Good idea!

[Uben]

I have been on many cancer forums. My wife is a 3 yr survivor of breast cancer. We have been through it ourselves, and with many others as well. I would be happy to relate any experience or information I have obtained over the years for those with questions. When you first find out you have the big "C", you have so many questions, and feel like you are getting no answers or information.

To alleviate my fears and bad thoughts, I used the internet to inform myself of everything I could concerning breast cancer. It helped immensely, as did the various support groups we took part in.
It's your life, and you should take charge of your care and treatment.

[pecwae]

1. Congrats to your wife

on her 3 years of beating the beast. I'm coming up to my 1st year on my second go round with BC. You are so right about taking charge of your own treatment!

[Uben]

2. Taking charge

My wife was diagnosed in Feb of 2003. After a bilateral mastectomy and lymph node disections which revealed clean margins and non-systemic invasion, she decided against chemo and radiation treatments. She did take Tamoxifen for a few months, but it was so hard on her, she switched to Femara, and then another before deciding to quit them all together. She found out that if she had a recurrence, these are the same drugs they would have her taking, so she nixed them.

She does a bone scan and bloodwork annually, and everything has gone perfect! But, as you know, you are never cured until you die of something else!

We both have watched loved ones go through the chemo and radiation to no avail, and the havoc it wreaked on their bodies. I know it is the best treatment for some cancers, but not all.

Lucky? You bet! But we got informed and educated and made our own decisions based on the information available. God willing, we are done with it!

I hope and pray you have the same fortune. This stuff can be licked

It didn't go all that smooth, though. After the first reconstruction, she contracted scarlet fever, a result of an untreated strep infection. It attacked the implants, and both had to be removed. After a year of recovery, she had another reconstruction. Beautiful work by a very talented young surgeon. (he actually uses her photos as an example of his work!)

We are both retired now, enjoying every minute we have together, hoping it will be another 30 years, but we will take what we are given. Life is for the living.

Good luck on your endeavor!

[babylonsister]

3. I too am a bc survivor. Was diagnosed in 1983, had to have

a mastectomy and chemo, but am still cancer-free! This disease can be fought!