Diagnosed breast cancer stage 2 ER+ HER2 negative

• I had CT scan before my lumpectomy, but just for the breast. My cancer was 2cm. With axalliray lymph nodes removed recovery does take time, but you will manage. However I still have numbness in my left upper arm and in armpit were I had my lymph nodes removed.
• Chemotherapy hit me the hardest, especially the side effects. It hits you mentally and physically.  When I used to have chemotherapy I used to be like just a lifeless body for first 7-10 days but then gradually you start to get life back in you.
• I lost all my hair but I have them back now. I didn't try the cap, I think it adds more time during your chemotherapy session. 
• I know what you are going through, I pray that God gives you strength to go through and will definitely go through for yourself and for your family. Be strong and don't give up ️

To answer *my* experience of the last part...

Chemo effects depend on what drugs you're given in combination with your own tolerances. So you never know!

I had 4 doses EC (nicknamed the Red Devil, not encouraging!) but I had minimal side effects. Moving to Doxetaxel now so fingers crossed, but whether others have found that drug hard to cope with or not doesn't tell me what my body will do. It's a bit of a suck em and see situation. Best you can do is have things ready like ice lollies (in case sore mouth), ginger tea (nausea), crackers (if taste goes weird - also plastic cutlery, selection of different foods! Some suggest spicy is easier, others needed the blandest...).

Prehabilitation is a word that I literally just heard today, and its about being your healthiest going into things! So stopping smoking, reducing booze, upping exercise, all before you start chemo. Then try to maintain exercise during as that really helps outcomes.

Main advice i got from nurses re: chemo boiled down to "Feeling tired is ok / expected, anything else should be managed" ... so don't suffer in silence if you do get side effects. There's things they can do to help most. Nausea drugs are given automatically, but if you still feel sick, let them know as they can try you on other medication.

Keep a good diary of any side effects (so you can let your consultant know, as they should ask, and also so you can see trends / patterns for yourself). I worked out that the injections for immunity caused me wicked back pain on days 8 & 9 following chemo (so was able to up activity in the days before to compensate, avoid plans for those days, make sure I had painkillers and hot water bottles at the ready ... )

I have very thin strands of hair but lots of it.  I did the cold capping and after 4 doses I still have quite a lot of hair ... its just **really** thin on top. On my 2nd dose i knew the cap wasnt fitting properly but I was tired and didn't say anything... lesson learnt! I lost a lot of hair off the crown in one go, which was sad. I did think "Welp, that's it, its all gonna go now", but it didn't. I lose a little bundle of hairs each day, but with a little comb-over I'm still avoiding cracking out the wig collection just yet!

So, fitting properly is key. You will still probably lose hair. I was told to expect to keep hair on the crown but lose hair around the sides. Depending on the chemo drugs you get, some are associated a lot more with hair loss - so in some cases cold capping will keep hair, and in some it may slow the loss.

Practicalities for cold capping:

Bring a hat!!! You hair will be wet and cold! I've seen ladies try to dry their hair in the little bathrooms. Personally, i was always ready to *go*, so i was hat on when's the next train I'm off-ski... You can bring your own conditioner! They will wet your hair, and smooth conditioner on it, so they get good contact. Also you could bring a thin headband to protect your forehead. I had a knitted one that they said was too thick, so each time they just made me a band from bandages. Oh, take paracetamol for the cold capping (I took mine 30 mins before my apptmt, just remember to take your temperature first!). Also, weirdly, eating a banana helped.

The first few minutes as it cools down are uncomfortable / painful. Found downloaded Netflix movies really good way to distract myself. When they came over and said I was done with the chemo and just on the 90 min of cold cap i always set an alarm just in case, so I could call as soon as those 90 mins were up!

It does extend treatment time by a lot. With EC meant I was in the chair for 4 hours as it added 1.5 hours to the end. For Doxetaxel I've read that it only adds 30 mins, but I'll find out for sure soon! 

If you ask 5 people about chemo you'll get 5 different experiences and none will tell you how youre gonna be. So just prepare as best you can xx

Hello, I had lobular and another oestrogen breast cancer diagnosis 6 weeks ago and had a wide excision with a reconstruction. The 4 nodes removed looked ok at the time of surgery and on MRI so it was a big blow when all 4 nodes were positive. I had a CT scan and talked myself into a sorry state. The CT came back ok. I’m having chemo on 17th Jan then a total node clearance and radiotherapy before hormone treatment. Everyone is optimistic that this is curative treatment and I hope it’s the same for you. Please don’t let yourself panic and start to over read. Instead wait and see what the oncologist says. Mine drew my plan as a timeline. He  said I would have a few weeks to heal before chemo can start. I went home packed a case and joined my entire family for Christmas abroad! I almost stayed home as we cancelled our flight when I had surgery but for me I made the best choice. To enjoy 18 days of family time has given me the boost I needed right now. Think of a few things you want to do before treatment starts and focus on those. I have tried to read small bits at a time and not overload myself as there is a lot to digest. The main thing is nodes don’t necessarily mean spread. 

Hey! Ah thank you for this - your reply was very helpful I have had the news that my full body CT scan is clear so I’m super over the moon about that as I was so worried i was going to get more bad news! Now just need to wait for my lymph node clearance surgery and pray it’s not in anymore lymph nodes! 

How lovely that you went abroad for Christmas! Bet you are so glad you did! Good luck for your chemo starting soon! Do you no what chemo you’ll be having first? I’ve already started looking at wigs just in case I loose my hair even cold capping x

Hi kay1

So happy to hear your CT scan was all clear. Hope your lymph nodes results are all clear as well. May God bless you. ️ 

Hi. Please don’t panic. I have lobular breast and it’s spread extensively to lymph and they too are cancerous but CT showed no spread to other organs. So please take some comfort from that. My pre op tomorrow and surgery (lumpectomy, lymph clearance and strippage) week after. Stay strong and i Hope this provides some small comfort 

Hi

I just wanted to encourage you if you do need chemo. I was HER2+ so I think that is always treated with chemo (?). I was shocked. I was expecting a quick bit of surgery and radiotherapy.

But I have to say it was nowhere near as bad as I expected. It’s not great and you feel below par but I didn’t have any major side effects - other than losing my hair! But even that isn’t as bad as you think! Yes it’s odd for a good few months, but here I am almost a year since I started chemo and my life is pretty much back to normal. 

The period over which you’re heavily impacted is really short relative to the life you’ll hopefully have once your treatment is complete - you’re just going through all this so that you have more life afterwards.

Good luck - it’s all very doable

Hi, I had the same as you. The worst part of all of this is the not knowing. Your mind goes to the worst situations of what ifs. Once you know exactly what you’re dealing with, I found it was a relief as at that point you know what the treatment is. I’m 46 now, I was diagnosed at 43. 
the scary part is the not knowing, and the fact that you can’t get off the roller coaster you have to carry on regardless.

It is scary at times, but weirdly there are some wonderful moments. I have met some amazing people I never would’ve met. I joined the mono boob club which actually isnt bad at all. 

the most difficult thing, I have found, is that people disappear whom you thought were friends and family. I found the loneliness the worst out of all of it. 

Once you know your exact diagnosis I think you might feel a bit better. I hope I’m making sense!