Breast Cancer Awareness Month

[junebug17]

Mayk, I just wanted to say I'm so sorry for all you have been through this past month, you have been very brave in the face of a very scary situation and I'm so glad you feel at peace now and that your tests results are good. Thinking of you and hoping your recovery is going well and you're feeling better. Big hugs to you and your family, I'm sure this has been a difficult time for everyone.

 

[ksinger]

And just to throw a monkeywrench of sorts, into the proceedings...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/29/mammograms-not-catching-cancers-before-they-spread-say-us-experts

I'm one who does not feel the new guidelines are driven by nefarious insurance bean counters or some particular mindset in the medical profession as much as acknowledgement that the data shows that claims made for the efficacy of mammograms are a bit overstated. This is one of those situations where we long for a clear answer and certainties, and they just aren't there. And apparently, even opting for the old guidelines is not any more guaranteed to keep us from dying.

 

[Mayk]

And just to throw a monkeywrench of sorts, into the proceedings...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/29/mammograms-not-catching-cancers-before-they-spread-say-us-experts

I'm one who does not feel the new guidelines are driven by nefarious insurance bean counters or some particular mindset in the medical profession as much as acknowledgement that the data shows that claims made for the efficacy of mammograms are a bit overstated. This is one of those situations where we long for a clear answer and certainties, and they just aren't there. And apparently, even opting for the old guidelines is not any more guaranteed to keep us from dying.

Just like I said to momhappy. This is about you. There are articles supporting both sides. My Cancer was not a lump and was picked up on an annual mammogram as calcifications. The calcification with the Cancer was 7mm (or a 1.3 ct. MRB for those of us that like to visualize) I was told not to worry this is no big deal. That was before the pathology came back. All of the sudden no big deal was a big deal. Big enough to call to action drastic decisions. Had it not been picked up how long before I could feel it? What would the pathology have looked like by the time it was a lump that could be felt. I will be pushing for my daughter to start her mammograms early versus later due to my diagnosis.

Believe me, going through this, no one in their right mind would elect to do this unless there was just cause. My body and my psyche will never be the same. But hopefully I've altered my long term outcome as it relates to Breast Cancer. And of course I know anything else from a run away truck to some other dreaded disease could be right around the corner and none of this would matter.

 

[ksinger]

And just to throw a monkeywrench of sorts, into the proceedings...

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/29/mammograms-not-catching-cancers-before-they-spread-say-us-experts

I'm one who does not feel the new guidelines are driven by nefarious insurance bean counters or some particular mindset in the medical profession as much as acknowledgement that the data shows that claims made for the efficacy of mammograms are a bit overstated. This is one of those situations where we long for a clear answer and certainties, and they just aren't there. And apparently, even opting for the old guidelines is not any more guaranteed to keep us from dying.

Just like I said to momhappy. This is about you. There are articles supporting both sides. My Cancer was not a lump and was picked up on an annual mammogram as calcifications. The calcification with the Cancer was 7mm (or a 1.3 ct. MRB for those of us that like to visualize) I was told not to worry this is no big deal. That was before the pathology came back. All of the sudden no big deal was a big deal. Big enough to call to action drastic decisions. Had it not been picked up how long before I could feel it? What would the pathology have looked like by the time it was a lump that could be felt. I will be pushing for my daughter to start her mammograms early versus later due to my diagnosis.

Believe me, going through this, no one in their right mind would elect to do this unless there was just cause. My body and my psyche will never be the same. But hopefully I've altered my long term outcome as it relates to Breast Cancer. And of course I know anything else from a run away truck to some other dreaded disease could be right around the corner and none of this would matter.

Well, in my case, I know how this topic makes me feel, but I also know that making decisions based on feeling have not usually been my best choices. I guess that's why I didn't and don't have a visceral reaction the the revised guidelines. My experience has been that life is a bit of crapshoot and you can't always DO your way out of that. I hope that makes sense, although I concede it may not to some people.

But back on the article, I was a bit taken aback by this though and wonder what others think of it...(from the article)

"“Screening offers hope that cancer can be detected in an early, localised phase when it’s more amenable to treatment,” they write, but that assumes cancer starts in one place, grows and then spreads. If that was always true screening would reduce the rate of advanced cancers, they argue.

But the rate of breast cancers detected at an advanced stage has been stable since 1975, despite wide use of mammography since the 1980s, the study says. The average age of women diagnosed with cancer also has remained around 63, another sign cancers are not being found sooner."

 

[Calliecake]

I will admit I will always error on the side of caution. I have pre After my friend had a spot a appear on her mammogrm, she and was sent for an ultrasound. The ultrasound picked up three lumps. Two they were concerned about, the third they felt was probably nothing to worry about. They scheduled a biopsy for the two lumps and went ahead and performed a biopsy on the third lump because my friend insisted on it. The lumps the doctors strongly suspected to be cancer were not. The one they were sure was benign turned out to be malignant. In the past 10 years I have known 7 people who were diagnosed with breast cancer. All of the women were between 40 and 46 years old at the time of their diagnosis. My uncle was diagnosed in his sixties. For my own piece of mind I would insist on a yearly mammogram andI would gladly pay for one if it wasn't covered by insurance.

 

[LLJsmom]

Mayk, I am so happy and relieved that you are going to be ok. I am grateful that you have the courage to post about it and care enough to share your experience and advice. My thoughts are with you and your family. (((HUG)))

 

[kroshka]

I just wanted to say you are so strong and brave, and thank you for sharing. I will be praying for quick recovery. There are only a few certainties in life, one of them being that things will always change. How we choose to deal with the negative changes or bad things that happen in life is what matters. Stay strong!

Kroshka