Hello.. New here. Admittedly.. Very scared.

Hi Francesca,  sorry to hear of your diagnosis and disappointment about your treatment plan. Well done for finding your way to this supportive space. 

Your feelings are completely understandable.  A cancer diagnosis is one of the worst pieces of health news many of us will ever receive. The treatment too is daunting. We all hear the stories...

Prior to my cancer diagnosis last year, I was fairly anti pharmaceutical.  But I had never had a serious illness.

I chose to accept the recommended treatments because I knew not what else I could do when facing such a formidable illness.

I have had bilateral breast surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and continuing endocrine treatment.

Girl, it's a lot.  It is not easy. But I am almost 100% certain it will not be as difficult as you imagine. You will manage. 

I hear that you have your hands full, being a lone parent with a child who has additional needs too. Please don't hesitate to reach out now for advice and support.  MacMillan are excellent for this. Perhaps you can also contact your local or hospital social services to see if there is any respite care available for your child.

My children are adults now but I raised them alone too. I hear your fears. However, your youngest is 15, they will find things hard but they can be roped in. You will all find things easier to deal with, if you band together. Try to get them involved and organised with chores and tasks. They will most likely be happy to help and have less time to worry.

With all my heart, I wish you a smooth passage through the rest of your treatment and beyond.

You're welcome to ask any questions. 

Sending all the hugs, Shaka

Hi Francesca. I’m sorry to hear of your position. I also was hoping for just radiotherapy or if anything maybe 4-6 sessions of chemo but like you I had an oncotype test which came back with a score of 26 which was the start of the bracket for benefitting chemo in pre-menopausal women (I am 41). If I was post menopausal I wouldn’t have needed it as the post menopausal bracket was higher however my oncologist said she would have recommended chemo anyway as it was a grade 3 cancer. 

What was your oncotype score? And what grade was yours? What type of breast cancer was it? Mine was HER2 negative. 

So I was recommended 12 sessions of chemo. 9 weekly sessions followed by 3 three weekly sessions. I have completed the weekly sessions with only mild side effects and i still continued to work and go to my weekly Pilates class, go out etc. I really did carry on as normal. I have now had 1 session of my 3 three weekly’s and i’m not going to lie the side effects have not been great but im still battling on, still working, still taking my child to school etc so i just wanted to give you some hope xxx

Hi Francie04

Welcome to the forum, I'm  Daisy53 one of the Community Champions on this forum.  I'm sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with breast cancer and that you need chemo. I'm also sorry to hear about your eldest child's problems. It's quite a shock to the system when you find you have to have more treatment than you first thought. I'm  If you feel up to it why not give the helpline a ring on 0808 808 0000 to talk about your situation as they can give you advice on how to navigate things.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer twice and had to have chemo both times and while I won't say it was easy it was doable.

Wishing you the best of luck with your treatment.

Best wishes

Daisy53