My Story - Connie
I was dx'ed with cancer June 4th 2002 at 38 years old. My symotoms began as I was breast feeding my 4th baby--I noticed a reddened area the size of a quarter next to my areola. I then called my OB and was treated with 1 week of antibiotics for a possiable mastitis. After the week of antibiotics my red area was still present and also my nipple was beginning to retract. I went to my family MD and he said it could be a mastitis but there is a rare form of breast cancer called ""inflammatory breast cancer"" (IBC) that we should rule out. I then once again began a high dose antibiotic but also had a mammogram and breast ultrsound. The mammogram came back clear but the ultra sound was suspicious. I then had a lumpectomy that came back definately cancer. (a 4X5cm tumor was found" removed but with (+) margins ER/PR (-) and her2neu +++). This is when my world began to turn up-side-down!
*CT MRI and Bone scan (-) for metastitis *began Adramycin/Taxotere X4 rounds (every three weeks). This combo was not de- creasing my visable signs of cancer. (rash and peau d'orange). *had a skin biopsey which showed cancer cells in my skin and dermal lymphatics which confirmed the DX of IBC. *began Hercepton/Navelbine weekly for 12 rounds which began to fade my visable symptoms. *had a left mastectomy Dec 20th (showed a 3 mm tumor remaining 1 lymph node out of nine (+) and widely scattered cancer in my skin). *began 25 rounds of daily radiation (got really ouchy skin about one week out of radiation that took about a month to clear). *post treatment scans remain negative (scanned every 3 months for now). *travel to Memorial Sloan Kettering New York for second opinions. Trying to think less about cancer beginning to consider reconstruction--but not until next fall and life goes on! Connie |
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