Newbie
Vonniejoy
Member Posts: 5 New Member
My ‘journey‘ so far has been a bit of a roller coaster. We were going on a long awaited cruise, so trying on bathers I thought my breast just didn’t look right in the mirror. Checking when I got home I found a lump, so saw the GP the next day. She reassured me, but ordered mammogram & ultrasound straight away. I couldn’t get an appointment for 3 weeks, till I would have been on the cruise, I wasn’t going to cancel for the sake of 10 days delay, it wouldn’t change that much, so tried to put it to the back of my mind till we came home
Had them done on my return, got a call to GP 2 days later, suspicious 🙄 urgent needle biopsy ordered, thankfully done next day
we had to fly to QLD for uni interviews for my son, got the diagnosis while up there before his interview, didn’t tell him till we got home to tell him & his brother together. Seriously, I have found telling people one of the hardest things so far, the other is waiting to get the bastard cut out
wide local excision with sentinel node biopsy upgraded me to grade 2 invasive ductal cancer.
margins not clear, more surgery next week, seen radiation oncologist already, will have 6 weeks worth, at this stage no chemo though then hormone blockers
very different being a nurse, now on the other side of the line 😔
Had them done on my return, got a call to GP 2 days later, suspicious 🙄 urgent needle biopsy ordered, thankfully done next day
we had to fly to QLD for uni interviews for my son, got the diagnosis while up there before his interview, didn’t tell him till we got home to tell him & his brother together. Seriously, I have found telling people one of the hardest things so far, the other is waiting to get the bastard cut out
wide local excision with sentinel node biopsy upgraded me to grade 2 invasive ductal cancer.
margins not clear, more surgery next week, seen radiation oncologist already, will have 6 weeks worth, at this stage no chemo though then hormone blockers
very different being a nurse, now on the other side of the line 😔
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Comments
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hi Vonniejoy sorry you need to join us here but know this is a great forum with lovely supportive people.1
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Thanks soldiercrab I have found it really useful so far, rather not be here, but think I am going to find it helpful 🌷2
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Welcome @Vonniejoy Not where you want to be but we're in it together.1
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Hi and welcome. The waiting is the hardest part and yes telling those you love and needing to reassure them whilst terrified inside. Kath x1
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Welcome, and yes, I'm sorry you've had to join us. I found telling people just ghastly and too confronting for words (terrible family history with this disease). I got my husband to do a lot of the heavy lifting on that front, and found WhatsApp to be very useful... Do what works for you and try not to worry about it. You're the most important person right now. Be kind to yourself. K xox1
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@Vonniejoy Initially, I told my family, my boss and 2 key friends and asked them to spread the word but not to contact me. A few weeks later, I started a blog to keep everyone updated and gave the details out. It turned into both a diary and a thought-sorter for me as the year went by.1
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As the girls have said, @Vonniejoy - welcome to the forum (that none of us wanted to join!) BUT having said that .... you will find the answers to pretty well any question that you may have, at any part of your surgery & ongoing treatment. Yes - it is a real rollercoaster ride that - specially coming from a family that has heart attacks, not cancer! I am the first!
Well done on spotting the 'funny shape' of your boob and doing something about it ..... and SO good that you got to go on your cruise!!
Yep, telling family & friends, really sucks. I kept everyone informed on my progress via a group email & everyone knew that I may not reply to all their individual replies ..... you will find a method that suits you. Talking about it to everyone just becomes 'too much', sometimes.
Take care and all the best with your surgery next week xxx1 -
Hi @Vonniejoy,
Welcome to the forum lovley. The rollercoaster that is breast cancer.
As far as telling people goes everyone has different feelings about it. My husband told my immediate family, I told the children. A few days later I told my boss (I work in a surgical ward) she told the lady I job share with and she went and promptly told everone else......problem solved.
I didn't really have a lot of problem talking about it as it allowed me to control the conversations and squash any unwanted advice on eating Kale and exercising to cure it.
Although I am not on the clinical side of things I have worked in this ward for 10 years and seen a lot from the other side I guess. Does give you a different perspective on things when you return to work let me say.
All the best lovely. Stay in touch.
xoxoxo
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Big hugs @Vonniejoy xo1
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Hi @Vonniejoy and welcome to the best place you’ll find yourself during this unexpected journey. I had a very similar diagnosis to you 2 months ago (except nodes were clear). You have been put on a similar plan. My surgery is over, then I had a break over Christmas, now just on the train heading into the city for Day 6 of radiation. (The train is not a metaphor for the journey, I am literally on a train 😂). I have 2 children still in high school and 1 who has graduated. I also work full time. Yes telling everyone is difficult because it also has an instant effect on everyone else. As much as I’m fairly private and independent it’s quite nice to have people ask how you are as you go through the process. I had a friend who prepared 18 meals and dropped them off for the freezer. I never realised how much I would appreciate that. So say ‘yes’ if anyone offers. I did my groceries on line for a while so no need to make the pilgrimage to the shops or lift anything. I cleaned the house thoroughly while I waited for surgery and so far everyone has survived the lack of cleaning since 😊
The kids have also helped out more, I think it helps them to deal with it too, by actively making my life easier.
You have so much support here. We are all in this together and I couldn’t have done it so well without the beautiful people I’ve found on this site.
Sending you hugs, Susan xxx4 -
Hi Vonniejoy, welcome to this forum full of support and knowledge from these lovely people.
I myself have only been here since November last year, it’s not where any of us wanted to be.
Telling people is hard and we all deal with this differently, we told our children together and did a lot of crying, I used messenger to let family and friends know as I was unble to speak without bursting into tears. All calls went through my husband as I wasn’t up to dealing with anything.
We are all here for you and each other, any questions just ask away, and you will get responses.
Take Care of yourself, waiting is the hardest , we seem to do a lot of that, waiting for appointments, test results, treatments, Be kind to yourself, deep breaths, one day at a time.
I enrolled myself into a meditation and mindfulness course to help me with anxiety which I found to be a great benefit especially when waiting for results.
Deeps breaths
Sending big hugs your way ❤️3
