Age at Diagnosis

Amy · 06-11-2006, 08:26 AM

I was diagnosed in Feb 2005 at age 39.

Amy

Jackie · 06-11-2006, 09:31 AM

Mine was dx at age 46, 3 months before my 47th birthday.

DianaK · 06-11-2006, 09:38 AM

I was 44 when I was diagnosed 7/04.My son was 20 months old.

Diana

Jeanette · 06-11-2006, 09:58 AM

diagnosed at the ripe old age of 65, Jeanette

kimber · 06-11-2006, 04:22 PM

I was 42. I am a 1 year survivor!!!

geraldine · 06-15-2006, 07:25 PM

My diagnosis was given to me on the 26th July 2001. I was told.. "You have a grade 3 very aggressive cancer. If you dont get yourself into the right frame of mind, this is going to get you..!! Look at what you have and what you will lose" (my daughter, who was with me, was 8 month pregnant with her second child. I also had a grandson who was 7 years old. After the initial shock, I weighed up MY situation.
I cant tell anyone what to do if they ever find themselves in this situation, what I can say , through experience is, get your head around this, weigh up whats happening, decide if you want to live (which is what I did) and go for it..! I have been on Herceptin, continuously for 2.5 years, they are now talking about taking me off this wonder drug.(HELP) but I suppose i've got to come off it some time.. I have beaten Cancer twice and if it rears its UGLY head, then I will beat it AGAIN....... God Bless Everyone Of You ..My thoughts and Prayers are with you ALL.........Geri xx

panicked911 · 06-11-2006, 04:33 PM

I was 43 - at diagnosis - learned it was malignant on my daughters 10th b'day. Surgeon said it was probably there 3-5 years - nevr appeared on a mamogram - only by a fluke it was found.

Susanne

Sue2001 · 06-11-2006, 05:10 PM

Dx at age 41.

Nice poll AA, I've often wondered if Her-2 women get cancer at a younger age.

BEVIE · 06-11-2006, 11:11 PM

I was 49 when DX. 2 weeks before my 50th birthday!

cathy34 · 06-12-2006, 08:24 AM

I was diagnosed at 36. 8 months after I gave birth to my 3rd child.
Cathy34

Vi Schorpp · 06-12-2006, 08:45 AM

I was diagnosed at 50 years and 5 months, so I voted in the 50+ category.

mamacze · 06-13-2006, 07:39 PM

I was 45...we are a young group!

Love, Kim from CT

Bev · 06-13-2006, 08:23 PM

Interesting AA. Iwas 45, but 46 @ biopsy. Surgeon also said these things take 8 years to form. I had plenty of mammograms during those 8 years. I have to wonder if the her2 tumors are on the 1 year plan. BB

TriciaK · 06-13-2006, 09:36 PM

An interesting poll, Alaska Angel! I was first diagnosed at age 56, 20 years ago, then again at age 59, and then 2 years ago at age 74 with her2, er+,pr+. My last PT/CT scan showed NED. How many others, I wonder, were diagnosed previously with "regular" BC, and then later became her2? Hugs, Tricia

astrid · 06-17-2006, 06:23 AM

Keep in mind that while this poll shows that most women are between the ages of 40-50, that 76% of all newly diagnosed patients with BC are post menopausal. This poll is skewed to internet users who are HER2+.

AlaskaAngel · 06-17-2006, 09:48 AM

Hi Astrid.

Thanks for the reminder for those who may not have seen my original posted question focusing this poll on HER2's on a HER2 forum.

My thought is that perhaps the reason this is a younger population than that of general bc is because of the faster rate of cell replication. That would also mean that (as one other person here speculated) HER2 cancers probably don't take years to grow. That would mean that the traditional imaging intervals would be too late or too long for us -- and for those who have delayed imaging or less frequent imaging initially, a later and more dangerous diagnosis.

I was wondering about the relationship to hormonal levels and why there are older people who do end up HER2 long after normal menopause age. I know that the older we are, the more our cells get genetically confused and make a mess of things. But I am still not sure if that is enough of a reason for anyone who is older to end up being HER2....

I happen to have a strong family history of bc on both sides plus ovarian CA but tested entirely negative on BRCA 1 and 2, and in addition, although none of my family who were affected were ever tested for HER2, they were ALL over 50 at diagnosis. I'm sure there is significance to that, although I can't quite figure it all out.

AlaskaAngel

P.S. It is also interesting to note that the number of BRCA positives who are also HER2 positive is far lower than the general bc population, particularly BRCA 1. So most of us apparently are not BRCA positive...

BubblesMom · 06-17-2006, 01:38 PM

I was diagnosed 3 days before my 41st birthday.

emmasmom · 06-18-2006, 12:01 PM

I was 36. Way too young!

Monica · 06-18-2006, 12:31 PM

We also need to keep in mind that internet users tend to be younger in general. That is, women who were diagnosed with HER2 at an older age typically do not use the internet. In fact, I was reading that only 20% of women over the age of 65 use the internet while over 50% of younger women go on the internet.

Best,
Monica

Marily · 06-23-2006, 09:33 PM

I was diagnosed two months before my 50th birthday but I marked 50 cause that is when things started happening. My oncologist considered me young for breast cancer? lol that was 6 years ago.
Marily