thanks for the great info.i am sure to ask her all about this before i go under the knife..........doesn't hurt to ask.i talked to her gal friday this am and informed them of letter coming from neuro.she said they will get back with me on surgery schedule as soon as they can..................

yes my family will be informed of the need for checkups.......my one brother has already had prostrate cancer and is doing well.......his wife had Breast ca many years ago and also ok now...their 3 girls all have health problems and one has had genetic workups and it showed a marker they say is new to them and they  don't have a clue what it represents......and this young gal has all the allergies/ many medical problems i have had and had a barrell of tests before i had my problems.

Sounds like they may be doing a 'sentinel node' dissection, which means they'd look for cancer in the one most likely to have cancer, and if it doesn't, then they don't have to take any more. reduces the risk of lymphedema. if there is cancer in the sentinel node, then they go looking for more.   

See if you can noodge your sis and bro to get check ups. mammogram, colonoscopy, all the regular stuff. can't hurt, genetics or no genetics, since most cancer is random mutation anyway.

good luck!

i am 65.my sibs are.sister 49in good health.a brother 51 in good health.a brother 63 who had prostrate ca maybe 5 yrs ago and is ok now.if i had no one watching me i'd never sleep.........i couldn't stand it if i had to worry that there'd be no one around.......i was in a hosp 20 yrs ago with with a vestibular neuoronitis...............used call lite.no one came...........i got up and prayed i wouldn't fall.........i am having a mastecomy with dissection of two nodes ?? i am aware of......so i am sure they could place drains....they never called me with times for appointments.guess they will 8 am tomorrow.durn !!!!!! no sleeping in then..........

To my surprise, there does seem to be an online group here on aarp.org that asks just this question. http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/GeneticTestingYesorNo

My rule of thumb is that siblings of a person with cancer should start testing for that cancer a full 10 years before the age in which the cancer appeared. So if you're 54 and you have breast cancer, then sibs should be tested (including menfolk!) starting at 44.  Whether or not you get tested for a mutation.

I'm glad you'll have an RN watching over you. Hospital staff work very hard and do the best they can, but after i had my gall bladder out last year, i really needed someone with me. Darn call bell fell away from me and i couldn't reach it at one point. ARGH.

Are you having a mastectomy? If you're having a lumpectomy, and no axillary node dissection (lymph node removal) you might not get drains...

Good luck!

my primary care wants to look good.........he had his gal friday call and ask what's being done.if needed he will call my neuro........duh..... and i can just bet what he'd tell him.i told her it's already been taken care of...........but no thanks.......i wondered why my surgeon didn't mention the drains.........i am an LPN..........and know about them but why she wouldn't mention them is beyond me...........my surgeon herself is a breast Ca survivor.she was a general surgeon when she had a mastecomy and afterwards saw a need for a specialist in breast surgery and trained to switch career paths.she is just wonderful.........i have hired an RN ex-coworker to stay with me while i am in the hospital..........i think she is more intelligent than most doctors andi  will really feel at ease knowing she is thee.i guess i will have home heath care for a bit or my RN  friends are more than willing to help with drsg changes.i even have one good friend that's also an ex-coworker RN  that does home health so i could contact her too if needed.what can you tell me about genetics testing for Ca? has anyone had it done?

Goodness, its sounds like your primary care doc needs a refresher course in bedside manner. Your surgeon sounds like a capable person, and,although i'm no doctor, i doubt you'd 'bleed out' during or after surgery. The surgeon will put in drains after the surgery and you can keep a close eye on them, go to the clinic and have the nurses check them often. There's lots you can do and they can do to keep complications to a minimum.

This group will be here with you every step of the way, every lab, every chemo, every lost hair. So stay with us and know we care.

Jane

a this moment i am waiting for my surgeons office to call me with appointments to a neurologist that i once saw after my stroke.he is the one who put me on the aspirin therapy.my surgeon has reassured me she can do the surgery with me on aspirin but there is a good chance i could bleed out and have to go back to surgery.my primary care physician won't even talk to me now.he told me by way of his nurse i have two options.if carotids are ok go off the aspirin and have the surgery or stay on it and deal with the cancer.not a very supportive person sadly.my surgeon is ordering an ultrasound of the carotids and sending me to the neurosurgeon to see how he feels about all this and see if aspirin and ticlid combination will work (that way a lower dose of aspirin).or se if he offers other suggestions.i know the surgery can be done...............they do it everyday on accident victims on aspirin therapy and coumdin regimens.......i only know if i can get through the surgery i can handle the chemo...maybe not gracefully but in my own way.i am so nervous,i've already started loosing weight with all this stress.that's ok cause i need to loose...lollllll i have no hemotologist as i've done well on my aspirin therapy at home the past12 years,other than a slight stroke i had when taking care of my dad with demetia and forgetting to take my aspirin........thanks for your words of help,it means alot to me..joan

Hi Jacobirose,

I'm thinking that you will need input from all your doctors before you make a decision about what to do.  Who is the doctor that you trust the most AND knows you best? Is that your neurologist? Your family practice or internist or primary care physician (so many names to describe roughly the same thing!)?  Your surgeon (the one who's going to do the breast surgery) can talk to the doctor who knows you best and make sure all the risks and benefits of the surgery and your aspirin-therapy are mapped out. Then they need to talk to YOU so that you know what's going on.

You sound like you're very sensitive to medication.  Also sounds like maybe your blood tends to clot more easily than other folks? Is that right? Do you have a hematologist? That's the doctor that specializes in blood disorders.  Just wondering.  You'll want a lot of information so that  you're not anxious about what will happen.  I'd be anxious myself.

I hope this is helpful. And i hope that there's another person who can go with you to your various appointments to take notes or help you ask questions. Its very hard to hear and remember when the stakes are so high.

Take care and let us know what happens!

Jane