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Young Women and Breast Cancer
Wherever possible we like to include
feedback from women who have experienced breast cancer and
their families. Sometimes their feedback will be inconsistent
with current medical practice. Where this is the case, we
provide a link to the relevant information on the Breasthealthlink
website, so you can access the current medical view supported
by leading Cancer organisations. Ed.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in
November 12. My first reaction to this was shock and disbelief
as there was no previous history in my family.
Nancy - Aged 42
My name is Nancy. I am 42, married to a wonderful and supportive
husband with two beautiful sons aged 10 and 12. I was diagnosed
with breast cancer in November 12. My first reaction to this
was shock and disbelief as there was no previous history in
my family. I later learnt most breast cancers detected are
not hereditary.
My treatment options were to have either a lumpectomy or
mastectomy and axillary dissection, possibly followed by radiation
therapy, chemotherapy and/or hormonal treatment depending
on the outcome. My greatest fear was having the axilla dissected
and the possible side effects of lymphoedema. I was resolved
to having surgery to the breast but felt I needed more information
about lymph node removal. This may appear a minor issue compared
to having a life threatening disease but I am right-handed
and my right arm would be affected.
I found a surgical oncologist who performs sentinel node
biopsy, a procedure that identifies and removes the first
lymph node to which the breast cancer cells might spread.
The surgeon provided lots of information to read about sentinel
node biopsy. I decided to proceed with it. Unfortunately my
sentinel node contained some cancer cells and the recommended
treatment was axillary dissection. I still felt uncomfortable
with this and found there was another option for me, to enter
a clinical trial being conducted at Peter MacCallum Cancer
Institute. This trial was part of an international study by
the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group - a randomised
trial of axillary node dissection in women with a certain
clinical breast cancer who have a positive sentinel node.
I was a possible candidate.
My husband and I discussed the options. One was to have an
axillary dissection, the other to take the risk against medical
advice and not remove any more lymph nodes, the third to enter
the trial. If I entered the trial and was chosen not to have
the axilla dissected I would have the advantage of being closely
monitored. This would be the same if I had the axilla dissected.
I had to feel comfortable with someone else (a computer!)
making the choice for me.
After careful consideration I decided to participate. I signed
up, my details were entered into the computer and within seconds
the decision was made to have the axilla dissected. It was
only then I knew I had made the right decision. I had my surgery
and found I had no other lymph node involvement. Of the 20
removed there was only one lymph node involved. With hindsight
I would not have needed to have further surgery.
I believe this justifies my participation in the study. Peter
Mac is hoping to recruit 15 Australian participants for this
trial. I was only the second. I hope that very soon the Australian
Standard for every woman with early stage breast cancer is
to undergo sentinel node biopsy.
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I was diagnosed at age 33 and recommend
routine follow ups.
Tanya - Age 38
I was first diagnosed with breast cancer at aged 33. My
Mother had had breast cancer at aged 36 followed by a secondary
and three years of chemotherapy (still in its infancy), she
is now 65 and still going strong. I was lucky and got by with
a lumpectomy and radiotherapy. Coming up to my 5 year mark
my routine check up picked up a new cancer in the same breast.
It was minute and was only picked up by the Doctor comparing
the previous years' films. This time resulted in a mastectomy.
Once again I have been lucky enough to avoid chemotherapy
but it sure is scary and moving on second time around. I guess
the best part of it all is that with routine follow-ups anything
that does recur is picked up with haste. I am now endeavouring
to pick up the emotional pieces and plod along for my two
children aged 7 and 9 and my husband of 17 years
I found my lump by accident in Jan 2001
and have since had chemo and radiotherapy following partial
mastectomy.
Vicki - Aged 34
My journey hasn't been smooth, about to have my fifth visit
to hospital this year. Two major infections, one collapse
and a few other hiccups, but my message is to hang in and
take care of your body. Take your temp regularly and take
supplements to assist your immune system. I finished my treatment
in August 2001 and I now Dragonboat race in a breast cancer
team as well as all of the other things that I did before
( I have a pretty frenetic life!!) I had a great time with
my 'grunge' look with no hair, fake body piercing jewellery
completed the look!! I would like to see some sort of concerted
media campaign aimed at young women, as there is no screening
and generally young women aren't thinking about breast cancer
because the media is aimed at women over 40 or 50. Tell your
young friends to check themselves regularly and get their
doctors to check, don't take no for an answer if you find
a breast change!!
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When I was 19 I was diagnosed with breast
cancer.
Samantha - Aged 19
In a period of 6 months, I had the lump and 9 lymph nodes
removed, chemo and radio. I lost all of my hair, I had to
move to the city for treatment and there was so many times
I thought I was not going to make it. Now nearly 5 years later,
I am as healthy and as happy as I can be!! I had no family
history of breast cancer I'm just very lucky that very early
detection saved my life. Whatever age you are if there is
something not right, don't hesitate to see a doctor! I hope
my story doesn't upset you,I hope it give's some inspiration
to all of you at sometime think of giving up!
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I had an ovarian tissue section removal
so I can still have children later
Diane - Aged 38
Diane was reluctant to have chemotherapy single and had never
had any children. "I know my 'biological time' is running
out, but I didn't want an option taken away from me.
I meticulously researched the chemo, chose a second opinion
and went with the second oncologist.
I met with a gynaecologist and chose to have a day procedure
for an ovarian tissue section removal. Technologically, this
process has not been successful to date, but it provided me
with a great piece of mind, and I have since learned that
it is looking very promising.
I was not able to have an egg collection as my tumours were
eostrogen receptor positive and doctors will not pump you
full of hormones in that instance. At my age, you also need
to collect a lot of eggs and time was an issue. I am very
happy that I made the decision to have this procedure done.
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I found the love of my life after my diagnosis
Sharon - Aged 30
Six years post diagnosis Sharon has had several recurrences,
but is still winning the battle
For my thirtieth birthday I got perfume, flowers, clothing
- oh yeah! and Breast cancer!
I was a single party girl, working full time and socialising
most nights. I had never smoked and had been a vegetarian
for 15 years. I rented a lovely two-bedroom unit, had great
friends and a close relationship with my family. In short
my life was great.
When I was diagnosed I was single and hoping that I would
find that special someone who would love me unconditionally.
It sounded so romantic, but I never stopped to wonder "how
do you know if love is unconditional". Four years later
I married the most wonderful man I could have ever hoped for.
He proved he loved me "unconditionally" because
he met me during my battle with cancer and he didn't run for
cover; he stood beside me, held my hand (and my heart) and
stayed to help me fight. He truly did marry me "for better
or worse". Two years on and we are still blissfully happy,
very much in love and still battling cancer - together.
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I wear everything I used to with my prosthesis
Julie - Aged 29
It's really not so bad having to wear a prosthesis. Sometimes
I don't bother wearing one at all if I think I can get away
without anyone noticing. I dress in size 8 and wear a size
10D bra. I'm young as are all my friends and we're very social
people. There's always a party, dinner evening or barbecue
arranged. I love the sun and swim a lot too. The point I'm
trying to make is that I wear trendy bikinis, reasonably skimpy
evening wear and very pretty bras and no one can ever tell
that I'm wearing a prosthesis.
Every time I go to be fitted with a new prosthesis (they
can go out of style too!) the people that help me always admire
my scar, I know it sounds funny but the conversation usually
goes something like this:
Assistant: Julie, here's the latest one on the market, isn't
it gorgeous?
Julie: Oh what a great shape and it feels so real!! Let me
try it on.
(I remove my top)
Assistant: Oh What a fabulous scar, it's so thin and it's
fading really well. Who's your surgeon?
You get the gist? A good prosthesis makes mw feel very confident
in myself and it shows. It looks perfectly normal under all
my clothes and no one knows any different.
Once, as I was arriving at my place of work, I realized I
had forgotten to put my prosthesis in. I didn't know what
I was going to do and it was way to late to go all the way
home to get it. So I sat at my desk over a coffee wondering
what to do. As I look around my desk, I see a toy my fiancée
had bought for me. It was a little green, plastic, ball with
eyes and a tuft of fake fur on top as hair. You guessed it!
I decided to put it into my bra for the day. Everything was
fine until I got home, took it out, looked at it closely and
realised that the ball, which was stuffed with flour (self-raising
flour?) had cooked slightly from the heat of my body. This
was quite funny and not your usual story to tell friends over
drinks!!!
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I missed the chance for IVF before chemotherapy
because I didn't find out what might happen and what my options
were until it was too late.
Caroline - Aged 38
She had surgery just before Christmas 1999 and had planned
to start a family the following year. Bad timing and lack
of information early on meant she missed out on IVF, which
could been a viable option in her case.
"The problem with most current treatment procedures
is that you rarely to get to meet the whole team of medical
experts at the start when you need all the information. My
surgeon had foreshadowed the probable need for chemotherapy,
but until surgery had been done, nothing was set in concrete.
Early in the New Year I met with my radiologist who headed
the cancer care section where I was being treated. I explained
my desire to start a family and my concern that the chemotherapy
may make me menopausal. He recommended I make enquiries about
IVF, which I did. Unfortunately, the Medical Oncologist was
away on leave and not due back for several weeks, so I couldn't
get advice on the chemotherapy treatment I was likely to get.
I spoke with a doctor from Sydney IVF who had had remarkable
success with a lady of my age in very similar circumstances.
I was lucky I that my cancer was not hormone receptor positive
and it was thought the procedure using hormone injections
to increase the egg harvest would probably not be too risky
in my case.
However, in the confusion of first hearing about the cancer
and then having to make decisions on what type of surgery
I would have, I had continued taking the pill. All of a sudden
I was faced with more decisions! I would have to go off the
pill and start hormone injections immediately and come into
the city daily for monitoring. More importantly, I hadn't
realised that it wasn't viable at that stage to freeze eggs
and that you had to freeze fertilised embryos. I wasn't really
ready or in a fit state post surgery to contemplate a full
"family in the freezer" and nor had my partner at
that early stage.
Confused and tired I finally met with my Oncologist who confirmed
I was to have the AC chemotherapy and that early onset menopause
was a possibility. However when I told him about the IVF option,
he noted that chemotherapy had to start within 6 weeks of
surgery to ensure effectiveness and with only a week or so
to go, IVF was no longer an option.
I never really considered an ovarian tissue section, as it
wasn't viable at that time and I couldn't face more treatment/surgery
unless there were good chances of a successful outcome. However,
I understand this is now looking like a real possibility.
After experiencing quite extreme menopausal symptoms for
10 months, my periods returned. However, I am 40 now and have
been told I will undoubtedly enter menopause early but I may
still be lucky!
While the Christmas timing didn't help my case, it is still
important to get as much information as you can as early as
possible so that you have time to consider all options and
make renowned decisions".
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