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Old 03-10-2008, 11:34 AM   #1
MJo
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Location: Wilmington, Del.
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I took HRT for seven years before diagnosis, and feel upset when I think I was feeding my ER/PR pos. tumor. Hungry little *!@!$@. On the other hand, five great aunts on my mothers side had breast cancer in their fourties, so heredity likely kicked in too. Science needs to know the answers so they can stop this thing!
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IDC, Stage I, Grade 2
Oncotype DX Score 32
Her2++ E+P+, Node Neg.
Lumpectomy 11/04/05 Clear Margins
3 Dose dense AC (Couldn't tolerate 4)
4 Dose dense Taxol & Herc. (Tolerated well)
36 weeks Herceptin (Could not complete one year due to decrease in MUGA score)
2 years of Arimidex, then three years of Femara
Finished Femara May 2011
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Old 03-10-2008, 12:54 PM   #2
nancy dip
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I wonder too

I think that I was almost too contented with my life!! I became complacent about my weight, didn't exercise as much as I should have--probably thought that it would never happen to me!!

Sometimes I feel guilty about "causing" it to happen, but I try to resign myself to it and hope that I can stop it coming back. I don't know if I would have more peace of mind if I knew the cause. Nancy
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Found lump myself 8 months after routine mammogram.
29/11/06-WLE and then re-excision to get clear margins.
Tumour was 1.2cms; Grade3; Er+ Pr+ HER2 3+++; SNB negative out of 9 nodes.
Chemo was Epirubicin every 3wks x4 then Xeloda (2wks on, 1wk off) for 4 cycles. ( I am part of the TACT2 trial.)
Rads x25
Arimidex for 5 yrs.
Hoping to start Herceptin within the next 2 weeks (we have to follow the HERA protocol to qualify for Herceptin in the U.K.) I worry about the delay in starting Herceptin!! Started 8/10/07
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Old 03-10-2008, 01:02 PM   #3
Andrea Barnett Budin
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Location: LAND OF YES! w/home in Boca Raton, Florida Orig from L.I., N.Y. Ever hovering IN THE NOW...
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Hello there, CEESAN,

From the getgo I didn't question Why Me. I did graze over the fact that my father's mom (grandma) had bc, as did my dad's sister (aunt). I was on HRT for 6 mnths. Might have triggered the problem. I participated in a study (donating a bit of my orig tumor) b/c I lived on Long Island and our bc rate was way higher than anywhere else on the planet (which is an abysmal reality to begin with for all women!). I wanted to help others get to the root cause (was it the water, the pesticides, whatever).

I informed myself about bc. I saw the stats and got sick to my stomach. I decided I wasn't a statistic and that someone had to fall in the little group of survivors the books and articles all spoke of. WHO ARE THEY, I wondered? I decided they were the ones who were actively involved in achieving and maintaining wellness with every fiber of their being. Not the ones who agitated, were filled w/anger, blame, resentment, the inability to forgive and FEAR!

I did, and do, my best to recognize, acknowledge and rid myself of all that negativity as quickly as I can. It only serves to weaken me.

I began reading what I saw as Self Help books. They turned out to impel me on a spiritual journey! I found great comfort and belief in what I was learning! And, believing from personal experience in the MINDBODY CONNECTION since the '70s, I began to realize that the stress I had lived w/definitely impacted my body in varying ways (from aches and pains and headaches to back dysfunction, to bc...). AND THE GOOD NEWS WAS -- though our thoughts can create such woesome problems, we can choose instead to empower ourselves! We can use our thoughts to create a serene and happy environment -- and -- we can use them to draw our desired outcomes to us. I began living AS IF what I wanted already existed in my life.

Wondering, as you describe, is (I decided) not productive. Unless we consciously choose to alter the causes! So that's how I now live. Using supplements, meditation, guided imagery, mantras, trying to eat making healthy choices and connecting with my Spirit and therefore God... I live grateful and joyful w/ea new day! It's my prescription for Wellness!

I have never said POOR ME. I always felt -- it could have been so much worse. I look around and see the many blessings I have that previously went unseen by me. My life is fuller and richer. And I have grown and become more than I ever dreamed of even aiming for!

And of course, my godsend, Herceptin (and all the surg and tx I have endured), plus the expertise and compassion of my docs and nurses all counter in big time as well. Many ingredients go into this survival thing. That's how I see it.

I have tried to mentor others, giving of my heart and myself and my experience. I have been working for 5 yrs on a book, which is a passion, a delight, a mission, a purpose and very cathartic, reinforcing my bedrock belief system that keeps me buoyed.

Sending loving, healing, happy energy to all my Sisters and all on this board,
Andi
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'95 post-meno dx Invasive LOBULAR w/9cm tumor! YIKES + 2/21 nodes. Clear mammo 10 mnths earlier. Mastec/tram flap reconst/PORT/8 mnths chemo (4Adria/8CMF). Borderline ER/PR. Tamoxifen 2 yrs. Felt BLESSED. I could walk and talk, feed and bathe myself! I KNEW I would survive...

'98 -- multiple mets to liver. HER2+ 80%. ER/PR- Raging, highly aggressive tumors spreading fast. New PORT. 9 mnths Taxotere Fought fire w/fire! Pronounced in cautious remission 5/99. Taxotere weekly for 6 wks, 2 wks off -- for 9 mnths. TALK ABOUT GRUELING! (I believe they've altered that protocol since those days -- sure hope so!!)
+ good old Vit H wkly for 1st 3 yrs, then triple dosage ev 3 wks for 7 yrs more... The "easy" chemo, right?! Not a walk in the park, but not a freight train coming at 'ya either...

Added Herceptin Nov '98 (6 wks after FDA fast-tracked it for met bc). Stayed w/Vit H till July '08! Now I AM FREE! Humbly and eternally grateful for this life-saving drug! NED since '99 and planning on keeping it that way. To hell w/poor prognosis and nasty stats! STOPPED VIT H JULY '08...! REMAIN STABLE... Eternally grateful...Yes is a world & in this world of yes live (skillfully curled) all worlds ... (e e cummings) EVERY DAY I BEAT MY PREVIOUS RECORD FOR # OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS I'VE STAYED ALIVE. Smile KNOWING you too can be a miracle. Up to me and God now...
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Old 03-10-2008, 08:22 PM   #4
Roz
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Ceesun, You didn't cause your cancer. There are some things that we human beings haven't achieved yet, and there are a million things that we have no control over. At this stage in human evolution, how we got cancer is one of those things about which we can only speculate, not know definitely. Lots of love
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diagnosed June 03. Rt sided Inflammatory BC in rt lower quadrant. 7cm tumour. Also 3 DCIS. 3 rounds of EC, mastectomy with axillary clearance (12 nodes+ of 19). 1 more EC. 5 weeks of rads, with weekly booster to attack skin lymph involvement. 4 cycles of Taxol. Tamoxifen.Recurrence December 04, Herceptin started early Jan05,+ Arimidex.
NED 26 mths. Recurrence early Mar07. Taxol added to Herceptin. NED. Will have total of 6 cycles, then Aromisan and Herceptin. Early Oct 07, recurrence to the pesky right upper lobe, with some pleural thickening upper rt hemithorax. T/X now the treatment. May 2008, Taxatere and Herceptin for lung recurrence
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