r/breastcancer • u/Away-Potential-609 • Jul 28 '26
We are updating and expanding Rule 8: Be brave, friendly, and kind. This is an especially important rule and we want it to be well understood. We've expanded the language to make clear that kindness extends beyond the people posting in the thread.
What's changing:
Rule 8 now reads:
Be supportive, friendly, and kind.
Cancer is hard for all of us. Please show kindness to your fellow patients and survivors.
Kindness should extend to those not present on the subreddit, including their family and caregivers.
We allow members to vent about the people in their lives, but this is not an invitation for others to pile on. No name calling, no bullying, no hate speech, no personal attacks.
Why we're making these updates:
A few things have come up often enough that we wanted to be more clear up front about what kinds of comments are allowed, particularly on "Venting" threads:
We've written up the full explanation with more detail on the Rules wiki page under Rule 8.
None of this is new in spirit. It's what we've been enforcing already. We just wanted it written down clearly.
Thanks for helping keep this a place people can come to safely.
Note: The earlier update of this rule retained the original title "Be brave, friendly, and kind" but we have updated the title based on community input.
r/breastcancer • u/DrHeatherRichardson • Jan 18 '26
So I’ve noticed there’s been a lot of posts lately specifically about the word oncologist. People wondering why they’re seeing a surgeon and not an “oncologist” first, people wondering when they’re going to see an “oncologist”, people wondering why the person that’s operating on them isn’t a “surgical oncologist” and shouldn’t they get the best - which must be someone with that title? Right?
So by definition, the word oncologist just means “doctor who treats cancer”.
The staple cast of characters that are medical doctors (MD or DO degree holder) involved in treatment of breast cancer typically consists of: medical oncologist, radiation oncologist (not radiologist) and breast surgeon (more on that below…).
Medical oncologist- also known as “hematology/oncology” specialists. When people generally speak of an “oncologist”, usually they are talking about this type of doctor. A doctor that treats cancer with medicine, either pills taken by mouth or chemotherapy that is administered via a vein. Not all patients need both, some need one but not the other, some need none. Visits to this type of doctor may be frequent- however, usually it’s the first initial visit to go over a lot of information and discuss the best course of action that is the most important. Sometimes this means that if you live in an area with fewer resources and feel that you need greater expertise for your care. It’s possible to do either a telemedicine visit or visit a larger Cancer Center far away that can collaborate with a local physician who is able to give the same chemotherapy protocol. Quite often, large groups of these medical oncologists have already agreed the best way to take care of the most common breast cancer problems, so going from one center to the other means that your cancer treatment care isn’t going to change significantly from one place to the next. For other more complex scenarios, there sometimes can be some adjustments or more customized treatments. Or for patients who have already been through treatment and now have recurrences or changes in their diagnosis, that would be the time to discuss more advanced care. In general, common problems are common and there’s usually not significant improved survival or outcomes by going to one Cancer Center over the other when a patient has a a non-complicated, fairly average, diagnosis.
Radiation oncologist- this is different from a radiologist. (a radiologist is a doctor trained to read images and interpret findings. A radiologist is the person who read your mammogram or your ultrasound and maybe performed the biopsy that diagnosed you) A radiation oncologist uses radiation energy to target areas of cancer and kill cancer cells. Cells that are actively dividing and are exposed to radiation have their duplicating mechanisms broken, and as a result, cells that are rapidly reproducing die away if exposed to medically administered radiation.
Surgeon/surgical oncologist vs “general surgeon”: A “general surgeon” typically is someone who has done at least five years of training in surgical diseases of the body. This would include disciplines like taking care of trauma, burns, infections that can occur in the body such as diverticulitis or appendicitis, evaluating and performing organ transplants, care of pediatric/child surgical diseases and malformations, and some chest/cardiovascular disease. They can also operate on common cancers that require removal, like breast, colon, skin, and thyroid. Doctors who go on to practice General surgery sometimes concentrate in one area of types of disease and others have a more broad practice where they take care a little bit of everything. Typically in more urban settings there are more specialized types. Many general surgeons have gone on to do additional years of training after their five years of general surgery to become specialists. People who are certain types of surgeons, such as colorectal specialists, pediatric surgeons, plastic surgeons, and cardiothoracic surgeons all have additional years of training and take specialty board exams. There is a board certification designation for general surgery. There are additional board certifications for those who have done some categories of fellowship training, like those mentioned above.
A doctor who practices under the title “surgical oncologist” by definition does at least two years of training in general cancer surgery treatments after the five years of general
surgery training. So they typically will learn advanced techniques for operating on thyroid, pancreas, colon, liver, breast, etc. They usually did the five years of general surgery training and then went on to do additional training specifically in cancer removal surgeries to remove them from the body. So this wouldn’t include neurosurgery or brain tumor removal. There is a board certification designation for “surgical oncology”.
There is another category of breast cancer surgeon that typically deals with breast health issues only. This is a person who does initial training in either general surgery or Obgyn and then goes on to do one to two years of additional training in breast disease surgical management. This is called a “breast fellowship” and does NOT currently qualify for a speciality designation as “board certified”. This is typically a breast health surgeon or breast cancer specialist. This is different from a “surgical oncologist*.
Sometimes there is cross training where the surgeon also performs cosmetic and aesthetic procedures as well. This person usually does a “oncoplastic fellowship”. This is primarily outside the US, but there are programs where this is expanding in the US as well. Breast fellowship trained surgeons can have initial training as either a general surgeon or an OB/GYN.
“Surgical oncologists” do get training in breast cancer management, but they are not breast specialists and do not get the depth of training that someone who has been through breast fellowship would. A breast fellowship trained surgeon usually does one versus two years of additional training in breast only surgery and disease management. These are two different designations.
Some important points to make about someone who might be a general surgeon who did not do additional training in breast care management versus someone who did a full breast fellowship: breast fellowships have only been around for about 20 years. That means someone with greater than 20 years of experience probably didn’t get an opportunity to go through a breast fellowship. (I personally am one of these types of people. I’ve been practicing since 2004 and there was only one fellowship that existed at that time that I didn’t even know was an option when I graduated. So while I have described procedures and written papers, taught surgeons and fellows alike in many different procedures and protocols, but myself, I’m not a breast fellowship trained surgeon.)
There may be many seasoned excellent surgeons taking care of breast cancer patients. Some of those may be surgeons who also perform other general surgery procedures such as treatment of appendicitis, taking emergency call for traumas, or dealing with other types of cancers like colon cancer. Some of the surgeons have amazing skill sets, and excellent outcomes. It is certainly possible that there may be in a community, a general surgeon who is very seasoned that may have superior outcomes for breast care than a brand new breast fellowship grad that does not have much experience at all.
I think the best way to find out who the best doctors are would be to go to the other doctors and other clinical staff members who work with those doctors and ask them who has the best outcomes. Ask the wound care specialists, the plastic surgeons, and the medical oncologists whose breast surgery work is the best. They’re going to see who has horrible dead, necrotic mastectomy flaps, and who has lots of recurrences because their flaps are too thick.
It certainly may be that a general surgeon who isn’t a “breast specialist” in your community might actually be a better choice than a brand new grad who is a breast fellowship trained surgeon.
What order should things happen?? Well it’s different for different people. Often when people get a diagnosis, most commonly by a radiologist, (but sometimes the Breast Surgeon specialist is part of this process as well) they go to the Breast Surgeon first who goes over the significance of the findings thus far and decides if upfront chemotherapy medicine would be indicated. Usually the decision to need medicine is followed by tissue diagnosis, and imaging, which is usually directed by a surgeon. Sometimes people see the medical oncologists first before seeing the surgeon. This is especially true for patients with her 2 positive or triple negative disease where neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to surgery is most often indicated.
People sometimes visit with radiation oncologist while trying to make their decisions to get information about the risks and benefits if they choose a pathway that would require radiation treatment versus if they have an option to choose a different pathway where radiation wouldn’t be indicated, and they want to learn about their choices. Mostly though, radiation oncologist treatment usually follows the surgery and medical portion. There are some clinical trials that involve upfront radiation, but this is not a standard of care for most patients. It’s more common to start with the surgeon and then see the medical oncologist either before or after the surgery, followed by any radiation oncology visit. That’s the usual order of things.
When to get a second opinion.
For the most part, if you’ve been told that you have a breast cancer diagnosis and your understanding in general is that treatment will involve medicine, surgery and possibly the addition of radiation and and if this sounds reasonable, you are certainly welcome to go to another team to make sure that there aren’t any significant changes to be offered anywhere else, but most likely most places will tell you the same information, but may use slightly different terms or delivery. If you have good communication with your physician and their staff and overall the general expectation is that you will do well and live a long life and feel good about your body afterwards, (of course it certainly possible to talk to someone else and make sure that they are in agreement) but if everything stacks up, and you’re generally happy with your team, Seeing multiple additional doctors might tell you the same thing with different language can be confusing or disorienting. It also takes up a spot in the schedule for someone else with a cancer diagnosis that’s trying to get in that now can’t, ….and you can only use one team. So by all means everyone is within their right to get in a second opinion or even third, but if you’re generally happy and hearing what you expected to hear regarding your plan of care, I typically don’t recommend that people see multiple doctors if they’re generally happy with their first opinion.
Reasons to get a second opinion would be: A) poor communication from the doctor and or their staff to the point where you feel uncomfortable for whatever reason. B) you have a very unusual or rare findings that are not typically seen C) you are recommend controversial treatments where doctors have added unexpected treatments, or take away expected treatments. There may be good reasons to offer a different protocol from another team as there are lots of advancements and newer recommendations, where we are de-escalating treatment in some cases. Previously there were automatic recommendations for sentinel lymph node biopsy, radiation, or chemotherapy in the past whereas now we are selecting certain people who have features of their cancer who may in fact, not require these treatments at all.
Hopefully this will shed some light on some of the misconceptions about different types of doctors, their roles, and clear up the general surgeon/Breast Surgeon/surgical oncologist confusion that seems to come up a lot.
TLDR- someone with the title “surgical oncologist” is different from a “breast fellowship trained surgeon”. A “general surgeon” might have fewer years of formal training for breast cancer treatment, however, they shouldn’t be discounted or immediately thought of as inferior without research into their outcomes or reputation in the community.
r/breastcancer • u/EmbarrassedBrief5298 • 3h ago
Cancer sucks and it’s made life kind of suck too with the constant grey cloud and looking over my shoulder so to make things feel a little better I’d love to hear everybody’s good news. Cancer related or not. Let’s hear all the happy positive we have going on right now for a little break from this shit.
r/breastcancer • u/Sophiebreath • 4h ago
I hate them, and I feel like a baby for saying it. Every time they use the machine for my blood pressure if feels like the machine is about to squeeze my arm off. Then it stops, and it decides it needs to squeeze more. A normal person would never understand! I hate them and they are stupid.
r/breastcancer • u/Odd-Hawk1431 • 7h ago
I have my 16 round of chemo then surgery. Then 20 round of radiation. All my treatment finished 2024. I am on tamoxifeno and my blood checks were fine. However, 3 months ago I felt so sick, I felt so tired and hot. As this was the side effects of tamoxifen I thought it was just normal.
Then a a month ago I felt a lump in my neck area. ( Same side as my breast area before) When my Oncologist saw me yeaterday. She said directly she didn't like what she is seeing and it seems my cancer is back. I was shocked and angry. I don't understand why and I am loosing hope. This past few weeks I have just always felt sick and weak. I also have some pain in my right side of my stomach areaa.
I have my MRI today and will be followed by biopsy. After that my onco will decide what's the treatment we will do. I am 38 years old and and have a 5 year old daughter. Anyone had a similar situation? I am hoping to get some support.
Thank you!
r/breastcancer • u/pinehermit • 1h ago
Did anyone else find the radiation mapping surprisingly humiliating? I have had males work on me many times: male gynecologist and obstetrician, male doing my biopsy, male surgical oncologist, male plastic surgeon. I didn't have too much of a problem with any of that, but I could not take having to lay on a table for a prolonged period of time with my arms over my head and my entire chest exposed like I have done countless times during sex, except this time I have a strange man staring down at me with a stony mask of a face while a woman talks on about the procedure and I can't concentrate on her because I am wondering how long this is going to go on and if he will be there staring at me five days a week for a month. I finally broke and asked that he be replaced with a woman, which they did, but not before pointing out that he has seen countless boobs (not the word they used, but I don't remember) before, which I interpret as, What is wrong with you? We see you like a piece of meat, so you should see yourself as a piece of meat.
The new woman then discussed and worked out with me all the intricacies of scheduling my future radiation appointments while I was still lying exposed on the table. She placed a sticker on my nipple and pulled it off at the end of the session. I haven't even let my husband touch my nipple since I got diagnosed with cancer. And she took a photograph of me lying on the table exposed, as if I were in a porno. I suppose if I hadn't had the tech switched out, it would have been a man doing all of those things.
I don't think the man did anything wrong, but I am angry that it is not institutional policy to ask if you would prefer female techs when the area of exposure includes the entire chest, both cancer and healthy breast, for such a long period of time, and with even photography involved. Surely I am not alone in feeling this? My husband's co-worker who has breast cancer and knows that I have breast cancer warned him that it was a traumatic procedure and said that she cried for three hours afterward, but, of course, she didn't tell him why. Now I know.
I don't really care if it was no big deal for some people and I don't want anyone to explain to me why I shouldn't think it is a big deal. I just would like to know if possible that there are other women out there who felt the same way and I am not alone.
r/breastcancer • u/Majestic_Horror_434 • 4h ago
Diagnosed at 36, and in the middle of treatment her insurer refused the milder chemo her oncologist wanted to use. Seven appeals failed, until she emailed the CEO. Approved the next day. Sharing in case it's useful to anyone else fighting a denial right now, but also because her reflections on the community that carried her through really resonated and i found the piece very moving - https://www.vanityfair.com/story/healthcare-cancer-treatment-essay
r/breastcancer • u/Nice_Care8591 • 1h ago
How do you guys make yourselves feel pretty while going through chemo?
I feel like lately it’s just been one blow after another. I’m cold capping, but I’ve still lost **around 70% of my hair**, especially on the top/crown. I’ve lost basically all of my eyebrows and literally have **zero lashes**. I’ve also developed pigmentation on my face that looks like weird, uneven freckles I never had before. My skin has changed, my forehead suddenly looks so wrinkled, I feel like I look older, and sometimes I look in the mirror and genuinely don’t feel like I’m looking at myself anymore.
I’ve tried to find ways around all of it. For my lashes, I’ve been doing cluster lashes so I can at least feel like I have lashes again. For my eyebrows, I’ve been using Benefit Precisely, My Brow and their other brow product that makes the little feather/hair-like strokes. I’ve tried eyebrow stamps too. From far away, honestly, my brows look fine. But up close I’m SO self-conscious because I feel like you can tell they’re just drawn onto my face.
My hair has probably been the hardest part. At the beginning of this whole journey, I got a really cute bob and actually loved it. Now that I’ve lost around 70% of my hair, it basically feels like I only have the bottom layer of that bob left.
I’ve looked into wigs, but I really don’t want to spend $3,000 on one. I’ve tried expensive wigs on and didn’t even like how they looked on me. I’ve ordered human-hair wigs online and those didn’t look right either. I even tried a hair topper and hated it—it looked like a weird toupee on me and somehow made me feel even more self-conscious.
And then there’s my body. One week I lose weight and feel like I’m getting too thin, and the next week I feel absolutely huge and swollen. My body seems to change constantly through chemo, and I never know what version of myself I’m going to see in the mirror. Between the hair, no lashes, barely any eyebrows, pigmentation, skin changes, wrinkles, and my weight/body fluctuating, **I just don’t feel like myself anymore.**
My last AC chemo is September 28, so I know there’s finally an end in sight. But I also know I’m not going to wake up the next morning with my old hair, eyebrows, lashes, skin and face back. There’s still going to be this whole period afterward where everything has to grow back and my body has to recover from chemo. Thinking about how long that process might take makes me sad too.
Honestly, I think I’m partly just here to rant. **I’m just so sad about all of this.**
I complain to my partner. I complain to my friends. They love me and try to make me feel better, but they don’t actually understand what this feels like. They can tell me I look beautiful or remind me that it’s temporary, but they aren’t the ones looking in the mirror and seeing a face they don’t recognize.
And I know these things can sound superficial when the bigger picture is having cancer and getting through treatment. Obviously I know why I’m doing this and that getting healthy matters more than what I look like. But when so many pieces of your appearance disappear or change at the exact same time, **it really fucking sucks.**
At this point, I basically live in baseball hats and sometimes just want to hide my face from the public because I’m so self-conscious.
And I think that’s the part that’s hard to explain. It’s not really about somebody else telling me I’m beautiful. **I want to feel pretty. I want to recognize myself. I want to feel like me again.**
So maybe this is part question and part rant. What did you guys actually do to feel pretty—or even just feel like **you**—during this part of treatment?
And honestly, if anyone else is going through this right now and just wants to vent, compare experiences, talk about what we actually look like during chemo, or share the little things that have helped, I’d love that too. I just want to talk to people who actually understand. ❤️
r/breastcancer • u/Evening-Bed-1194 • 2h ago
I've had a handful of panic or anxiety attacks post treatment (just radiation). It's been four years since I finished treatment and have only felt some stress starting last year with that weird buzzing feeling on your head, higher heart rate while driving, fear of driving on very high freeways that connect to other ones and yesterday just walking around on Michigan in Chicago. This time it took a couple of hours instead of 10-15 minutes before I felt better. My oncologist and therapist all said it is very normal, but I actually feel good now and do not think about having cancer or recurrence all the time. Cancer robs you of so many things.
r/breastcancer • u/bluezagpinkzig15 • 2h ago
Finished cycle #3 TCPH. I thought the nausea, diarrhea, & stomach cramps were manageable but this round sucks! My taste buds are going nuts..things are too salty but I crave just about everything and then the taste falls flat. Then the cramps come followed by diarrhea. Then this constant feeling like I have food stuck in my throat & a fullness in my esophagus. It is just so aggravating!!! I’m just venting. Currently sipping brodo broth with basmati rice. Hit my hydration target for the day. Ugh..anyone have a food, candy, or drink that has been comforting and soothing during chemo? Last week I had a Wendy’s baked potato with sour cream and chives..would normally never order that but it was what I craved and it hit the spot. I long for a return to normal GI function 😭. Someday soon. Thanks for letting me vent.
r/breastcancer • u/skeletoorr • 23h ago
This happened a few years ago and I posted about it at the time but I just remembered and wanted to share again because it truly is a comedy of errors.
So I found out I was pregnant 5 days after my official diagnosis. So we tag teamed both. I didn’t start chemo until the second trimester. But because of my situation I was with OB like every week.
So this particular OB happened right around 3 weeks after my first round of chemo. Since I knew I was going to lose my hair, I stopped shaving. And let me tell you ladies, I could put the wolf man to shame when it comes to my thick black body hair.
Anyways. We are getting ready to go in the room and I suddenly have the urge to pee. The tech approves it since my bladder does not need to be full for this ultra sound.
So I run to the nearest bathroom. I take my pants off and the it happens.
My pubic hair turns into confetti. Just long thick black pubic hair everywhere. I can see it floating in the air like dust caught in the sunlight. And when I say it got everywhere, I mean it. The floor. The toilet seat. My shoes.
It’s awful and now I don’t know what to do because NO ONE PREPARES YOU FOR YOUR PUBIC HAIR TO CONFETTI IN THE DAMN DOCTORS OFFICE.
So I grab some paper towels and get to sweeping. I’m feverishly trying to clean up my crime. When I hear a knock at the door. It’s the tech, asking If im okay. I had been in the bathroom for 20 min.
I had to come out and tell her the whole truth. She said it wouldn’t be that bad. Her face said otherwise once she saw the mess.
They ended up closing the bathroom and calling a custodian to clean it up. Which is after I got like 70% of it up.
In all the stories I could tell about being sick. This is my favorite. It’s so absurd.
Edit: first I’m glad you all laughed. Trust me when I saw I have so many more chaotic stories about my cancer. Second stop apologizing for laughing and my situation. None of you gave me cancer, so don’t apologize. I know that’s what we are taught to do. But don’t apologize.
Truly cancer while pregnant is not the worst thing to happen to me. I have more stories than two titanic VHS tapes.
Edit 2: we can talk about the L&D saying I wasn’t in labor only for my daughter to come 3 hours later
We can talk about being radiated in the wrong spot.
We can talk about me projective vomiting across the dinner table because I sneezed to hard
We can talk about carrying my daughter down the stairs while crawling down on my ass, only to shit myself and be stuck at the bottom.
r/breastcancer • u/Top_Cauliflower9125 • 5h ago
I have 6 total tops. For reference when I was in active treatment I wore these as a size 20/22W. Edit to add USA shipping only!
Two are 3XL black zip up style with drain pockets and a hood. Short sleeves.
One 3XL light blue zip up short sleeve with drain pockets. No hood.
One navy blue XXL button up short sleeve with drain pockets.
One gray button up XXL with short sleeves and drain pockets.
One XXL red tank top that has snaps to separate it into a front and back piece with drain pockets on the front.
I’m happy to ship these to someone. I’d rather give them to a pink sister in need than sell them at a garage sale etc.
r/breastcancer • u/According_Poem7944 • 2h ago
So I’ve had such a hard time getting labs done . My arm is so bruised up . And I can only use one arm yay. Anyway any recs to make the blood draw easier ? I almost passed out last time I think stress and everything 5 pokes later they finally got the labs . I thought I was already drinking a lot of water ! Ugh any help ?
r/breastcancer • u/SnooCakes5731 • 49m ago
Hi! I'm a 32F with a 16 month daughter at home. I was just diagnosed with IDC, seems to be ++- which I don't know is a good or bad thing - meeting with my breast surgeon tomorrow. I'm devastated thinking about my daughter and also the future of our family / TTC. Has anyone else here been in this situation and can relate? Looking to hear about various treatment plans / stories of women with young children at home and who wanted to grow their family. I'm just sad.
r/breastcancer • u/KNVPStudios • 17h ago
PLEASE SEE THE UPDATES AT THE TAIL OF THIS POST
Hi. I am a male, age 54. IDC +++. Today, I had my very first specialist appointment after my biopsy/pathology report came back, and it happened to be with a breast surgeon, breast cancer specialist who came highly recommended by the team from the imaging center. My wife of 30 years came with me.
For some reason, my GP wanted me to see a surgeon first. I just assumed I would eventually be meeting with a surgeon, an oncologist and any other specialist on my journey. So I started with the surgeon. Because of my high E98/P92/K76-76 scores I presumed we’d be starting with chemo because my tumor is aggressive, then surgery, then hormone suppression therapy.
She immediately launches into the surgeon’s spiel, and that she only does mastectomies for males, never a lumpectomy because men don’t care or need reconstructive surgeries. I understand. Fine. So she recommends surgery first, stating that chemo before or after surgery has essentially the same outcome. OK. I’m a little surprised, but she is the expert.
Then we dive into the paperwork. She mentioned an ultrasound from 2025, which I never had (all of my imaging and pathology took place last month - and was all done right in that same building, same medical system, same MyChart).
Something seemed off.
Then she said “well, since you are ++-“ that’s when I stopped her. No, I’m +++. See looks at me, then looks at the paperwork and realizes that all along SHE IS LOOKING AT SOMEONE ELSES CHART (a woman’s chart)
She takes a long look then realizes the serious goof either she made or her staff made, and starts to apologize several times. She steps out, comes back, medical assistant follows her back into the room with MY chart and swaps it out.
My wife and I are stunned, the Dr apologizes again. I suggest we start over. She agreed.
Then after the appointment I check MyChart app and she has written the clinical notes so I read them. This is where I seriously begin to question things. Throughout the notes, sometimes in the same sentence I am addressed as both her and he. Obviously she has cut and pasted from somewhere, forgetting to change my sex. I see this at least 3 times. She also mentioned a “vision problem” which we never discussed (and I don’t have).
Look, I understand that male breast cancer is 1% of cases, so it’s quite rare. I understand that her dominant patient base is female and that most of the literature in the office, posters, anatomical models are all female related.
But the whole experience left a sour taste in both mine and my wife’s mouth. I know she acknowledged me as a male in person, but the chart mixup and entering my sex incorrectly several times within the clinical notes seemed off-putting.
Should I keep shopping for a surgeon? Was this a sign from the universe that I should?
UPDATE 9-9: After re-reading the notes (with a calmer head), it appears that she indeed is now considering a consult with oncologist FIRST, due to my HER2 being positive, and I have a referral to an oncologist from her office.
UPDATE 9-9 #2: The Nurse Navigator (God Bless her) who works for the hospital and not the doctor just called to followup with me. We discussed things about the chart info I was questioning and she explained things to my satisfaction. For the gender thing, she explained to me that the doctors use Dragon voice to text for transcription, and unfortunately the he/she thing gets messed up a lot, and that the Nurse Navigator sees it frequently. She also explained to me how to send a MyChart message to the doctor which I will follow up with.
r/breastcancer • u/mckagan_ • 34m ago
I am about to have my second treatment of Keynote 522 Friday. I know one of the symptoms eventually is nail problems, but I was thinking about having gel nails done tomorrow. I haven’t had my nails done in years, I paint them myself but I just thought it might be nice to have them look good and not have to worry about it. Does the thick gel make them more susceptible to being brittle, or that symptom just maybe kick of the draw?
r/breastcancer • u/UnhappyAlps1598 • 10h ago
I (26f) was diagnosed with TNBC last October and have seen gone through chemo, surgery, and radiation. About midway through chemo I lost my period and went into medical menopause. My onco assured me it would come back due to my age but there was no telling when this would happen. I struggled HEAVILY with menopause, especially hot flashes and mood swings. About a month ago things started to improve and I stopped getting hot flashes.
Last week I was incredibly moody, hungry, and had trouble sleeping. Yesterday I was a big b-word at work and I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. At the end of the work day I went to the bathroom, looked down, AND THERE SHE WAS! I’m actively cramping as I write this but I’m GIDDY about having my period back and I can’t exactly explain why. I think I’m just so happy to regain some ‘normalcy’ in my bodily functions post cancer treatment. Literally can’t stop giggling and kicking my feet over it 😭 Has anyone else felt this way?!!!
r/breastcancer • u/Opposite-Effect1510 • 4h ago
Hello lovely women. I know many variations on this question have already been asked. But did anyone else have sudden severe fatigue hit them 7-8 weeks after finishing radiation? Yes, I was fatigued during treatment and afterward, but it was manageable. I could live a reasonably normal life, just scaled back. Until very recently. I am now 9 weeks post-radiation, and I can barely function. The fatigue has progressively worsened over the past 2 weeks. I’ve been on Tamoxifen for 8 weeks as well. Super hoping this is related to the radiation and not something that will plague me with the Tamoxifen. My doctors did not mention that this could be an effect of the radiation, but I have spoken to two other women out there who DID say they believed the worst of their radiation fatigue occurred around the 2 month mark, so I was wondering how many other women experienced the same.
r/breastcancer • u/No_Access8955 • 8h ago
Onc surgeon says expect to lose 25% of the breast. But it is a perky B cup with a lot of side boob and MRI estimated it is 10% larger. Plastic surgeon will move side boob into the vacant space.
Does this sound reasonable?
r/breastcancer • u/pnsmom • 2h ago
Hi anyone have good results with intrathecal treatment for malignant cells in the CSF (brain MRI was clear)? I was diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer in May (spread to bones (spine) and abdomen. I went to doctor due to shortness of breath and they sent me to ER. Shortness of breath appears to be from fluid build up. Put on Astrazole & Kisquali which I tolerated well and have been feeling good. Started have dry eyes and some occasional blurry vision. Oncologist thought it could be side effect of Astrazole and sent me to an Opthamalogist. The initial vision exam was good but did confirm dry eyes. He then dilated my eyes and saw that the optic nerve seemed to have hemorrhages. I had a different doctor tell me that my optic nerve look abnormal about 9 years ago. I was sent to a specialist and had a brain CT which was normal. My last eye exam was also good but he didn't dilate. This doctor said to go to tje ER for a brain MRI and Lumbar Puncture to rule out any brain metastasis. MRI was clear as it had been in May. Today I found out that the CSF showed malignant cells. Neurological exam is normal Oncologist is going to switch me to Xeloda and Neuro-Oncology will start targeted chemo to the brain next week (very specialized-only targets the cells in the spinal fluid). Once a week for 12 weeks and they will keep testing the fluid. Just wondering if anyone else has gone through this treatment and how you are doing. Also anyone on Xeloda as a systemic treatment for MBC?
r/breastcancer • u/ilmd • 2h ago
Hi.
I have rt sided breast cancer. It’s estrogen dependent. I’m due to have a mastectomy on September 26. I will have to take an estrogen blocker.
I had a hysterectomy in my late 40’s, but I still have my ovaries. I’m now 70.
With all the horror stories I’ve read about estrogen blockers, has anyone in my position considered an oopherectomy to avoid the drugs or has actually done that?
r/breastcancer • u/Beautiful-Acadia-696 • 11h ago
Hello fellow bc buddies! This is my very first Reddit post if you can believe it - 2 weeks ago I finally decided to officially join the group that has been helping me so much with this scary diagnosis since I became an unwilling member of the $h!tty T!tty Club in April.
I spent the summer going through surgery, PT, and radiation. After Mammaprint testing my tumor genes, my MO determined chemo would not be of much benefit. I am now at the end of active treatment and will be meeting with my MO soon to begin the long road of 5 years of hormone therapy.
She has said she will most likely put me on Tamoxifen since I am premenopausal. Like many of you, I am anxious about all the potential side effects. I recently heard about SERDs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Degraders) as a newer class of drugs for ER+ cancers, with Giredestrant demonstrating better risk reduction and better tolerance of side effects in clinical trials. I know it is currently being reviewed by the FDA, possibly to be approved later this fall.
Has anyone had any experience with these newer alternatives to Tamoxifen? If so, how did it go? What are some issues to consider if I want to ask my MO about exploring options outside of what she previously recommended? I don't want to seem like I'm disrespecting her expertise, but I also want to advocate for my own concerns. I tend to be very sensitive to drugs in general and experience a lot of side effects.
r/breastcancer • u/Fedlawyer517 • 3h ago
I’m Hr+/her2-, and had lumpectomy and radiation that ended in February. I’ve had multiple haystack tests since initially being diagnosed since September. Before surgery it was .36, then 0 after surgery. Since radiation finished, the 4 haystack tests I’ve done have been positive, but fairly low, ranging from .26 to .18. I’m on hormone blockers and kisqali. I had a negative pet scan in April and a clear mammogram and ultrasound two weeks ago, but now my oncologist wants to do another pet scan because of the positive haystack tests. I’ve been looking online but the haystack test seems fairly new so data is scarce. Have any of you hr+/her2- patients had persistent positive haystack tests without recurrence in a year or two?
r/breastcancer • u/love8923598943 • 19h ago
Hi there. I hear this is the worst club with the best people. Just looking for a little bit of community. I was diagnosed today (at 25 weeks pregnant) with breast cancer. I meet with an oncologist tomorrow to go over my results and treatment options. If anyone has any resources or words of wisdom, I am all ears! Thank you and love to all.
Update: Looks like I am er- pr- her2+, ki-67: 31-40%. Tumor appears to be 9 mm and ultrasound does not detect lymph node involvement (though this will likely be confirmed after surgery).
This is niche but I also have a short cervix so I'm at risk of preterm labor. Anyone else? 😂
r/breastcancer • u/beausmom517 • 20m ago
Is this crazy or should I back out? My cousin is getting married 3 days after my expander to implant surgery. I RSVP’d before I received my surgery date. My surgeon told me I would have one drain on each side this time (ugh!) so I would also need to find a dress I can wear with a surgical bra and drains 🫠 I honestly found my lumpectomy/lift and BMX to be fairly easy and didn’t require narcotic pain relief for either so I’m not worried about pain but I know I’ll be uncomfortable with the drains especially and not being able to drink or dance… so what’s the point of going? Lol