Back Again
I was diagnosed in January and had a wide excision on the 4th February. I think of myself as lucky as my mum had bc at 39 so I have been having yearly mammograms since 40 ( I have just turned 50) I have had lumpy boobs and so wasnt worried when they spotted something on the ultrasound.. Much to my dismay it was cancer. 1 DCIS grade 2 and 1 DC invasive, nothing in my lymph nodes. If I had not been vigilnet with my screening who knows! I start my ray treatment this week, 3 months since my surgery and am feeling great. I had huge issues with my boss not being accepting of my needing time of and was angry at the beginning that I should have had to go through that but have re-evaluated my life in the last few weeks, Have quit that job and found another one which is close to home. ( I was driving 2 & half hours a day!) I have moved in with my beautiful partner and he has been a tower of strength. My relationships with my children have deepened. As they say there are reasons for everything in life. I felt overwhelmed coming on here earlier while I was going through everything , I felt angry and in denial that I didnt belong here. That I was fit & healthy and this couldnt be happening to me, but here I am in a good place , accepting of it all and powering on through it... Going to do the Mothers day classic walk next week with family and friends - 2 days after I start my ray treatment, and looking forward to it. I look forward to making new friends on here.
Robyn
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Wow Robyn,you have sure made lots of changes -and for the better it seems. Having breast cancer can be a make or break deal with work and relationships.I don't blame you for leaving your job-they didn't sound very supportive.I had a lumpectomy,full node clearance and radiation back in 2003. Unfortunately it came back in the same breast,same spot last year and I had to have a mastectomy and chemo-am now on Tamoxifen. Radiotherapy is more doable than chemo.It's just tedious going every day for 5or6 wks. I got abit red and sore and tired part way through but all tolerable. So good luck for your first treatment-lots of nice ladies on this site to talk to.
Tonya xx
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Wow Robyn,you have sure made lots of changes -and for the better it seems. Having breast cancer can be a make or break deal with work and relationships.I don't blame you for leaving your job-they didn't sound very supportive.I had a lumpectomy,full node clearance and radiation back in 2003. Unfortunately it came back in the same breast,same spot last year and I had to have a mastectomy and chemo-am now on Tamoxifen. Radiotherapy is more doable than chemo.It's just tedious going every day for 5or6 wks. I got abit red and sore and tired part way through but all tolerable. So good luck for your first treatment-lots of nice ladies on this site to talk to.
Tonya xx
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Hi Tonya
Thank you for the reply. Sorry to hear your breast cancer came back. Did they give you a choice back when you had it the first time for a mastectomy? And if so do you regret not choosing that then. I found it all too daunting to have a mastectomy straight up, even though I know my life is more important than a boob! But just starting a new relationship I felt it a difficult choice. I am just trying to be positive I choose right. They also have given me a choice about tamoxofin, so at this stage I am not taking that. Did they offer you that choice back in 2003? How are you coping with that now? It scares me the side effects of it.
Robyn xx
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Hi Tonya
Thank you for the reply. Sorry to hear your breast cancer came back. Did they give you a choice back when you had it the first time for a mastectomy? And if so do you regret not choosing that then. I found it all too daunting to have a mastectomy straight up, even though I know my life is more important than a boob! But just starting a new relationship I felt it a difficult choice. I am just trying to be positive I choose right. They also have given me a choice about tamoxofin, so at this stage I am not taking that. Did they offer you that choice back in 2003? How are you coping with that now? It scares me the side effects of it.
Robyn xx
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Hi Robyn,
I totally understand how you feel.Back in 2003 I was only 47 and not ready to lose a boob that's for sure.I only had the one lump but I was given a choice .I guess in hindsight the mastectomy was the way to go.But I thought it would be a one off,no bc in my family.I don't regret it,got to have my boob for another 7yrs.It was never quite the same after radiation.It felt uncomfortable to touch so it was purely for filling a bra.There is an 8%chance that it can come back in the same breast- I was unlucky.The mastectomy is disfiguring and psychologically harder to face.But I probably coped ok because I'm abit older now(55).I was supposed to take Tamoxifen 7yrs ago and I tried for 2mths but it made me miserable in every way so stopped it.Am taking it now and it seems to be agreeing with me . That's probably because I'm now through menopause. I know it has side effects but I don't dare risk another recurrence. The decisions you have to make are all pretty awful.You just have to do your research and then do what feels right for you at the time.
Tonya xx
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HI Tonya
Thanks for the information, I haven't been through menopause yet either and they have also told me its not going to improve my chances of a reoccurance by much at all so thats why I am not sure about taking it now. And you are right we just have to do the research, make the choice and go along with our decision.
Rob x
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just been reading how you are moving forward, yes its a shock to us all at the beginning, and leaving your job, relationships even better now, so congratulations and welcome back to our site, i feel we can help others by helping ourself, so keep comming back and let us know how you go with the rest of your treatment, give me a yell if i can do anything for you, regards moira
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