tb? hmmm Hi all,
I have found your comments about tb fascinating as it has never crossed my mind it could be that. I drank quite a lot and smoked and put my drinking down to my bc, but when I was 14 and had the tb jab at school, I had a bad reaction. There is a lot of tb in my family and the doctors ended up actually treating me for tb in the end and giving me chest xrays for about a year- maybe that WAS the cause? am gonna look into this further…
Katyx
?? Mirena coil Hi,
I was diagnosed in march age 34, no children. Was on the mini pill for many years but had to come off this due to high blood pressure. I then had a mirena coil put in in 2004, this is the coil that works by releasing hormones. Had no probs until last nov when I got loads of pain. Eventually got referred for an u/s in Jan and this showed the coil had somehow become embedded in my womb.
Waited for ages to finally get a date for surgery as it had to be removed under ga. Anyway, a few weeks prior to this I noticed a lump in my right breast. I check myself regularly so knew it hadn’t been there long. Was diagnosed with bc (grade 3) and ended up having the coil removed at the same time as my mastectomy.
I’ll get to the point now! I believe that my mirena coil, and the fact that it had become embedded in my womb, MAY have contributed to my being diagnosed with bc. Particularly as my tumour is/was hormone receptive.
Kelly
-x-
Have said this many times before but… … for the benefit of you new to the site, will say it again.
20 years ago, I developed a breast abscess whilst breastfeeding my infant daughter. 18 months ago, I was dx (at first routine mammogram) with bc. This was in the same breast, and at the same location as the original abscess.
Common sense tells me that IF the pipework is damaged, and IF the predisposition is there, then it will only be a matter of time before a tumour develops.
Just my opinion.
Mcgle
I caught a wallop in the breast in the exact spot were my tumour appeared 18mths later…coincidence or what? Was also put on HRT for an early menopause in my late 30’s.Had been on it 8yrs when dx but my tumour was hormone neg.
Well in the paper today they are saying alchol causes BC.
Mine i think was a combination of things always had sore breasts they said it was ‘just’ mastalgia and normal thickening with age, but makes me wonder how long the BC was there for.
I also had a very stressful 18 months prior to getting this.
Had an abcess too in same area as the cancer 23yrs ago couldn’t breast feed.
There were 6 of us on the ward having surgery and we all had different lifestyles and experiences so who knows what causes the horrid disease. I wish they would find out.
Rx
hI Hi Katy
I googled TB breast cancer and rads and there was lots on there.about it it seems the USA are more sure that there is a link…to childhood x-rays and bc…i have posted as i said on the John Hopkins ask the expert site and they are def against rads…its not relevant to adult TC and x-rays thou…its more about the growwing body lungs etc…
but the Dr’s will never admit to a link …its on about Hodgkins disease too which also has somesort of radiationa as a child…there is a lot out there…I also have had a lot of stress in my life, drank alchole.had about a year on HRT when had complete hyst due to endometriosis in '99 I am todate the only person in my whole family to ever get cancer let alone BC… When i wrote to my onc and enclosed the report i saw he was really on the defencive and was going on about how you cant prove this or that…i said to him i wasnt concerned anymore about the whys and where’s …i believe it is the TB…i was just worried about the rads effect on my lungs…now after a second primary my choices have become limited i have to have the rads but am so scared about it…my oncs attitude thou is that we have to accept i have BC today and will have to worry about the future in the future…
But the John Hopkins site is so very diferent about this…is it because they sue Dr’s over there???
Jacqui x
Nobody Really Knows Hi
I have never had HRT as a am pre-menopausal,like you had no member of my family with any types of Cancer, we have always tried to eat well, exercise regularly had 2 children while in my 20’s and breast fed them both did all the things that we are supposed to and still the little devils got me at the age of 41.
So you tell me what it was that i did wrong i havent got a clue and i don’t think anyone else will.
We just have to stay positive and hope that all the treatment has got rid of the little b…ers
Wishing You Well
JanW
What causes? I’ve never had kids, was on the pill for about 10 years, had hysterectomy at 27 because smear tests were always “abnormal” then had cyst in right breast at 31. Right breast developed a painful lump in 2003 and BANG off it comes and I’ve not BC.
Was very very stressed about 2 years prior to this, on anti depress. stressful job, drunk a lot lived it up in London - but who knows. Can’t turn the clock back, enjoyed my life up till then, and now continuing to enjoy it to the full as long as I’m able to.
What more can we do?
I too had a very hard pinch off one of my Kids at work, she is Autistic so not aware of what she did to hurt me…in excactly the same place as my first cancer…and I asked the BCN about it and she said that no way was it in anyway anything to do with it as the cancer is usually about 4 years old by the time I found it…at a rough guess, and then when I found me second one I def hadn’t been pinched there…
Jax
I never took the pill nor HRT. Never smoked ; drank approx one glass of wine per week so they couldn’t have been the cause. Cancer wasn’t in my family.
However I had very heavy periods into my mid 50s every 28 days; so I think that of course this must have had something to do with it.
But when my youngest child was born after I finished breast feeding, I had a lumpy breast. They did checks for cancer, but found nothing. It does seem strange that I had the lump in that same breast. When I asked onc if I maybe had a lump and it turned cancerous he said “no way”. But it does seem strange.
Well good luck to you all
LOL
x
Lambkin
Very Interesting!! Reading all of the posts we all have different stories. I had 2 children at age 30 and 34 and breast fed both for a year, was on microgynon pill for 12 years and after children mirena coil for 9 years (now had it taken out on oncs advice). Never smoked but do like a drink or two!!
Am fairly slim although a little middleage spread creeping around me!! Probably don’t exercise enough and no family history - I’m 44. Because of the rise in bc and especially in younger people I do wonder if it’s something to do with lifestyle or even pollutants in the air or is it just bad luck? Anyway good luck to everyone travelling this horrible journey.
xx
Childhood X- Rays Dear Jacqi. very interesting stuff re childhood X- Rays.I had lung problems and consecquently numerous X-rays as a child.When I mentioned this on dx they pooha-ed it! I’ve led a healthy lifestyle(cant say the same for my sisters) Had my kids young, breast fed them all for around 12mths etc.Theres nobody ever had Breast cancer in my family and I’m the only one to have had a barrage of chest X- rays!
Scary josyemarie… It makes you wonder about chest xrays though, I am 99.9% sure part of my cancer was caused by HRT and I think there are far more than one factor for getting breast cancer but I also had quite a few chest xrays when I was small. A combination of the 2 maybe.
I do not get paranoid about it, but I have 2 daughters and I do not want them to go through what I have been through, so I hope and pray we get an answer to breast cancer before I die.
In the article that I read about x-rays, it said that they had done the studies on children between the ages of 10/14 I was aged 6/16 before they discharged me …They said that It was widley KNOWN that this causes BC but not talked about…of course there are lots of diferent reasons that we can surmise has caused our BC …life style, booze, family history HRT etc…The x-rays may have given me BC but this wont ever be proven…I was extreamly ill with TB and nearly died, the care they gave me was 40 years ago! and so it gave me 40 years more life, it was in the 60’s and they knew next to nothing about amounts of rads …alot of the studies came about because of the world war two bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the effects on the children who as women developed BC…I think about it the same as when I was advised to have chemo and told that it could potentially give me leukemia in 15 years…Today I needed the treatment and if I get another 15 years I will thank god, and deal with anything else if and when…My concerns for my health Radiotherapy wise, is that I have badly scared lungs, and the potential for lung cancer is a risk…If I could possibly not have the rads I wouldn’t have them but I have to trust my ONC, on this as his opinion is that as I have had two seperate primaries, in such a short time and that the second one was there at the time the first one was found,but didnt respond to the e-cmf chemo I had, is more of a threat than the Rads to my lungs…still scared about it tho…
Jax x
Very interesting posts. I personally think you are born with a predisposition to develop BC. Also wonder if taking stielbistrol in the 60s to suppress your milk after breastfeeding could be a culprit. Also agree that the Pill could be a factor. All will be revealed in time but sadly too late for some of us but hope for our children and grandchildren.
When I learned about the link between the BC and x-rays I printed off the page, and the reply off the John Hopkins Site, and sent them with a letter to my Onc who at that time I hadn’t even met. I then had a letter asking me to go and see him, I was due to see him anyway as near to end of e-cmf…when I did see him he kept mentioning the fact that there is no way of telling how I got the BC…He seemed to think that this was my point and I felt as if he was not happy with me, I was not trying to do his job for him, just inform him on my findings, after all its my body!
and to that date no mention of my having TB was questioned… I agree that there must be many diferent reasons for getting BC as we have all lived diferent lives and while we have lots in common we also have lots of differences, this bothers me more as I think well how on earth are we going to stop it if it is caused through so many things…
The new research into having one massive dose of rads is encouraging to me and I am going to ask about his on the 14th when i go for my planning…
The question of the Pill and HRT is another thing when we know that fish are changing sex during their lifetime, and is it my imagination or are there a lot more men in touch with their feminine side than when i was growing up? so are female hormone’s in the water table influencing more than would have ever believed…cows been fed hormones so they constantly produce milk! The answer is yes as they now admit it…so what are the Govt doing about it?
My hope is that one day a simple blood test will empower us and so give us the tools to lead the life we should to prevent this…My own BC is not HR+ and I know they are doing a lot of research into HR+ cancer…but I really wish they would spare a bit more for Triple Negs, we cost a fortune in Chemo I should imagine…and having no answers is so awful, of course its awful for all and knowing your own body is producing hormones making you ill must be dreadful too…we triple negs have no answers at all, if you go on the John Hopkins ask the expert site, they applaud if you are HR+ here they say great if your not…its so confusing
Jax
going round in circles Lots of potential reasons for my BC: no children, large asymmetric breasts, lots of cysts, like a glass of wine, did the pill for 18 months in my twenties (which made my breasts go from cup B to D almost overnight). A very stressful childhood. Annual chest X-rays between the ages of 9 and 12. 3 more chest X rays as young adult.
Have finally come to the conclusion that all this induces unnecessary guilt in me and am trying to stop asking the question. Not an easy task, it’s like asking myself to stop thinking…
Am trying very hard not to cultivate an attitude of: “It just happened and I needn’t beat myself up over my contribution towards this event.”
Once I’ve managed to persuade myself of the truth of this, I may actually come to some sort of acceptance and be able to move on.
environmental factors I thought that Jax’s comments were very interesting. I have no family history of BC whatsoever, and no obvious risk factors other than the pill in my teens/early 20s. However, I have oestrogen-receptive BC.
I’m taking the view that life in an increasingly toxic environment is a much more likely factor than anything I’ve done. We hear a lot about synthetic oestrogens in plastics, cling film, etc, and this makes sense to me. From now on, my kids’ butties are being wrapped in greaseproof paper and veg is coming loose from the market … and the odd bottle of red wine is staying firmly on the agenda.
Cheers. Stockbeck
STRESS! Yet another similar list:
Had 3 kids when in my prime, mid 20’s
Breast fed all 3 (I personally think this one is a phalesy, sp?)
Was super fit and slim for 30 odd yrs.
then
Early menopause so on HRT
Mega stress working with EBD kids who frequently assaulted staff
Mega stress working stupid long hours
Mega stress when financial worries hit
Overweight (comfort eat)
When stressed drank too much alcohol
Stress through living with a very difficult husband
=STRESS
Stress lowers ammunity, fact.
Yes I believe it’s at the crux of mine but my med team WON’T commit to a reason.
Irene
without a doubt the amount of people getting BC is increasing, and without a doubt its happening to younger and younger woman.
I am 45, when I was about 15 my mom had the times or observer on the sunday with the magazine in it and it had an article about the ‘chemicle children’ about the DNA that was tested and household cleaning chemicals were traced in this DNA of children. My mom stopped buying to many products, she has always read well and has always passed on information to us ‘kids’ there are 6 of us…
she never used cling film long before it became widley known about it contaminating food. will not touch a microwaved meal…we do have a microwave but it is very rarely used and I buy as few products as i can for cleaning…
The data about the DNA was mentioned recently on the news, yet as I say it was known many years ago…
and another thing is that so many people have convenience food, I feel that they are storing up trouble for themselves and their children, for diseases in their adult life