Any other breast cancer survivors?

shermone1

hi, I also have breast cancer or should i say had. I was diagnosed last august, i finished up my chemo in feb and radation in march. I also gained 20 lbs and have been fighting to get it off, I started doing the insanity workout about a month ago and using my fitness pal but still having a hard time reaching my goal !!! I too was in great shape before cancer, I ran three days a wk and was a big spinner but it still happened, I hope your doing well with everything!!!

freyjafish

I have been cancer free for four years, and I STILL haven't lost any of the weight I gained during treatment. Hoping this helps. I need to lose about 30 pounds. We can do it, right?

lcuconley

I have been cancer free for four years, and I STILL haven't lost any of the weight I gained during treatment. Hoping this helps. I need to lose about 30 pounds. We can do it, right?

yes, we can!! dedication and focus are the key. I have lost about 15 pounds since the end of january...10 to go!

erh20000plus

I am an Inflammatory Breast Cancer Survivor diagnosised in Feb 2010. I am BRCA+ and triple negative. Went through 6 rounds of chemo, bilateral masectonomy / ovaries removed, and 3 months of radiation. Living with lymphodema as a result of the radiation. One failed reconstruction surgery due to radiation damage and just scheduled my second attempt in August of this year. I actually lost almost 30 pounds last year on MFP, but became depressed after the failed surgery and gained it all back and then some. Would love some friends to go on this journey with.

lcuconley

I am an Inflammatory Breast Cancer Survivor diagnosised in Feb 2010. I am BRCA+ and triple negative. Went through 6 rounds of chemo, bilateral masectonomy / ovaries removed, and 3 months of radiation. Living with lymphodema as a result of the radiation. One failed reconstruction surgery due to radiation damage and just scheduled my second attempt in August of this year. I actually lost almost 30 pounds last year on MFP, but became depressed after the failed surgery and gained it all back and then some. Would love some friends to go on this journey with.

wow...you have been through a lot! Sorry the road has been so rough. Glad to see you "back on the horse"!

magicusk

I'm thriving stage 4. currently on Xeloda and Femara and I have gained around 25 pounds since being on those. My Dr. keeps advising me to lose weight. I work full time and my scans have been stable since treatments began again in 2010. I hate looking in the mirror or seeing photos of myself. I know I need to do better and here I am back on fitness pal and would love some friends to share and motivate each other to succeed.

allynady

I am currently in treatment for Stage 3 BC. Diagnosed on my 40th birthday. I am trying to prevent weight gain from the steroids and herceptin because i already have 20lbs I need to lose. Add me if you want, I am encouraged by all of you that have gotten through treatment and are not letting BC run your life, it's hard to imagine for me right now.

Linthesky

Hi all,

I had breast cancer 2yrs ago ...got chemo and radio and was on tamox for 2 months , off for 6 months and now I am on arimidex.
I was 185 before surgery and when up to 212... I took 10 pounds in one month at the end of the chemo....

My body now agrees to loose the weight... I say agrees as I believe the chemicals were in the fat and that I needed to get rid of the chemicals for the fat to go away.

But now my body is cooperating ... So don't desesperate if it takes a while for your body to adjust especially if you are doing all you can do...

bri1720

Congratulations to all of you SURVIVORS and hugs to all of you FIGHTERS!!!

I have never been diagnosed, but know too many people that have. My first exposure to Breast Cancer was when I was about 19 years old. My aunt who lived in New Jersey (I live in Chicago) was diagnosed. I had never heard of Breast Cancer and thus did not know the severity of it at the time. I was unable to go and visit and the next time I saw her was at her funeral. I was 21. It is because of her that I do everything I can to support any and all people that are diagnosed with any Cancer. I participate in walks and hold several fundraisers to do whatever I can to help find a cure. This year will be my 5th 2-Day Avon walk (2nd this year alone). I walked in June in Chicago and will walk in New York in October. I proudly walk for all of you!!!!

I currently have a close friend who beat Stage 3 Breast Cancer, but the Cancer came back in her spine. I also lost a high school classmate at the age of 33 to Inflammatory Breast Cancer.

Too many people are being diagnosed at a younger and younger age and this has to stop. I commend all of you for fighting and pray that your recovery and successes continue. You are all strong and can do this!!!

Basilic1960

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer late December of 2011 at the age of 51. I was on a combination of her2 targeting therapy as part of a drug trial (Herceptin and Tykerb) prior to surgery, then followed up with 4 cycles of Adriamyecin, Cytoxin, 4 cycles of Taxotere overlaping with 9 more cycles of Herceptin. I also had radiation twice a day for a month. I had my last infusion of Herceptin on April 25.

I was already overweight before treatment but somehow escaped gaining weight during treatment (though I'm sure I lost a lot of muscle). Since treatment, though, I have been watching the scale inch up and recently had to buy a larger size of pants. More than anything, this has motivated me to put the breaks on gaining any more.

Though I signed up with MFP a while back, I have not been using it, so am learning my way around now.

slimtastesbetter

I've been a breast cancer survivor for 14 years now. I was 39 when diagnosed. I had just lost 25 lbs before being diagnosed but put 20 lbs back on with the low-dose chemo. After radiation therapy I worked on losing weight again. (also took tamoxifen for 5 yrs) Got the 20 lbs back off and wanted to lose about 10 lbs more. Joined Weight Watchers in 2003 and lost an additional 20 lbs. Got to 128 lbs but had a hard time staying there. Found myself at 138-142 range and when WW switched from calorie-based Points to non-calorie based PointsPlus in Dec 2010 I could not drop the weight. So finally in August I decided to try My Fitness Pal and it has really helped. I'm now at 135.2. Not only do I want to lose the weight for vanity reasons, but also like you, because extra fat can increase estrogen which in turn can fuel breast cancer cell growth. I definitely do not want to have a recurrence!

oranje_mama

Hi, I see this is an old topic, but looking for advice from those who have BTDT.

I'm 42 and just diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma. I'm still in the diagnosis stage, haven't had surgery yet (only biopsy).

I started the 5:2 fasting diet about 3 months ago, and have had success with that (down 10 lbs in 3 months). 5:2 feels like it will work for me in the long run, and I hope/plan to keep going with it during treatment. For those who aren't familiar, on the 5:2 plan, you eat as normal 5 days per week, and then do two 24+hr modified fasts - not consecutive - of about 500-600 calories. For me, this typically means that on Mondays and Thursdays, I eat a normal breakfast, skip lunch, have a small dinner (400-500 cal) and a small breakfast (100-200) the following day. No snacking.

I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in June (unfortunately after suffering/hoping it would go away since February). I have been doing PT (which has helped a lot) and was just about to start with a personal trainer when I got this BC diagnosis. My fitness goal more than anything is to build strength.

Since I already needed to lose weight, I'm really scared of gaining weight during treatment. I wonder if there are BC survivors who managed to keep weight off during treatment, successfully started or continued a fitness/strength training regiment - or am I biting off too much right now?

The "irony" is that I made a major decision to focus on my health this spring. I have always been very healthy, and am guilty of neglecting my own health, preventative care, etc. This spring I set out to make some changes, which included finally getting the mammo that my primary care physician had referred me to one year prior. That mammo came back with a rec to keep a close watch, and it was on my follow-up mammo that the BC was found. Starting 5:2 and doing the PT - working toward a personal trainer - was all part of my plan to "optimize" my health. Now I find myself unexpectedly fighting a life-threatening disease.