I am 30 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically invasive ductal carcinoma. Before my diagnosis, I didn't even know what that meant. Now I have been forced into a reality where I not only know what it means but my doctors appointments and daily thoughts are filled with other previously unfamiliar words like neoadjuvant therapy, metastases, HER2 and triple negative.

I started this blog in hopes that some of the information I share may be helpful to other young women in a similar situation. Rather than posting my day to day experiences, feelings and progress, I plan to share some of the things I have learned along the way. Being dealt this hand in life at 30 years old brings with it some unique issues and questions. Will I ever have kids? How will this affect my relationships with my husband and friends? What is my long term prognosis?

Through this site you may find that my way of dealing with things is a bit different. I want to be educated about my disease and take an active role in my treatment and recovery. I want to understand every part of my pathology report, what it means, and feel confident that my doctors are recommending the best course of action. At each stage in my journey, I have experienced challenges with finding answers to my questions and ensuring that the medical professionals treating me really understand who I am and why my way of dealing with this disease may be unlike other women. My hope is that people will be able to relate to my experiences, learn from them and find some comfort that they are not alone.

Friday, 13 May 2016

Cheers to Water

The jury seems to be out on whether women who have had breast cancer should continue to consume alcohol in moderation or cut it out all together. Some articles like this one say that alcohol intake can be detrimental specifically to ER+ women because it increases the amount of estrogen in the bloodstream and can lower the effectiveness of tamoxifen. The problem is that for every study like this one, you can find another one saying that 1-2 drinks a week will have no effect or could even be a positive thing. Analysis of women enrolled in the Collaborative Breast Cancer Study (CBCS) actually found that moderate drinkers before diagnosis had about a 15 percent lower risk of death from breast cancer compared to nondrinkers.

The other confusing thing is that most studies focus on the effect of alcohol on estrogen but what if your cancer was not estrogen positive like mine? What is my risk of recurrence if I have a few drinks a week? I don't think I will ever have a good answer to that question but what I am sure of is that if I want to be 100% safe, the only answer is to not drink at all. In addition to the preservatives in wine, it contains sugar (which I am trying to limit) and pesticides are used to spray the grapes (unless you are buying organic). These are the main reasons I have decided to cut it out for now, while my body is still recovering from treatment.

I never really noticed before how uncomfortable sobriety can be. I didn't realize how much of a social norm it is to go for drinks with colleagues after work, have a glass of wine at dinner or a beer on the golf course. Since before chemo when I decided to stop drinking, I have experienced countless awkward moments of people offering me a drink and when I say no, it's followed by "are you sure?" or "why don't you just have one drink?". I think anyone who has made the decision to give up alcohol gets these weird reactions from people regardless of age but being only 31 years old, I find it even harder to go out with a group of friends and I am the only one not drinking.

There is so much pressure! Got through another week of work? Someone's birthday? Cottage weekend? Vacation? Dinner party? Sporting event? Alcohol to the rescue! My answer? Order water in a wine glass with lemon/lime and no one will know the difference. Sometimes I get a little "crazy" and throw some berries in there or drink Kombucha, which has a ton of health benefits. Cheers!


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