Diagnosed last week triple positive grade 3... in a whirlwind

Hi LKM

I have HER2 &ER/PR positive also.  I’m also grade 3 and stage 3.

I have had my lumpectomy in January and I start chemo on Monday.

Hope ur ok . I know how you are feeling my head is also spinning.  What treatment plan have they given you. 

big hugs xxx

Hi purple moon

I'm sorry we're both here but good to talk to you. I have been told six months chemo and then a mastectomy. I'm trying to properly understand why they want me to do it that way round. They said it gives more treatment options but I just want the cancer taken out asap. How large was your tumour/DCIS? Sorry if that's not ok to ask.

LKM xxxx

Hi, hope you don’t mind me jumping in, I have 2 lumps in my breast, I too have to have 6 rounds of chemotherapy then a lumpectomy, I’m also her2 positive.. the reason it’s this way round is because target therapy if you are having it along side chemo slows the gene down that’s feeding the cancer and the chemo zaps the cancer, this hopefully will shrink the cancer so they have less to take away.. if on target therapy, the target therapy only works before the operation and not after, hope this helps x

Hi LKM

Of course I don’t mind  at all. Mine was 29 mm in size.

I was diagnosed in December and had my lumpectomy on 24th January . The reason they did my lumpectomy first was because of my past medical history. They didn’t think I’d be a good candidate for chemo and it’s still under a question mark but  the oncologists have discussed it and have decided to try me with a weaker dose to start with and see how I tolerate it. If it goes well they could slowly up the dose. I start the first round on Monday coming. Bank holiday Monday and I’m having a picc line put in as well on Monday.

My cancer had spread to the lymph nodes as well so I had a total clearance of the lymph nodes where they took 18 nodes and 5 of them the cancer had spread to. 
I’m meant to be having 18 weeks worth of chemo plus every 3 weeks I will have the drug that’s specifically for HER2 positive cancers. This will be given along side the chemo. 
The plan is to then have radiotherapy and then tablets for 10 years. 
we can do this even though if I’m brutally honest I’m terrified.  But it’s doing good so that’s what gives me a positive mindset.

Im here to support so message me whenever you want to xxxx

Thank you purple moon and meandm,

I am scared but it comes in waves and mainly at night when I am trying to sleep. I have about 7cm area impacted with a main tumour 25mm grade 3, DCIS and some more grade 1 invasive pockets. All right breast and thankfully not in my lymph nodes from what we can see so far. I am a mum and was a high flyer career wise but got covid in Jan 21 and then long covid. Knocked me for six having never really been ill before. My life has already been turned upside down and I had been retraining for a new less stressful career. Life was looking really good again. I felt well and full of energy and then I found a lump. Just seems so hard... when people say these things are sent to make you stronger I want to scream! 
Cut my hair today. Time to take control. I've had long hair my whole life so it is a shock to the system but I wanted my kids to see my hair short before it falls out. Also doing EC 4 cycles together with Her2 drug combo for year and a second phase of 12 week chemo on pacitaxel. Looks like mastectomy will be before Christmas. I'm going for a wig appointment with friends this week and getting my eyebrows and eyeliner done. Just keeping strong most of the time. 

I'll also be here for you as we go through chemo. It's hard letting those who love us know that we are suffering. You can always tell us here.

LKM xxxx

Hi KLM and meandm

Im the same with sleep. I have insomnia and cannot sleep. It’s driving me mad.

I also had covid and now long covid. I ended up in intensive care on a ventilator with covid and nearly lost my life. I was in a coma for a week and in there for five weeks.

just as I was starting to plan my life that I’m so grateful I have been given a second chance after being on the ventilator which was the worst time of my life as well as my families. 

Now this happens. I think this tops the lot though.  I feel lucky to be here to be honest.

I found my lump on 6th December after being woken up from a dream. My mom who died 19 years ago came to me in my dream just before I woke up and said check your breasts. Her voice and face was so very very real. I thought omg and was mortified that my mom had said it and so I put my right arm over my head and felt starting from under my arm and moved my hand along and there it was . I froze and thought nooo way this can’t be right so after plucking up the courage to go back for another feel five minutes later there was no denying it was there. I do not know how I hadn’t felt it before. So I went to the doctors the same day and the rest they say is history. 
So if I hadn’t of had that dream I could possibly still be none the wiser now. I thank my lucky stars every day and of course my lovely mom.

I have managed to keep it together until this past few days. I went for my chemo assessment on Tuesday and it now all seems very real. My emotions are all over the place and have done a lot of crying in private. My family are struggling I can tell and they are really supportive but I feel very alone and lonely because I don’t think they really understand  how I feel.  
xx

xx

Hi there

I am Er+, PR+ & HER2+. I had an operation over 5 weeks ago to remove 64x41mm area of DCIS (Grade 3) & IDC (Grade 2). I have yet to receive my results but my provisional plan is 3-4 months of chemo and a year of Herceptin, then radiotherapy and hormone therapy. I did not have chemo first because the size of the invasive part was less than 2cms. Lymph node involvement is unknown at the moment. 

Waiting for results is finally affecting me and my emotions are all over the place and I seem to cry for no reason. Looking forward to  getting a final treatment plan so I can plan work etc. 

Sending love and positive vibes to you all ️

Hi Mrsmagoo

I hope you managed to get some sleep. Let me know how things go. The waiting is the worst. I'm indulging in lots of self care and walks hoping to go into chemo as strong as i can be in this moment. Sending positive energy your way 

I'm so sorry you have had to go through all that. It must be incredibly hard and you've been so strong. I understand how difficult it is with family. I am trying to be as positive as possible for them as i know they have already been through so much with me and i hate brining them any more worry and pain. But we all have each other here. We all understand and you can be yourself and let out just how f*&"ing shit this all is. Sending you lots of positive energy and easter chocolate xxxx 

Hi LKM, I too am triple positive. I had my lumpectomy first followed by chemo. I have my last one on Thursday. If you click on my name you can read my journey so far. I did the scalp cooling cap too and although I lost most of my hair since I have been on Docetaxel chemo it has started to grow back. From what I have read the scalp cooling cap helps with regrowth so I’m glad a I carried on as at one stage I was going to give up. It’s worth trying it, if it’s not done on the first cycle of chemo it’s not something that can be done on a following ones. 
Wishing you all the best in your journey.

Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x