confused - Cancer: Breast Message Board

passionateman · 12-17-2006, 06:58 AM

for the last 2 years i have been dating a woman, we live in different countries, she is 41 and i just turned 27.

2 days ago she told me she has stage 1 breast cancer, she says she wants to try other methods before doing chemo.

ive got like a million questions from stuff people have told me and cant find the answers anywhere.

a friend said she will have to have a radioactive tube placed into her breast.

the same friend also said the cancer will bring on menopause.

another friend said it will take 2 years to recover, and need breast implants.

i was also told it will end her sex drive, and she wont have kids.

this was all told to me by female friends younger than me, is any of it real or not.

hergy · 12-22-2006, 10:15 PM

I was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2004, when I was 32. I didn't have to get implants, in fact, you don't have to, especially if a breast is not removed. I'm doing well now.

Radiation weakens the muscles in the area recieving the radiation because the treatment kills all cells - bad and good. But my sex drive was never affected. That drive is in my head, not my breast.

And my cancer team never mentioned any effect on family planning. It was my breast that was treated, not my reproductive organs. Plus, I'm still far from menopause.

Every cancer is different, requiring its own specialized treatment. Only your girlfriend's cancer team will be able to reveal her needed treatment regimen and any necessary procedures.

Friends are good for support, not medical advice. Listen to the doctors. No matter what you hear or read, those doctors will shed more light than any other source.

passionateman · 12-23-2006, 09:05 PM

sorry to hear that, glad you are doing well.

isn't hindsight a mongrel of a thing, i wish i had of bought more then just a candle and a bear for breast cancer research.

yeah i didn't think she would, i think if she has surgery she will have the spearing thing.
if you have stage 1 do you have to have surgery or does the meds get rid of it.

ah ok, well i was also just yesterday told she cant have kids if she has chemo cos the poison never leaves her body, and if she has a kid it will be deformed.
then i guess at almost 41 there isn't any chance of kids anyway.

team?, isn't it just 1 doctor.

yeah that's true, you just think cos its mostly girls who have it that if a girl says something about it then its more believable.

thanks for your reply, and merry Xmas.