Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with breastcancer

What's the best way, in 2009, to beat breast cancer?

MiguelCardoso — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:30:41 -0800

My wife has breast cancer - the tumor, discovered only last week, is now just under 4 centimetres and it has reached at least one of the lymph nodes - probably caused by the breast biopsy itself, but a metastasis all the same. Please help us decide whether we're doing the right thing. We've decided not to go anonymous, in the hope that any sympathy for her (Schweppes Girl) or for me would convince someone to help us.

Although we trust our surgeon here in Portugal and feel lucky for all the help we've received, we'd still like to have an informal second opinion, from oncologists and breast cancer survivors who know (or can guess) what awaits us.

Maria João is 41; has no family history of cancer; has never had babies and has a regular menstrual cycle.

The plan we've been given is as follows:

1) Chimiotherapy: 4 sessions, 3 weeks apart with steroids the day before before and docetaxere and daunomycim.

2) Lumpectomy in November

3) Radiation therapy (5 weeks, daily)

4) Tamixofen (an estrogen-blocking, menopause-induciing drug) for 5 years

5) More chimiotherapy after the surgery

We get the impression that the breast tumor is easy: it's the cancer that is difficult to prevent from recurring. Also that, since she's young and healthy, the cancer is more invasive and the treatment can be as aggressive as it possibly can be.

Is this too much? Is this too little? What can we expect? Maria João is very feminine (apparently just feminine enough for the greedy cancer) and it breaks my heart to hear her say she will never be the same woman again. Body change is the problem, since she's dysmorphic already.

We live in Portugal - it´s a small country with not that many specialists and a noticeable time-lag (and conservativeness) regarding the latest discoveries.

This is why we're appealing to you: not because we aren't grateful for the quality of the medical assistance we are getting. But because of the distance, in time, in space and in research.

Reassurance would be fine. Anything else would be wonderful.

Thank you,

Maria João and Miguel

The uniboob lens

Mrs Hilksom — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:12:40 -0800

Breast Cancer Media Filter: Looking for (funny/wry/witty/absurdist pov) books, docs, movies. One-woman shows/theatre? Performance art? Installations? Photo essays? Looking at it not as a death sentence, not as a oh-dear-oh-woe lament, searching for the other side. Crazy Sexy Cancer-type suggestions welcome. And extra points for non-North American examples.

Continue chemo?

frankie_stubbs — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:16:51 -0800

Should my grandmother continue chemotherapy? My grandmother has advanced stage breast cancer, and she has the choice of whether or not to continue chemotherapy. She asked me for advice, and I was at a loss as to what to tell her. Can anyone point to any scientific papers or the like that give me some evidence one way or the other?

Would advising her to continue not be in her best interest since chemo obviously adversely affects her appetite, physical strength, and mood?

Or would her decline be greater if she were to discontinue chemo?

Her Mother died of Breast Cancer two years ago, what can I do?

eleongonzales — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:56:03 -0800

Breast Cancer took her mother from her 2 years ago (October 3rd, 2006)- what can I do for her anniversary? I want to do something for my girlfriend for her mother's anniversary this Friday.

Background - Her mother passed away two years ago after a very hard battle with breast cancer stretching over a few years. She talks about her mother daily and misses her greatly. She has no other family besides her half sisters and brother, and her father left at a very young age and she has never met him.

We haven't been dating very long, but we have talked about her mother in some depth and she has shared numerous stories that lead me to believe that her mother was the center of her life and that they had a very special relationship. She is still living in the apartment her mother purchased and has joined some of the organizations where her mother was a member (somewhat filling in her shoes.) She is a very family oriented person and will fortunately be spending the day with them.

I have been raising money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and I will be participating in this event in a few weeks in her honor.

I would like to do something special for her beyond a card or flowers and I wanted to see if you all have any ideas.

Breast cancer - what now?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:50:52 -0800

My wife has breast cancer. What do we need to know? My wife found a lump and then, within a few days, another lump. A biopsy has confirmed that it's cancer and it is at least stage 2 because it has reached the lymph nodes. She will be starting chemotherapy soon with surgery to follow. We have a lot of confidence in her doctors but could use suggestions on how to deal with the day-to-day stuff.

Other stuff that might be relevant: We have two children, both teenagers. Family is not close enough to help. My wife does not have many close friends. She is likely to be on disability for awhile so finances will be an issue.

I'm 23 and my boobs need to go.

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:47:33 -0800

I am 23 and I have the BRCA1 gene mutation. My mother had a double mastectomy in her 40s, because of precancerous cell growth, and both of my grandmothers have had breast cancer pre-menopause (both are fine.) I'm basically a ticking time bomb. I'm interested in hearing any stories from women under 30 -- or women that you know -- who have undergone a voluntary double mastectomy because of their family history and/or the gene mutation. I don't give a damn about my breasts, aesthetically speaking, and I'd happily get rid of them for the peace of mind that will result. I'm just worried about the surgery and recovery and going through a procedure that's going to be strange dating-wise (I'm single) and because most people doing this are like 50. I have full health insurance, and it would be covered, but if anyone you know has gone through this, or you have, I'd really like to hear anything that will be helpful through this process....

Should my mom sue?

odayoday — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:16:36 -0800

My mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, which sucks in many, many ways, not the least of which is that it seems that it could have been caught by her mammogram two years ago, but wasn't, possibly because the technician ignored information in her chart. She is now being encouraged by others to sue for malpractice, considering that her cancer has now had two extra years to progress. I'm wondering if she actually has a case, and if so, how should she proceed. This is kind of a long story, so there's more inside... My mom had silicone implants put in in the late 70s, and a few years ago they began to leak. Implants can obscure the mammogram technician's ability to detect tumors, so they have to use a special technique (although I'm not sure exactly how that works) to perform the mammogram. Because of my family's history of breast cancer (my mom's mother, aunt and sister all had it), and the fact that she felt a lump, my mom told her doctor that she suspected she had cancer, but according to her, he just brushed her off. Now, two years later, she had surgery to remove the implants, and has discovered that she DOES have cancer, and based on the size of her tumor, it has been growing for several years. When she showed her charts to her oncologist, the oncologist said, "Wow. He should have caught this. I'm going to call and tell him that he needs to watch out for this in the future," which leads my mom to believe that the doctor may not have been paying as much attention as he should have, and that this could have been discovered sooner. Basically, my mom is not at all the litigious type, and in fact has somewhat of a moral aversion to lawsuits. She doesn't blame the doctor for her cancer, obviously, but she's in a lot of pain and is having trouble working, and would like to know if he really should have seen it two years ago, and if she does decide to sue, what would be a reasonable settlement. She's feeling pretty hopeless about life in general right now, and I just want to make sure that if she has a right to some kind of compensation, she gets it. I would really appreciate any advice you can offer.

How should people find out about my breast cancer?

kendrak — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:34:36 -0800

What should my coworkers tell people who ask where I am when I'm home recuperating after surgery? I'm 24 and have breast cancer. I seem to be dealing with it better than those around me, which includes my coworkers. Today's my last day before surgery (bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction), and the question has come up about what they should tell people who ask about me.

I'm the circulation manager in a small academic library, making me something of the public face of the library. When I take a day off (or a long lunch), people ask I have a strong relationship with students and faculty, a few of whom know about the cancer though most do not. The library is part of an institute which has fairly typical workplace dynamics, though we're largely removed from that.

The question is what I should have them tell people? I can understand that they aren't comfortable telling people about the breast cancer, but I'd rather avoid the speculation that can happen when are left to imagine. I offered the explanation of plastic surgery (which is true), but my boss thought that was crass. So what should I instruct them to say to people? I'm perfectly fine with the whole world knowing about it, so that's not the issue.

Any help is appreciated. I've been bad at telling people because I keep making jokes which people either find rude/don't take seriously and are then upset when they find out it's true.

Name a fundraiser night for cancer treatments

Ritchie — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 04:44:59 -0800

Help me come up with a witty name for a fundraising night for a friend's Herceptin (Trastuzumab) treatments. This is a follow-up to this question. Quick background: a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. She's currently having neo-adjuvant chemo, to be followed by surgery, and then Herceptin.

In Australia, Herceptin is expensive. It is being considered for government subsidy, but in the meantime are group of her friends including myself are raising money for her treatments when they start.

We've organised a fundraiser night and booked a venue, but need a name for the event: something apposite, memorable, funny and/or irreverent without being demeaning (although bear in mind we're Australians, so broad wit goes over well).

I won't even list the suggestions I've come up with so far; I fear their sheer, overpowering godawfulness might actually strangle the creative output of other people.

Breast cancer: What does it actually mean?

Ritchie — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 19:45:06 -0800

A friend has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. I need data. I'm looking for information on survivability, short and long term effects. I'm interested in knowing about treatment regimes and their respective implications. I'm not so much interested in anecdotes, personal narratives, or support sites, sorry. Obviously I'm upset and afraid for my friend and this is how I deal.

Weird Spot on My Breast

fancypants — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:33:06 -0800

Odd spot. A couple weeks ago I discovered a pink patch about 2 inches long by 1 inch wide on the top of my left breast. I assumed that it was some kind of bruise... but it hasn't gone away. In fact, today I noticed a few pinprick sized spots of a darker red clustered to one side of it. It doesn't hurt, it isn't swollen or lumpy or warm, and it doesn't appear to be a rub spot from a bra. I don't think it's an allergic reaction as it is so localized and I haven't changed detergents or anything recently. Yes, yes, I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and I will be sure to ask about it, but I'm looking for clues about what to ask and what it could be. I foolishly did some "symptom surfing" and all I can come up with is inflammatory breast cancer which frankly is scaring the crap out of me.

I need help choosing a gift for a friend for mother's day.

forforf — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:45:27 -0800

My friend's mother died of breast cancer in November, and this is her first Mother's day without her. Any recommendations on gifts or other things to help her through this tough time? She was incredibly close to her mother, and I know this Mother's day will be tough for her. I'm looking for ideas on things I can do for her.

Mastectomy

stray — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 18:57:00 -0800

A dear family member is having a mastectomy/reconstruction/biopsy this friday. She's across the country, so I can't be there. I'd like to hear any success stories and warnings, plus any advice on how I can help or what I can send.