Hi all.
I'm 5 weeks post bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction, with sentinel node removal. My recovery has been going well and it's been much more manageable than I thought it would be; far fewer wobbles than I thought I would be having!
I got my pathology results this week. They weren't what I'd been hoping for and now I feel like I've mentally gone back a step and can't stop crying, even though I know the cancer has gone and all further treatment is preventative.
Due to a large invasive lobular on the right, I already knew I'd need radiotherapy on the chest wall. However, the pathology showed I also had an invasive lobular on the left, alongside the multiple invasive ductal lumps I knew about (has anyone else had 2 different cancers in one breast, as ive not come across it?).
They also found cancer in 2 of my lymph nodes on both sides. So it'll now be a longer course of radiotherapy, as needed on the chest wall on both sides and on my lymph nodes.
So a lot to take in! I'm peri menopausal, but just had a blood test to confirm. If this is the case, I'll also need preventative chemotherapy, which has really throw me...I've gone straight into panic mode about extended treatment, hair loss, etc and a longer journey to recovery.
I'm just trying to understand why I need chemo as well as 6 weeks of radiotherapy?
I'm waiting for my oncology appointment, but could anyone share their experiences of preventative chemo in a similar situation? What was it like, how long was the course and was there a gap between chemo ending and radiotherapy starting? Could you work during chemo? And when in the process will I start on the hormone tablets (I'm hormone receptive).
Many thanks in advance xx
