My grandmother died from chemo (for breast-to-bone cancer) in 1998. She admitted that she had noticed a suspicious breast lump more than a year before being diagnosed, but ignored it. She wasn't diagnosed until she sat down one day and her hip bone literally shattered in 1997. The chemo treatments were very harsh at that advanced stage, and after the cancer was gone it was during the followup treatments that she died. The real shame of it is that she wouldn't have had to go through such aggressive treatments (or have a hip replacement) if she had said something earlier.

I've read several medical reports talking about how certain types of mammograms (the kind that really smash the boob flat) can actually cause breast cancer, so I'm not a big advocate of having those every year. But we all REALLY need to learn to pay attention to any changes in our breasts and talk to a doctor immediately if we find something. Better to be over cautious than to have to go through what she did.

~M

my grandmother survived breast cancer and her daughter, my mother, has too. she had a partial mastectomy and is still on her post radiation pills. i'm not really sure how long she has to take them, nor do i truly understand the side effects they are causing for her, but i know they're not good. she's still pretty in denial about the whole thing and refuses to talk about it. she gets upset when she sees pink ribbons. it's nothing to be in denial about, however. cancer is a fact of our generations. we're getting better at diagnosing it before it goes too far, and better at treating it.

doctors tested her for mutant breast cancer genes and at the time she tested positively for 3 out of the 5 they tested her for. that supposedly means chances are good that she passed it down to one of us 3 girls. i'm not worried about it personally. my older sister goes out of her way to avoid foods with estrogen, will not take hormonal birth control, doesn't use deodorant with aluminum in it, avoids soy and flax... as for me myself personally, i believe a good deal of it is in our heads.

however, as my dad always said, none of us are getting out of here alive.

M: I'm so sorry for your loss, but your insight into why prevention and early detection are so important is very inspiring. Awareness of our bodies and its changes is key to keeping ourselves healthy, and knowing the importance of seeking treatment before its too late. Thank you for sharing!

Alice: Congratulations to the lineup of fighters in your family! My best thoughts and wishes are with your mom, and my kudos to you and your sister for understanding the importance and impact that knowing your family history can have and make. Thank you so much for sharing!

My grandmother was diagnosed about a year ago while the cancer was fortunately still relatively easy to take care of, at least compared to further stage cancers. She did have surgery to remove the lumps and did her treatments afterwards and I'm proud that she chose to fight. She's doing a decent job keeping up with her meds right now, but has decided that should it come back she's not going to go through all of that again. While I'm sad that she won't fight if it comes back, I'm proud that she fought the first time and got herself the extra time with us, even if we don't see her very often. Well, my sister does because my sister lives in that area.

My best friend's grandmother was diagnosed very recently, but this was after being dragged into the doctor for something else and my friend noticing that she had a lump so large it looked like a third breast while helping her change. The grandmother didn't want any tests, and after being told it was indeed cancer that had spread to her bones and other areas of her body she initially refused treatment, but eventually agreed to a non invasive treatment. I'm proud of her for trying, even when her first instinct was to just say "I've lived my long happy life, and I don't want to spend the rest of it fighting something that's going to kill me anyway."

I also want to thank all of you who have shared already, and those who will share in the future.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of months ago. She does self breast exams on her own every month, and didn't notice anything. Her doctor didn't notice anything at her appointment. The only thing which spotted the tumor was her mammogram, and once they spotted it on the mammogram, the doctors still couldn't palpate it. They decided they had to take it out to decide if it was cancerous or not, and it was 3 inches long (no, not centimeters), and RIGHT behind her nipple. Everyone was shocked when it came out.

She's a stage 3 right now, and currently undergoing chemo, and then she'll still need radiation. We're all shocked. Breast cancer was in her family history, but she's very dilligent in keeping up with her breast health and always gets her mammogram.

It's still upsetting to me. She lives across the country, and I can't really help her except for trying to support her over the phone. It's just so sad to all of us that the cancer got this big in less than a year (she gets her mammograms every year because of her family history). I'm adopted, so I don't share her family history - but it is still scary to me. It has definitely made me think a bit more. I'm pretty young, but I've started to do my self breast exams which is something I hadn't done before.