An urgent note to all women My wife had her first mammogram when she was 36 years old (when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer). My wife's next mammogram was when she was 40, and that's when she started having one yearly in December. Her mammogram in December of 2010 showed nothing. Her mammogram in 2011 showed cancer. It turned out to be stage 3a. That means that she went from zero (or pretty close) to stage 3a in one year. She was 42 years old when she was diagnosed. She could have easily skipped the mammogram, thinking, "I've been negative for the past couple of years. I think I'm gonna skip it this year." Don't skip it. Have a yearly mammogram. This is real. Encourage your wife, your sister and your mother to do it yearly.
My wife's July 2011 mammogram showed nothing. The lump was found in August 2012, 13 months later. She went from no detection to stage 4 in 13 months. Granted, her tumor is triple positive (ER+, PR+, HER2+), which is a very aggressive version of breast cancer. Only about 20% of women with breast cancer are triple positive. But still, get those yearly mammograms! Thanks for sharing, drox. And thanks to everyone for the kind words, prayers, well wishes, and esp. for the donations. Like I said, we are being taken care of 100%, but many women struggle financially. Please help out all you can.
People are just living longer now days. The older the immune systems the less it is able to kill cancerous cells. Also simple math says the more times cells divide the more times you have a chance of getting cancer. We all have cells that divide incorrectly. Also 100 years ago they wouldn't have been able to detect the cancer and would have just blamed death on something else when it was cancer growth that killed the person.
You and your wife define class, Behad. I wish the two of you the best of good fortune fighting this. Like so many here, the disease has had an impact on my own family. We need to find cures for cancer. Enormous strides have been made combating heart disease, for example. Statins have saved countless lives. We need something similarly successful in the fight against cancer. Donate, people! It makes a difference.
People always question the devil's existence yet I believe the devil lives through cancer. Infinite prayers sent out to all your families.
Just so you know, the Department of Health and Human Services goes against this advice now and it is probable that within the next five years the federal mandate for insurance plans will be to cover a mammogram only every other year. I agree with you however.
Behad: First of all, I'm sorry. It sucks. It's not fair, and no one should have to go through it. I am praying for you and yours right now, but you definitely are an inspiration of strength and "Life." I read your post and felt a sense of "keep going on, no matter what." What a great couple you two are, and I can relate to the pain, though not the mental strength you seem to have. Believe me, I know where you're at in some ways. I had lymphoma two years ago (nearly killed me) and both my parents have various forms of cancer. Love is love, and I wish you both nothing but the best.
Behad- very sorry to hear about your wife. I'm sure she (and the whole family) are getting excellent care at MD Andersen. My sister is a breast surgeon at the Watson Clinic: http://www.watsonclinic.com/locations/1400-lakeland-hills-blvd-lakeland-fl.html if you ever feel like you need/want another opinion, PM me through the board and I'd be happy to connect you. She's done this before for other firends, and I'm sure she'd be happy to offer whatever insight she could about treatment, prognosis, etc.
