Hi everyone,
I never imagined I'd ever have to say, or hear, the words, "I've got cancer." It had always been something that happened to other people right?
My mum had lymphoma of the eye orbit and, thankfully, she survived. My children's dad sadly passed away after a long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma six years ago. Those were the closest experiences I'd had with cancer, and I never thought I'd be the one telling my children and loved ones that I have it.
But here I am.
I have breast cancer, and it has also spread to my lymph nodes. I'm still trying to get my head around all the new terminology, the different types of breast cancer, and the treatments. It's a complete minefield. The hardest part has been seeing the look on my children's faces and the people I love. That's what gets me emotional more than anything.
Right from the beginning, I was told my cancer was slow-growing and low-risk, so I clung to those words. They became my anchor while I waited for the results from my first surgery, a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Unfortunately, the results showed that my lymph nodes were affected, so I was booked in for a second operation the following week. I'm now five days post-op and finally starting to come out of the groggy stage.
It's only now that everything is beginning to sink in. There are still so many unanswered questions and more appointments ahead, but I'm trying to take things one day at a time rather than getting too far ahead of myself.
I know this journey won't be straightforward, but I'm hoping that by joining this group I can learn from others who have been through something similar, ask questions when I need to, and maybe, in time, offer support to someone else who's just starting out.
Thank you for reading, and I wish everyone here strength and the very best with whatever stage of the journey you're on. 
Hi BigEm and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but so sorry to hear about your family’s journey and now your diagnosis.
I know from experience having been on my cancer journey for over 26 years with two very rare, hard to treat types of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphomas (one incurable), Asbestosis and Prostate Cancer that navigating this journey can be such a stressful and challenging time but talking with and getting support from people who have walked or are walking the ‘exact same' journey can help a lot.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) so can I recommend that you look to join and put up your own post in our dedicated…….
…….. support group.
This group is a safe place to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.
To connect in with the group please click on the link above……. then once the group page opens you will see a [Black - Click to Join - Banner] at the bottom of the page, click in this box and this will then confirm that you have joined the group.
You can then introduce yourself to the group by putting up your very own post by clicking [+ Create new post] or [+] in the top right of the group page.
You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
As always the Macmillan Support Line is open between 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00…… this service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits and financial guidance or just a listening ear.
Talking to people ‘face to face’ can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
Hi BigEm
I am one of the Community Champions on the Breast cancer forum. Please join us there.
As Mike (Thehighlander ) says, it’s a safe space where everyone is going through something similar. I am sorry you had to go back for an axilla clearance. I think many of us go through a horrible stage of discovery where we think we know where we are and then get some further bad news. I would imagine by now you have some information on the grade and type of breast cancer, and maybe a view of what they propose to do next. It’s always helpful to have a short biography on the site, it saves you repeating yourself. Click on your name and you can edit it there. If you click on my name you can see my story.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
I am a Macmillan volunteer.
I have metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer, in remission
