Treatment changed

Hello Lollol... I had chemotherapy before surgery. My mass was 16cms. I'm Oestrogen  and Her2 positive. My cancer was in the lymph nodes under my arm but further scans showed it hadn't spread any further. I had 6 cycles of chemotherapy between  November and March.

I was a little anxious as everyone I met had surgery straight away. As it turned out chemo first was the best thing for me. It was hard and after session three I had further scans and mammograms to check if there was any change. I was struggling with side effects by the time I had cycle 4 thinking I didn't know if I could go on but then I had the results of the half way tests. My mass had reduced by a third. At that I knew I could manage the last two cycles. Further testing at the end showed a further reduction. This made all the difference because the original mastectomy was reduced to a lumpectomy, which I had at the end of April.

After my operation tissue and the 30 lymph nodes removed were sent for biopsy. 3 weeks after I was told there were no cancer cells present in any of the tissue. My chemotherapy had worked. I'm having ongoing treatment now with the aim of keeping it away.

Chemotherapy is not an easy option. I've needed a lot of practical and emotional support from my husband and family. I've lost a lot of weight, which has been a positive for me although not the way I would have chosen to do it. Hair loss has been tough but 3 months on it's growing back.

Please don't view chemotherapy first as a negative. Try to stay the most positive you can.  That is part of the battle.  It's tough but if it works for you, you have so much to gain. Good Luck.