Any Breast Cancer Bandettes Out There!

[RavenClaw779 2]

I am(was?) a 10 year breast cancer survivor who was banded last March. I've lost 60 pounds and am down 4 sizes. I'd been looking and feeling great, so I thought it was NBD when I went for my annual breast MRI in December... and then radiologist noted something small on the right side(original cancer was on left). He recommended a follow up MRI in six months. My Gyn said, "No way - not with your history". She sent me to a surgeon, who ordered an ultrasound and then a biopsy. The tumor or whatever you want to call it, at least at this point appears quite small - 5mm. From what I gather the fact that it was caught on this MRI was pure luck and possibly due to my weight loss which allowed for clearer views all around. Nothing is going on on the left side. It appears that this new cancer has the same makeup as the first. Unfortunately women with my genetic profile have a 50-70% chance of a second cancer in the other breast by age 70.

I had my original surgery(lumpectomy) in 2000. It took two years of battling with my insurance carrier and having my oncologist write numerous letters to get approval for the genetic testing which revealed that I am a carrier of the BRAC1(breast cancer gene). If I'd had that information at the time of the original diagnosis, I'd have done what I am doing next week - radical mastectomies with reconstruction.

My general surgeon( mastectomies) and the plastic surgeon(reconstruction) are both young guys with impressive track records. They figure I'll have to take it easy for a couple of weeks. My husband and I are traveling to NYC on Monday to meet with an oncologist at Weill Cornell who will work in tandem with my local oncologist .

I don't know if it's spread; tests will be done at the time of surgery. Prior to this fab news, I felt great - now I have every psychosomatic ache and pain in the world!

Now I have to face chemo again. The steroids given with the last go around really helped pack on the pounds and my surgeon nixed any band adjustments until further notice. I can't tell you how creeped out I am as I recall the discussion I had with my bariatric surgeon when considering GB -v-GBP and I chose GB because, "...If Iever have to deal with cancer again, I won't have the added problem of not being able to get enough nutrition..."

And I am pissed that just as my life seemed to be getting back in the groove so to speak, I'm back to square one.

Anybody else out there been or going through something like this?

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[futurelookinghealthy 0]

Raven, you sound like such a strong person. I admire all your courage for all that you have been through and will pray for you for all you have to go through in the future. Keep your faith and I'm sure everything will turn out okay. Good Luck. Connie

[Jachut 487]

I'm so sorry you're having to face this for a second time. Its such a huge emotional hurdle to get over the first time, and my fear was always living with the shadow of cancer for the rest of my life.

I havent had breast cancer but last August was diagnosed with rectal cancer. It seems nuts, but my hugest fears were to do with losing control of my healthy lifestyle - my eating and my running and exercise. I thought I was going to lose all I had worked so hard for. As it turned out, my excellent fitness has made a surgery possible that the next person would not be able to have. I was able to have my entire rectum and about 1/3 of my colon removed - laparascopically if you can believe it!! - with a few teeny scars, my caesar scar was the main access and I already had that. I've got a stoma for now so there'll be a scar there when that's reversed. The surgery was easy, thorough and with good margins because I have not got a pelvis full of fat. There was absolutely NO live cells left at surgery after the chemo and radiation I had and the radiation oncologist told me again, its a much easier job to target the tumour exactly in a thin person. Because of that, I didnt have the side effects normally seen with pelvic radiation - diarrhoea and skin issues - but it did put an end to my childbearing days.

As it turned out, I first went for a run a mere 10 days after a super low anterior resection, so I have pretty much maintained my fitness regime seamlessly. I've butted heads with the stoma nurse and nutrionist regarding the appropriate diet for an ostomate, I refuse point blank to eat a stodgy white carb diet liek they want me to so I pretty much live with constant diarrhoea and this may have to changhe if I want any success with the rve4rsal, something that is making me extremely anxious. I was devastated at 6the thought of wearing a bag, but you know, if this was for life, it wouldnt phase me now, I dont even think about it, until I fart loudly in public - something I cant control because it now comes out of an opening with no muscles!

Chemo for me has been 5FU which does not cause weight gain, so I've got the problem of having lost a lot of weight i never needed to lose. That avatar pic of me up there, that's now a "fat" picture. I'm extremely glad I've got a band that could be unfilled, so I can eventually gain some back and truth be told, I'm having so little trouble sticking to a healthy lifestyle that I dont know that I wever WILL fill it again. Why live that resdtricted lifestyle if you dont need to? My nutrition is way better and I need that for now. I've just started chemo again, 20 weeks of it as a mop up, ust in case and this time I feel like crap. But I am still running!

I knw how you feel about going back to square one, but although its taken courage an determination, and not a little willpower on my worst days, I have maintained what I worked so hard for - my healthy lifestyle. Everyone, surgeon, oncolo9gist, friends, family, tell me to take it easy but keeping up with my routines makes me feel normal andl ike this horrible disease will not get one second more of my life that it has had. I believe that whilst we cannot control cancer, we do have some say in what it does to our lives. I wish you the very best.

[RavenClaw779 2]

Raven, you sound like such a strong person. I admire all your courage for all that you have been through and will pray for you for all you have to go through in the future. Keep your faith and I'm sure everything will turn out okay. Good Luck. Connie

Thanks for your kind thoughts. I don't feel that strong right now, but I'm faking it real well! A friend cracked me up telling me to focus on the positive, "...your great new boobies to go with your svelte body..." It's good to be able to laugh.

[RavenClaw779 2]

I'm so sorry you're having to face this for a second time. Its such a huge emotional hurdle to get over the first time, and my fear was always living with the shadow of cancer for the rest of my life.

I havent had breast cancer but last August was diagnosed with rectal cancer. It seems nuts, but my hugest fears were to do with losing control of my healthy lifestyle - my eating and my running and exercise. I thought I was going to lose all I had worked so hard for. As it turned out, my excellent fitness has made a surgery possible that the next person would not be able to have. I was able to have my entire rectum and about 1/3 of my colon removed - laparascopically if you can believe it!! - with a few teeny scars, my caesar scar was the main access and I already had that. I've got a stoma for now so there'll be a scar there when that's reversed. The surgery was easy, thorough and with good margins because I have not got a pelvis full of fat. There was absolutely NO live cells left at surgery after the chemo and radiation I had and the radiation oncologist told me again, its a much easier job to target the tumour exactly in a thin person. Because of that, I didnt have the side effects normally seen with pelvic radiation - diarrhoea and skin issues - but it did put an end to my childbearing days.

As it turned out, I first went for a run a mere 10 days after a super low anterior resection, so I have pretty much maintained my fitness regime seamlessly. I've butted heads with the stoma nurse and nutrionist regarding the appropriate diet for an ostomate, I refuse point blank to eat a stodgy white carb diet liek they want me to so I pretty much live with constant diarrhoea and this may have to changhe if I want any success with the rve4rsal, something that is making me extremely anxious. I was devastated at 6the thought of wearing a bag, but you know, if this was for life, it wouldnt phase me now, I dont even think about it, until I fart loudly in public - something I cant control because it now comes out of an opening with no muscles!

Chemo for me has been 5FU which does not cause weight gain, so I've got the problem of having lost a lot of weight i never needed to lose. That avatar pic of me up there, that's now a "fat" picture. I'm extremely glad I've got a band that could be unfilled, so I can eventually gain some back and truth be told, I'm having so little trouble sticking to a healthy lifestyle that I dont know that I wever WILL fill it again. Why live that resdtricted lifestyle if you dont need to? My nutrition is way better and I need that for now. I've just started chemo again, 20 weeks of it as a mop up, ust in case and this time I feel like crap. But I am still running!

I knw how you feel about going back to square one, but although its taken courage an determination, and not a little willpower on my worst days, I have maintained what I worked so hard for - my healthy lifestyle. Everyone, surgeon, oncolo9gist, friends, family, tell me to take it easy but keeping up with my routines makes me feel normal andl ike this horrible disease will not get one second more of my life that it has had. I believe that whilst we cannot control cancer, we do have some say in what it does to our lives. I wish you the very best.

Jacqui - It sounds like you're a lady who knows exactly what I'm going through. Thanks for you story and kind wishes! Jill

[Cleo's Mom 257]

I am(was?) a 10 year breast cancer survivor who was banded last March. I've lost 60 pounds and am down 4 sizes. I'd been looking and feeling great, so I thought it was NBD when I went for my annual breast MRI in December... and then radiologist noted something small on the right side(original cancer was on left). He recommended a follow up MRI in six months. My Gyn said, "No way - not with your history". She sent me to a surgeon, who ordered an ultrasound and then a biopsy. The tumor or whatever you want to call it, at least at this point appears quite small - 5mm. From what I gather the fact that it was caught on this MRI was pure luck and possibly due to my weight loss which allowed for clearer views all around. Nothing is going on on the left side. It appears that this new cancer has the same makeup as the first. Unfortunately women with my genetic profile have a 50-70% chance of a second cancer in the other breast by age 70.

I had my original surgery(lumpectomy) in 2000. It took two years of battling with my insurance carrier and having my oncologist write numerous letters to get approval for the genetic testing which revealed that I am a carrier of the BRAC1(breast cancer gene). If I'd had that information at the time of the original diagnosis, I'd have done what I am doing next week - radical mastectomies with reconstruction.

My general surgeon( mastectomies) and the plastic surgeon(reconstruction) are both young guys with impressive track records. They figure I'll have to take it easy for a couple of weeks. My husband and I are traveling to NYC on Monday to meet with an oncologist at Weill Cornell who will work in tandem with my local oncologist .

I don't know if it's spread; tests will be done at the time of surgery. Prior to this fab news, I felt great - now I have every psychosomatic ache and pain in the world!

Now I have to face chemo again. The steroids given with the last go around really helped pack on the pounds and my surgeon nixed any band adjustments until further notice. I can't tell you how creeped out I am as I recall the discussion I had with my bariatric surgeon when considering GB -v-GBP and I chose GB because, "...If Iever have to deal with cancer again, I won't have the added problem of not being able to get enough nutrition..."

And I am pissed that just as my life seemed to be getting back in the groove so to speak, I'm back to square one.

Anybody else out there been or going through something like this?

url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wru5592/]

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I, too, have breast cancer. I was diagnosed with stage 1 (9mm tumor) N0, M0, T1 in 2002. I had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. The nodes were clear. I had radiation (no chemo) and started on tamoxifen until my hysterectomy in 2003 when I was switched to femara. I have been on it since and my yearly mammograms have been fine so far. But being a glass half empty kind of person, I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I am so sorry that you have to go through with this all over again. Although we don't wish this on anyone, don't you feel like saying. Not me again - isn't it someone else's turn?

What was the stage of your original breast cancer? Was it ER+/PR+? Were you on tamoxifen, arimidex or femara?

Do you have a family history of breast cancer?

I was not tested for BRC1 or BRC2. I do not have a family history of it. I was treated at a leading women's hospital and state of the art cancer treatment center. They weren't doing genetic testing on a routine basis then. I believe my 100+ lb. weight gain in adulthood contributed to my breast cancer.

No one who hasn't gone through this process can know how enormously stressful it all is - starting with the yearly mammograms and waiting for all the subsequent test results - not to mention all the pain of surgery and the side effects of radiation and chemo.

Just know that there are others out here who have been through it and I wish you the best in terms of diagnosis, surgery, recovery and the rest of your life. Good luck to you.

[RavenClaw779 2]

I do have a family history - grandmother died of BC at 51, mother diagnosed at 51 - still alive at 74. Mine was a Stage 2(solely due to size) ER PR Negative, Her2 positive, no node involvement. I had lumpectomy, raditation and chemo(the Red Devil). Just got back from NYC(Weill Cornell) and am cautiously optimist, but ditto on the Why Me? Why Again! Thanks for your kind words.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

I do have a family history - grandmother died of BC at 51, mother diagnosed at 51 - still alive at 74. Mine was a Stage 2(solely due to size) ER PR Negative, Her2 positive, no node involvement. I had lumpectomy, raditation and chemo(the Red Devil). Just got back from NYC(Weill Cornell) and am cautiously optimist, but ditto on the Why Me? Why Again! Thanks for your kind words.

It sounds like you are getting excellent care and the outlook is very positive. Isn't it herceptin that is used for Her positive cancer? I can remember my husband's oncologist (when he had esophageal cancer) saying that with some Her positive cancers (even if they spread) they used herceptin and it would be all gone. My husband's cancer was Her negative. He and I were diagnosed 11 months apart and he died from his cancer 5 years ago.

With your family history I am surprised they didn't do a genetic test when you were first diagnosed but at that time I'm not sure they were doing them. It seems like genetic testing for BRC1 and BRC2 is relatively new.

We both belong to a sorority that neither of us wanted to be members of. It justs seems like breast cancer is everywhere. Is there anyone who doesn't know someone who has it?

I am not a optimistic person by nature so I am not one to say things like cancer was the best thing to ever happen to me or it is a joy. It is a horror as far as I am concerned. That being said, I am glad that you are able to remain positive and go into this with the mindset that the outcome will be fine. And it will. Some are looking at cancer as somewhat of a chronic illness requiring treatment from time to time. If caught early, like ours were, the prognosis for a long life is very good, like your mom.

Again, good luck to you. I wish you the best and just remember there are others out there. Feel free to post again or PM me if you like.

[Melissannde 41]

Not a breast cancer, but an endometrial cancer survivor. I chose banding for the exact same reason.. if cancer should ever return I didn't want to have to deal with malabsorption during treatment.

My best wishes to you and everyone who's fighting this nasty beast.