Mom has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer

[AwakeAtLast]

She is 80 and in marginally good health. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. She will see an Oncologist once they contact her for an appointment. We don't yet know the details, just that the biopsy showed Cancer. Thank you!

[flying_wahini]

1. Have they staged it?

If it’s at stage 1 I would recommend a simple mastectomy and that is all.
Elderly people tend to live longer and happier without chemo and radiation.

[AwakeAtLast]

5. No

She will learn that when she sees an Oncologist. They did not give her a time frame on that, which is super frustrating!

[GoreWon2000]

2. Here's hoping that the cancer was caught early and that she makes a full and speedy recovery

[AwakeAtLast]

6. Thank you!

It helps that I know I have support here!

[MLAA]

3. Sending hugs to mom and you.

My dad at 92 was very healthy until he found out he had late stage liver cancer. Despite seeing his Dr regularly, it was diagnose until it was already stage 4 and painful. After discussion with the oncologist, he decided on quality of life vs quantity so no chemo. The oncologist calmly and kindly described what chemo can do to an elderly person.

Your mom’s case is quite different, she is 12 years younger and sounds like it was caught early.

[AwakeAtLast]

7. I am hoping so, too!

Thank you!

[XanaDUer2]

4. Hugs

Healing thoughts

[AwakeAtLast]

8. Thank you!

[Big Blue Marble]

9. If it is stage 0 which is relatively common in older women,

there is little treatment needed at your mom's age beyond a lumpectomy.
Research ductal carcinoma situ or what is called stage 0. Many doctors
do not even consider DCIS cancer rather a pre-cancer that is full contained
in the milk duct.

There is ongoing research in how aggressively this form of pathology needs
to treated. In women over 67, those are not treated are as likely to be alive
10 years later as without cancer even without treatment.

The best thing you and your mom can do while waiting for an oncologist visit
is to educate yourselves on all the aspects of different presentations of cancer
or pre-cancers of the breast. https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/20110316

[AwakeAtLast]

11. Thank you!

Very helpful!

[DelMar dem]

10. 20 - year survivor here

The most important thing to remember is to take things one step at a time. It seems to take forever to get from one step to the next, but you will both feel so much more at ease once a direction has been established by your mom's medical team. Treatment will depend on the type, location and stage of the cancer. In my case, I had a lumpectomy, radiation, and 5 years of Tamoxifen, which I tolerated very well. Everyone is different. Google is not your friend in this case. I did find a lot of information from an online breast cancer support site. Staying informed is important so that you know which questions to ask your doctors, but too much information can be overwhelming.

Best of luck to you and your mom. Breast cancer does take a chunk out of your life. It's a club no one wants to belong to, but there's also a huge club of survivors who have come through with flying colors.

[AwakeAtLast]

12. Thank you!