Advice

Hi and a very warm welcome to the online community

I'm sorry to read that you have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and, although I didn't have the same type of cancer as you, I can completely understand how you felt when you were told.

It sounds like you've had good news since your surgery and it's great that this group has helped you through. 

I can't help with your question but I noticed that your post had gone unanswered. This is probably because it's slipped down the page so replying to you will 'bump' it back to the top of the discussions list again.

x

Thank you so much. I’ve seen you have done this before so just wanted to let you know how grateful I am. The first oncology appointment was a rush and I had to make decisions there and then. Speaking to BCN tomorrow just to try and understand and check that I’m doing the right thing regarding treatment. 
Thank you again x 

Speaking to your BCN sounds like a great plan .

When I was diagnosed with melanoma nearly 4 years ago now, I had so many questions after the consultation that I hadn't thought of at the time. Like you, I made an appointment to go and seen my specialist nurse about a week later and she was able to answer everything. I left the appointment feeling that I knew what was happening and not feeling so scared.

Take care

x

Hello and a welcome from a much older soul who like you, though, had ‘just’ the mastectomy (with an implant) but had no need for chemo as it was all well removed, or radiotherapy as nodes were clear. However I am on Letrozole, as the oestrogen result was 8/8, so the cancer was oestrogen fed. I’m about to swap to Tamoxifen as it is apparently kinder to bones and I already had mild osteoporosis. 
your plan to talk this all through with your BCN is a very good one, they will put your mind at rest and will be full of great advice. 
as for this group, well, any questions you want to ask, then ask away, none are too daft! And if you find yourself awake at silly o-clock and feel you want to post/read/giggle a little, then the ‘AWAKE....’ thread is usually fairly high on the list, we laugh as well as do puzzles and tackle serious stuff too; you need to feel a little loopy at times, we call ourselves fruit loops and it fits! 
Hugs xxx

Hi

I was a couple of years older than you when diagnosed just over 3 years ago.  The Oncotype DX test wasn't available  when I was diagnosed - just shows how quickly things develop, doesn't it?  I had the normal test that moomy had, with the same result of her 8/8, so no chemo.  Who knows what the test results would have been for us if we'd had the oncotype test?  I'm guessing as you had oncotype then you are also ER+?  I had lumpectomy (Wide Local Excision) of 80mm of 3 areas - 1x IDC of 15mm and the rest being 2 areas of non ER+ of DCIS (pre cancer for a better way to describe it).  Radiotherapy for 15 sessions after a couple of months of healing. Also clear margins and no lymph node involvement.  Do you know what the results of the out of the other test is out of 8?  However, I would suggest that it's a good idea to be guided by your team.  Borderline is a difficult one, but you would end up with all sorts of other issues and reduced immunity if you had chemo. and given the pandemic.....  You will have annuals, to give you peace of mind for the next 5 years.

I think the thing that strikes me most that I felt the same as you when diagnosed and was 100% convinced that my annual mammogram after treatment would be positive.  I'd had the call back from my first ever 50 year old general call for a mammogram and hadn't been concerned in the slightest. I drove 30+ miles on my own, I hadn't even bothered mentioning it to my OH! I didn't for once consider there was any 'real issue' and was gob smacked to be told "we have concerns about your breast" and then all the scans and actually discovering that there was a lump (I hadn't noticed) and having the biopsies.  When I had my annual mammogram, the nurse told me straight away that it looked great and everything looked fine.  (They aren't allowed to do that now as 2 doctors need to review the results), but after the first annual, I started putting everything into perspective and trying to treat it as 'just another illness' that I've had treatment for and overcome.  Obviously, still taking the ER+ tablets - I'm on Anastrozole.

By the second one, I started thinking "there's my next year's get out of jail card" lol and I had my 3rd annual in June - again all clear.  As time passes, your worries will begin to ease and you'll notice that there's not too many people posting on this forum who've had treatment a long time ago, purely because they've moved on with their lives - which is a really good thing!  Some of us still hang around to give a bit of a helping hand to others just starting out, but as you can tell our knowledge starts to dwindle as new treatments become available.

It's still early days for you and after a while you will be able to accept that it's happened and it won't overwhelm everything you do.

Kindest wishes, Lesley

Hi Cherry20

Really sorry to hear of your diagnosis and really understandable your world has been turned upside down. I wish I could offer some more guidance but I see you have received much more informed replies than mine which is great. All I wanted to say was that on those days/nights when it all seems too much - one small step at a time is all you need to do, any activity starts with a single small step and then another and then another ............ Huge shock for you, so do be kind to yourself.

All the best

Mr T

Thank you both for your support with this. Borderline would mean 1% extra protection. I haven’t even been offered chemotherapy but borderline sent me all over the place! Mine was 8/8 er +. I am taking tamoxifen for 10 years. 

Just come back from radiotherapy planning meeting which is due to start in a couple of weeks. 
I’m a world away from the person I was in July. I was so terribly frightened. Although I haven’t posted until now,  the posts have kept me going and given me so much support in such dark times. I will always be grateful to those who have shared their journey on here.

• Thank you again xx