I was diagnosed with breast cancer when i was 30 weeks pregnant and 10 weeks ago delivered my lovely baby ( i also have 2 other children). I had chemo from being diagnosed and still going through treatment before surgery. I feel very isolated as i don’t fit into any of the ‘normal’ breast cancer ‘categories’ and am geographically isolated - is there anyone that has been through similar circumstances??
Hi there,
Yes, you are not alone unfortunately, there are a few of us about! Diagnosed May 2006 at 30 weeks pregnant, surgery whilst pregnant and then baby induced at 37 weeks, chemo started two weeks later. Just like you I felt very, very isolated. However, I have finished most of my treatment now, chemo, rads, herceptin x 18 and am now just on tamoxifen. My baby is now a toddler at 18 months. I was 39 when diagnosed. Like you, I felt I didn’t fit into the normal categories on this site. I know there are a lot of categories already but it may be useful for the few of us around to have a Breast Cancer whilst Pregnant/After Pregnancy category - I came under so many categories ast first i.e. newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment/chemo/surgery/rads and younger women, also when the targeted and hormone therapies were included but initially I never posted because I seemed to be in a different league altogether. I couldn’t get my head round the fact that I was carrying new life inside me yet I had a life threatening illness at the same time. Moderator - what do you think about a category for pregnant women?
Hi Swissmiss
I will pass your comments on to the necessary people.
Jo, Facilitator.
Thank you so much for posting - i am going to follow a similar treatment path but have surgery after chemo then radio and more herceptin. It is a relief to hear your baby is 18 months and you are enjoying him - the statistics i was given at the hospital were really grim (the tumour grew incedibly quickly and was 14cm by the time i started chemo which is why i am having chemo first and i do have lymph involvement) and i keep thinking am i even going to see next christmas with my children but to hear someone else has gone through a similar process and survived is wonderful. I have a bone scan tomorrow and more chemo and i seem to have all the side efffects there are - how did you cope with a new baby??
Thank you
annie
When first diagnosed I asked my BC Nurse if she could put me in touch with any other women in a similar situation - she put me in touch with a lady who had a similar situation to you actually, she had to have chemo first whilst pregnant at 30 weeks and then the baby was delivered by C-section at 35 weeks. I never met up with this lady, just spoke to her on the telephone, but she was a lifeline for me. This lady had been diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago (as of May 06) and was doing very well and so was her little girl, although there were some differences in her diagnosis to mine. She had to have a mastectomy and was also on tamoxifen.
My tumour was 1.7 cm, IDC, Grade 3, ER- (0%) PR+ (89%) HER-2+, 2 micromets in one lymph node measuring less than 1 mm. My treatment was lumpectomy, 3 x FEC, 3 x Taxotere, 30 rads (25 + 5 boost), 18 Herceptin’s (which I finished last week) and although I am ER-, I have been prescribed tamoxifen because of my PR status. I haven’t come across anyone yet who is like me with ER- but PR+ or anyone who has micromets.
I have another young child (aged 3) but tragically I lost my first child (to cancer) aged 4 just 3 months before I was diagnosed. I do wonder whether the stress of losing my first born had something to do with my breast cancer. There is no cancer on my side of the family - I didn’t tick any of the boxes!!
How did I cope - I had to, there wasn’t a choice, I couldn’t change anything. I think I was in a state of complete shock for most of the time though. Fortunately I got through my treatment without any real problems - had the usual chemo nasties, hair loss, rubbish taste in my mouth and when on TAX some of my toenails fell off.
How am I doing now, physically I’m fine but mentally I struggle at times. I have managed to find myself a very part time little job which helps me stay sane and I try and live by the phrase ‘Seize the Day’, not always easy but I try. I have my husband and my two children to care for as well.
I hope your bone scan goes well and you say you are having chemo tomorrow also, what chemo are you having? You say more herceptin, have you had herceptin whilst having chemo? I struggled more with rads than chemo strangely, not that rads hurt me, it was just that feeling of being completely on your own, at least I could have a natter with the nurses and other patients on the chemo ward. Herceptin didn’t cause me any problems, I just wish I could still have it!! I feel anxious now that it has stopped.
I hope the moderator will look into a new category for us, possibly one also for ladies undergoing IVF treatment as they have different needs again. This site is a lifeline for me and I read the posts avidly. There was another lady who posted late last year who had just had a baby and I did try and send a post to her but it just seemed to disappear, so I gave up. I am so pleased that you posted because I don’t feel so alone now, even though I am through most of my treatment. Don’t know whether the above will help but if I can help please post again.
Take care and Lots of Love. xxxx
Hi annieg
I am very sorry to read about your recent diagnosis and hope that I can be of some support to you. I was diagnosed in August 2003 when I was 30 weeks pregnant (I had a 14 month old at the time) because I didn’t think that 37 year old women got cancer I left my tumour 7 months before seeking medical advice. Hence I had a 5 x 6 cm tumour in breast and 4 4 cm tumour in my arm pit. The tumours were ER + PR - and at the time HER2 testing wasn’t routine. I had 2 cycles of AC while I was pregnant a C-Section at 37 weeks (8lb 3oz healthy girl 10 days early) I then had another AC but this wasn’t shrinking the tumours enough so had 3 x taxotere which shrank the tumours to nothing although there were still active cells at the lumpectomy x 2. Then to finish off 25 rads and a big party. The only word that truely describes what happened to me is horrific. I was incredibly isolated and found if very difficult to live with uncertainty and people not have the faintest idea of what was happening to me both mentally and physically. I was very anxious about my children not remebering me so started a memory box and annual photo of us all. I suffered with anxiety and depression for quite a while but gradually bit by bit I got my life back and in September my little darling is going to be starting school, a day that I would lie in bed a pray that I would see. I’ve got just under a year left on tamoxifen. There is no easy route through this, I try to live the best day everyday. BCC offer a peer support service if you think that talking to someone could help you.
Big hugs to you
Becks xxx
ps
I took all the help offered to me and forced myself out the house for 30 mins fresh air a day. Also on the grim days when I wanted to give up on the treatment I would ask myself if I wanted to see Bonnie go to school so this motivated me to go on. I used to didvide the day up into 2 hour slots and only think about the 2 hours that I was in. I also spent a lot of time on here! Reading self hel books helped me although they are not for everyone,
Hi all,
I was diagnosed May 05 when I was 15 weeks pregnant with my sixth son aged 32, I was advised that I should think about termination but after doing alot of research on the internet I decided to go ahead with the pregnancy as it would not have made a difference to survival rates, I underwent mastectomy one week later and had chemo through the rest of the pregnancy, I was induced at 38 weeks and gave birth naturally at a 7lb 4oz whopper, who is now a very healthy and very energetic two year old, the apple of my eye and adored by all his brothers. Ten days after his birth I started three weeks of rads, which i found the hardest as I was away from him quite alot.
I know what you are going through, I felt like the only one going through it as I was the first pregnant women to have chemo at my clinic but I did it with the help of my family, unfortunately in aug 06 a had a local recurrance in the lymph nodes in my neck so had to have chemo and radiotherapy again but since then I have felt great and enjoying every minutes I can with my boys, I do worry about the future but nobody knows what the future holds so enjoy every minute of it, you will get through this and it will make you a stronger person.
Hope everything works out for you
Take Care
Tina
Hi Annie,
Just wondering how you are doing. It doesn’t matter if you can’t post back, just wanted to let you know that I was thinking of you. Take care. xxx
Hi
I am ok at the moment - going in for surgery next week and finished chemo 4 weeks ago. I am just starting to feel better but still have lots of side effects. Had horrific side effects during last 3 chemos - mainly incredible bowel pain (neutropenic collitis) so now thats stopped the usual side effects fatigue etc etc seem bearable. My baby is thriving but my younger children help so much when my husband is at work i feel guilty but realise cancer happens to a family rather than just me. There is a cancer charity in Abeberdeen where i am being treated that is fantastic and have arranged for my husband to come with baby and one of my brothers will come and look after older 2 as we live in shetland which as added to all our problems (only moved here april 07). Thank you for your comments - its reassuring to find people who understand and have survived this mentallt and physically.
Thank you
annie
Hi Annie,
Just wanted to say that I hope surgery goes well for you next week - do you know whether you will be having a lumpectomy or mastectomy? For me the hardest part was being away from home and my family - it was only for two nights but it seemed like an eternity.
Glad to hear that your baby is doing well - have the night feeds stopped or reduced to allow you to get some sleep? Sleep deprivation with a young baby is bad at the best of times but to have chemo as well is a nightmare and it sounds like you have been through the mill with side effects. Hopefully no more chemo for you now.
Will be thinking of you next week - another stage of treatment will soon be over. Take care. Lots of Love xxx
I was dx at 34 weeks, but had felt the tumour much earlier, only to think- whats that… must keep an eye on that… and promptly forgot about it!! Was induced and started chemo when little H was not yet 3 weeks old.
So now H is over 2 and I’m not having any more treatment (I’m triple neg) I can say that its been a huge journey, being a mum for the first time and having bc, but I finally feel healthy and have my head together. Dont feel alone, use all the help offered to you here- I used the phone group and peer support and the phone line was great too, had counselling at hospital as well.
Good luck all you mums having treatment. I’ts hard but you do get thro it- all I had to do was look at H to make the fight worth it
xxsam
Hi Annie
I think I need to join you too perhaps.
I was diagnosed with IBC (grade 3 & stage 3) when my little boy was just under six months, and while I was still breastfeeding him, I also have a two year old daughter. Like you my mass grew very quickly from the size of an almond, to 13cm x 10cm in three weeks.
I’m still at the beginning of my road to recovery, but have been given a poor prognosis due to the size and agressive nature of my mass.
I’ve had 2 FEC (stopped early due to tumor still enlarging), and have been swapped to Taxotere. I’ll eventually be having a mastectomy assuming the mass shrinks enough then starting radiotherapy. I am HER2+ & ER+ so Herceptin & Tamoxifen will be in the mix too, and as I’m pre-menopausal they’ll be sorting the ovaries too.
If you want to chat more feel free to shout me here, and I’ll look out for you
Love, Rebecca x
Rebecca
I hope things turn out ok for you, my thoughts are with you. This really brings it home, I was so lucky, my kids are all grown up. This is such a cruel disease. Take care of yourself.
Irene