Recently Diagnosed & Frightened

Hi x I am post active treatment but was in a similar position in October 2024. I had a large tumour (er+ / her-) and was told at my ultrasound that it was likely to be in 2 nodes (at one point they said 4 or more but it did end up being 2). At the time I felt able to deal with the breast cancer but the node situation floored me. A couple of things that have helped. It’s not uncommon for it to be in the nodes and doesn’t automatically mean that it’s spread. I now get peace of mind that I had the CT and MRI which were thankfully clear however be prepared for possible further tests. My CT showed two dots on my spine, that then meant I needed a bone scan but that was clear and the spots were nothing to worry about. 
Because I was told during the ultrasound that my nodes look suspicious I knew that chemo was on the cards from the beginning. I know of other people that find out after surgery and that can be really tough when they now need to contemplate chemo.

The tests feel endless and waiting for results is really hard. This will be the hardest part, you’ll see numerous people say that once you get your treatment plan you feel more in control and have something to focus on. I found watching Sarah Beeny and Amy Dowden documentaries helped me feel more prepared and reassured. 

I completed my active treatment in summer 2025 and am now on hormone treatment and abemaciclib. Active treatment was no where near as bad as I thought. Chemo was manageable and I did lots before hand to improve my gut health and drank lot of water and stayed activity when I could, I do think that really helped. I then had a mastectomy and lymph node clearance which again was much better than I expected. I am now going through the reconstruction process. 

I did have bad days but during the process I just focused on one treatment at a time and now I look back and realise I was able to carry on with most things and it wasn’t as bad as I expected it was going to be x 

wishing you all the best x