Haven’t been on this site for a while. I was diagnosed with breast cancer 7 years ago today, 30 weeks pregnant. I had 2 large tumours that to give myself the best possible chance of living required chemo immediately, an impossible choice had to be made.
I now have a totally fit, healthy gorgeous girl. I am training to be a counsellor because of my experience and have recently undergone bi-lateral breast augmentation.
I will never forget those long dark isloating days just after diagnosis and during treatment and live with the shadow of the possibility of a recourrance or secondaries.
Thinking of those currently facing a similar situation and to say that it does eventually get better.
Thanks so much for sharing your story. It really does give us all hope. My treatment finished 15 months ago (apart from the Tamox)and there were times when I couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Reading of others experiences really helped me then and still does now.
becks, thankyou so much for posting your story. We have only just got the pregnancy thread onto the site, and there are quite a few pregnant women over the last few months who will take great comfort from your story. I am not pregnant but still love hearing good news like yours. All the very very best to you, your little girl and your family. Give her a big kiss from all of us,
Hi Becks,
Just wanted to send you lots of hugs and love, you must have gone through some harrowing experiences while going through your journey.
So pleased you have a gorgeous daughter, and well done on training to be a counsellor. You have packed a lot in your 7 years, and long may they continue.
So very good to hear positive stories.
Love and Hugs to you and your family
Sandra xxx
Hi, Becks, very encouraging story for those ladies facing this and for us “older” ladies. I had my 4th FEC today so half way through this phase. LOve & best wishes to you and your family
Thank you for your lovely comments. Now I know that this thread is on there I will pop back to offer support to those that face a similar experiece that my family and I faced which I can only descibe as horrific.
None of us know what will the future will hold but I have totally made the most of the time that I have had and for me balancing the possibilty of recurrance and living my life to the max at times has been tricky. The good part about of training to be a counsellor means that you have to have lots of counselling yourself and that you have to face your demons head on!
ps, that sounded awful, I would of course be happy to support anyone!
I had:
3 x ac (2 while pregnant)(Aug/Sept2003)
3 x taxotere (Oct-Dec2003)
WLE and re-excision (Feb and Mar 2004)
25 rads (May-June2004)
Extended tamoxifen (Jan 2004-present)
Bi lateral breast augmentation (Aug '10)
Hi Becks, great to hear from you with such a positive story.
I’m 25 weeks pregnant and have had mx and lymph clearance, 2xAC, another 2 to go. I’ll then have 8/10 weeks off to deliver the baby, more surgery (have a lymph node left behind which may or may not be more cancer) then 4xTAX. Then rads and 5 years of tamoxifen.
It’s all so daunting but great to hear you made it through. My diagnosis was already a recurrence which obviously means my chances aren’t so good but I’m still hopeful this incident might be the end of it - certainly not planning anymore pregnancies after this one!!
Would you mind telling me why you are still taking Tamoxifen after the normal 5 year cut off? I took tamoxifen for two years and am now on Arimadex.
I was diagnosed in Feb 2005 when my baby was 5 months old. I did notice a thickening in my left breast at about 20 wks pregnant, and brought it up at every anti natal appt, but they kept saying oh it is nothing just changes due to pregnancy. Anyway when I was finally diagnosed the tumour was 5cms and I was told the tumour was very hormone positive. My worry is that I am due to be discharged in October this year and have been told that I will also stop taking Arimadex, which I am very worried about, if I stop taking it the hormone will no longer be blocked and could feed any other tumours that are lying dormant??
Thanks
I had the same with a mid wife and dr telling me that they both thought it was nothing, in the end I had a 5x6cm tumour in my breast and a 4x4 cm tumour in my arm pit which clearly was something! I was advised not to have anymore children as the cancer was strongly oestrogen positive. I think it’s upto the various consultants/trusts what treatment we recieve, I am still taking tamoxifen as I am pre-menopausal and due the size of the tumours my onc wants me to take something and currently this is the only option for me.I have asked about having my ovaries removed/ablated but he is concerned about the risk of osteoparosis. Once I become post menopausal I will switch to one of the aromatse inhibitors ( I haven’t had a period since May so here’s hoping). I believe that there are trials being undertaken on looking at extending tamoxifen for 10 years plus. I have my annual check up on Thursday so I will know more then.
I hope that I can be your little bit of hope that I was so desperate for during treatment and recovery. I found the whole experience devastating, frightening and isolating trying to deal with my own fears and emotions as well as everyone else’s!
My 5x6cm and 4x4cm tumours shrank to 4x4 and 2x2 after 1 AC, they didn’t change size during the next 2 cycles so was switched to Taxotere where by they couldn’t be felt pre surgery but there were active cancer cells in the breast and 1 out of 4 lymph nodes was cancerous.
It took me a long time to accept that I couldn’t have anymore children and felt that the choice had been taken away from me. I wanted to give up many times but would always ask myself did I want to give myself the best chance of taking Bonnie to school on her first day and that gave me focus and determination to carry on. She will always have a very special place in my heart and soul, she gave me courage to carry on when I really didn’t want to.
Take care and sending love and hugs to everyone that is living with cancer in their lives.
hi ladies im new to this site and wanted to share my happy outcome.
i was 28 yrs old and 12 wks pregnant when i was told it was breast cancer in august last yr. i then had masectomy and 5 chemo while pregnant. i gave birth to my beautiful baby girl 6 wks premature so i could start my hepceptin. 2 days after giving birth i had my first hep and 6th out of 7 chemo. once that was done i went on to have radio.im still on hep til jan 2011 and on tamoxifen for 5 yrs. its been just over a yr since dx its been a hard time with lots of ups and downs. i have 2 wonderful children and a great family behind me.i didnt think i could of done all i have in the last yr but ive come through the other side. being pregnant is hard enough and then having to be back and forward to hospital for treatment was hard but i got through it. just want to let anyone know whos in same situation it does fly by and at the end you have a gorgeous baby to brighten you days xx
I am the husband-to-be of a cracking lass, Alison, aged 35. We have in the past three weeks found out that she has grade 2, stage 1 HER-2 negative breast cancer. It is oestrogen receptive so she is currently on Tamoxifen until just before her lumpectomy in two weeks time (6 days after our wedding). Due to career and geographical circumstances we have put off having a family and were going to begin this process after the wedding. Unfortunately this has put us on the backfoot somewhat. We are both desperate to have children and the idea of not having them is really troubling us both but more so her. We have been told by the surgeon that if all goes according to plan then after 2 years of all clear (post op and Radiotherapy) that it would be our decision to try for children and come off the Tamoxifen for the duration of the pregnancy. He said that the 5 year tamoxifen plan is an arbitary number that no-one seems to know where the origin of that figure comes from.
She is quite shy about coming on to the forums but I cannot stand around doing nothing, if anything so we can prepare ourselves for possible outcomes.
We accept that each case is different to another, but it would be good to hear of a range of stories of people who have been in the same boat so we can make our own judgements. I also know that we have a number of bridges to cross, but we like to prepare ourselves for the way ahead so we can plan things in bite sized chunks.
Hi Richard I was 39 when I was diagnosed and already had 3 children, but the marriage broke down and I remarried, fell pregnant at 43 quite easily, came off tamoxifen for the pregnancy and also breast fed on the good side for 6 months and then went back on the tamoxifen. Please go to the cancer research site because there are many controversies over whether a pregnancy makes the cancer more liable to reoccur, but current thinking is that pregnancy doesnt make a reoccurence more likely and it explains it on the site.my son is now 16 and I did have a reoccurence in the same breast 18 years later and I have had a mastectomy now.Tamoxifen was used as a fertility drug originally and I believe that if you take it for the first 7 days of the cycle that it makes pregnancy more likely but you will be able tocheckon that when the time comes. I believe now that whatever will be will be and what if it came back but what if it dident and you wasted your chance of a child. I think 2 years is the reccommendedtime before you try for a baby, but please dont be put off get the facts from the people whoknow best wishes to you both suzan
Suzan, thanks for posting your story, I have found it very calming. I have two boys aged 5 and 3 and was dx in march aged 36. We were trying for baby three at the time and I am so sad that I feel my family isn’t finished, even tho I know how lucky I am to have my boys. Your story has shown me that a baby later down thr line can be feasible. Thanks for sharing it, it’s cheered me up.
Hi vickie so glad I helped you, I went on the cancer research site after I read this article and The reason they reccommend you wait two years is that if the cancer is going to come back it will probarly do so in the first two years,go their site and type in breast cancer and then go onto pregnancy it will make you feel better and you will have heard it from the experts.By the waymy two boys were 5 and 3 as well and my daughter was 9, so I now how you feel sometimes now I look at other young mums and I remember when I was that age and howhard it was, sometimes I used to keep them home from school if the weather was bad as an excuse and spend all day watching videos with them. Make your time special with your two boys and make every second of their and your lives count, in many ways I think it made me appreciate them just that little bit more. If you have any questions then feel free to ask. But there is no reason why you shouldent have more children, I think a lot of it depends on how aggressive the cancer is and obviously for someone who has this type of cancer it might not be a good idea because pregnancy or not the cancer is more likely to reccur.I took tamoxifen for 3 years and then for 4 years afterwards my breast that I fed on was twice the size but I fed him and he grew fabulously I dident even attempt to feed on the breast cancer side and it dident react to the pregnany the way the other breast did and the oncologist said that was how it should be take care love suzan
I know there are many options and differences of circumstances. I am optimistic by nature, and I am trying to see the upside of a bad deal and help bring her through this. Any glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is something to focus on and I appreciate your kind and encouraging words.
We have only moved in with each other in the past 3-4 months after living in different cities for over 4 years, so the way I look at it is that whilst babies will have to wait at least 2 years, it will give us time together, just the two of us, and I think this will give us the most solid foundation for our relationship. Hopefully in 2 years time we can build on that and swell our numbers!!!
All the best to each of you and thanks again for your support, despite me not being the subject.
I have had two children since my initial diagnosis of breast cancer 6 years ago.
I chose not to have chemotherapy because I didn’t want to risk losing my fertility, so I can’t comment on ovarian recovery after treatment.
The downside is that I was diagnosed with a recurrence during my second pregnancy this year. But I’m halfway through chemotherapy, have had a seemingly healthy baby, have a lovely 2.5yr old, and if stomaching the treatment is the worst of it, then I’d say it’s a price worth paying for the family you want.
Crossing everything for you that you have the chance to have the kids you’re hoping for.