Thank you so much for your kind wishes . I’m so sorry that the tumor was bigger than expected :(, however, I’m so glad that you end your treatment and you feel much better now . In my mum’s case there weren’t any lymphs affected.
I wish you all the best May I ask what was your treament? I mean, it was chemo + radio + pills?
Hi kindness91
My lymph node’s were not affected either thankfully so my treatment was 5 years on hormone tablets (I was ER+ Pr neg), and Radiotherapy.
Unfortunately as I have Multiple Sclerosis, I didn’t tolerate the tablets and they only gave me a tiny amount of protection so my Oncology team and I agreed that I would not continue with the tablets.
I had 26gy#of Radiation over 5 sessions (3 one week then a break at the weekend and 2 the week after)…. I was ok with the radiation, I used Aveeno skin relief moisturiser 4 times a day for 6 weeks or so and my skin is looking good now.
Fatigue, as everyone says, is a big thing but tell Mum to rest lots and I’m sure you’ll be looking after her very well.
It is amazing how much support you will get from the fabulous people on here sweetheart so please be comforted by our comments.
My very best to everyone going through this xx
Hello there!! I’m so happy that your mom had her surgery and that it went so well. My sister’s original tumor size was also around 4 cm, but after the surgery, like your mom’s, it was only 1.5 cm!! What a difference!! We were all so happy! She had no cancer in the lymph nodes, so only had to have 4 weeks of radiation. That was in July of last year and she is doing great! She had the oncotype test (the DNA test when shows the percentages of the cancer returning), and the doctor said that in all his years of practice, that he had only seen her results two other times… It was ZERO! Zero chance of recurrance!! She had her 6 month checkup in January and everything looks great. I hope that the same thing will happen with your mom!! I wish all of you a Happy Easter!! <3
Janet
