Q4: Have you ever been diag..

I'm specifically asking if you (the actual answerer of this question) have ever had cancer, not if you know someone who has. Most of us have had to face cancer when it has afflicted a loved one. I nearly lost my mother to cancer a year ago, for example. But have YOU been diagnosed with some form of cancer?

I've just had successful surgery on some skin cancer. I'm not completely out of the woods yet but am definitely optimistic. Still, even the mention of the dread c-word can be a frightening experience. Have you ever had to face this terrible disease, no matter what the form? How did it affect you and your outlook on life? Please answer with whatever details you feel comfortable with and know that you are not alone. Thank you.

(The countdown continues... Only three more to go....)

That would be me too. I was diagnosed on St Patrick's Day 2004 with breast cancer. I was 8 months pregnant with my 2nd child, the first was 18 months old. I was induced the next day and gave birth to my second daughter who weighed in at 8 pds 1 oz. My dr said she would have been 11-12 pds if I went full term. Yikes. My first was a hair under 10 pds.

Anyway, I had a mastectomy a week and a half later where they confirmed the three tumors, the biggest being 4 cm. No positive nodes, but the size of my big buddy tumor put me at a stage 2. Ok, I did 12 weeks of AC chemo (the A of the AC is horrible stuff..Adriamiacin--not sure of the spelling, but it's the one that make everything go to hell in a handbasket.), had testing done where they found my tumor markers had gone up. I had a CT and PET scan done where it showed something in my chest nodes and my lungs. My onc wanted to start chemo again for another 6 months, but we went for a second opinion to Mayo clinc. They did a biopsy of my nodes and tah-dah.....negative. They labeled it Sarcoidosis and within a month or so, everything was back to normal. We decided to stay at Mayo. There I did 5 weeks of radiation, and then did a year of Herceptin. Meanwhile I had a second mastectomy after a scare, and in the spring of 05 I had my TRAM reconstruction. I finished Herceptin in May and here I am now. I take Tamoxifen every day for 5 years total, and I am in a study for 5 years also. I have 3 years left of both.