MichShad

Are you considering reconstruction?

Thinking of you and your treatment. Went thru similar stuff but chemo does end and I wish you smooth sailing! So sorry about your friend.

I understand your concern about taking chemo when they say they "got it all" during surgery. I was stage IIB, infiltrating lobular carcinoma and am HER2 positive as well. My oncologist told me that they think the surgery "got it all" but she told me that on a cellular level, no one can be sure. So the "standard of care" in my case was to do mastectomy, chemo (Taxotere and Carboplatin), Herceptin and radiation. I also have to take Tamoxifen for 5 or 10 years. It was hard to decide to allow myself to go through it all, but as a Nurse Navigator told me, if you don't at least try the different treatments and you get metastatic breast cancer, you may always regret not doing all you could. If you get metastatic breast cancer anyway, in spite of the treatments, at least you could say you did all you could.

Let us know how your second opinion went and any other questions you may have.

Hi MichShad, Did you find the statistics? I think that the Metavivor link worked at least. I hear stuff directly from people I know in the breast cancer world, I live in LA so there are a lot of lectures, and doctors, and also my breast cancer support group has women on the Susan Komen board, and others as well. So I am really bad about finding stuff on the internet, because I don’t that myself. And it is a problem that I am so technically challenged sometimes. But I knew that everything is probably online somewhere- although those are years old and that is decades or centuries in the cancer world because they are making such great strides and quickly now. There is another big Stage IV breast cancer event in LA in October and I will be going to that- so if you want me to pass on any info please let me know. I know that you are only stage 1 and I pray that you will never even need that information, but I just want women to be aware that we have to take care of ourselves. My mother was diagnosed stage 1 and it came back at stage 4. And after her treatment was completed for her stage 1 BC, her oncologist told her that she was fine and that she only needed follow up care for 5 years, and he was very loose about that- HE WAS WRONG! Maybe that is why I am so concerned about others? I don’t know, but I care about other women and I want everyone to survive this terrible disease! Take care, best wishes to you and God bless!

Hi...thanks so much for "following" me...please let me, or any of us, know if we can help in any way. Since we are all here for one another, we find we have much to learn from, and share with, each other. I hope your recovery from your surgery continues to go well and that you will feel a bit stronger each day. What's up next for you in your treatment?
Sending along best wishes and a sincere welcome to our group.

Welcome to the site. Glad you found it early in this journey, so they say. It has been so supportive, explanations, tips, knowledge of the disease itself have been so good for me. During treatment, it was something to look forward to. We have nearly the same diagnosis. Am here for you & only wish healing thoughts coming your way. Hugs, Barb

MichShad. What treatments does your ONC have planned for you?
I hope your recovery is going smoothly. You are in my prayers.
I live in Fresno too. Surgery, chemo, radiation complete. I am doing ok....been a challenge, try to go on walks---as long as your
M.D. says it is ok, it keeps you sane and better shape.
Take Care.

If you need any help finding anything on the site, or learning how to do something, where to post, etc. please let me know. Just click on my blue username, that takes you to my homepage.

Hi, MichShad. I see you're new to the web site. You have found a great resource here. There are a lot of really wonderful people on this web site - very kind, helpful, and supportive. I hope you find as much support here as I have. I bet you will. BTW, I'm originally from Fresno - born and raised - graduated from CSUF. Take care.

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/breast-cancer

There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

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GregP 3X Survivor

MichShad, I want to welcome you to WhatNext.....a great place to meet individuals like yourself who are asking questions...sharing their experience...and looking for hope! Feel free to jump right in...

Welcome to what next. Post any questions to the community using the link above.

Welcome to our community. I also had a port, and chemo, to treat my ILC. I hope we can help you through this part of your journey.

Welcome to the site. I am sure that you will find this a friendly place to come when you need someone to talk to. We are all in the same boat when it comes to emotions and feelings about our health. Just know that no question is to silly to ask and if you need to vent because you are having a bad day, we are here for you. I hope you find this site as helpful to you as it has been for me.

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter