Welcome to my Young Breast Cancer Survivor Site!

I'm a young breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 after my first child was born. I've decided to start a blog to share my store with all the women around the world and give hope to those who are fighting with breast cancer. I first noticed a lump in my left breast in 2002 at the age of 28. My doctor at that time sent me to a well known facility in my hometown to have a mammogram and ultrasound done. After the tests were completed, the radiologists determined it was a benign tumor. A biopsy was not done and a follow up was not recommended. Today I believe the doctors didn't feel a biopsy was necessary due to my young age, but as you can see cancer is not limited to age. I finally had the lump looked at again right after my son was born because I had a hard time breast feeding on that side. I still remember like it just happened yesterday. Six days after my son was born, my ob/gyn asked my husband and I into her office. At first I didn't think anything of it since I knew the mass was benign, but the news weren't good at all. She informed us it was cancer. Tears started to run down. Our happiness turned into a nightmare. Being young and becoming a new mother, I knew I had to do everything necessary to stay alive for my son. Cancer doesn't happen to women in their 40's or 50's anymore. We as young breast cancer survivors need to speak up so all the doctors out there will perform all the tests necessary to make sure a woman is diagnosed properly. If I can share one thing with you, it is to make sure you get your doctor to perform a biopsy if you have a hard mass. Your life is depends on it!

I also started an on-line breast cancer store. I carry everything you will need for after surgery and during treatments. Please stop by!

Thank you for your support!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

My chemotherapy treatments...

I'm going back to share my experience now because the emotional pain and suffering I had from breast cancer has subsided. I still cry when I share tell my story, but I no longer feel like a victim to cancer.
In June 2005, I started chemotherapy. My oncologist recommended I start chemo first then have surgery. I had to undergo 8 rounds of chemo, once every two weeks. It was called dose-dense. I was on three rounds of AC, three rounds of Taxotere, then the rest on Taxol. I can still remember it like it was just yesterday. The first round of chemo wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't that sick. I was thinking I can do this. Chemo was not that bad. Boy, was I wrong. The second round hit me hard. My red blood cells were low so I was given a shot of Procrit. I normally got sick on the third day. I would go in for treatment on a Thursday, get the Procrit shot on Friday (if necessary), and then sick in bed for 3-5 days. My next round, I didn't get the Procrit shot. I still feel sick, but not as sick as the last round. When I got really sick on my next round after getting the Procrit shot, I realized the shot was making me feel worse. So, I asked the nurse about and she said I didn't need to take it if I didn't want to. Not having the shot helped out a bit.
Taxotere was the worst treatment out of the three. The side effects was pretty bad. It was so bad that my nurse decided to switch over to Taxol early. Thank God! Taxol was a lot better.

**Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions regarding treatments, side effects, etc. I'll answer what I can.

Posted by Gina A. at 11:36 AM

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