Stage 1 Breast Cancer

Scripture of the Day:

Matthew 8:7

            And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

Stage 1 Breast Cancer:

The following in Italics is taken from a website that I found that I thought explained the stages very well. The link to that website is at the end of this post. 

Stage I breast cancer is the earliest stage of invasive breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer cells have spread beyond the original location and into the surrounding breast tissue.

Because a stage I tumor is small, it may be difficult to detect. However, breast self-exams and routine screening are always important and can often lead to early diagnosis, when the cancer is most treatable.

Types of stage I breast cancer

Stage I is divided into two categories:

• Stage IA: The tumor measures 2 cm or smaller (about the size of a pea or shelled peanut), and has not spread outside the breast.
• Stage IB: Small clusters of cancer cells measuring no more than 2 mm, are found in the lymph nodes, and either there is no tumor inside the breast, or the tumor is small, measuring 2 cm or less.

The survival rate for stage IA breast cancer may be slightly higher than for stage IB. However, all women with stage I breast cancer are considered to have a good prognosis.

TNM

At stage I, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. For example, there may or may not be cancer cells in the lymph nodes, and the size of the tumor may range from 1 - 2 cm. Most commonly, stage I breast cancer is described as:

• T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.
• N0: Usually, cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes
• M0: The disease has not spread to other sites in the body

TNM is a way of staging the cancers. Mine was Stage 1 Noninvasive Intraductal Carcinoma. According to Wikipedia this is abnormal cells found in the lining of the breast duct. my tumor was 1.6 cm in size. Above it says that this size of tumor is often hard to detect. In my breast surgeon's office she has a chart that says how long it take for a tumor to grow to a specific size. Mine took 8 years. To me that is mind boggling to think that this started in my 8 years prior to the discovery. I was walking around all those years with a time bomb in my chest. Mine had not spread to my lymph nodes. Early detection was key to the success of my recovery. Please check yourself and get your mammograms.

The for more information please follow the link to this website:

Breast Cancer Stage 1

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know he loves you. 

Breast Cancer stage 0

Scripture of the Day:

Matthew 4:23        

And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Breast Cancer Stages

There are 6 stages in breast cancer. The first is stage 0. The following in italicized is a direct quote from a website that I found. Information about this website is at the end of this post.

Stage 0 (carcinoma in situ) breast cancer

Stage 0, also called carcinoma in situ, is the earliest stage of breast cancer. This very early breast cancer stage is sometimes interpreted as a precancerous condition. Many stage 0 breast cancers do not require treatment. When they do, the approach is generally very successful.

The five-year survival rate for stage 0 breast cancer is 93 percent. This means that almost all women diagnosed with stage 0 disease will live for at least five years after being diagnosed. In fact, women diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer usually live long and healthy lives.

What is stage 0 breast cancer?

At stage 0, the breast mass is noninvasive. At this stage, there is no indication that the tumor cells have spread to other parts of the breast or other parts of the body. Often, stage 0 is considered a precancerous condition that requires close observation, but not treatment.

Stage 0 breast cancer is difficult to detect. There may not be a lump that can be felt during a self-examination, and there may be no other symptoms. However, breast self-exams and routine screening are always important and can often lead to early diagnosis, when the cancer is most treatable. Stage 0 disease is most often found by accident during a breast biopsy for another reason, such as to investigate an unrelated breast lump.

Types of stage 0 breast cancer

There are two types of stage 0 breast cancer:

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) occurs when breast cancer cells develop in the breast ducts. Today, stage 0 DCIS is being diagnosed more often because more women are having routine mammogram screenings. DCIS can become invasive, so early treatment can be important.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) occurs when abnormal cells develop in the lobules. These cells are not cancerous and this condition rarely becomes invasive cancer. However, women who develop LCIS may be at increased risk for developing breast cancer in the future. For women who develop LCIS, the risk of getting an invasive cancer is 20 - 25 percent over 15 years after the initial diagnosis.

The information that is italicized came from a website that I researched looking for this type of information. You can go to the this website using this link:

Stage 0 in Breast Cancer.

I found out so much more about just this stage than I knew existed

Up coming Anniversaries

Scripture of the Day:

Jeremiah 30:17

I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord, because they, called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

February 23, 2012

My mood gets lower and lower the closer I get to anniversary dates. For the last week, I’ve cried all the way to school. I’ve managed to pull it together by the time school actually starts. But there are so many things that make me sad because I know bad things happen. The new is upsetting. My retirement may upset some students and that bothers me…or it may not and that bothers me.

I look at these young girls walking the halls with cleavage and I miss mine…my real cleavage (like I had any to begin with). I read postings from my classmates and miss my youth. I miss my children. They don’t really need me anymore.

I watched the movie Soul Surfer. That 13 year old child witnessed to so many to so many people because of the loss of her arm. What have I done lately? A Christian teacher tried to make me feel better and she did. I don’t know how God is using me and I really don’t need to know. All I really have to do is live in my faith and trust that I am helping someone because I contracted breast cancer. Maybe I dram of grandeur, that I want to know the profound difference I ‘ve made in someone’s life. Maybe after almost a year, I’m still trying to figure out why this happened to me. Am I being a role model for someone? If so, who? Please don’t let it be Emily, Jess Hailey or Mom or any of my sisters, nieces, sisters-in-law or mother-in-law or friends. That’s the scary part. What if this happens to someone very close to me? When I think like this, I imagine how helpless David feels about not being able to fix this for me.

The first major anniversary coming up is the biopsy on February 28^th, next Tuesday. I don’t know if I’ll make it through the day or not. Should I even try? I was looking at the calendar and the biggest anniversary in my mind falls on a Saturday. They told me I had breast cancer was March 3, 2011. I wont’ have to attempt to work that day. Maybe next year all this won’t be so frightening.

May 21, 2014

I remember those days. I was so afraid of so many things. Some of them I still am. I don't want any of my family members to become ill from any kind of horrible disease. I pray for continued health for everyone. The anniversary's aren't scary any more like they used to be. Now I can look back and see how far I've come. My faith has brought me here. I am and always will be a survivor. If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with his healing touch. I know He loves you.

Music that Sooths Me

Scripture of the Day:

Jeremiah 17:14 

 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved.

February 17, 2011

I’m getting close to the one year anniversayry of the biopsy. It took place on February 28^th at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. It feels in some ways like it’s been a long year. In other ways, I don’t know where this year has gone.

My preferred music has changed. I listen to a lot of Christian music. “ A Mother’s Prayer” by Rachel Aldous is a song as much because of Emily’s baby coming in September. It always makes me cry. I adjust the prayer to cover so many of my loved ones when I hear it…even myself. What a beautiful song!

Another song that brings tears is “Anyway” by Martina McBride. This is so inspirational to …”do it anyway”

.

Then there’s Jesus Take the Wheel. This song about a dirver. But why not ask Jesus to take my “wheel of life”?

There are the songs that talk to me about my love for David and his for me. “Devoted to You” by the Everly Brothers was sung at our wedding 30 years ago and again when we redid our vows in June. “Your Love Amazed Me” by John Berry is another one. David’s love truly does amaze me. He is as much a survivor as I am. He told me on Valentine’s Day that I was an answer to a prayer. He’s been with me through this all as I’ve said endlessly. And he still is taking good care of me.

Another is  “Too Me” by Lee Greenwood and Barbara Mandrell. This is also a tear jerker for me. This song is about what the loved one is “to me”…and David is. It’s like they wrote the song about us.

I hate my new “normal”. I get so frustrated with it. The side effects of leterzole is bond, muscle and joint ache; dizziness; and exhaustion. I have all of those and sometimes, I just would describe it as extreme.

I don’t know if it’s a side effect or not, but I also can become very winded climbing the stairs. I refuse to take the elevator. But at the top of the stairs, I have to stop a minute or should stop a minute to get my breath back.

I have also started what I call mini-anxiety attacks. I get the OMG feelings and my heart stand still. These last long enough for me to take notice. Then, I’ll start breathing slowly and they go away.

One side effect that seems to have disappeared is the hot flashes. I still get them but not very often.

The numbers of people that need prayer just keep getting larger. I prayed hard for the sister of a classmate who was having open heart surgery due to complications from lupus. She did not survive. I was kind of amazed at how much it upset me. The only thing that comes to mind is that “There but by the Grace of God”. It could’ve been me and still could down the road.

But I prayed for a friend that had an ultrasound for lumps in her breast. Her ultrasound came out fine. They were deemed to be cysts. She has recently quit smoking, too.

Since my tumor is gone, do I have breast cancer or is it “I had breast cancer”. I’m still confused about so many things as I reach the end of my first year as a survivor.

Anyway By Martina McBride It's a great song if you're feeling low.

May 14, 2014

Wow. the first part of what I wrote is rather mushy. Just lets you know what my frame of mind was. I still tend to listen to the same music. It gives me inspiration and peace. It settles me sometimes. I have to mention one more song. It's "I Run For Life" by Melissa Etheridge. She is a breast cancer survivor and this is her song about her journey. 

My new "normal" has become normal without quotations. That is a good thing. I still have the side effects of my medication and I still have to take it for 3 more years. I'm told that the side effects will go away within one month of not taking it. I can't wait. That time is getting closer. I know longer have the anxiety attacks I was having back when I started the meds. 

But the number of people that need prayer just keeps increasing. It's hard to keep up. I've gotten to where I do a blanket prayer, because I know that God knows my heart and knows those people that I think about that need prayer. I have to trust that he's hearing all of those names even if I'm not saying them. I found out yesterday that the sister of a friend that had breast cancer now has stomach cancer. So I've added another name to my list.

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Fear of Just Getting Sick

Scripture of the Day:

Isaiah 58: 8

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning and thy health shall spring for the speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

January 26, 2012

For so long everything hurts. There are days when I needed help getting up out of a chair. Sometimes it’s painful to get into and out of the car and I am so tired.

I’ve been dizzy when I lay down and when I get up out of bed. It passes fairly quickly. But yesterday , I  had to stop every 10 or 15 feet down the hall and hang onto the wall for a minute. So I decided to go to the doctor. I hate doing that. I’m so afraid they’ll find something really wrong. They did an EKG and chest x-ray and took blood. I have vertigo and a bad cold…nothing to do with breast cancer. It’s the first time this year that I missed work for something other than breast cancer appointments.

My hair is getting longer and pretty wavy if not curly. People are telling me they love it and to keep it short. It is also very salt and pepper. They’re saying a look healthy. My AP said that I have never used breast cancer as an excuse for anything at work. That’s probably not exactly true. I try hard not to let it be an excuse.

May 9, 2014

Things still hurt. I've grown so accustomed to it I just ignor it. It is the side effect of my cancer medication. It's worse sometimes than others. My hair has just recently grown long enough to get it all up in a scrunchy on the top of my head. Even though I agree with my friends that it looks great short, David likes it long. For everything he has done for me in the last 3 years, it is a very small price to go the the stages to get it long again. The salt and pepper gray has disappeared some too. At 61, what gray I have in my hair is not that much. 

I still hate having to go to the doctor when I'm sick. I'm still afraid of what they will find. But I still go. I can't afford not to if I want to stay on top of my health. 

I remember working hard not to try to get out of doing certain parts of my job using breast cancer as an excuse. It was important to me to get back to something remotely normal and keep it that way. I think it was as much for my own recovery as anything else.

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Yet more Doctors

Scripture of the Day:

Proverbs 3: 1-8

My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life and peace shall they add to the. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck, write them on the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thin heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel marrow to thy bones.

January 10, 2012

I go for my ultrasound tomorrow. Ok, I’m scared. I got hugs from Susan B and Brian M. I got home and had 5 cards. They say “A contribution in honor of “… They came in the mail. So many others contributed, but the cards are nice. The others were from Kibbye, Tuesday, Jana and Gwyndra. I have to get all my get well cards too.

I’ve found a second lump in the same “breast”. I just found it taking a shower, so I check everywhere. That’s all I can feel so far. This one is over the implant.

I’ve been to my ultrasound and they found a third. One he was extremely confident it was scar tissue…more like inflamed suture. The other two he was unsure. They were going to biopsy them at 10AM. In the meantime, he spoke to my breast surgeon and looked at my MRI from March and my records and told me that he didn’t think the biopsy was necessary, that we’d ultrasound again in three months. So, I went with that. He said the MRI showed a healthy breast. The records from the mastectomy said nothing found in that breast…and noting had passed through the lymph nodes and I’ve had chemotherapy that would’ve gotten anything.

So why do I not feel happy? One thing, I now have a fourth doctor I’ll be seeing on a regular basis for a while. I have a breast surgeon, plastic surgeon, oncologist and now a radiologist. 

May 7, 2014

It upset me that the list of doctors I had to see on a regular basis kept getting longer and longer.  I was afraid that it was going to be my lot in life to see all these doctors forever. But I'm no down to just two, my breast surgeon and my oncologist. I've seen both in the last two months and I am still getting a clean bill of health. 

I still get scared just before an appointment. I'm afraid that they will find something and I'll start going through all of it again. So if you are feeling that way, I would say it's normal. I feel that way pretty much anytime I go to the doctor. Even if it's just for a cold. 

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Great News and Life Goes On

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 30:2 

 O Lord my God, I cried unto Thee and Thou hast healed me

January 8, 2012

On January 7, Emily insisted on skyping with us. At Stony Creek, the streaming was awful. We kept getting kicked off. But she kept calling back. This was just strange. She finally said she had something to tell us. So we Skyped without video. I think that disappointed her. She wanted to see our faces when she told us she was pregnant. I screamed and David was talking to his mom who wanted to know what was wrong. She was as excited as we were. I tried not to cry. But I couldn’t. Emily asked “are you crying, Mom?” I said “ I sure as hell am!” She had told us that she may not have children. This was completely out of the blue. Now having this lump be scar tissue takes on a whole new meaning!!

May 1, 2014

Those lumps really scared me, but that became two-fold when she announced her pregnancy. We had planned to go to visit her in Germany the summer of 2011 and couldn't because of the cancer and chemo treatments. Now I was afraid we'd not be able to go and visit when she had this child because these lumps would end up being something we had to deal with first. I was terrified.  

Luke is now 19 months old and we went for his first birthday in September 2013. Keep the faith, it will all work out.

I heard yesterday of a movie that will come out tomorrow, May 2, 2014. It's called Decoding Annie Parker. This is a movie about the doctor and the patient that discovered the gene that proves that breast cancer can be hereditary. Mine wasn't but a large number of people who have this disease did inherit it.

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.