Newly Diagnosed

Kylie S
Kylie S Member Posts: 9
edited October 2016 in Newly diagnosed

hi there,

I am 30 years old, have a 7 yo daughter and was diagnosed with what doctors think is inflammatory breast cancer HER2+ on Friday. I've been doing a lot of reading and glad I found this network to read of others experiences and advice. Treatment plan is 6 cycles of chemo, surgery and then radiation. I see the oncologist tomorrow to find out more. I am keen to freeze my eggs and to try cold caps to keep my attempt to keep my hair! Would love to here your experiences and advice. I'm in Sydney.

Kylie

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  • holly1981
    holly1981 Member Posts: 36
    edited December 2015

    Hi Kylie

    I was diagnosed with BC in June this year, had partial mastectomy and sentinel node, then four rounds of chemo and am currently going through 7 weeks of radiotherapy. I am 34 years old and have no children so decided to do egg harvest/freezing, as like you it was important to me to keep the option open. 

    Talk to your oncologist and they will be able to make you the appointment with fertility clinic as you need to do this before your treatment starts! I also got to speak with a specialist fertility councellor (through the fertility clinic) and that helped me a lot to deal with all the options and also the cancer diagnosis and long term effects.

    The process is a little daunting but well worth it for the peace of mind you will get knowing you have a back up if your fertility becomes permanently changed due to treatment.

    I tried the ice capping also as I had long blonde hair down to my waist. I had it all cut really short beforehand as they said that helps for it to work, unfortunately that was not the case for me and by week two of my first chemo it was all coming out in large sections. Apparently it does depend on the type of chemo drug they use, dosages and hair type though and the caps really didn't fit me well as I have a tiny head! Hopefully it will work for you, nothing to loose by giving it a try!

    Just take one day at a time, it's all very confusing and upsetting in the beginning but you will get there! Wishing you all the best and stay in touch. Love and hugs, Holly xxxx :)