Breast Cancer

Shirlann · Guest

Hi dear gals.

I am a breast cancer patient who is 6 years post treatment. I did not have chemo, but lumpectomy with radiation. If anyone would like to talk about breast cancer, please feel free to log on to this post.

Gentle hugs, Shirlann

crickette · Guest

I am a breast cancer patient still in treatment. I am a little more than halfway done with chemo, and then i move on to rads and tamoxifen. I had a Lumpectomy and Axillary Disection w/ many positive nodes. But thanks to two wonderful oncologists and a clinical trial my lead onc says..."things are looking much better than we expected them to at this point"... Very Happy

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

Shirlann

Thanks for posting. This is one of the reasons that made me get this forum going: to see patients discussing their problems not along amongst themselves, but also with other providers. I really feel happy to see that people actually are comfortable with their doctors and that information is flowing both ways.

regards,
Leo

lizziecee · Guest

DR LEO - WHAT A GREAT GUY YOU SEEM TO BE! Wish I had you as my Oncologist when going through horrendous treatment last year with chemo and a bad flare of Crohn's disease. I was stable, on methotrexate at the time of bc dx and my Onc at that time ("Dr. Strangelove"") told me I would die of septicaemia if I continued to take methotrexate along with FEC chemo. I asked if he had treated a patient with concurrent bc and crohn's and he arrogantly said: "No, but I have treated a patient with bc and psoriasis!" We were not talking apples and apples. I have severe psoriasis too - over 100 lesions, but that is nothing compared to Crohn's. I e-mailed every major hospital I could think of, in the Uk (where I live) and the US - Mayo, MD Anderson, John Hopkins etc. and nobody could tell me how they treated a patient with both diseases. I seriously considered not having chemo because I was just about stable with my Crohn's, after a steroid induced psychotic reaction when I was dx.

I eventually got a reply from the only IBD hospital in England - a gastro who said he would treat a crohn's flare on chemo with steroids, which, he agreed, in my case was a no-no. I sat and sipped some foul tasting medically prescribed fruit juice for 3 months - faecally incontinent, had to wear adult diapers to even get to my chemo treatments.

Neither my Onc nor my gastro had ever treated a patient with concurrent diseases - the gastro is great but said he had to be guided by the Onc, who was a very arrogant patronising individual. I refused to see him after two consultations when he made me cry, and I eventually saw a young female Gp who worked one morning a week in the Oncology Dept. She saw me through the chemo, prescribing dexamethasone daily - and of course, I have lived to tell the tale.
I just wish I had had an Oncologist who could relate to the very serious problems I had, and that my gastro would have been more pro-active.

I am fine now - finished chemo, then 25 rads, and now on an experimental steroid - prednisolone sodium metasulphobenzoate - that does not have the side effects of normal pred as it is metalobised in the colon. I can live an almost normal life now, except for early mornings.

Hope you can put my traumatic experiences into your memory bank in case you come across someone with Crohn's and breast cancer. Your pateints will be eternally grateful.

Thank you for this wonderful site... you really are a very special doctor and person.
Liz.

leo · Site Admin Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1574

Liz

Thanks for your kind words. As we see more and more people do well and live with their chronic diseases, we will see more people with multiple chronic diseases where we have to treat a life-threatening event (such as your BC) and at the same time try to keep the other conditions in check. As you may expect, I have not seen a patient with BC and Crohn's, but since 1 in 8 women will be affected by BC, I guess it will not be too uncommon, at least in large referral centers.

But it sounds you are doing well now. I am glad you got through the worst part.

regards,
Leo
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Leonardo F - Webmaster Cancer Forums
Disclaimer: this information is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

Guest · Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:38 pm Post subject: Re: Breast Cancer

Hi ShirlAnn, sounds like your treatment was much like mine. Lumpectomy, rads, no chemo, five years of tamoxifen. I am now eight and a half years past diagnosis. Yea! Life is good! Hugs, Lauri

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