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amberlight · 03/07/2011 09:46

www.breast-cancer.ca/images/numberofcancers-agegroup.jpg seems to be one graph showing how many people are diagnosed with bc at various ages. Seems to be more rare if you're under 40 rather than under 50, really.

KurriKurri · 03/07/2011 09:59

yes - the haddock sandwiches are one of life's great mysteries, - someone obviously though they'd be nice - I took one bite and started frantically muttering 'for God's sake,don't eat the sandwiches' to DD
Smoked salmon sounds infinitely better MAS.

I'm glad you had a good day in Oxford Amber - is your DS backpacking? (my DD did that last summer and had a fabulous time) - its a wonderful experience for youngsters.

Topsy you may well be right about better education and awareness, - or maybe things like the pill have an influence (don't know - thats just a wild speculation) but then again there is such a large number of varieties of BC, there must be so many factors.

MAS - don't feel guilty, you had a prior arrangement, and in all probability your auntie may not be up to visitors so soon after her op. she's probably still woosy and dosed up with pain relief etc.

hope everyone is feeling OK today (if you are there pink, lots of love,- hope you can be back with us soon)

topsyturner · 03/07/2011 11:20

Thanks for the graph amber
That is quite a difference between cancers in your 30s to cancers in your 40s isn't it ?

mas I was going to say the same thing as kk
Your Aunt wouldn't be up to visitors after such major surgery , and she and the nursing staff probably wouldn't have thanked you for visiting yesterday .

Off to Grannys for lunch soon .
Its a glorious day here today .
Hope its lovely where you all are too .

topsyturner · 03/07/2011 11:21

Also thinking of you pink
Hoping all is ok

amberlight · 03/07/2011 12:53

KK, yes - three weeks of roaming Europe and going from hostel to hostel, as I understand it, with trains in between points.

It was lovely hot sunshine. Now it's cloudy just as I was about to go sunbathe for a while. Drat.

KurriKurri · 03/07/2011 13:31

Oh he'll have great fun Amber

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MaryAnnSingleton · 03/07/2011 16:11

thanks - I automatically feel guilty ! actually she must still be in Charing X which is not at all near where she lives/was in hospital before.
Have been to the agricultural show- amazing amounts of lovely dogs about- and of course farm critters. Am exhausted.And my hip hurts from walking- grr. We've just divided up the remains of the cakes brought home- so a sliver each of fairy cake, non-polenta cake,coffee and walnut and a brownie.

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MaryAnnSingleton · 03/07/2011 16:11

what an adventure for him amber !

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smee · 03/07/2011 19:12

Haddock sandwiches are v.wrong. Cheese straws though .

Topsy, I was 44 and they kept repeating how young I was too. They seem to think anyone pre-menopause is young to have it. I always think I could probably have rattled on to the 50 year mammograms without finding it and never have known, so on a good day feel lucky to have found the lump iyswim. I was talking to my Surgeon about it last week, and she said they're increasingly seeing younger women, but she couldn't say why. ie is it because they're better at checking, or is it because there's more cancer. She thought the latter, which is

I have been gardening all day, with my trusty assistants, DS and the cat. DH busy getting his bike ready, as he's off cycle touring France on Wednesday. He and DS are sat avidly watching Tour de France on tv, so am going to give my sore back a well deserved soak.

Topsy, will be thinking of you tomorrow. Hope they crack on with it as soon as you get there. You'll feel so much better once you've got one done. x

Pink, Pink where are you?? Hope you're okay-ish. Let us know when you can.

topsyturner · 03/07/2011 19:52

I am very envious of amber junior right now .
I would give my other boob to be swanning off round Europe with a troupe of young men ............... sigh

I did wonder about other reasons for my cancer .
I have quite bad psoriasis and have been using a steroid cream for about 8 years .
When I finally persuaded my GP to refer me to a dermatologist for it , she was horrified to find out that I had been on this particular steroid cream for so long .
She said I had steroid toxicity and needed to be weaned off the cream over a period of 6 weeks .
I haven't asked anyone if this could be connected , I had a patch of psoriasis on the breast with the cancer on it , actually right on the place where the lump was .
Maybe that's something I should ask ?
They will probably just say they don't know why/how I ended up with cancer .
But I still wonder

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MaryAnnSingleton · 03/07/2011 20:45

sometimes I think it's just completely random, in lalaa's case probably (my SIL who some on here 'know' who had cancer at 33)
My best friend should get her routine mammo results this week and is really anxious as am I - she has no children,is overweight -please keep fingers crossed-she wouldn't handle it I know.

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MaryAnnSingleton · 03/07/2011 20:49

oh lordy haddock sandwiches

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KurriKurri · 03/07/2011 21:24

topsy, the problem with 'why me' is that you can start thinking 'did I deserve this in some way, did I do something wrong?' - and of course nobody deserves it. Of course there are some things that might make you more at risk, but then again there are plenty of people who fall into the at risk categories that don't get it.

We've all heard stories about 90 year olds who've smoked fifty a day since they were 10 and are still going strong

My thoughts are, it's a random bastard that just happens to get you if you are unlucky.

Unless you have the genetic variety of BC, they usually say 'it was a random mutation'.

But do ask them about such things, they might be more forthcoming than my lot were and it sounds as if you want to talk it over, and so it will probably be helpful for you. Fingers crossed everything goes ahead for you tomorrow xx

MAS - now everyone can make haddock sandwiches - actually those ones look a bit more palatable, the one I had was just haddock and something sort of creamy tasting which might or might not have been mayonnaise, rolled up in a sort of swiss roll of bread. YUM!

smee · 03/07/2011 23:42

MAS, how did you find that link? Did you google 'Haddock sandwiches'?! Is there a very dark part of you that needed to know?!

Topsy, Kurri's right 'it's a random bastard', though fwiw, according to my Onc, speculated mine was probably caused by having a child after 35 (I was 38) and breastfeeding. I am on the top end of the scale for hormones, so that's where the logic lies, but it's still a guesstimate and you never really know. All you can do is ask lots of questions, make damn sure you get the best treatment you can, then live. Which you will, as i'm sure we all will. Tamoxifen thread 5000 anyone?

KurriKurri · 03/07/2011 23:54

Inspired by MAS and you Smee, I have just googled Haddock Sandwiches and there were....wait for it.... 991,000 results!!! clearly they are a buffet stalwart and we aren't sophisticated enough to appreciate them

topsyturner · 04/07/2011 06:39

Well , personally , I am very glad not to be sophisticated enough to appreciate the joys of a haddock sandwich

Got to try and poke the dc out of their beds now .
Need to drop them off (dd at drama summer school , ds at cousins house) for the day .
My chemo appointment is at 8.40am . Very uncivilised hour of the morning
My appointment letter tells me to expect to be there for the entire day , so don't panic if you don't hear from me . Although I do have phone access to this board , so you may get a blow by blow account

What ever your day involves , hope its a great one !

amberlight · 04/07/2011 06:57

8.40, Topsy? Blimey! Take sandwiches (pref not haddock!), a sleeping bag...let us know how it's gone?

Blood tests today ready for tomorrow. Urk.

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MaryAnnSingleton · 04/07/2011 08:45

thinking of you now topsy !
you know me - I always google !

I suspect mine (bc) might also be due to having first child at 38 -also not being able to breast feed (though God knows I tried)
INSET day today but ds off to singing lesson- then we're off to Petworth House and back for his recital this evening - am a little nervous as I haven't heard him sing the song he's performing (Ukrainian song)

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KurriKurri · 04/07/2011 09:35

You will be there by now topsy, but if you can read this I hope it's all going smoothly. When they bring the sandwiches round, ask if they've got haddock

Good luck with the blood tests Amber and chemo tomorrow.

Good luck to DS with his concert MAS.

I'm supposed to be at yoga but the teacher just phoned to say she'd been really sick so was cancelling, so I can have a mornings gardening instead, before it gets too hot.

amberlight · 04/07/2011 09:35

I wasn't able to breastfeed either, MAS. Wonder if there is a link for some people.

smee · 04/07/2011 09:38

991,000 results?!, d'you think we're missing something? Are there other sandwich combinations we've never contemplated?!

More importantly, Topsy I hope your unit's comfy then and wishing you an excellent nurse too. We got sandwiches at ours, so am wishing you no haddock.

Amber, hope bloods are onc. Come back and let us distract you from tomorrow.

I have nothing of interest to tell. Am doing my accounts, as have been putting them off. So bored..

KurriKurri · 04/07/2011 09:40

Well for the purposes of more data, I had my DC at 25, and 30, I breastfed both for over a year. I have had a lot of gynae problems in the past and had a hysterectomy at 38, so don't know if thats linked, and When I was DX I was going through a lot of stress, with my Dad being ill, and DS and DH arguing a lot (they get on fine now DS has left home ).

We need a spreadsheet, so we can do our own research

KurriKurri · 04/07/2011 09:42

Good luck with the accounts Smee, don't fall asleep doing them

smee · 04/07/2011 09:56

If I see my neighbour, I will see what current wisdom is, as she works in cancer research at UCL so is really interesting about it all. Her team's been trying to put together funding for a national computer programme, which would basically calculate each woman's individual risk.

So MAS, you and I would now both be deemed higher risk, simply because we had a child post 35. That's recent wisdom though and many women still don't know. I certainly didn't! Apparently this computer would automatically give each woman a risk factor, then call them for early screening if appropriate. Makes so much sense to me in terms of prevention, and early discovery.

Another thing which has always intrigued me is that in many countries they screen women from 40 - so in the US and across lots of Europe too. Every time I've asked why we don't do that, I'm told it's because of false positives and the increased risk from radiation if you have more mammograms, etc. But if you really pry, they say well we couldn't afford all the equipment - which let's face it is insane, as how much has each of our treatment cost, and how much less would it have been if they'd caught it a bit earlier?!

Rant over. Back to accounts..

topsyturner · 04/07/2011 13:04

Back from hospital .
Chemo delayed till wednesday afternoon .
Got ct results back and cancer has spread to my lungs .
I am devastated .