under 40 when dx?

[Patricia]

In light of Katie's & Krista's thread, I am curious how many others here on the board were under the age of 40 when they were dx and what our pathologies look like collectively. If you were under 40 when dx, can you please respond with your age of dx and your pathology info if you don't have it in your signature?

Thanks.
Hugs,
Patricia
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[penelope]

I was 35 at diagnosis, er/pr- Her2+, grade 2

I got "lucky" with a 7mm tumor and negative nodes.

[KellyA]

Hi there!

37 at diagnosis, ER/PR -, Her2+++, grade 3

Love, Kelly

[Lauriesh]

Hi, I was 37 when I was diagnosed 3/21/05. 4.5 cm 2+ nodes stage 2b er/pr- grade 3, Her2+.



Laurie

[Mgarr]

Good morning. I turned 39 not too long before my diagnosis.

Mar

[Margerie]

I was 38 at dx. er+ pr+ Her2+

Curious to know if some of you all dx in your 30's with hormone + bc took oral contraceptives for a long period (me yes, 10 years) , if your first child was after age 30 (me yes at 32) and how long after last delivery were you diagnosed (me 2.5 years). Sorry to barge in on your thread Patricia!!

[wtfsanjo]

am i the baby of this thread? (this is the worst thing to be the youngest at, uggh!)


i was diagnosed at 27, i am BRCA negative, and have no family history.

my stats are in my signature.

xo
katie

[sally]

I was 36 years old. Her2+++ er/pr+ 8/16 nodes+, 1 met to the liver. Stage IV. Sally

[Cosmo]

I was diagnosed at 32. My info is in my signature.

Karen

[Julie2]

I was 37 and pregnant when I was diagnosed.

Julie

[kareneg]

I was 35 years old.

[lexigirl]

I was diagnosed at 36 yrs. Stage IIIB, 4 pos. nodes, one skin met, er/pr-, her2+++.

I had both of my children before age 30, breast fed both. I was diagnosed in August 05.

Lexi

[Audrey]

I was 36 at diagnosis (on my birthday). The rest of my info is in my signature--

[Janelle]

I was 37 when I was diagnosed. Triple positive. Details are in my signature.

I haven't had any children yet and did not take hormonal birith controls pills for any length of time. Birth control pills always made me fat and depressed so I couldn't really tolerate them.

[LAURIE]

I was 35/ almost 36.

[Faith in Him]

I was 37. One child before the age of 30 and the other child at the age of 32. No family history.

[lilyecuadorian]

I was 37 year old ...5 months after my son birth was diag.no family history

[dchips1]

when dx see signature

[madubois63]

I was 36 when diagnosed with stage IV Inflammatory bc. I had 24 nodes removed and 5 were positive. I am and continue to be Her2+++, ER/PR+.

[Stephanie]

My mom is the HER2 positive one in the family, but I thought I'd chime in since I was 38 at my diagnosis. ER/PR +, HER2 neg, stats in signature.

I was on birth control pills for 17 years, with breaks for my two children. I had my first child at age 30. I was diagnosed five years after delivery of my second child, but the tumor was probably there for quite some time (2.7 cm, mitotic rate of 1, grade 2, so not fast growing).

[fullofbeans]

I was 34 er/pr- grade3 her+++

[murph]

Hello,
I was dx @ 39, started mammo's at 35 yr, due to mother having BC. Had many calcifications in both breast, but was never told this was something to keep a eye on. 1st child at 31, 2nd at 34. Used birth control, but very little.

[Patricia]

Thanks everyone for replying to this thread..I am struck by looking at everyone's pathologies at how many of those under 40 at dx were er/pr neg. Does anyone know off the top of their head what the average distribution is across all bc? We can tally ours up after we get all the replies, but it looks higher than I suspected. Also as suspected, a high % of us seem to be grade 3.

To Margerie's question. I have 2 kids, both born over 10 years prior to my dx. I was on bc for the whole time between my kids and dx. Interestingly (or disturbingly depending on your perspective), I was taking the bc with an off label prescription until the Seasonale brand was released. My gyn prescribed me to take it so that I would only have my period 4x/year for the last 4 years because I had debilitating migranes whenever I got my period on the pill. The migrane was caused by withdrawl from the estrogen as I took the placebo. I am now super suspicious of this with regards to higher sustained estrogen levels in my body and my cancer, but I have nothing conclusive as to this. Did anyone else take their bc in this manner prior to being dx?

Hugs,
Patricia

[RobinP]

I Was 38 When Dx. Or Shall We Say Misdx. With Comedo Dcis High Grade, Hormonal Negative That Did Invade And Was Hormonal Negative And Her2 Positive.

[beccarlw]

Hi Everyone.... I was 37 when I got my Dx. stage 1 er/pr ++/her 2 +++++++++./ off the charts/high-tested by fish test. No family history, took the brca1, brca2 genetic mutation test/negative. I have one son, 18 yrs. of age. Treatmeant of a/c and 33 radiation treatments, no herceptin/ as I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and a heart murmur, so I am in a clinical trial (double blinded placebo-study drug) 9 months into it.....I am on tamoxifen and just now in the last two weels I have been absolutley miserable with the hot flashes, if I

[beccarlw]

Hi Everyone.... I was 37 when I got my Dx. stage 1 er/pr ++/her 2 +++++++++./ off the charts/high-tested by fish test. No family history, took the brca1, brca2 genetic mutation test/negative. I have one son, 18 yrs. of age. Treatmeant of a/c and 33 radiation treatments, no herceptin/ as I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and a heart murmur, so I am in a clinical trial (double blinded placebo-study drug) 9 months into it.....I am on tamoxifen and just now in the last two weels I have been absolutley miserable with the hot flashes, if I would of

[beccarlw]

known it was going to get so bad I would of done the oophrectomy/ or at least the lupron injections, which I have and can administer myself, as I am a medical assistant, for 16 years.

[beccarlw]

Hi Everyone.... I was 37 when I got my Dx. stage 1 er/pr ++/her 2 +++++++++./ off the charts/high-tested by fish test. No family history, took the brca1, brca2 genetic mutation test/negative. I have one son, 18 yrs. of age. Treatmeant of a/c and 33 radiation treatments, no herceptin/ as I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and a heart murmur, so I am in a clinical trial (double blinded placebo-study drug) 9 months into it.....I am on tamoxifen and just now in the last two weels I have been absolutley miserable with the hot flashes, if I would of known they were going to get so bad, or so much worse, I would of had the oophrectomy, ar at least the lupron injections, which i have 2- I can inject myself, as I am a MEDICAL ASSISTANT!!!! MUCH LOVE, REBECCA

[Rendi69CA]

I was 27 y.o. April 15, 1997.

Rendi

[julierene]

Yep, 28... Here is mine.

[Belinda]

I was smack on 40 when I experienced unilateral bleeding from my left nipple which prompted a mirco-dutectomy to remove the bleeding duct - six months later I was dx'd with a largish tumour and 6 nodes. I know you wanted under 40's - I actually believe the bleeding was prompted by vascular invasion by the tumour, which was not properly diagnosed at the time of the nipple bleed (because everyone was looking for dcis in the duct), and that the tumour had been growing for some time but not detected because the density of my breasts tricked the US and mammogram. Comparison of old mammograms shows an "apical mass" that showed on later mammogram and which turned out to be cancer, but wasn't picked up when the film was first reviewed.

So...I am counting myself in to having cancer well under 40 but not being diagnosed till after 40!

Had my daughter in Jan 2002, at aged 37.

I sometimes wonder about the number of women with her2+ cancer and smallish children - sometimes I wonder whether perhaps the growth factors that are generated in pregnancy and post-natally (eg to support breastfeeding) could play a role? This is such a hard thing to wonder about.

(Even if that were/is a contributing factor, I would not return my daughter for anything in the world).

Belinda

[jml]

Dx 33 yo - 5/17/02
Left - IDC, er-/pr-,her2+++, and
Stage IV - liver mets
Lumpectomy, 12/12+ nodes
(Navelbine/Herceptin)+(Taxol +Clinical Trial drug)+(Taxol + Herceptin)
=49 wks until NED
NED x 1 yr,
9/04 -1st recurrence - single liver met
On/Off Taxol+Herceptin + RFA + TCH for 1yr
Liver resection 12/05 - Liver NED since then!
Recurrence to L breast, 8 wks after Liver resection -
1cm invasive nodule + extensive DCIS,
3/06 - excisional biopsy of invasive node, then watch & wait dcis
12/06 - L skin sparing mastectomy + reconstruction (3/07 & 8/07)
9/07 - recurrence to supraclav node
Gemzar + herceptin x 4 cycles thus far...
89 weeks of chemotherapies to date, not including solo Herceptin
12/31/07 - PET scan says "NED!!!"
2 cycles Gemzar/Herceptin to go!!!

Keep the Faith, everyone!

[cafe1084]

Dx at 36 yo, er<10% (technically negative)/pr-, her2+ grade 3 with 1.5 cm IDC L breast, found DCIS and LCIS in large portion of L breast with mastectomy pathology. There definitely seems to be a trend here. I had my children and 22, 24, and 28 yo and was only on BC for 6 months and became pregnant with my last child while taking it. 6 weeks of herceptin left and I opted not to take tamoxifen, against my doctor's advice

[Ruth]

Hi ~ I was 36 when diagnosed...had my first child at 27, 2nd at 29, third at 35...no birth control pills. ER/PR -; Her2+++...

Had HUGE problems nursing with 3rd baby...dah...cancer in there and no-one found it. Treated for mastitus and other "breast feeding issues." Finally diagnosed after weaning and insisting that it wasn't a clogged milk duct!

But now 41! Yeah!

Hugs ~ Ruth

[jener8er]

38 here, er/pr- her2+++ Grade 3, stage 3a

[mindersue]

I was 37, brca negative. On the pill for ~8 years before having kids at 28 and 30.

[MichelleH]

I was 39 at dx

[SusanV]

I was 37 years young.... The rest is in my signature

[Janelle]

Dr. Slamon, one of the Herceptin developers) told me that Her2 cancers tend to be hormone negative or low hormone positive. I am a triple positve but he says I am mildly estrogen postive and low PR positive. He told me to try tamox but he didn't think it would help me very much as HER2 is driving my cancer, not hormones. I have been tamox since Nov. and am not having a hard time with it.

[Becky]

Janelle

What percent ER and PR are you?

[harrie]

I have a very close friend who is 3 yrs past diagnosis and she was around 31 yrs old at the time. Triple negative. She is also very active with a young women and cancer coalition. She is also BRCA1 positive. If anyone is interested, I can give you more information and you can contact her. She's a wonderful person.
Harrie

[Janelle]

Becky,
I'm actually not sure off hand and I am traveling now so I can't look at my path report. I initally thought I was highly Er/Pr positive but when I consulted with Slamon he told me I was moderate to low Er positive and low Pr positive. I'll try to give you a better answer when I return from traveling next week.

Janelle

[Heide]

37 at time of dx (37 seems a bit too popular here :)) On birth control pills from age 17 to 30 then went off them for my 1st pregnancy at age 30. 2nd child at age 34.

[msleslie]

Two children in my mid 20s. Yes, birth control for many years. Stats in signature.

[adelay]

Turned 40 month before dx. Birth control pill on and off for 15 years, child at 23.

[flynny]

I was 34. I had my first child at 27 and my second at 29. Nursed my first for 7 months and my second for 11 months. Family history mother was dx at 54 (breast surgeon and others said that had no bearing on my dx and that I would have had my first mammo at 40... if I hadn't found the lump myself). I was dx 4 yrs (should have been 3) after she was.

[kcherub]

34--three years out. :)

Edited because some of our sweet friends on this thread are no longer with us. :(

[suzanne38301]

I was 36 when dx. see signature for other details

[weety]

Age 38 and breastfeeding my 3rd child at the time (she was 6 months old.) I was taking fenugreek at time of diagnosis to increase milk supply because baby was a poor sucker. I still wonder if the fenugreek had anything to do with it.

[WolverineFan]

I was diagnosed at 39, three months before I turned 40. I had my first child at 31 and my second at 33. No family history, but was on birth control for about 15 years. Rest of the stats below.

[ymryan]

Just turned 39 one month prior to having symptoms. No family history + BRAC 1 and 2 negative.

[LouLou]

39 at dx, super fit and healthy, discovered lump in shower. multifocal IDC, 2cm & 1.5cm, Triple Pos, 2 pos nodes.
I had kids in my 20's, breastfed for 12 months each. Never smoked, occational drink with special dinner, no risk factors except I'm femeale - mother 72 has never had a mammogram as she didn't think she was at risk of BC!

[wlproctor]

I was diagnosed at age 39.

[Jackie07]

So you just turned 40 this year! Good to see you. Love your picture!

[wlproctor]

I was diagnosed March 2009, so I am now 41. I guess I should update that picture. I have a full head of hair now.

[Angela]

Dx at age 39. Info in signature.