They [Medical society] claim that in a few years your lungs will return to normal after you quit smoking. I can believe that is true because your cells are renewing themselves all the time. If you have been out of a smoky environment for a few years I would think your lungs are back to normal. Bests person to ask is your doctor specially if you have any symptoms

I wish I would have had you guys to fall on for help when my close friend Cynthia passed away...She and I were friends from diaperhood. Had our first baby at the same time and our second one real close too...she skipped out on having the third one with me... She found out when we were 49 that she had ovarian cancer. I didn't know what to say to her...She had moved to CA. I was still here in Iowa...so I couldn't go to her...I didn't have any words so I kept putting off calling her...When I finally did call I still didn't know how to bring it up...I felt so inadequate. She was gone nine months after finding out. But after she passed she came to me in a dream that was so real..she looked just like she did back in high school and all she did was walk across the room, hug me and told me..."it's okay" I think she was telling me goodbye. Sorry to horn in on your post with my story..(I'm bad at doing that...but your post made me remember) I miss her. patti

First, I want to tell you to calm down.......... I know that this is scary. Twice in the last few years my mammogram has shown something abnormal. My first thought was that the machine had malfunctioned (I wanted to think the best). When I was told that there was actually something abnormal there, I felt like someone had socked me in the stomach. Both times though, it turned out NOT to be cancer. But before I knew for sure I was convinced that it was. We always think the worst. The first was "Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia". Fancy name for "cells reproducing much faster than they are supposed to". Doc told me that they consider it a precursor to cancer and best to have it removed, so it is GONE. The second time I wasn't as scared as the first time and I don't even remember what they called it, but after biopsy they determined that nothing more needed to be done and I would be fine. And I want to tell you that there are NO foolish questions. Nothing should be more important to you than YOU and you have the right to ask all the questions you want and keep asking them until you understand the answers. As for how long it takes to return to work, there is going to be a big variance there, depending on how invasive the surgery is. For my surgery, which would have been the same whether or not it had been cancer, I only missed two days of work. Obviously someone having a double mastectomy is going to take much longer. I did a search online and there are lots of websites that can give you information. I'm not posting any of these for you though, because each seemed to have only tidbits that might fit your situation. Google - "breast cancer" + surgery + "return to work" for one such search. Do remember to use the quotation marks, this will narrow your search to make it more relavent. Bottom line, do not let your imagination get away from you before you know just what you are dealing with. I will be keeping you in my thoughts. You can get through this and stay sane.

as the ladies said every doc has h/her own mix..i had 4 doses every 3 weeks...lost my hair (i helped it along and shaved my head) wore scarves, and a hat...a nice warm one, since i went thru it late summer/fall. the "side effect" for me was the steriod i was given ..motor-boated all over the house for the 3 days i took them, then crashed and slept--alot! i recieved the mix thru an iv in my arm and had to sit for 3-4 hours...watched tv or read..btw i drove to and from all my appts alone, because i was able to...never had to take the pill (at home) for getting sick..the mix they gave with fluids before the treatment, worked for me...now a pal i met did, and was sick, but not for long... had 33 radiation treatments...in my case i did have skin peeling (like a bad sunburn) and used special script ointment..what was difficult for me was the darn table you lay on..no padding and those 10 minutes were hard on my back...and holding still... now i'm on fermera an anti-hormone, that both a coz-inlaw and i have found makes you pretty tired..but she's back to work and i manage to get what needs to be done..almost, lol...thanks be for insurance! those little brown pills are expensive! i'm having a little difficulty dealing with the new curly hair-do...but actually it's kind of fun! i never use the "c" word. i'm not trying to hide or make believe it didn't happen, but i also don't want to be defined as that granny with cancer...think one of the best moments i had, was when i was leaving and the nurse said something funny...was loling...had another patient stop me and ask for some of whatever i had..so gave him a big hug...from then on i did/do try to smile laugh and not dwell on what has happen but what i can do ahead... please relate all your treatment, care, and what you're going thru...i was so happy the other ladies did here...who knows? you may help another woman sometime someplace... btw they have some cute bandana-type scarves at wal mart in the purse dept(?) i found one for halloween that was orange with skeletons..so wore it with an orange top for trick or treaqting with the grands...told them it was my halloween costume!