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Re: Majority of breast cancer patients develop symptoms of PTSD
what do you mean by 'scaring women into self exams'? i am confused. cancer is scary, no matter how you try to reason with women to perform self exams at any age, it will come off as 'scaring' because of that. we *should* be doing self exams! we should be taking that responsibility and being pro-active instead of complaining about the medical community. i did a speech last year and 'scared' some young women present by telling them they should start self exams now, no time is too young. breast cancer diagnoses are happening younger and younger all the time. i have a friend whose daughter was diagnosed in her 20's. the majority of my friends in my online support groups were under 40. my niece died of it at age 39. if people need to be scared straight, in my opinion, they should be scared into taking care of themselves too. it may not stop them from getting cancer, but it can sure make a difference in when it's discovered, especially when you have tools of early diagnosis. my boyfriend skipped his 10 yr colonoscopy. at 12 yrs, he was diagnosed stage 4 colon cancer. i wish i'd scared him into getting his colonoscopy 2 yrs earlier. it could have made all the difference in the world.
i'm not sure i have PTSD from having breast cancer myself, but i certainly have it from watching my husband and mom die of cancer and fretting over my boyfriend's cancer and my newly diagnosed friend. i found it a lot easier to have it myself than to watch those around me suffer from it and worry who's next. i hear people say that women are 'made' to get mammograms they don't really need and i just want to scream at the ignorance. mammograms and self exams are exactly how most of my friends (including myself) discovered our breast cancers.
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8/09 - IDC 1.8 cm triple positive, lumpectomy left breast
10/09 began chemo (taxotere & carboplatin) and weekly herceptin.
1/21/10 finished chemo, continued on herceptin every 3 weeks until 10/2010.
2/10 began 7 wks of radiation
6/10 mom dies of primary peritoneal ovarian cancer
8/10 got my last remaining ovary out
10/10 mammogram all clear
3/11 MRI shows 5 'spots' in right breast, largest 1 cm unidentifiable on US
needle biopsy proved the largest to be old inflamed cyst -phew!
7/10 switched to Arimidex
8/9 switched to Femara - allergic to arimidex
Femara made me lose hair quickly so switched to Aromasin
Aromasin made my hair fall out too and the bone pain was too much.
back on Tamoxifen 1/2013.
blood clot from trains and planes 5/2014 so on coumadin per onco for as long as i am on tamoxifen
tamoxifen was supposed to be up with my 5 yrs in may but my boyfriend was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer so i am staying on tamoxifen indefinitely because i want some ammo against BC, given the stress. lost my husband in only 10 wks in 2007 to stage 4 esophageal cancer.
cancer's screwing with another man i love
2/2016 - 6yrs in remission, off tamoxifen and off coumadin - yay!
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