Hello All

Hi TheCatMomma

Welcome to the forum and I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with breast cancer. You’ve no need to feel like a fraud as with your cacer if grade one or grade 3 you still have breast cancer, Be prepared for things to change diagnosis wise once you have your operation as that can happen. For example once you have your,operation you may need chemo, it depends on your post operation results.

W️ishing you the best of luck with your operation and subsequent results.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Hi Catmomma

Welcome, you are no fraud let me tell you!  I had wide local incision with node clearance (hence two scars/op sites) on the lhs, back I Feb last year.  Originally they understood my tumour to be HER2 negative, however after the op it was found to be both HER2 negative AND HER2 positive (!) So I needed both treatment regimes, targeted drugs therapy for 12 months (Phesgo injection into my thigh every 3 weeks) for the negative plus 6 rounds of chemo and 5 doses of radiotherapy for the positive.  Letrazole every day for 5 years minimum.  Zemeta infusion every 6 months for at least 2 years.  

So things can change once they get the tumour out so try to be open minded and ready to adapt as more information becomes available.  I was unaware of the possibility of change and it did give my mental health a battering, all the drip feed of info and changes to the plan.  I hope that you have an easier time of it!

Physical recovery from the op itself?  Surprisingly little post op pain immediately after, nothing paracetamol and rest didn't see off.  No issues with scar site, however being a large busted lady I have found it difficult to find comfortable, non-wired but very supportive bras (added difficulties due to second scar site in underarm where they removed the lymph nodes which is quite sore).  I do get some lymphedema on the opposite side of the breast to the scar site which is painful but my breast feels like it is only just properly healing.  The swelling is finally reducing and the tissue softening.  I do suffer with pain under the breast but I think that may be down to radiotherapy affecting my ribs. 

The physio stretch exercises really help, so do them both before and after the op.  Recovery wise, I would imagine that if all goes to plan you will be able to use the left arm pretty normally after 4-6 weeks, however don't underestimate the overall impact of your diagnosis mentally and emotionally, make sure you are really fully recovered before rushing back to work, the journey is exhausting and draining, there is a reason that breast cancer is considered a form of disability (granting you extra employment rights).

Please reach out if you have any questions or just need a rant, we are good listeners! 

Hugs to you, BexF

Hi TheCatMomma

Sorry for your breast cancer diagnosis. I know exactly how you feel as I felt similar to you to begin with, although hugely upsetting and worrying, I felt (and still do) that it could have been so much worse. I am Grade 1, ER/PR positive and HER2 negative. 

I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on the 12th December 2023 to my left breast and I am right handed. My experience is that I had limited movement in my left arm  nerve damage and alot of bruising. When I came out of surgery I was sore but not unbearable. I just took a combination of paracetamol and ibrophen to keep on top of things. 

The wounds were dressed which I had to keep on for 2 weeks. They were waterproof but I was not confident in getting them wet lol so I would jump in the shower and shower the bottom half and wash the top half with a flannel. Washed my hair over the bath.

I had a lot of bruising to the breast which seemed to come out fully over 7 to 10 days but my lump was quite big and the surgeon moved some fat around the breast to preserve the shape. The main issue for me was the nerve damage which restricted the movement in my left arm, due to the cut in the arm pit. Symptoms were burning sensation, numbness, pins & needles, pulling sensation down my arm. These symptoms do ease but slowly - sometimes it was like taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back. I was given exercises to do which do work (though not immediately apparent after doing them). My hand was not affected at all and had full grip.

So 4 weeks on and I don't have full reach in my arm yet without feeling some pulling. This does not stop me doing anything, but if I do too much I feel it in the evening. Under my arm, arm pit and top of my breast are still a bit numb and a bit sore sometimes. I still have bruising to the breast but everything is healing.

I saw the surgeon last Thursday and he had managed to remove the lump with clear margins...yay. Unfortunately, though it had spread to my sentinel lymph node (not picked up on ultra-sound or MRI), the other node he removed was clear. So my treatment plan will change now and I have some decisions to make about the next steps, to minimise anything coming back, but officially cancer free

I feel like cancer is just so unpredictable and just does what it wants to do and nothing is a given, just got to take it one step/appointment at a time. 

Sorry I have rambled on lol I hope this has helped a bit and your surgery goes well.

Wishing you a super speedy recovery