HI EVERYONE…I AM CARING FOR MY MOTHER IN LAW,SHE IS 75 AND WAS DIOGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER 10 MONTHS AGO,AND FROM DAY ONE SHE HAS DECIDED TO HAVE NO TREATMENT FOR THE CONDITION.I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT AS THE CONDITION PROGRESES,AND HOW FAST THING MOVE ON…CAN ANYONE WHO HAS HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIANCE TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS…I WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL.THANKYOU
Hi aceone
I’m sorry to hear about your mother-in-law.
I don’t have personal experience of this but STATISTICALLY the older you get breast cancer the higher the chances are that it is a low grade cancer which means it may actually remain contained within the breast for the rest of your mother-in-law’s natural life and not cause her any problems. It is only once it moves outside of the breast to other organs that it can kill.
Of course, this is based only on statistics as older women can and do get aggressive cancers. Is it possible you could speak to your MIL’s breast care nurse or consultant to get a copy of what is in her pathology report? This will tell you not only the grade but how advanced the cancer is and give you a better idea of whether her condition is classed as terminal or stable.
If it turns out her cancer is advanced (ie has moved outside of the breast) how things progress will very much depend on where the cancer has settled. If it is the bones the prognosis is good as many women live many years with bone mets, although treatment to strengthen the bones is normally recommended as they can be prone to fracture. Without treatment cancer in other organs probably has a bleaker outlook.
Hope that helps. If you can find out a little more there is a lot of knowledge and wisdom on these boards and someone should be able to give you a more accurate response.
Hi ACEONE
Please feel free to give our helpliners a call to talk about the concerns you have, they will offer you support and information and a ‘listening ear’. The line is open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-2pm on 0808 800 6000.
Best wishes
Lucy
Moderator
Breast Cancer Care
Statistics seem to suggest that the older you are when you get breast cancer the worse your prognosis - oddly it is also less good to get it younger than 50.
It is suggested that treatment given to older women isn’t always as good as to younger women.
The worst case would be the tumour grows and the causes skin ulcers which then fester and smell, and presumably cause pain as well. In addition to this, cells can break away and then cause secondary cancer in bones, lungs, the liver and other parts of the body.
As breast cancer is a fairly slow acting cancer she may be well for a while but maybe she should talk to other older women in case she changes her mind.
Primary breast cancer is potentially curable so why not give it a shot?
Mole