Hi, I’m new to this group, apologies if I’m unclear or not posting in the right place. My sister had breast cancer at the age of 46, 15 years ago. She’s had back pain since September and has been to GP many times, given diagnosis of sciatica amongst other things. 6 weeks ago she went to A&E as pain was agony and MRI showed a growth in her spine. That was partially removed next day. She has recently admitted that the MRI showed lesions on her lungs and a suspicious looking lymph node under her arm. Tuesday is radiotherapy (one and done) and lymph node biopsy results, Wednesday is the results of spinal growth pathology. We are bracing ourselves for a poor prognosis as I suspect these are metastatic tumours giving her a likely 2/5 years. She’s expecting to hear this, and prepared. I’m going with her for both appointments, and I’m just wondering if anyone has been in my shoes and can offer any advice or suggestions? Thank you for reading.
Hi Jackster
My name is Steph and I’m part of the team who look after the Online Community here at Macmillan. May I wish you another warm welcome to the site, I hope you will find it to be a safe place of comfort and support.
I am sorry to hear about everything that you're going through with your sister. I just wanted to let you know that you're in the right place and we're all here to support you. How are you all doing?
Whilst you're waiting for all the results, you might want to have a look around the forums for people in similar circumstances. For example, Emma joined us recently after her sister was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer. You can meet members with a similar diagnosis and join in the conversation if you feel comfortable.
Once you have all the results, you could let us know below so members can offer you some dedicated support.
If your sister is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, you might also want to join the Secondary breast cancer forum.
I can see that you have also joined the Family & friends forum, a dedicated space for you to share your feelings, experiences and support one another. Again, you can read through experiences to find out how others have coped, connect with others and ask questions.
I’d also encourage you to contact the Support Line with any questions or for ongoing support. Even if you just want to chat with someone who is there to listen, do give us a call. Our Support Line teams are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm on freephone 0808 808 00 00, email or live webchat.
We have some information here to help support you when your loved one has cancer. Our diagnosis pages also have some sections that might be useful for you at this time.
I hope you find the support you’re looking for. Please do let us know if you have any questions or need further help with anything at all. I hope the Community shows you that you don’t have to go through this alone.
