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.

Saturday, 6 August 2016

Germany - Here I Come

After many hours online and speaking with various medical professionals, I have made the decision to seek further treatment in Germany at the Hallwang clinic. This was not an easy decision by any means but one I felt was necessary for a few reasons:
  • My latest circulating tumor cell and Oncoblot test results were less than stellar
  • The natural supplements and therapies I have been doing at home are proving to not be enough
  • A recent study presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showed that adding capecitabine to adjuvant therapy reduced the risk of disease recurrence by 30% and prolonged survival by 40% for patients with residual breast cancer following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. Although it sounded like a promising alternative for me at first, I chose not to pursue capecitabine for several reasons:
    1. Participants in the study were Japanese and Korean and according to my Oncologist, their genetic make-up is different so they may metabolize capecitabine differently leading to a potentially different response. Although the results of the study are very encouraging, it is also just one study and more need to be performed.
    2. My Oncologist would not prescribe it for me for the reasons above which would have left me buying "black market" capecitabine...an option I was not thrilled by.
    3. Even though it is "lighter" than AC-T, it is still chemo and does have side effects and toxicities to boot.
For these reasons, the immunotherapies offered in Germany seemed like a better fit for me rather than putting more toxins in my body and potentially making the cancer cells more aggressive and resistant. Of course, I believe that chemo is a necessary evil and do not regret my decision to do it the first time around but much of the most promising research lately has shown that immunotherapies are proving to be successful, especially with triple negative breast cancer. Unfortunately these immunotherapies like Keytruda are only available in clinical trials and very few are in Canada. Most are in the US and because I am still "in remission", I would not qualify anyways. It's too bad that I have to travel to another continent and pay out of pocket for these treatments but at the same time I am grateful that this is a viable option for me as I understand that for many, it is not. 

2 comments:

  1. The past 4 years of my life has been years of torment right from when i was diagnosed with breast cancer (triple negative) stage IV. It was hard for me because i never in my life imagined i would have anything related to cancer. The first two years my oncologist gave me so much hope that i had to undergo chemo and radiation therapy twice and the lymph nodes were still there. It kept reoccurring and i was about to lose it all. I lost weight and i had high blood pressure due to steady thinking. I got the contact of Dr. Roland whom i was told treats cancer naturally with herbal medicine, i never believed but i was dying and to satisfy my curiosity i had to invite him over and he came with his medicine and began to treat me for a month. In three months time i didn't feel any symptoms and i decided to confirm and i went to my oncologist for a test and i tested negative to cancer. I never believed in herbal methods or treatments but now i do because it saved me. You too can contact him for more info on any form of cancer and also about his medicine and treatment process on (dr.rolandoscar@gmail.com) do not die in ignorance and never give up hope.

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  2. As a sign of gratitude for how my wife was saved from CANCER, i decided to reach out to those still suffering from this.
    My wife suffered cancer in the year 2013 and it was really tough and heartbreaking for me because she was my all and the symptoms were terrible, she always complain of abnormal vaginal bleeding, and she always have pain during sexual intercourse. . we tried various therapies prescribed by our neurologist but none could cure her. I searched for a cure and i saw a testimony by someone who was cured and so many other with similar body problem, and he left the contact of the doctor who had the cure to cancer . I never imagined cancer. has a natural cure not until i contacted him and he assured me my wife will be fine. I got the herbal medication he recommended and my wife used it and in one months time she was fully okay even up till this moment she is so full of life. cancer. has a cure and it is a herbal cure contact the doctor for more info on drwilliams098675@gmail.com on how to get the medication. Thanks for reading my testimony.

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