Just diagnosed

I am 2 months into diagnosis and whilst it was really overwhelming to begin with, I found it helped me just to focus on the current phase.  My plan will last months, with chemo, surgery, radiotherapy and hormone treatment, but for now I am only thinking about the chemo and surgery, what I am calling phases 1 and 2.    

i also found it helped me to focus on doing things I can control, as there is so much I can’t.  So I can decide what I eat, drink, how much I exercise etc.  That helped too, at least a bit.   It's about looking for the good in all the crap.   Hope this helps a little x

Thanks Irishgirl16 Same here my entire plan is currently 51 weeks with chemo, surgery, her2 + treatment and hormone treatment too, radiotherapy unconfirmed but probable. I'm fit and healthy (with cancer)and its like looking at a person I don't know. I love my food and exercise too (funny the things that matter most). Today has been a difficult day, later or tomorrow will be better and you taking the time to message is much appreciated it really helps. I hope you are doing ok too and finding a path through it.

If I can help, just shout, please.  I am generally a pragmatic, positive and energetic person and I just distract myself (usually with work) when I begin to overthink.  I am trying to see this as an inconvenience to our 2021 plans and a bit of disruption and nothing more.  Take care x

me too and vice versa!

Hello. I have also been diagnosed this week and presented with a treatment plan of similar length, I was completely not expecting this diagosis and was naivly confident it was nothing significant.  I will find out this week if I will have chemo or surgery first but know that everything is going to start very quickly. I feel like I have a clock ticking to get evrything in my life sorted out in such a small amount of time - kids , school, job, cancelling plans- before i will be fully immersed into a whole other world I am not ready for. Have a constant  feeling of being overwhelmed by  information I never expected to know abd nervous churning in my belly at all times

Hi I am a Sarah not Sara. Lol

I was diagnosed just over a week ago and start chemo on Wednesday. Still trying to get my head around it.

Cancelled our holiday this weekend. Luckily Tui were really good and refunded our full deposit.

Finished work yesterday, I'm a bus driver, I've been furloughed which is a bit of luck curtesy of covid!!!

A book was recommended to me, which I bought on amazon... 'The complete guide to breast cancer' by Trisha Greenhalgh & Luz O'Riordan. I've already found it very helpful.

One bit of advice.... Don't use Google for information. It is very misleading xx

I feel the same, though things don't seem to be moving as fast for me. I was diagnosed last week, given a rough idea of a care plan (clip insertion, chemo, surgery, then radiotherapy) but no idea of timescales. All dependent on results of an MRI that I have yet to receive an appointment for, and a telephone consultation with an Oncologist next Friday. I, too, have a lot of loose ends I'd like to tie while I feel strong enough - including trying to get my 2nd Covid jab brought forward so I don't miss out. So much to think about, it's exhausting. I can relate to the panicky feeling, and the frustration that everything takes twice as long because of Covid measures.

How are you doing today lottiejam. I hope you've had a better day.   We went down to the coast and went for a very blustery walk, followed by coffee and ice cream,  Despite being my first day out wearing  a chemo hat (head shaved last night) I felt quite normal

I see a surgeon on Wednesday, on 07.04.21 I was called back for further tests following a routine mammogram and told it was cancer then waited 2 weeks for the full biology results of the biopsy. On 21st I was told it is a grade 3 tumour so fast growing. The expected treatment plan is surgery, radiotherapy and hormone treatment but this plan will be finalised by surgeon. They think my lymph nodes are clear but will remove some to confirm during surgery and depending on those results they will make a decision about chemo. I am not sure if I’m overreacting but I really think I want a mastectomy rather than a lumpectomy. I am worried if they don’t take it all now it will come back in the future. 

Thanks @Irishgirl16 I did thank you and I've been feeling quite positive since. I don't know if you are in Ireland but I love the northern Irish coast  so that brought back a great memory. My chemo beanies have arrived. I look no different than I have looked all winter, my neighbours wont notice the difference. Hair off tomorrow night for me before I start. I thought it might be a wee bit less distressing as my hair is quite long just now. I'm loving your attitude and you are normal. just normal and living with something different.