Chicks On Lit discussion

Hi everybody...

I have wanted to post and give you gals an update for a while now. But, for the first time in my life I am at a loss for words (if you knew me well your mouth would be hanging open at this point LOL).

Anyway, crazy as it is, just as I finished reading the Wednesday Sister's I felt a strange lump in my breast. I went to the doctor who sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound and a mammogram. When the radiologist read the ultrasound he had a look of horror on his face. He moved the mammo up (as it was not to follow for another 2 weeks) and confirmed his suspicion.. Although, the biopsy would confirm it, he and my GP were most certain the diagnosis would be cancer.

I then went to a surgeon who took a biopsy and also confirmed the diag.

I have really not been in a very good frame of mind lately - there is alot of waiting for appointments/results..yada yada something that I don't like to do. There is also alot of "unknowns" as until they really get in to remove the tumor and test my lymph nodes there is quite a bit of uncertainty. Right now the knowns are that I will have surgery on 10/8 to remove the tumor and follow-up radiation therapy for 5 weeks. This can all change in a heartbeat as they are continuing to test and try to gain as much confidence as possible about the tumor size and location.

Lucky me, I have Lobular carcinoma which is what my doc calls the "sneaky" form of cancer. It is not picked up easily on mammo's and is often missed.

So... if I am quiet for a while - know that I just have a bit going on.

cindy

WOW! I don't know what to say...glad you found this now, though!

Sending postive healing thoughts and prayers yoru way! :)

A teacher at work is going through the same thing. She is in the radiation stage and doing really well and continuing to work. All I can say to you is I will pray for you and hope that you can go through this as well. Keep in mind we are all here. If you need to rant and rave we will be behind you ranting and raving with you. We are like the Wednesday Sisters! I will be thinking of you all day on 10/8.

Cindy I am so glad you decided to post this on here and I'm hoping that by doing so you can get extra support when you need it. The kind of support that comes from out of nowhere and surprises you....I like that kind :)

As you know I've been thinking of you and praying for you and I'm positive you are going to come through this and be stronger for it all. Its such a hard thing to face...those words from the doctor.....when they tell you what you didn't want to hear. And they never say it nicely do they? ;) But I know you will face it and are facing it and you have all of us here in cyberspace cheering you on in this!! Don't forget that :)

Thanks Holli - you have been a real support through all of this.

Thank you everybody for just listening.

I am so glad you felt you could share this with us. Know that you have all the support and good thoughts we can send you. I can only imagine what you are going through but know as much as is possible we will be there for you.

To all the other women please take this as a reminder to check yourself. If you have a history or are of the age to begin mammograms then don't put it off.

YES!!! Please do take this as motivation that self-exams and regular screenings are VERY important. Also, please don't ignore any slight change that makes you think "hmmmm" I ignored a symptom (that I didn't realize was a symptom)..

Educate yourself and if you have any questions - ask!!!

I will pray for healing from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet, Cindy. And from what I'm learning about the power of prayer, it's important that you pray for yourself as well. I used to think it was weird or wrong to pray for myself, but believe me it works!

Cindy, I will be praying for you as well, because prayer does work! You have our support, our thoughts and our prayers. God bless you!

Cindy, I wish much peace to you in this really stinkin' hard time! Thank you for sharing this with us - we are behind you all the way.

Big hugs coming your way, Cindy! If your brave enough to come forward to tell someone the serious stuff goign on in your life then you are brave enough to conquer it!
I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

Good luck Cindy. Keep us posted on what's going on. We're here in case you ever need to bitch.

We are all here for you, thru all of this, we are here for you Cindy! I am so sorry you are going through this! I am sending you much love, support and healing vibes!!! If there's anything you need or anything I can do, please please please let me know!

Cindy - thank you for sharing - you have lots of supportive women on here that are praying for you! I'm sorry that you have to go through this!

Cindy, I will keep you in my prayers! Keep your chin up. :)

Cindy......thinking of you today.....

Cindy, My mom is going through the same thing right now. Diagonosed last November, Lobular Invasive Stage II, spread to the "nodes". She's done with Chemo (thank goodness) and has 3 weeks of radiation left. Her treatment was pretty aggressive (16 chemos and 33 radiations) w/mastecomy. I'm looking forward to it being over and having my mom back.

Thinking of you and I know you will make it through just fine.

Wow Kristen I can only imagine how this has rocked your world too. Hope things are better soon for you and your mom.

Thinking of you too Cindy. Sending you tons of good vibes.

Gosh Kristen.....that's alot to deal with. How are you doing with it all?

Kristen,

They have not staged my cancer yet - but it is the same type as your Mom. How big was her tumor?

Everybody- thankyou for all of the love and encouragement. I believe that all of the good thoughts help. I had an MRI the other day that confirmed the right side is clean -- phew!!!! Also my tumor size is 1.7cm under 2... I might get out of this mess without chemo that would really be a blessing!

Cindy

Cindy that is wonderful news. I will continue to keep you in my prayers and you also Kristen. I can't imagine how hard this is for both of you.

My mom had mulitiple tumors, each under 1 cm. That's why she opted for the mastectomy. My grandmother - her mom - died from Stage 4 Breast Cancer 4 1/2 years ago, so she's thinking she will have the other side off, then reconstruction when she's recovered from treatment. Or she will just go in, have the other side off and live with prostesis for the rest of her life. I told her it's her choice. At 55 I might lean more towards the later as well. Because of my family history I've been thinking about taking the BRCA gene mutation test, but I'm not really ready to face my options quite yet. Both my mom and my grandmother were diagonsed post-menopause, so my chances are slimmer than it it was before but I don't want to go through what both of them have either.

Cindy, it's great that you might get out without Chemo. But if you don't, know that it is something that you can get through - people do every day. My mom went for treatments for 12 weeks every week and said every time she went there were always a ton of women doing the same thing, and she only went to a clinic that did women's cancer. It's becoming an epidemic and our only chances of kicking it in the bud are early detection and research.

It's important to have a positive attitude. I told Mom early on to look at this as a road construction in life, it's an absolute pain while it's happening, but when it's all done, life will be better again.

Kristen your outlook on cancer is exactly how everyone should look at any disease they are diagnosed with but especially with cancer. That is fantastic that you are such a positive support to your mom!! I think its great that you know you need to be pro-active in this when the time is right for you and that you will take the steps necessary to fight this before it starts if you need to. Bravo!!

I'm glad Cindy was able to reach out to the women in this group and learn from them or just lean on them. You are all such outstanding people and it warms my heart to see this much love and support out there in the world. You have all been so helpful to me with my heart issues and other health problems and its nice to see others benefiting from that too!!

Keep it up ladies!! :)

Kristen you are certainly an inspiration as well as Cindy. And how wonderful you and Cindy are here at the same time. I always believe people come into your life for a reason.

So does my Self magazine....alot of good stuff in there!!!

Good luck tomorrow Cindy!!! I will be thinking of you...........

Good luck, Cindy - sending you prayers!!

Praying for you Cindy, let us know when you are up to it.

Wishing the best for you today, Cindy. :)

I hope all goes well today, Cindy!

Cyn, you're in my thoughts & prayers! (Kristen, you are as well!)

Cindy~ I woke up thinking about you today! Healing wishes sent from me, too :)

Cindy, Thinking of you and sending postive vibes... I have four good friends who've had breast cancer with an array of treatments and they are all thriving...I'm trying to keep that in mind because I have a lump that is suspicious right now...I'm getting a mammo Saturday and dr. exam Monday. I'm trying to be at peace with whatever the verdict will be, but if it's bad news, messages like yours remind me I'm not alone. It's almost like your story came across my screen magically. It's a reminder that 1 on 8 women (and 1 in 6 in the Bay Area where I live) get breast cancer. It affects everyone in one way or another.

Cindy..any updates for us yet? I hope you check in soon. We're all worried about you and thinking about you.

Kate.. I hope everything goes well tomorrow and the Dr's visit goes well. Make sure you let us know.

Yes, Kate. I hope it all goes well tomorrow and Monday! You're definitely not alone: we're all pulling for you.

Wow Kate and Cindy, definitely praying for healing for both of you. Please let us know how you're both doing.

Oh wow Kate! My good health vibes are with you! And Cyn too!

I'm pulling for you both!

Kate, I'll be thinking of you too. I hope all will be well with you after your checkup. :)

Just to clear things up, CYN is not the one who needs the good vibes, it is CINDY!!!
I mean Hey, we could all use the positive help, but Cindy is the one with breast issues presently, Let's all be sure we are sending it to hte correct person! :)

Hi everybody,

I had the surgery. Got another call from the doctor on Friday. They have to go back in and try to get more on Monday. The margins were not clean.

Cindy

Thanks for the update, Cindy, and sorry to hear that. I'll keep praying for you! Take care & stay positive! If you want a great book for that, I recommend this one:

At Home in Mitford

Let us know how it goes.

Cindy and Kate,
I'm praying for you both! I believe in hugs, so if I were with you both right now, I'd give you each a hug!

Cindy, BLEH! I hope Monday is smooth sailing and that you recover quickly!

You all are an amazing community. Had my mammo today. It's such a weird thing, isn't it, to know it's likely the technician is seeing something or nothing but can't tell you.

Damn, those machines are torture devices. If a woman had developed them, they'd gently cradle the breast in a feather-lined cup, and you'd get a glass of wine in the process.

Cindy, thinking of you....

Hope you hear something soon, Kate! The suspense must be incredible. I would probably try to bribe the technician!

Kate,

You crack me up. Imagine the uproar if there was a similar device for screening for testicular irregularities!

Kate.. I hope your dr appt goes well on Monday.

Cindy.. I'm sorry you have to do it again. Keep your chin up!

Cindy that really sucks. I am giving you cyber hugs and lots of prayers. We are all behind you and you are in our hearts.

Rowena,
HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh Cindy! I'm so sorry! We're all pulling for you and Love you!