Breast Cancer - Allen,TX

Hi K.,

I want to start by saying sorry to hear you are going through all this.

I don't have any experience with breast cancer but my sister-in-law just went through this at 30 years of age.

She is more than willing to answer any questions you may have. Email me directly if you would like her name and number.

Best Wishes,

C. Roeschen
The Trinity Group
Keller Williams
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.TheTrinityGroup.org

I am a 13 year survivor! This is just a detour in your life right now and a great time for others to minister to you and show their support and love. Please go to the Arlington Cancer Center on Randoll Mill and see Dr. Firstenburg. Tell them V. Black recommended him. Br. George Blumenschien was my oncologist and he retired last year and Dr. F took his patients.
I had a mastectomy and then chemo-I will not have radiation-too many problems and side effects. People come from all over the world to this clinic and they are aggressive and thorough in their treatments.
Watch for the Susan G, Komen Brunch in August for survivors. It is free and over 1200 women attend every year at the Wyndom Annatole every year around the 18th. I will be there and would love to meet you and congratulate you on your successes. Much love and prayers, V.

Krystel best of luck. My prayers are with you!
I have another check up in August. who is your doctor? thanks.
____@____.com

First of all, I'm very sorry you have to go through this stress! I will add you to my prayers!

I found this link: http://www.medicinenet.com/breast_cancer_questions_to_ask...

My grandmother had breast cancer and had both her breasts removed in her late 30s. She lived to be 89. God bless!

Jodi

Hi
I am sorry you are going trought this, I know it is stressful. My aunt and my mother in law were both diagnosed with breat cancer last year. Each had one round of radiation and are cancer free!
So, first of all remeber that science is amazing and there are so many options.
One thing my aunt said was that she was considering radiation and chemo. When she asked more questions, she found out that chemo would only give a 5% better chance and she decided that 5% was not worth the side effects of the meds.
So, that would be a good question what are the options? what are the reccomendations? and what are the statistics on those treatments on your type of cancer.
Best of luck to you!
My MIL said that radiation was just like a localized sunburn and she was a little more tired than usual, and that the extent of it!

1.) How extensive is the disease?
2.) Are the lymph nodes involved?
3.) Is this treatable with chemo and/or radiation?
4.) Does the doctor see this as operable? Either a lumpectomy or breast removal?

My mom and my aunt had breasts removed. Mom added 15 years to her life. (Mom died in 2002 after a series of strokes.) My aunt has added 18 years-and counting-to hers.

Mom got to see her first 2 great grandchildren. Breast removal-worst case scenario- looks soooo weird, but it saves your life. And your 6 year old will have her mom. Enough said.

I am currently going through this with my Mom. I thought I would give you some of the questions we asked just a few weeks ago.. * is the cancer invasive? * How big is it? *What are treatment options? * One thing they warned us about was if she went for radiation and a lumpectomy if she ever got to the point that she would need a mastectomy that reconstruction would be harder if radiation had been done. * was it easily detected? If it wasn't easy to detect if another spot came up in the future would it be easily detected? I know it's overwhelming... My mom is still recovering from her surgery and it is a new road everyday. We are praying for you.

Prayng for you and your family. Blesssings!

Keep the faith!
God bless and keep you.

You probably won't see this before you see your doctor. Just want to say get a second opinion and don't let them rush you - unless it's an agressive, fast growing type. I am a 3 year survivor; might have made different choices if I hadn't been rushed through it all. I highly recommend you see Dr. Joseph McWherter at the Fem Centre. He has offices in Fort Worth and Colleyville. At the very least get his book "Avoiding Breast Cancer". You can get more information at www.femcentre.com.
Best Wishes.

Ask him to look in his PDR under Vemma to see what is in it, and ask if you could take it. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the cardiovascular surgeon who is on TV all the time, was at our convention in January as the keynote speaker. He takes it,and has his family on it. The clinical study showed it is 98% absorable and has what we need to allow our bodies to heal of all sorts of things. I am hearing often on team calls that it is helping so many tolerate chemo and radiation better, keeping their immune strength up and giving energy. It is plant derived vitamins and minerals in liquid form, and it tastes good! It has been a blessing to me. I am so sorry you got this report, and I am so glad you have your faith. It was a doctor in a Bible study class I was leading at Prestonwood that told me about Vemma for a pain I had that they could not figure out. In two months on Vemma, that side pain I had lived with for 8 months was gone. In four months, my arthritis pain in my hands was gone...before it hurt to squeeze toothpaste, and now I can open anything. In listening to team calls, I have heard so many say it helped them get through this chemo or radiation. I had to share this with you when I read your note. Here is my website to check further. www.myvemma.com/annnoble

I live in Frisco, but if you would like to meet somewhere, I can give you a sample or talk to you further, even let you talk to the doctor that introduced Vemma to me. She is just great, and so full of compassion. God bless, and I am so glad you know where your hope lies!!!!

Welcome to the club! I'm saying this with tongue in cheek, of course. I would find out how fast the cancer is growing. If it's a slow one, then breathe deeply and realize that you have time to look at other options, alternative medicine, and allow other medical studies to be completed in order to have the fullest treatment options. Second opinions and even third are absolutely required, because this is not exact science. I freaked out 7 years ago when I was told that I would still be in the hospital when my daughter started kindergarten, recovering from a mastectomy and reconstruction. Instead of cancelling the whole thing, I got a second opinion to do chemo first, then surgery & radiation. Still within the protocol, but the first doctor didn't present it to me.

Once you get in the system, you will receive a Mack truck of pressure to move on through as quickly as possible. It's ALWAYS your choice as to how to proceed. Take charge of your treatment. I know how easy it is to fall into victim mode, but lady, we are powerful beyond measure and this is simply a new chance to learn and grow in life!

HER2-neu protein: positive or negative?
hormone receptors: positive or negative?
Growth rate: fast or slow? how long has this been in my body?
Chemo or other hormonal therapy, like Tamoxifen or Zoladex?
Will you cooperate with alternative practitioners, both in therapy, treatments, and healers outside of the hospital environment?
How does DES exposure work with the other therapies that they will prescribe?

My oncologist gave me a great perspective: survival rates mean nothing. Either you have a 100% chance or a 0% chance. It's all about attitude. It sounds to me like you already have a great support system! Make sure your husband gets one, too, and talk to the school counselor about getting one for your 6 yr old. That really helped my two children. Good luck, and feel free to contact me for more information!

Yes it is a bit overwhelming to hear the word "cancer". Ask the doctor if it is estrogen receptive or not as that will tell you what way to go with the treatment. If it is caught in the early stages you could do a lumpectomy over a mastecomy. Look at all of your options about the surgery and if you want to do reconstuctive and if there is a timetable for the reconstuction.

As mentioned before the doctors will try to put you in front of the freight train with the pressure of getting it done. The reasoning is that they want to catch it before it spreads any further. I call it the clear lake syndrome you can see the bottom of the lake before someone jumps in and muddies it up. The muddy effect would be the surgery and the trailing of the mud into the clear water would be the after surgery. The after surgery is what the medical field is trying to keep from spreading throughout the body by using the radiation and or chemo. Yes, there will be a few drain tubes coming out of your arm from the lymph nodes and it will feel like you have a basketball under your arm but that feeling does go away.

I am a 12 year breast cancer survivor and a member of the Reach to Recovery from the American Cancer Society. If you have additional questions send me an email. I will get back to you.

Just slow down, take a deep breath exhale and start you list. Once you go through your treatment your outlook on life will change - only you will know why and how. I will keep you in my thoughts. The other S.

I am sorry to here this. Ask them lots of questions like What stage of cancer is it? Do you need a mastectomy or will radiation and or chemo? Can you take vitamins to help keep your energy up? How big is the tumor? If you plan to have more children how will this change your plans? What about genetic testing, is it possible to tell if your six old could get it latter in life. Ask about books that might help you and books to help explain this disease to your child This is a hard challenge you have been handed but God will see you through.

Dear K.:

I'm sorry to hear your biopsy found cancer. I was in your shoes not too long ago. I had a lumpectomy in late 2007, chemo for 16 weeks after that, radiation, Herceptin for a year and am now on hormone therapy, Femara, so I'm kind of an overachiever and have tried it all!

First off, have the doctor explain ALL your options. Ask if they perform a sentinel node biopsy. What that means is they will see what's your main draining node in your armpit and biposy that. If it's clean, no more nodes are taken. Most people have between 2 and 4. If your nodes are clean you do NOT want them all removed!

If the surgeon says he/she simply removes all the nodes, regardless, RUN!!

You didn't ask for a doctor recommendation, but I'm going to give you the name of my surgeon because, frankly, all she does is breast surgery and I believe she's the best breast surgeon in northern Texas. Her name is Dr. L. Canavan. She has offices at Craig Ranch in Frisco and Baylor in Plano. Her number is ###-###-####.

Don't be afraid to talk to a couple of doctors. The same goes for the oncologist, if that's what you need. I fired my first radiologist and oncologist because we just could not work together. This is YOUR team and you have to be able to work with these people.

Also, for general information, such as types of tumors and therapies, go to the Komen website. It's a great starting place. Your surgeon should also give you a stack of reading material.

Hang in there. It does get better!

L. F., married to my best friend for 22 years, have 13-year-old daughter

I'm sooo sorry to hear that. I wish you the best luck that they found it early enough and that it is totally treatable. But those would actually be my first two questions, how early did they catch it and what are your treatment options. Also maybe what other lifestyle changes you might need to make that would aid in treatment options and afterwards once you are in remission. You and your family are in my prayers.

Hello - I wanted to be sure you knew about our latest, greatest comprehensive and uplifting resource for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients:

http://www.affinityfilms.org/our_work/survive_thrive/

Survive & Thrive: Hope, Laughter and Truth

Our new comprehesive DVD for women facing early stage breast cancer has wrapped production and is now ready for ordering!

For the main story of the film, in an era of reality TV, and “survivor” shows, we are excited to apply this more contemporary approach to breast cancer. We invited 11 women of diverse ethnicity, survival length, lifestyles, and personalities to share a retreat at a lovely Alaskan lodge in Homer. Our women from very different lifestyles come to this empowering support group where the one thing they have in common is that they are long-term survivors of breast cancer. Our women are filled with inspiration, humor, tears and hope. Think of war vets converging, laden with stories and personality. For the expert portion of the DVD, we hear 90 questions answered on everything from nutrition to radiation, exercise to reconstruction.

We hope you'll order one to see how this can be a wonderful giveaway for your patients. Our phone number is ###-###-####

K.,
Though I don't have any advise for you regarding what to ask the Dr. I just wanted to give you my support and wish you well what happens. I truly pray for the best with your health, wellness and family... This will be tough for all of you involved and know you will all find the strength to survive and surpass this obstacle. You will all be stronger for it... In your weakness he is strong!

L.