Relapse Still a Real Possibility for Breast Cancer Patients
Reader Comments
breast cancer
I had breast cancer last year had breast removed plus 24 lymp nodes im having a hard time wondering why the oncologist is continuosly trying to get me to take tamoxifen its been over ayear now actully its been 1 year 6 months estrigen postive 30cm tumor right breast, I made my decision I dont want any more treatment I look after my self Itake reshi mushroom vitamens and zinc everyday Im healthy and happy I done the horrible Chemo and know no more I tried the cures no more cures Iprefer natuaral medicines Arent we alowed to make our on decsions about our lives,Idont want any more side affects from modern medicine.
Breast Cancer Newbie
Jennifer I am so sorry you have had this happen to you. I will post your story in my Cancer book to remind me of what can happen without our knowledge.
I was diagnosed June 6, 2008 and had a lumpectomy July 21,2008. I hope to start Chemo soon and then radiation. I am also negative for Estrogen and Progesterone receptors and Her2.
I am trying to find a good MD after having lost my secondary and having been told to get lost by Mt. Sinai if I didn't think my insurance would cover my Chemo costs. had a choice to pay up front or get lost. MY Oncologist was willing to help me with the 20% but told me the hospital would be a problem.
Luckily I located a Medicare ADV PPO which lists two of the top ten US News & World Report Cancer hospitals as choices for me. Perhaps I was lucky after all. Fingers xed the doctor will take me. I was already turned down by one of the MDS yesterday because he just came back from vacation and is overloaded...he did recommend another Oncologist but this doctor is not on my list. arrgh
TY again for sharing your story with us...after reading your post I am beginning to realize that there is much more to survival than having a pretty good doctor and hospital.
Again TY
M
breast cancer
I had a masectomy at age 46. I did have lymph node involvement. I had chemo for 8 months and I did take tamoxifen for a couple of years. I am now 71 and I am quite active and healthy and basically a vegitarian. I did have the BRCA gene test a few months ago and I am positive for the BRAC 2 gene therefore I did choose to have my ovaries removed. I have no breast cancer in my family that I know of., only a sister of my grandmother. I feel very fortunate to alive and enjoying my life and family.
Breast Cancer not the Boogie Man!
I was diagnosed with an estrogen positive hormonal lump back in 2005 and had my lumpectomy shortly thereafter. From the moment I got the news, I went into fight, not flight mode! I am so stubborn, my parents even said I encouraged them in the face of my seemed doom. I was 34 at the time and told I would need to freeze my eggs if I thought I wanted to TRY to get pregnant after all of the babaric chemotherapy treatments. I was also advised NOT to get pregnant, since pregnancy could cause a surge in the estrogen hormone which I totally understand and I get that. But this news, I could not accept as my fate. First, there was no conclusive name given to the "cancer" they said was in my breast, only that is was VERY rare and it was a "good" cancer. Second, the treatment seemed a bit overly dramatic for someone who had 20 lymph nodes removed and NONE returned any form of cancer. All bone and body scans turned up nothing. The lump in my breast was non-invasive. Long story short, today my husband and I are anxiously awaiting our first baby, a boy on 09/15/08. I'm no fool. I watch my health, continue to get examinations, but I do also know there is NO money in a cure, only in treatments. I was just not ready to watch my body deteriorate from the systematic willful poisoning of myself. I was not willing to accept that toxic chemicals that will not only "kill cancer cells", but would also serve to ravage my body was my only option. Each one has to think and make health decisions for themself. Making them based off fear will almost always cause you more pain. I can't say what the future holds for me, but I know I am in God's hands and His perfect will for my life is what I also hold dear.
Breast Cancer Relapse Study
Three things you are missing here....This study is being done
at one of the best cancer centers in the US. I've got to
believe that the patients seeking treatment there are getting
the best treatment, not necessarily a good reflection of
small town America or any other place that doesn't necessarily
have a cancer center. The study is being done from 1985-1991.
The ACS figures show that since 1990 the mortality rate for this
disease has gone steadily down due to "the combined efforts of
early detection and better treatment." Women nowdays are not
ignoring the lumps they worry about, they are thankfully doing
something about them. Early detection and the stage of the
disease when it is treated makes a huge difference in
recurrence, but even though, there are those who feel that
the premenopausal woman experiences a more agressive and
deadly disease than the postmenopausal, and her recurrence rate
will certainly be different. You can't lump them both in the
same study without tainting the outcome. I was diagnosed at
33 and am now a 24year survivor. I was one of the lucky ones,
but a day doesn't go by that I feel completely "out of the woods."Just completely fulfilled. Wendy, Chico, California
Deborah Kotz's Response to Jennifer
Thank you for sharing your harrowing experience. I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I think one thing many cancer patients aren't told is that sometimes the disease is beyond your control and your doctor's, despite all the advances in medical treatments and despite living a perfectly healthful lifestyle. If your cancer had indeed metastasized before being diagnosed, I'm not sure there's much anyone could have done. Breast cancer experts are still desperately searching for a way to prevent this disease, much like Pap smears or colonoscopies can prevent cervical cancer or colon cancer. Unfortunately, at the moment there's really nothing that can reliably catch at all breast cancer at its earliest most treatable stage when it's in situ (before the cells really form a tumor). The only words of comfort I can offer is that you should know that you did all that was medically possible to maxmimize your chances of not having a relapse.
My initial diagnoses was in 1994. I was told I had a particularly unaggressive form of cancer and to not worry about it returning. My treatment included a lumpectomy (no lymph involvement) radiation and 5 years of tamoxifen. In August of 2007 following an MRI for what I thought was a "sciatica" issue," I found I had breast cancer metastasized to the bone, with hundreds of tumors and cancer cells in and on my ribs, spine and the tops of my femurs.
I wish more was made of metastasized cancer. I could have easily had an MRI or a PET scan at any point over the 13 years...and would have happily paid for the tests if my insurance did not pay for them. Given the size and proliferation of my "slow growing, nonaggressive form " of cancer (which was estrogen positive) we now think my cancer metastasized BEFORE my original diagnoses. If only I had been told to watch for certain signs - or to have a PET scan at some point. But NO, this did not happen.
I think Cancer Awareness should be less hoopla about cancer CURES and more information about what to look for in case of metastasis and how to proceed after treatment ends so it is discovered early. I have been diligent in taking care of myself all my adult life - eating well, exercising, always current with doctors and dentist appointments. It was my shock of NOT KNOWING what was going on inside of me all the years I was thinking I was taking care of myself that got to me the most. I think the media and oncologists and primary care physicians should all be assisting women who've been diagnosed with breast cancer...by spreading the word about the possibility of metastasis...no matter how many years the patient has appeared to be "clean."
Even Longer
I got breast cancer at 28 and just finally finished treatment (besides Tamoxifen) at 30. Considering my age, I wish there were figures available for even longer time periods. I want to know what my 50-year survival odds are!
Maybe one day my data, and that of other under-40 survivors, will be used to generate these long long term figures.
Thanks for the post!
Helping to prevent a recurrence
Diet may also help prevent recurrences.
In addition to keeping one's weight down and getting enough fiber (as a link from the article recommends), all cancer survivors should consider replacing meat and other animal products with healthier vegetarian choices.
The following website has a lot of information on diet and nutrition, including details on free vegetarian cooking classes for cancer survivors:
http://www.CancerProject.org
Best,
Simon C.
Two-time cancer survivor
