Breast cancer-free anniversaries

I was diagnosed last year with stage 3B tumor (4 cm), HER2 positive. I found the tumor quite accidentally, taking a shower one day without my bath sponge. I, too, have missed my mammogram due to covid-19 for 2 years. I had surgery (mastectomy) and 21 lymph nodes removed (9 were positive), done chemotherapy weekly (22 weeks), immunotherapy for 1 year (haven't finished yet) and radiation (25 sessions). I've been doing mammogram and ultrasounds in abdoment, chest and breasts every 3 months (because of stage 3B and because HER2 + is a bit aggressive and it is inclined to metastasis in the abdoment). As you can understand I found it just before it metastasized! That's why I did all these treatments without complaining, in fact they made me feel safer, all of them. Of course I had many side effects but the stronger the treatment the safer I felt. Now I am feeling very optimistic and stronger and very very lucky. All of my exams are cancer free now!!! My moto through this was: Hey cancer you picked the wrong broad! I stopped thinking about the missed mammograms (I did at first and it crushed me) because I can't change the past and really I think it's an opportunity to decide what things are important in life and prioritize them, prioritize you for a change! 😊✌

What a refreshing post @chrisoula. I also felt safe on meds. Wishing you continued cancer-free health.

Go you! Great attitude. Being on AI makes me feel safer too. That said I’m tolerating it well.

I appreciate that not everyone is able to tolerate the AI … for 5-10 years!

@chrisoula You go girl ! Stay strong 💪🏼 & positive. You inspired me. Blessings.

Thank you girls, hope all of us are cancer free through time!
You know, I might be more courageous now but I was horrified at first and didn't even realise it and I did many funny stuff! Now it's time that I make you laugh, ,,,, a lot! It took 2 weeks to realise that I had breast cancer because the first cytological examination refered to the situation as adenocarcinoma. My brain refused to understand and thought it was something similar to cancer but not it!!! 🤣🤣🤣 When I went for the first time in the oncologist I ask nothing, no question at all! And let me tell you what I did when I visited for the first time the mammologist! After he saw my examinations and took a sample of the tumor and the first lympho node, I asked him: "it could be inflammation, couldn't it?" 🤣🤣🤣 The poor guy was looking at me trying to think what to say! His assistant was looking at the floor and me was very mad at him for hesitating to answer and allow me to have hallucinations! It seemed like my brain couldn't or refused to comprehend what was happening! After a long time I realised that the situation was serious and I had to fight with all my heart and brain too. I desided that no matter what I would be a positive case ( not a survivor I don't like it), because I'm still young (55) and I have a lot of things to do andd see (my children marry, grandchildren, new work and of course a partner in my life)! Of course I've been fighting with stress, fear (especially in the 3 months tests), depression and insomnia! And of course there are good stuff too: I lost the weight I wanted for more than 10 years, I cut my hair very short and they're excellent (make me younger) and realised that I have important people in my life that really love me (family & friends) 😍
Sorry for the really long text, hope I made you laugh! 💖

I cleaned up my diet and recent bloodwork showed me with the highest level of HDL cholesterol ever. Despite ice cream not yet on the NoGoList buy scheduled to be soon. And triglycerides excellent.

My cardiologist who knows about the Ice Cream Issue was really happy to see the HDL jump. I come from a family replete with early deaths from heart disease, and cannot tolerate statins, so this surprise improvement has motivated a new exercise regime as well.

Well it seems that we are in the same club! I also keep having ice cream, It's my comfort food!!! But I have high cholesterol (HDL & LDL) and triglycerides but my doctor isn't really concerned because I don't have family history in heart disease, I also had an ultrasound of the carotid arteries (they were clean as a baby's) and I am an ex athlete (water polo) so he just says go and work out. Now that I am stronger I'm walking a lot but I think swimming will be the best for me! I hope that soon I'll have ice cream in the NoGoList buy!!! 😘

Try sorbet!

And yet oncologists don’t discuss diet with patients. Oncology nutritionists are woefully misinformed and therefore make incorrect recommendations to patients.

The oncology nutritionist I saw was pathetic. Recommended Mediterranean Diet (which is OK) and had zero suggestions about filling in any vitamin shortages or supplements despite both PCP and oncologist suggestions that she would be the best person to advise me. It would have been helpful to run through the basics and make sure I'm not missing things including critical trace elements that are becoming harder to get in foods even IF able to buy organic everything when the soils are so depleted.

I only recently found out that the almonds we eat, if grown in the U.S., are "pasteurized" by being heat-treated for at least 10 hours. Which of course degrades the essential fatty acids, which is my rationale for eating them.

I now order them directly from one of the few organic almond growers. He can sell them, unpasteurized, direct to the non-retailer end-user.

Since I think animals instincts can be better than ours sometimes, I fed local squirrels some Blue Diamond almonds and some of the organic unpasteurized. They ate some of the latter and buried the rest. They wouldn't touch the Blue Diamond ones as long as there were unpasteurized almonds on the ground. They didn't bury any of the Blue Diamond. I wonder if they knew those wouldn't grow or didn't even want to save them for later.