Breast Cancer Community

I too was diagnosed with stage 1 ductal carcinoma at the age of 67 - two years ago with no family history.
As women age their chances of getting breast cancer increase, and women over age 65 are at risk the most.
First please know that your cancer cells were found early. You have not said if there is a mass present that needs to be biopsied.
One course of action if there is no mass present might be to watch that breast through mammograms.
The other choice would be to possibly do a mammogram,and ultrasound and then maybe a biopsy to get a more definitive diagnosis.
Then depending on the diagnosis - you will be given surgical options which could be a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, and then that pathology will help your doctors determine whether or not you need chemo and/or radiation.
So this is a process that will have you having diagnostic tests and waiting for results - which is probably the most difficult part of this journey.
Since you say you are prone to anxiety, I would suggest that you speak to your doctor to get some anti-anxiety meds to help you get through the next couple of weeks.
Please let us know how you are doing - and know thatwe are always here for you.
Good luck,
Judy

Yea for a caring, supportive daughter!! Undoubtedly she is and will be the very best medicine you will find!

Someone a while back wrote a book about cancer with the appropriate title "First You Cry"...Other than giving a few moments to disbelief and shock, most of us visit the "cry room" for a bit! Please know that every emotion you encounter along this journey is perfectly normal! It is a world of new faces, new tests, and lots of new words! Definitely not a world we'd expected to ever explore, but nonetheless, here we are.

So, much like travel to any unknown destination, the first thing you will want to do is to read thru the Fodors! (Or in this case, make that asking tons of questions of your medical team, doing research in reputable sites on the internet, coming here [and I'm glad you found us!> for support, personal experiences, lessons learned along the way, hugs when needed, ears to hear the venting when necessary, and folks who truly do care.

There will be many situations where you will have to make decisions. Now, before you do so, make sure that you have the complete picture of what you are dealing with...All aspects of your particular case! Then the research you did and the questions you asked will help a great deal. We are very fortunate to usually have many choices, but without the knowledge to make those choices, it can be more than overwhelming!

Usually there is not pressure to do things quickly...We have the luxury to take a bit of time to explore the situation, have a 2nd and 3rd opinion if necessary, to select the best physicians for us and our needs!

Make sure that the decisions you make are YOURS! Often times others (for a variety of reasons) try to push their ideas on us....It is YOUR body and the choice is YOURS ALONE!

If the anxiety becomes an ongoing problem, please talk to your doctor about it...There are meds which have helped many of us over a hump or two!

Please feel free to come back here at any time. We will do our best to make this as easy as possible on you. We're open 24/7 just for one another! You will be in our thoughts.

Blessings.
Rachael

Thank you for responding so quickly .
I was told the tumor was the size of the radiologist's little finger nail. To me, that is huge ! Two years ago when it first showed up in the mammogram, I was told it was a calcium deposit and to come back in 6 months for another mammogram to have it checked again. This time, I was told there were no changes and to come back in 1 year. I waited 2 years before I went back.
What prompted me to return were 2 dreams I had within a week of each other. In the first dream I was locking my basement door and "someone" came up behind me and cupped each breast in their hands. My "scream" woke me up and I was calling for help.
Within a few days, I had another dream which also woke me up. This time my right beast was being shook very hard.
Now this time I paid attention ! I immediately made an appointment for a mammogram.
This time the mass,,as the Radiologist called it, showed up clearly in a ultrasound.
My point in telling this is ......Don't ever disregard a dream that wakes you up. Your body may be trying to alert you to something important.
I will see a surgeon on Nov. 15th.
I thank you for being there. It is comforting to know that there are others who understand and will take time to advise and encourage me. I hope to be able to do the same for my WEB MD friends in the future.
NitaB