Very scary

Hi , so sorry you are going through this turmoil but you are in the right place to get support.

i went straight to surgery followed by radiotherapy so unfortunately cannot advise on your precise situation but have heard of many many ladies/gents who have chemo prior to surgery so I would not be too alarmed by that scenario. I’m sure there will follow plenty of advice from people who have had chemo then surgery very soon.

Please ring your breast care nurse tomorrow to get reassurance on the treatment plan as it is a scary time and the more you can understand why something is happening it will make it easier to face, huge hugs my lovely xx

Hi Tatyana                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Two of my friends had chemo first, then had surgery after , both of them are doing great.

Hi Tatyana, Just to say that it sounds like the initial mamnogram and ultrasound underestimated the size and probably the scans have shown a bigger area? It's fairly normal to try and shrink tumours over 4cm so that the surgery is better for you, and also they can see how it reacts to chemo. Some women find that the chemo completely destroys the tumour, but for most it will shrink a lot. Take a look at the March Chemo thread as there is a lot of good advice, support and even humour! xx

From my diagnose already passed two months..for this time being I didn't receive any treatments. I waited for surgery for a month and that why is grow from 4cm to 7cm..I'm coming to Hospital, doctors just saying all ok..but I'm feeling how is growing. Now is started paying on the night time, even painkillers don't help. Only doctors giving some books to read but not treatments..I'm sorry for my bad English 

Hi .

The waiting is the worst time - we have all been there. Once treatment starts you will feel more reassured.

My lump was 4 cms when found at mammogram. Then  I had lots of scans etc etc . By the time treatment started it was 6 cms and very noticeable. I had chemo first to shrink the tumour - 3X EC and 3X Docetaxel Perjeta Herceptin. It worked and it had a complete pathological response to the tumour- it was gone by the time surgery came around.

So don’t despair. Trust in your team. Perhaps you could phone your breast care nurse and request a meeting. Everyone is different and treatment is planned for the individual.

Jojodot X

Hi ,  ok try not to panic too much. There are different reasons for doing chemo first. They may be hoping to shrink it so you can possibly have lumpectomy instead of bigger surgery. Do you know your HER and hormone receptor status yet ? If you are HER positive they often do chemo first as it is faster growing. One of the nurses in my unit mentioned there is a growing trend towards chemotherapy first. If you think about it it's chemotherapy that kills the cancer cells so having it first doesn't mean it has longer to grow.

I'm having chemotherapy first, then mastectomy. I was really upset at first as wanted to get it out ASAP and didn't want to be run down from chemo going into surgery. But now I'm so glad doing it this way round because they check you during chemo and mine has shrunk loads and I'm only half way through so knowing it is doing a really good job is a massive boost. Also if you have surgery first then have any complication s it could delay you starting chemo which is what will hopefully finish off the cancer cells.

I'm glad you found this site, lots of very supportive people here with lots of advice and experience. It's been a great help to me. Do you have a breast care nurse yet? I also contacted my local McMillan centre which has been really helpfull. It's a very scary time but there's lots of help available xxx

They advise to me for 8 cycles of chemotherapy. 4 TC and 4 pertuzumab trastuzumab docetaxel. Thank you all for answers and support..

On the first they diagnose HER negative, but now they change diagnose for HER positive. So likely on the beginning was misdiagnosed to me and maybe that why i was need to wait..

Hi

If you are now found to be HER2+ the best treatment is the one you are having of chemo first alongside perjeta and herceptin, this is a fairly newish treatment but hugely successful for women with your diagnosis , so please be reassured that your team are giving you the very best treatment plan for you. 

Jo x