not new to cancer,...only this board

Hi group,

My name is Dana. My mom passed away 22 months ago from brain cancer,my Dad has lung cancer and NOW my friend,I mean my BEST friend has felt a lump in her breast. She went to Brigham and Woman's Hospital here in Boston and was told it was too small to take a byapsy(??)) I mean haven't we always said early detection early cure ????My step mom had a dbl mas. in order to rid herself of cancer. I let Kate know what she should do in the process of detecting cancer , she did not listen.    I am so pisssed she didn't listen to me when I told her to demand a needle byappsy. I am asking you all as a much more informed group to suggest ways to get Kate to a proper Doctor.

Thanxs,

Dana 

 

Good job Dana!!  You are right with early detection being the key.  Tell her to get a second opinion.  They would at least tell her if they think it is a cyst or something else.  Stick with her.  I am so sorry that you have had to experience so much cancer in your family but because of your history you can help others.  Good luck to you and your friend.  Let us know how it turns out.

Hi Dana,

Very small lumps can be very difficult to biopsy - even if they do a needle biopsy under ultrasound , they still might not get a true sample if the lump is to small to accurately locate or if it is movable and keeps skimming away from the needle.

You might tell your friend to ask the dr about doing a PET scan.  If the lump is too small for needle biopsy, it might also be too small to accurately show up metabolic activity in PET scan, but the procedure is non-invasive and certainly would be better than doing nothing.

Another thing you can do is to get your friend started on some cancer-fighting natural elements that can start to work now while she waits to see if this lump gets bigger, etc.  At the very minimum, many leading advocates recommend these supplements:

selenium:  200 mcg/day (can start with 400mcg/day but only for
a few weeks)
magnesium:  200 - 250 mg/day (350 mg/day max), take with food
zinc:  50 mg/day (can start with 100mg/day but only for a few
weeks), take with food
manganese: 10 - 15 mg/day, take with food
calcium: 1200 mg/day

We need Vitamin D-3 to be able to absorb and utilize calcium.
Our bodies manufacture D-3 if we get adequate sunlight (15 -
20 minutes exposure/day) - but I do not believe in leaving
this to chance, so also recommend a Vitamin D-3 supplement,
1000 - 2000 iu/day (10,000 iu/day max) 

Also, recommend your friend drink plenty of pure fresh water (steam-distilled or reverse osmosis filtered are best.)  If she starts taking the above supplements, adequate hydration is important to help them work, and for detoxification. 

I understand that you are frightened for what might happen to your friend should this be cancer and she lose valuable time in treating it.  But please remember, everyone reacts to a threat to body image, sense of well-being, possibility of illness in their own way. She might be choosing not to pursue this because she is frightened, too  You can't force your friend to see things your way, but you can offer her support and love and compassion, and by being there for her help her overcome fear and other impediments she may need to overcome.  Sometimes tough love really does need to be tempered with gentility and kindness to obtain the best result.

Sincerely,

Tre