Well, what news our family got on Thursday...my mum has been diagnosed with breast cancer! What a shock it was...first me, then 2 and a half years later my mum! Unbelieveable considering we have no history of cancer of any sort in our family! Apparently it's becoming more common that the daughter is diagnosed first, followed by mother...even though it more usual for it to be the other way around. Although I'm over 2 years down the track in my own journey, it was like re-living the diagnosis all over again...and so strange to be on the 'other side' of it...supporting a loved one instead of being the supported loved one! I'm told that although my mum has now been diagnosed, it may not be genetic...I guess I will have to have some testing to find out for sure. Just what is going on to cause this dreadful disease??? It was unheard of when my mum was young. Makes me wonder what on earth has changed so much that this disease is so prevalent these days....surely it must be environmental?? xx

HI Celeste, So sad to hear your news about your mum. The good thing id you know all about it and can be a wonderful support for your mum in her time of need. I think I would fall apart if I got the same news about my mum. MY mum and dad came to live with us for 6 weeks aftger I was diagnosed to help after operations and driving me to appointments. I now know exactly what she would need done if the shoe was on the other foot. Hope all goes well with your mum and keep blogging to let us know how you are coping. Take Care Chrissy D :) xoxo

Hi Celeste Was amazed to read your blog as I am going through exactly what your are. My mum went in for a routine knee replacement in the UK and got a pulmonary embolism (clot on her lung) during her recovery.The scan they used to find the clot also found 3 lumps in her breast she had a mammogram and has had them all biopsied. With all the holidays etc that have happened it's been slow to get the results I phoned her Friday (she's still in hospital) to wish her Happy Royal Wedding watching and she told me that the result is not good not sure exactly what that means but is obviously BC she's 79 and I know that it's very slow growing at that age but of course I don't know how long she's had them. I am worrying a lot being so far away luckily my older sister will find out everything for me but she's away until tonight when I can ring her for more information. My father is a bit hopeless not keen on illnes and could hardly speak to me when I had my BC last year. My worry is like you the implications for my 2 sisters who both have daughters, my maternal grandmother died from ovarian cancer at 52 before any of us were born ( only discovered this recently). So now I am thinking about genetic testing am seeing my surgeon in a few weeks and will have mum's results by then so will have a chat to him and see what he thinks. Having gone from not having a family history of cancer all of a sudden I have one - it's quite scarey. Mum is pretty philisophical about it all and thinks they should " just cut it off dear" and I'll be fine. Just want to give her a big hug every time i speak to her. She's has a rough ride with the knee op and doesn't deserve this at all. It's the first time I have really talked about it with any one out side the family and feels good to off load. Thanks Sarah

Gee Celeste what a bummer i hope your Mum will be okay and you too, it is scarey i have a similar history to yors but my mum had bc at 42yrs of age and her mum ovarian cancer died in her mid 50's after battling it for a while. give her our love and pls keep us all posted.

Hi Sarah, how great it is to hear from someone who is going through the same situation as me! I was so sorry to hear that your mum is in the UK though....that must be very difficult for you. I know what you mean by the long wait for results. I am still waiting for mum's results, but from what I can gather so far, it is a slow growing cancer (not aggressive) which is expected to be the case at 72 years of age. Yes, I worry about the implications for my sisters and my daughter now, even though my BC may not be genetic despite mum having it too. Like you I will talk to my Oncologist about it and see what the situation is around genetic testing...I'm not sure whether you have to have multiple close relatives with BC before they'll do the testing...? I must admit, my mum's recent diagnosis brought up a lot of mixed feelings for me. I was just starting to move on with my life and leave the BC bit behind me (not totally behind me of course...its always with you) when this all happened. Infact the whole family was just starting to put my BC experience behind them when my mum was diagnosed. My mum is otherwise healthy and has had no symptoms either. I worry for her because my Dad is pretty useless when it comes to this sort of thing...not too crash hot with the emotional support unfortunately. As a result, I am my mum's main support person at the moment and its hard when you have your own health issues to tend to. I feel so terrible saying that...it's not that I dont want to be there for her...it's just that it's hard, that's all....emotionally and practically. As far as mum goes, while she's been in absolute shock she's an incredibly strong woman, and is putting on a very brave face I think. We are all taking comfort in the fact that she is otherwise healthy, the lump is small and was caught early, is slow growing, and from what we know so far hasn't spread beyond the breast. At the moment they are talking surgery (on 18th May) and radiotherapy. (My cancer was aggressive and had spread to my lymph nodes, so I had heavy duty chemo which was terribly hard to get through). Yes I know what you mean by the shock of going from a family history of no cancer to 2 close cases of cancer in the family...its really scary and takes a bit of getting used to! Anyway, it was nice to hear from you Sarah...it's a relief to talk to someone who understands! Take care, Celeste x

Thanks Chrissy, yes I will keep you all posted with how things are going with mum. I fell apart when I heard about her diagnosis, as she was such an amazing help to me when I was diagnosed, and I only hope I can be the same to her. Thanks again, it is lovely to have the support at this difficult time xx

Just felt like blogging... | BCNA Online Network

12 Replies

Anonymous
15 years ago
Hi Sarah, gee your mum has been through a lot already hasn't she? It sounds like she has a plan in place though for her overall treatment which is good news. Was the mastectomy expected? You're very fortunate to have Pauline there in the UK to watch over your mum's progress...sounds like she's doing a great job. Still it must be very hard for you to be over the other side of the world while all of this is going on. I know what you mean by your Dad lacking in the 'illness' department.....mine is the same...his philosophy is "snap out of it and move on"...not very helpful I must say! Anyway, keep your chin up, sounds like you have an amazing sister who will keep you in the loop! Take care, Celeste x
Anonymous
15 years ago
Thanks Tonya for your encouraging words. Yes, it's a bloody shame having to be back in cancer-land yet again but i actually takea lot of comfort in the fact that I've been here before, and have a good idea about what needs to be done etc.. One day at a time....that's the key I think xx
Sarah_51
Member
15 years ago
I have just got off the phone from talking to my sister and she has brought me up to date with everything. Mum will go home tomorrow after the knee op and then they'll organise her breast surgery in I guess a few weeks. Pauline ( my sister) says they'll do a sentinel node biopsy and mastectomy. I guess they'll wait on the pathology to decide the next step. The worry now is that she is on warfarin for the lung clot so she could bleed ( I did without the pills!!). She's just been through a big op just hope she can take it. She has a history of depression so Pauline will be watching her like a hawk! As I said before dad is hopeless although fit and able he doesn't do illness. They can afford to have some nursing help at home if it comes to it and I told Pauline that she needs to suggest it or she'll be the one who is ill next.

It's hard being so far away, have just gone back to work after 10 months off so can't really dash over there at the moment.
TonyaM
Member
15 years ago
Hi Celeste,

I really don't know why life has to be so unfair. How hard for you to have to relive this journey now with your mum.Well we do what we have to do don't we. Sounds like your mum is healthy and will hopefully get through it all.You will be a wonderful support for her cos you know the ropes.Can't believe poor Sarah is going through the same ordeal as you with her mother.Is there no escaping the cancer world?I've had 2 bouts of bc now(7yrs apart)and it's like starting all over again-back to 3mthly checkups,medications etc. I wish you and your mum all the best for the coming weeks and am so sorry you are back in the cancer world.

luv Tonya xx
TonyaM
Member
15 years ago
Hi Celeste,

I really don't know why life has to be so unfair. How hard for you to have to relive this journey now with your mum.Well we do what we have to do don't we. Sounds like your mum is healthy and will hopefully get through it all.You will be a wonderful support for her cos you know the ropes.Can't believe poor Sarah is going through the same ordeal as you with her mother.Is there no escaping the cancer world?I've had 2 bouts of bc now(7yrs apart)and it's like starting all over again-back to 3mthly checkups,medications etc. I wish you and your mum all the best for the coming weeks and am so sorry you are back in the cancer world.

luv Tonya xx
TonyaM
Member
15 years ago
Hi Celeste,

I really don't know why life has to be so unfair. How hard for you to have to relive this journey now with your mum.Well we do what we have to do don't we. Sounds like your mum is healthy and will hopefully get through it all.You will be a wonderful support for her cos you know the ropes.Can't believe poor Sarah is going through the same ordeal as you with her mother.Is there no escaping the cancer world?I've had 2 bouts of bc now(7yrs apart)and it's like starting all over again-back to 3mthly checkups,medications etc. I wish you and your mum all the best for the coming weeks and am so sorry you are back in the cancer world.

luv Tonya xx
Anonymous
15 years ago
Thanks Fran, yes I will keep you posted and send on your best wishes to my mum xx
Anonymous
15 years ago
Thanks Chrissy, yes I will keep you all posted with how things are going with mum. I fell apart when I heard about her diagnosis, as she was such an amazing help to me when I was diagnosed, and I only hope I can be the same to her. Thanks again, it is lovely to have the support at this difficult time xx
Anonymous
15 years ago
Hi Sarah, how great it is to hear from someone who is going through the same situation as me! I was so sorry to hear that your mum is in the UK though....that must be very difficult for you. I know what you mean by the long wait for results. I am still waiting for mum's results, but from what I can gather so far, it is a slow growing cancer (not aggressive) which is expected to be the case at 72 years of age. Yes, I worry about the implications for my sisters and my daughter now, even though my BC may not be genetic despite mum having it too. Like you I will talk to my Oncologist about it and see what the situation is around genetic testing...I'm not sure whether you have to have multiple close relatives with BC before they'll do the testing...? I must admit, my mum's recent diagnosis brought up a lot of mixed feelings for me. I was just starting to move on with my life and leave the BC bit behind me (not totally behind me of course...its always with you) when this all happened. Infact the whole family was just starting to put my BC experience behind them when my mum was diagnosed. My mum is otherwise healthy and has had no symptoms either. I worry for her because my Dad is pretty useless when it comes to this sort of thing...not too crash hot with the emotional support unfortunately. As a result, I am my mum's main support person at the moment and its hard when you have your own health issues to tend to. I feel so terrible saying that...it's not that I dont want to be there for her...it's just that it's hard, that's all....emotionally and practically. As far as mum goes, while she's been in absolute shock she's an incredibly strong woman, and is putting on a very brave face I think. We are all taking comfort in the fact that she is otherwise healthy, the lump is small and was caught early, is slow growing, and from what we know so far hasn't spread beyond the breast. At the moment they are talking surgery (on 18th May) and radiotherapy. (My cancer was aggressive and had spread to my lymph nodes, so I had heavy duty chemo which was terribly hard to get through). Yes I know what you mean by the shock of going from a family history of no cancer to 2 close cases of cancer in the family...its really scary and takes a bit of getting used to! Anyway, it was nice to hear from you Sarah...it's a relief to talk to someone who understands! Take care, Celeste x
FranP
Member
15 years ago
Gee Celeste what a bummer i hope your Mum will be okay and you too, it is scarey i have a similar history to yors but my mum had bc at 42yrs of age and her mum ovarian cancer died in her mid 50's after battling it for a while.

give her our love and pls keep us all posted.