Waiting for CT. Worried about spread.

I don't have any help with the waiting, but just wanted to say that waiting for the results of the CT scan was the worst two weeks of my life. I think most people find this part the hardest. Once you have your full diagnosis, you know what you're dealing with and you have a treatment plan, you can just get on with it all.

This waiting is the hardest part and I don't think there's much anyone can say to make it easier, other than we've ben there and understand.

Thanks Beat, appreciate it.

The waiting is the worst. Nobody knows which ones of us will have the spread but I was a stage 3, it was in my lymph nodes and had grown incredibly fast, I had a previous DCIS so had historical data to see how quickly it had grown and it hadn’t spread elsewhere it was discovered after the CT and MRI. This is a long journey and one way I have coped is not allowing myself to wander down the ‘what if’ road and try to deal with what I actually know. That’s easier some days than others obviously but! All the best xx

Hey Anna, thanks for your response. I kinda checked your profile sooo… dunno sorry if I shouldn’t ask but how do you deal with having people that depend on you? Don’t have kids but my partner’s much younger than me and not settled yet and adding to my health anxiety I’m going nuts about how he will get by on his own. He has no family and we kinda depend on each other.

No please do check it out! Funnily enough I’m off sick today with a cold and have just spent an hour updating it!! So look again it’s hard having to put on a brave face for those depending on you. My honest answer is find someone to listen to your real worries and who you can be frank with, a friend, Macmillan nurse, they also offer counselling, people on here. I C also found being very honest with my daughter helped as she could feel confident I wasn’t hiding stuff from her. I kept the aggressiveness and the stage from her but otherwise I was totally honest about my treatment and we were a team. We are incredibly close now x

Hello, I am also waiting for CT results, which I get on Wednesday. I too have a stiff neck, shoulders and chest pain, like a dull ache. I am fairly certain that this is all down to stress. Since going to have my lump checked out on 13th December, I feel like I've been permanently anxious, which I think is taking its toll on my body. I'm hoping that's all it is anyway! Hopefully we will both get the all clear. How long do you have to wait for your results? 

Hello, I’m really sorry to read this. I pretty much have a good idea of how horrendous this is (mental cruelty really), because I’ve been there. All in all, my further investigations took 8 weeks. I started off with a CT scan. They found two lesions on the spine and  unanimously believed them to be non cancerous (they were actually collections of red blood cells), but they had to go through a tick box exercise (MRI scan, then bone scan), and for each scan there was a ‘waiting for results’ period. During that time I had every ache you could possibly imagine. I thought I had tongue cancer ( it was a particular type of ulcer), and goodness knows what else. After sending a e- query to my GP, she saw me that afternoon. I was convinced I had mets in the collarbone, neck and shoulder. She physically examined my torso and neck and felt all my lymph glands. It was of course, the stress of it all. She told me that they see this all the time. However … I am very glad that my breast cancer team were thorough and left no stone unturned. That is what they will do for you, I am sure. But yes, it is not a good place to be. Be kind to yourself. Xx

Thanks Somehow your profile info poofed though and I can’t see it now. Thanks for the advice. I’ll probably talk to a nurse sometime. Tried talking to friends but they’re mostly about ‘Take care of your health and don’t worry about your partner etc’ Not like I can switch it off though. And although my health is my main concern at this point I really would like to not have the added stress. Glad to hear your relationship with your daughter is great. :) I liked the way you put it ‘a team’. Makes me hopeful.

Hope we get the all clear too Kelly  I was stressed out months before to the point where I couldn’t sleep. Funny how the things that stressed me then seem insignificant now. I’m waiting for the CT on the 7th of Feb. No idea how long I’ll have to wait afterwards. How about you?

Sorry for the late reply to both you and Ann btw. Just trying to keep off forums and Google after work and not think about it. Spend the evening drawing and listening to an Agatha Christie audiobook. Was nice. Still there’s a sense of impending doom… lol. But trying.

I know exactly how you feel Brian. All being well tomorrow I will start chemo on 10th Feb. Good luck to you x