What would you do if you were told you have breast cancer? I have two children?

Answer 1

I was 29 years old with an 18 month old daughter, and I was 8 months pregnant when I was told I had breast cancer.

What did I do? Everything I possible could. I have had both breasts removed, did chemo, radiation, Herceptin, I take Tamoxifen, and I am in a study fr breast cancer. I will be honest, when I was going through all of this, I did pretty well. It was when treatment was done that I started having issues with depression. Treatment was a good distraction, along with my kids, and I was also working part time.

Anyway, it has been 2 and a half years since I was diagnosed. The fear is always there that the cancer will return, and I don't know if that will ever go away. One day at a time...that's all I can do.

Answer 2

First, you cry a little. Then, you pray for strength. Then, you fight like mad to beat the cancer out of your body.

I was a senior in high school when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 44. She did a lot of crying, and praying, and fighting for about a year. And now, she is a 4-year survivor!!! There is life after breast cancer. Just hold your breath and hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

God Bless!

Answer 3

If i were told I have breast cancer, I would start the fight with cancer immediatelly and I would try to live for my children, because breast cancer is not always a deadfull/lethal disease.
I would contact a support-group, I will go to the doctor and take my medicine, I would receive any help that anyone might offer me and I would read more about cancer, so I coud be informed about the way it is best to fight against it.
And the best thing - I will get closer to God by prayers and I will try to understand that every bad thing in my life has a meaning - to make me stronger, to make me put my trust in God.

Answer 4

I hope you do not take this the wrong way, because I know that you love your children and feel that they need you. However, if I were told that I had breast cancer I would feel thankful that it was me and not one of my children. We are dealing with my sons cancer right now, and I would give my life if I could change places with him. I've lived a good life, but he is young and deserves a chance to live.

Take care of yourself. Look for an oncologist that you totally trust and then listen to him. They can guide you through the medical maze.

Answer 5

I have a 14 year old and two toddlers. If I were diagnosed, and my chances of beating it were at least 85%, I would chase the most aggressive treatment possible. Less than that, I would have to decide between feeling rotten and the time I had left. Less than 50%, I'm traveling with my family and having a ball. Mastectomy? YOU BET! Does not make me any less of a woman, and I'd not have to wear bras anymore. I've already had a radical breast reduction, so losing what I have left from that is nothing.

Answer 6

I was in that situation 6 month ago. The only difference I have a grown child.
First I cried, I was hysterical. After about a week I started the bumpy ride. I had Lumpectomy (small tumor) next week I have my last Chemo , after that radiation and tamoxifen.
Try to go with the flow, do what the doc recommends. Don't beat yourself up if you feel depressed , angry or sad. All very normal.
Be strong and keep a sense of humor. Laughing is good for the soul. Good Luck to you. Hang in there.

Answer 7

Do what I did, become an active partner with my doctors in deciding the course of treatment. I was blessed with a wonderful surgeon who took all the time I needed to ask questions and direct me to reference sites and reading on the subject. I completed chemo therapy 2 years ago this month. My boys were old enough to understand what I was going through although the younger one, who was 15 at the time had a very difficult academic year.

My sister was diagnosed when she was 37 and had 6 children at home, the youngest was 2 at the time.

We do what we have to do to be there for our kids.

Answer 8

that's maximum unlikely. yet any lump at anyplace may be a sort of cancer. i might say, if it does no longer strengthen or distinction (particularly then to bypass away), do no longer worry approximately it. yet while that's coming up, and that's not painful, and that's form of a small tough lump you will have the flexibility to evaluate and can't see, ask your Dr. approximately it. you will get epidermis cancer at anyplace. And once you have have been given adversarial environmental aspects, (petrolium plant existence interior sight way of, or electric powered lines very close to over your condominium, loads of air pollutants etc.) you will have the flexibility to be at an accelerated hazard for extraordinarily uncommon concerns. i'm now no longer attempting to freak you out. that's many of the time slightly little bit of scar tissue from bumping in to something the improper way. yet look into in sometimes just to be specific that's not getting any larger. And if youin case you bypass in for a look into up, do no longer evaluate silly merely putting forward it on your Dr.

Answer 9

For me this is not a hypothetical question.

Everyone reacts differently to this kind of news, so I can only tell you what I did myself. Btw I totally agree with what Greyrider wrote earlier. I can second almost everything she mentioned.

In the summer of 2004 I was told that I had breast cancer, a really aggressive form that would require years of treatment.

I wrote my will, chose songs to be played at my funeral and got on with it. I had no choice: my life was taken over by hospital. Operation, chemo, radiation, immunotherapy (Herceptin) and hormonal therapy (an aromatase inhibitor).

I read up on everything that had to do with my particular type of breast cancer. If I hadn't done that, I would have received inadequate (read: cheaper) treatment. Luckily there's a lot of research being done on breast cancer, so what was considered as optimal treatment a few years ago can be completely different now. I'm not saying that to make you feel suspicious about your hospital or doctor, hopefully you won't even need this piece of advice but I want to share it with you anyway.

Don't forget to ask if your breast cancer is hormone receptor positive and/or HER2neu-positive. Please read up on stuff like that, so that you are well prepared. Knowledge is power!

I don't know how old your children are, but I can tell you that even very young children can be affected by a bc diagnosis. If anything, it's more difficult for very young children as it's difficult to explain things to them. For example: it's hard for a toddler to understand why Mommy is feeling fine before she goes into hospital to receive chemotherapy (in order to "get better") and gets home vomiting and feeling worse than ever. Slightly older children might feel the need to "protect you" and not talk about their own fears. For teenagers it can be embarrassing to see their mother loose their hair due to chemo. Try to be as honest as possible with your kids without giving them more info than they are ready for. This is difficult but as you are their mother you are the best person to judge what they can handle.

And don't forget your partner, if you have one. It's very difficult for them as well. They have to support you, take care of things at home and also deal with their own fears of loosing you. Don't forget to communicate with them, and understand that men often have other coping strategies than women.

The best thing I did was to join an online support group / breast cancer forum. Even though I had a lot of support from family and friends, it felt good to talk to people with similar experiences. It also educated me a lot about the different kinds of treatment available.

Good luck!

Edit: I just read David W's reply and whatever you do, DON'T listen to that kind of c***.

Answer 10

First you stop hearing everything the doctor is telling you, its a great idea to have a friend with you to take note because you won't remember anything after the word cancer, then you cry, then you yell, get mad then say why me. you have to grieve i had a service for my breast my pastor came and gave the service, it helps for the loss. i still don't feel like a woman. I feel alone, I'm scared, very mad, every morning when i have to put on my fake breast, put my fake eye lashes, draw on eye brews, glue on my toe nails, put my wig on i say to myself I'm fake. just keep laughing. you will have day but it gets better. live!!!