early breast cancer

[Allicat]

Hello all, I am 33 and was diagnosed with early breast cancer on 7 October 2010. I had my fourth AC Chemo on Thursday. Each cycle is gradually building up so I am feeling worse today than the previous times. I am planned to have a right-side mastectomy in late March. While there will be herception for a year, and tamoxifen and triporelin for 5 years I hope to be more or less recovered from all this in another six months. I'm not sure if that is realistic or not but I don't like to look too far ahead so the next few months are enough to deal with for the moment. Alli

[Zen-moment]

Hi Alli Lots of good wishes to you as you continue your treatment. I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in Sept 2008, and well remember how that chemo regime wears the body down. It gets better, and the energy does return eventually, so hang in there. I found it was wiser not to look too far ahead - being optimistic and positive but staying in the moment helped me get through the rough patches. Take care, and be gentle with yourself - this time will pass. What a beautiful cat in your photo!! He looks just like my neighbour's cat except her tail and eye coverings are black - I call her Zorro. Half way through my chemo I welcomed two little kittens into our family - to help my 9 and 8 year old boys with the difficult times we were having - those little cats became my angels in disguise - they thought it was wonderful that I sat on the couch all day resting, providing them with a lap to curl up on, and their purring helped my meditation. Where would we be without cats?! Zen. 🙂

[Allicat]

Thanks Zen. I'm feeling much worse this cycle than the previous cycles. The nausea has mainly passed now but I just feel very tired. I was warned that the effects could build up but it still took me by surprise. I guess I should be grateful that the previous times were not so bad. I napped most of yesterday afternoon then went for a walk in the evening. I'm not sure how much I should be pushing myself to do but I think it will just have to be a day by day decision on how I feel and what I can do. I loved it when my cat lay on the couch with me when I was tired. Unfortunately last week her kidneys failed & she had to be put to sleep. The house is very empty without her. I am still constantly glancing around to see where she is. She made me happy everytime I saw her & it is hard not having that anymore.

[Zen-moment]

Hi Alli I agree with you that it's a day by day decision on how we feel and what we can do - 2 years on from diagnosis and it's still the same for me. And I still get surprised by it!!! Although I can do much more exercise etc, there are still days when the side effects of medication or some lingering side effects of the chemo kick in, and I'm reminded to take it gently and rest. Having said that, I'm running "marathons" compared to this time last year. I walk on the beach now for 1-2 hours, whereas at the height of my treatment, I couldn't walk from the car park down to the beach - I keep reminding myself of that when the negative thinking kicks in! So sorry to hear of your cat's passing last week - such a hard decision and time for you. The same thing happened for us - our beautiful little grey persian got very sick not long after my diagnosis and I had to make the decision to have him put to sleep. It was so awful without him, and very challenging for my children, which was one of the reasons why we brought two little kittens into our family a few months on - as sad I was about our little puss, the kittens reminded me of new life, and how each day has a gift to offer to me. Hang in there Alli - it all passes. Zen 🙂

[#5]

Alli, your story is very inspiring and thank you for the hope and braveness that you showed to fight it. I am currently doing a research about cancer and I find more time to read the different stories like you Alli. My research evolve about the cancer blood test. A brand new cancer blood examination sensitive enough to detect a single cancer cell is being prepared for the health care marketplace. The brand new cancer blood test might help detect cancer in earlier stages. Such a development could result in thousands of lives saved. Testing a patient's blood using the brand new technique might result in more effective remedy and help determine if the cancer has been defeated.

[Jules2]

Milo ... It is interesting that you keep linking the same article all over this site. I must admit I am stumped as to why you feel the need to do that. 🙂