Hi, this is my first time on a support site. I feel like I need to speak to othe people going through similar experiences as I am coping on the outside but inside I am petrified. I found a lump at the end of December and was diagnosed with breast cancer in January, I had my first surgery in February. It was a stage 1 cancer so I was lucky to have caught it early. I was about to start radiotherapy when I had results back from a trial I had taken part in, they discovered I had BRCA 2. I hadn't even heard of BRCA so it was a total shock as nobody in my family has ever had any cancer. My mum and Dad will be tested as soon as they can start testing again due to covid these tests are not happenning. I also have to deal with the fact that my son (19 ) and daughter (4) have a 50% chance of having this mutated gene. I decided to have risk reducing surgery, i.e mastectomy rather than carry on with the radiotherapy so a few weeks ago I had a single mastecomy on the side I have had cancer and they will carry on with the rest of surgery and reconstruction next year after covid. The surgery went well and I thought I was getting to the end of all my treatment for a while but when I went for my appointment last week I was called into oncology and advised that a course of dhemotherapy would be beneficial because of the BRCA diagnosis. So here I am, two weeks away from starting a 12 week programme of chemotherapy. I am so scared of the unknown, how I will feel, will I be able to look after my 4 year old. How much I need to shield, how I'm going to look. How I'm going to explain how I look to my daughter. I am lucky to have a very supportive husband and son who has said he will help me looking after his little sister. It has just been so hard dealing with everything whilst we have been in lockdown. In normal circumstances I suppose I would have gone to support groups. I have had phone consultations with Maggies who have been amazing and really helped me but I just wondered if anybody on here has BRCA or going through chemo that I could maybe chat with x
Dear Gracie75
Thank you for reaching out, there will be a great deal of support for you here, I am sure.
So sorry to hear of everything that you have been through, and that you now face chemotherapy, my husband has a different diagnosis to you and has just finished his 2nd chemo treatment, so, from his experience and mine as a carer, I wanted to reach out and give you some support immediately I saw your post.
You mention explaining things to your daughter, the way you look for example, the children are so very good at accepting things as they are just because they are and I am sure she will just be happy spending time with her mum.
Everyone has an individual experience of chemo, I hope some who are experiencing this treatment directly will reach out to you.
So pleased to hear of the support you have in your husband and your son, that will be so important in the coming weeks.
Stay strong Gracie, sending strength and positive thoughts your way.
Lowe'
Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community
It's great that you've felt able to reach out to this community and I see that you've already had some great support from Lowedal.
I can see that you've already found and joined the very friendly breast cancer group and I'm sure if you start a discussion over there you'll get lots of support. The quickest way to get back there is to click on the link I've created. You can then introduce yourself and post questions after selecting 'start a discussion' and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
The group has a dedicated monthly chemotherapy thread which you might like to have a look through and maybe also post in if you have any questions.
You might also like to join the BRCA positive group as that would give you the chance to talk to others who have been identified with this gene. Again, clicking on the link will take you there.
I'm pleased to read that the chat with your daughter went well. I think children often take things more in their stride than we do!
When you have a minute it, it would be really useful if you could pop something about your journey so far into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Edit Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
Sending a supportive ((hug))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Thank you so much for the advice, I will update my profile and look at the other groups you have recommended. I have been getting used to the site and finding my way around, just reading the stories makes me feel less alone. I will get more involved in the coming weeks as my chemo starts
Gracie 
Hi
I'm really pleased to hear that you're feeling less alone since joining the community. Everyone here only has your best interests at heart and we all understand what it feels like to have a cancer diagnosis.
Wishing you all the best with your chemo
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
As a father of a daughter who has been diagnosed with cancer, I don’t know what I should do, I’m treading water 
♂️
Hi and welcome to the Online Community, although I am sorry to see you finding us and so sorry to hear about your daughters diagnosis and it’s great that you want to know how you can better support her.
A cancer diagnosis brings a lot of confusion, stress and many questions for all the family but talking with people who are on the same type of journey helps a lot.
The Community has many dedicated support groups. You don’t say what type of cancer but have a look through our Cancer specific Groups, most of the folks in these groups will have or had cancer but also family join these groups to understand better. Who better to ask about the best way to support you daughter then from folks who have walked the walk.
Follow the link I've created above, join the best group, then hit ‘start a discussion’ and you are ready to go.
You could then copy and paste the information from this first post into your new discussion or you can just join in with existing ‘Discussions’ by clicking on 'reply'.
Joining our Family and friends group would also be a benefit as you will connect with others supporting family through their cancer journey.
Can I also highlight our various Macmillan Support Line Services on 0808 808 00 00. This service covers Emotional Support, Practical Information. Clinical Information, Financial Support and Work Guidance mostly open 8.00 to 8.00 but check the link but you may find the service very busy at this time.
All the very best.
