Recent breast cancer diagnosis

Hi Tidyspicee244d6 

Sorry you have to be here, but welcome!

It’s such a shock receiving a breast cancer diagnosis but  can be so helpful to chat with others who have been through it so it’s great you have reached out. 

I was diagnosed last year with ER+ ductal cancer and had a lumpectomy, radiotherapy and now taking tamoxifen for five years. The hardest part is waiting for the treatment plan and when there are still unknowns, it really does get easier when you know what is happening and when. x 

Hello. 
Welcome to the forum. It’s such a shock. I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer just over a week ago. 

There is lots of support on here. 
It does get slightly easier when you get your treatment plan. 

X

Hi there, sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I just wanted to say that I’ve lived in Germany snd have experience of their health system (though my cancer treatment was all in the UK) and it can be quite difficult to be completely clear on what is being said given the translation. Don't be afraid to ask for clarity of the medical terms and to advocate for yourself, I know I had a tendency to nod rather than look stupid but at times I had't much of a clue what they meant.

Whilst Dr Google isn't your friend, Google Translate certainly is!  And the lovely folks here at Macmillan are available to chat, daily 8am to 8pm on 0800 808 0000 if you need to ask questions or talk anything through.  Best wishes 

Hi, sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I've also been diagnosed with the same type

Triple negative last Friday. Still in shock. Just waiting for MRI 

Good luck 

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis too. Yeah, it’s such a lot to take in. Take time for yourself. 

Wishing you all the best. x

Thanks you too x

Hi, Tidyspicee244d6. I too am a Brit living in Germany. I was diagnosed with invasive, hormone receptive, stage IIB breast cancer in October 2023. I haven't posted on here before because I've had all my treatment in Germany so I wasn't sure how relevant my experience would be to others on here. However, seeing your post I wanted to reach out to say you're not alone. 

My experience, from the routine mammogram screening which first revealed my tumour through to after-care has been very positive (well as positive as this sort of shock can be).

My German is good but nevertheless it is really difficult to take in and understand all of the complex info if it's not in your mother tongue. I recommend contacting your German health insurance provider to talk through options. They usually have an international service and specialists available who can discuss your questions and issues in English. I was connected by my provider to an oncology specialist to discuss chemo (in English) and it was a great help. 

Of course we're all different in our treatment needs and how we respond but I wanted to reassure you that I felt in very good hands throughout. My diagnosis in October 2023 was followed by a lumpectomy in November and radiotherapy in February in 2024. I was prescribed Letrozole just before my op and have been taking it now for two years, luckily without major side effects. My gynaecologist (Frauenärztin) has been really important in the after-care checks and prevention, as well as the follow up mammogram and ultrasound screenings. Two years on I'm all clear with fingers firmly crossed. 

Wishing you all the best. There are a lot of us out there rooting for you.