Head all over the place and feeling like BC has taken over my life

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Hello Everyone,

I was diagnosed yesterday with grade 1 slow growing BC, Which thankfully hasn’t spread anywhere else yet… I found a lump a couple of weeks ago and went for a routine mammogram that had been booked ages ago a couple of days later mentioning I had found a small hard area of skin on the rear of my left breast… Roll on about 2 weeks and I’m recalled for further tests including a very painful during and after biopsy which they said would confirm that it was likely to be cancer…

Yesterday I had been preparing for worse than stage 1 but so relieved it was only that level…

I have read other posts on here and so many other brave ladies have been given far worse diagnosis that I almost feel a fraud posting here…

Anyway, I have turned down surgery, chemo etc as I believe the side effects are worse than the cancer itself and having researched it fully because I an ER I’m agreeing to hormone therapy which I will combine with some lifestyle and diet changes then when I have another scan in approximately 6 months if it has got bigger which hopefully won’t happen I might reconsider…

Virtually everyone I know and my oncologist except my partner think I should have it cut out plus have radiotherapy after…

I can’t understand why that is, since the hormone treatment has much less side effects which but everyone gets with a high chance of shrinking the cancer…

I know it will be different for everyone but I am starting to feel isolated in my view of how I feel my body should be treated…

I feel angry in some ways that my life won’t be the same and I know when I return to work my colleagues will look at me differently and worse when they find out how I plan to deal with it all…

I can’t understand why everyone assumes that it should be dealt with in the same way, and don’t understand my feelings and beliefs that the body is largely designed to self heal and I want to do everything I can to help that happen not wreck my poor immune system with chemotherapy…

I have lost and my partner has lost lots of family not to cancer itself but from the horrendous side effects the treatment causes…

Has anyone else on here just used the hormone therapy treatment for their BC, ie letrozole and not then needed any other treatment…

I will be increasing my intake of fresh fruit and vegetables to use natural cancer fighting compounds they contain too…

I appreciate my views will be in contrast to most people here and also appreciate everyone tries to make the best choices possible for themselves…

I still don’t understand why something that has grown in my body can’t also go in the same way it got there…

Early days I guess…

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Hi Winterwolfsoul,
TBH, I have not seen anyone here who has persued the course of action you are contemplating.
For the vast majority of us, surgery is quite straightforward & recovery unproblematic. It is the mainstay of bc treatment, as removing the tumour is often curative in itself.
Many of us here look at diet & lifestyle & make improvements, but do this to support conventional treatment, not replace it.
When it comes down to it, conventional treatment offers the most successful outcomes & has a wealth of clinical evidence to support it.
As your bc is grade 1, with no evidence of spread, then chemo would be unlikely.
I wish you well with your choices.
ann x

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Hi Winter,

 

I understand completely where you are coming from.  I have also been trying to find support and/or anecdotes from people who have refused treatment, and cannot find any.  I have stage 1, grade 2 idc, 27mm according to the ultrasound, going for results of the scans today.  I will be having the surgery, as that’s the only part of the process that I understand, but if I can possibly get away with it I am going to refuse the rads and the chemo. If I can.  I am still researching this, but will know more later today.

 

I can’t agree with you not having surgery, and I think you’d be really mad at yourself if it grows to the point where future surgery would disfigure you (or metsastasize), but I am totally with you with the rest of the treatment, especially given how small your tumour is.  If it’s small - you didn’t give any details.  And I don’t know how old you are.  I am 56.

 

Cathy

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Hi Cathy,

Thanks for your reply,
It has been measured at 18mm and my plan is to try the hormone therapy treatment alongside lifestyle charges ie exercise 30 mins daily, change of diet to mostly raw vegan, I’m already vegetarian and largely dairy free, start eating more cancer fighting foods and cut out the foods that help it grow…

I have a check up booked for 3 months when they do a physical examination to see if the lump has got softer as often the hormone treatment will do that.

Then at 6 months they do another ultrasound scan, if it has grown in that time I will reconsider surgery but if the same or smaller will continue another 3 to 6 months doing the same…

I am 58, 59 in November…

Elaine…

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Hi winter, I also had a grade 1 slow growing tumour and my treatment was minimal compared to others, lump removed, radiotherapy which is painless and only takes a few minutes , and now on Tamoxifen for 10 years and in all honesty it’s the medication that has caused the most side effects and gives me the least % protection of all of it! 

 

No way could I have left cancer inside of me and refused the treatment offered as it gave me the best chance of long term survival and that’s what we all want after all! You wouldn’t have Chemo for a grade 1 cancer unless it had spread to your nodes which isn’t likely so your path would  be straight forward with a minimal % chance of reacurrance

 

I respect your right to do as you please but I neither understand or agree with it, so many ladies here would love to be in our position of being able to have such a good prognosis with minimal treatment but their cancer has other ideas sadly , I wish you well with whatever you choose to do and hope it all works out well for you xx Jo 

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Hi Ann,

Thanks for your reply and thoughts also…

I am petrified if hospitals and only had surgery twice, once under a local for a ingrown toenail op and the pain following the operation was the worse pain I’ve ever had in my life…

The second time was on my sinus and I was scared into having that as they found something that looked like a rumour in my sinus cavity but which turned out to be an infected tissue mass, since then I have had me problems with my sinus than I had before the op.

I bleed easily and being ultra sensitive have a very low pain threshold…

I struggle with the sight of blood also so fear not coping with the aftermath much like I struggled after the toenail op…

Since the hormone treatment could shrink the mass to virtually zero then I don’t see the need to be cut open, had it been larger and higher risk of spreading I might have considered it more…

Will keep everyone updated…

Best wishes

Elaine

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Thanks Jo,

As I have mentioned in my previous replies to other posters, I just feel surgery has a risk of infection and I consider it an invasive treatment…

Should my cancer not respond to the hormone therapy and my own attempts at stopping and hopefully reversing it’s growth, since it grew from nothing, like a weed in the garden, I’m sure if starved of what it needs to grow, it could shrink and die…

And It is not causing me any pain or other problems and not spread to the lymph nodes according to tests they have already done…

However if any of the above changes and at my 3 or 6 month checks it is seen to be getting bigger I will then consider surgery…

I appreciate your thoughts and views and did expect that there would be few people here that would take the route I am taking…

We each have to consider what we feel is the best option for us as individuals…

Maybe in 6 months when I get another scan to see the results my experience could help others who are considering the same path…

Take care

Elaine xx

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Winterwolfsoul

 

First of all I would like to say that everyone is entitled to their own decision with regard to  their treatment of bc as we are all individuals. No one should ever judge you for what your decision is as they do not know how they will react were they unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with it.

 

However I would like to tell you my story as a contrast.  I was diagnosed with grade 1, tubular bc, 17mm, ER+.,  I went through two lots of biopsies because the the first set came back inconclusive and they did not want to send me away for three years without being sure so I had a second set done.

 

They also told me that it was early stage, they did not think it had gone into the lymph nodes but would not be able to confirm it until I had my op and the checked the biopsies they took from that, chemo was a “possible” on my treatment plan but only if the diagnosis changed when the results came back from my op, they did not…  I had the op in Oct last year, I called it Mr Blobby (as sign of my age and the era of Noel Edmunds) and I wanted him out of my body.

 

I was fortunate in that they achieved clear margins around the tumour and it had not spread into my lymph nodes so I went on to have radiotherapy and am on hormone tablets for the next 5 years to prevent a recurrence.  For my the worst side effect of the rads was that my life was controlled by that one appointment every day for four weeks, but that is a distant memory now.

 

When I went back to see my oncologist in March he confirmed the same as my consultant that it was a slow growing cancer,which i had had for around 7-12 months, fortunately picked up by the routine mammogram, which I had almost cancelled because I was too busy!!.  He also told me I was cancer free and the rads I had had was the belts and braces of the whole treatment along with the hormone treatment

 

I am back to my normal like, but yes I agree it is a different “normal” and there has been a lot of adjustment mentally that I have been going through, especially as I have a partner with MS and our live has totally changed in the last two years.  I was angry, on many occasions thought why me, but then thought well why not me, I have fought so much over my 59 years with the condition I was born with that I was determined to not let this beat me.

 

Yes we all make some lifestyle changes, but my diet etc was not bad before I was diagnosed so I just carry on with eating the same foods, I am not going to give up the food that I enjoy, because life is too short to worry about all the things they say in the press that you should do or not do.

 

I do not regret the decision I have made because to me the only way I would have been happy was to have the lump removed, but would just say, be totally clear on the reasons why you do not want to have the lump removed and that you are making it for the right reasons for you, not as a result of any fear that you may have, which we all know what that is like

 

I am sending you best wishes for whatever decision you make.

 

Helena xx

 

 

 

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Hi Cathy,

Yes I spent most of yesterday researching the drug they are offering me, it could have side effects and there are a lot of them but they might not effect me and I won’t know unless I try, which gives me a double edged sword to take on the cancer cells with.

My partner fully supports my actions and he has extensively researched nutritional based treatments for cancer over several years…

I just feel it is for me, the best approach and if in 6 months time it has not worked how I hope it will based on multiple sources of evidence showing nutrition can beat cancer, then surgery will be seriously considered by me…

I know many women might disagree with me but it is something I feel strongly about…

Time will tell…

Elaine x

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Dear Helena,

Thank you so much for sharing your story,

I remember Mr Blobby too!!

I am really pleased that the choices you made worked out well for you and especially with so many other health issues going on with your and your partner…

Yes, fear does play a part in my decision not to have surgery but not of the surgery itself rather the after care and pain etc… However I just feel so strongly about this and want to try the nutritional approach first and feel that I am grateful to be able to have that choice as had the cancer been fast growing or bigger or looked like it was about to spread then I might have gone for the surgery first… I have read elsewhere on this forum that some women have taken the hormone treatment to shrink the cancer to a smaller size prior to surgery so should mine shrink in that way then in 3 to 6 months I might change my mind about the surgery and have it done…

But right now, I am of the mind that I want to use nutrition to fight the cancer alongside the hormone treatment to give my body the best chance with minimal pain and disruption and surgery which I know would be a huge shock to my entire system…

I do appreciate your consideration of my feelings and choices though…

Thank you again…

Elaine Xx

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Hello Elaine,

 

Hope you don’t mind me adding my thoughts to the mix. I am very much of the same view as Ann, Jo and Helena. My treatement was slightly more complicated and I did have chemo but 18 months later I’m here, happy and enjoying life. I would actually say I enjoy life more because I know how precious it is. I certainly don’t sweat the small stuff anymore.

 

As some of the others have said, the chance of chemo is pretty remote with a diagnosis like yours. As for surgery, I too was terrified as had not had any before but it turned out to be so much less traumatic than I imagined. As for pain, well the drugs they give you are marvellous and I’ve seen lots of people here say that after a lumpectomy they just got by with over the counter pain killers. 

 

It sounds to me like you are someone who obviously lives a healthy lifestyle and this will put you in a good place to cope with any treatment you decide to have. Starting from a healthy base puts you at a real advantage. 

 

To sum up, please don’t disregard evidence based conventional treatment. It has helped so many of us here and around the world. 

 

Whatever you do, I wish you much luck. Let us know how you get on.

 

Ruth xx

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Very interesting debate.Winter good luck with whatever you chose .I would just like to add that the hormone tablets have their own ( sometimes significant ) side effects for some ladies. If it is your fear of surgery that is stopping you from having the tumour removed may be worth looking into ways of addressing that too.Jill.

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When it comes down to it Elaine, conventional treatmemt is the best we’ve got. There is a lot of cancer ‘woo’ out there, with claims made for things, including diet, for which there is only unreliable & often anecdotal evidence.
Fortunately, yours is slow growing, so there might be a while before it causes further problems, however, cancer can be an agressive disease & there is no evidence diet can treat it.
Do take care
ann x

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Patricia, Ruthin, Gill and Ann,

Thank you all for your input on this topic, I have read all your comments and do understand why you all think what you do, but there are scientists out there who have proven nutrition can beat cancer, you just need to look in the right places and also hear from living breathing cancer survivors who have taken the same route as I am… I am guessing there are few of those if any on this forum though…

There are many factors why we get cancer and equally so in my opinion, many solutions also…

Personally I believe fear is one of the reasons people often opt for surgery because they fear cancer, I don’t have that fear, not yet and maybe I am naive to be that way, I have seen loved ones dying painful not from the cancer but from conventional treatments…

I will leave it there but check back here in 3 months after my first check up, and again in 6 months after my scan…

Thanks to everyone who commented on this post I do value and appreciate all your comments… I will take into account what you have gone through yourselves…

Possibly this is all still sinking in and my feelings could be influenced by the shock caused by going from living a normal life to being diagnosed with cancer in a few short weeks…

However my intuition plays a big part as does my belief that we can achieve anything if we have hope, courage and seen evidence of others doing the same…

Time will tell…

Thanks again ladies wishing you all the best health possible… Xx

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That should be Ruth… Predicted text sorry!!!

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Sorry to Jill also, one of my best friends is Gill…

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Good luck let us know how you get on .I think a lot of us would agree with your thoughts on nutrition ,lifestyle etc re preventing the-occurrence and have decided to use these things rather than hormone therapies /radiotherapy just not for treating a primary cancer initially .Take a bit of time to think things over as you say you are probably in shock .All the best .Jill.

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I wish you well with it Elaine, but I cannot agree with your approach.
It is such a shock when first diagnosed. so please keep an open mind.
Take care

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Hi winterwolf,

 

What a very interesting thread,  i totally respect you and i think you are a very brave lady, i can totally understand your feelings of not wanting surgery, i am the biggest woosh in the world, i have to be sedated yo go to the dentist, and doctors see me if its really nescessary, i put cancer smears of for 7 years because they hurt me when they are done so i just avoided them, when i finally had one i had cervical cancer, this is the kind of woosh i am, all was treated and all good. Now i have breast cancer, the surgery frightened me to death,  but i went through with it, for me i have to have that lump out and get a full diagnose of it, i was told after surgery it could actually be bigger than scan suggests, more advanced, they could find more, and they wouldnt no if it was in lymph nodes untill snb, i need all these answer for me or i just would never sleep, so in my eyes your a very brave lady.

 

I have been on letrozole for 3 months, to maintain my tumour while i had holiday, the surgeon did say it had made it very soft, but she said it would never be a cure, purely was to maintain it, so i do think its pretty amazing stuff. I have had my op get my further treatment plan next wednesday, and i would just like to say i have saled through recovery so far, and pain has been next to minimum.  

 

I wish you all the very best with your treatment thst you decide,  please let us know how you get on .

 

Debbie x

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Hiya at the end of the day it is your choice but please base your choice on facts. It is so easy to believe what you want to be true. Who are these “scientists” who say breast cancer can be cured by diet? I don’t belive this at all. I know of a lady who believed she could cure her BC by diet, exercise and other so called cures from very convincing individuals, sadly she recently died. I’m sorry if this comes across as harsh or blunt but I get quite upset by such claims. Surgery and Radiotherapy are still the first and best line of treatment for primary BC and side effects maybe a bit sore and a little tired for a short time from Rads . Hormone therapy such as letrozole can have some, not so nice, long term side effects. Grade 2 is not slow growing it’s intermediate. Stage 1 would probably mean you would not need chemo. I wish you all the best xx