Just been diagnosed
Hello ladies,
I have just had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with early breast cancer 2 weeks ago. I am getting my pathology results today. They havent found cancer anywhere else but I think I'm going to be getting preventitive chemo and radiotherapy.
I would love to hear from anyone who has been through this process and come out of the other side.
Also I have started doing IVF to preserve some eggs. I am concerened about pumping eostrogen into my body as I know it can be harmful and could have even caused the cancer in the first place.
Has anyone else been through this and had a good/bad experience from doing the INF before chemo?
Also has anyone decided not to do the preventitive chemo? Gone down a natural medicine route?
Also is anyone working through chemo? I'm not sure if I will be able to?
I'd love to hear from you.
Comments
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Welcome to this sight, you will get so much support. I had grade 2 breast cancer in March this year. I had a mastectomy and 15 lymph nodes removed. The cancer was confined to the lump, no nodes involved . I did not have to have chemo as it had not spread and was told because I had a mastectomy I did not need radiation as they took the breast. Have been put on Femara tablets. I am 53.
It is a roller coaster ride, everybodys journey is different. I struggled for a while with depression and anxiety,but I am now in a better place emotionally.When I was down I would get on this sight and let it all out, made me feel better. The ladies are so supportive. Any questions you have ask .
Have you got my journey kit yet?. Do you have a Jane Mcgrath breast nurse in your area?. I also joined a support group in my area, which has been very good for me.
Take care , big hugs . Debbie
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hi, i had a lumpectomy in 1998, 11 nodes, one with cancer. i had chemotherapy and radiation.
i had another lumpectomy on the other side in 2003 and more radiation.
everyone is different, depending on age, type and extent of the BC. i was grade two, early BC both times.
get information, and be guided by your team, then make the best choice for you
i think there are pros and cons re the treatments, but you have to do something to get the BC. it is a scary time and a shock for you and your loved ones.
i looked at conventional and some alternate therapies. make sure you discuss with your medical team, as some things can react with conventional treatments.
be kind to yourself, and take things day by day. hoping you get through it all ok.
all the best, kathy.
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hi, i had a lumpectomy in 1998, 11 nodes, one with cancer. i had chemotherapy and radiation.
i had another lumpectomy on the other side in 2003 and more radiation.
everyone is different, depending on age, type and extent of the BC. i was grade two, early BC both times.
get information, and be guided by your team, then make the best choice for you
i think there are pros and cons re the treatments, but you have to do something to get the BC. it is a scary time and a shock for you and your loved ones.
i looked at conventional and some alternate therapies. make sure you discuss with your medical team, as some things can react with conventional treatments.
be kind to yourself, and take things day by day. hoping you get through it all ok.
all the best, kathy.
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Hi!
Sorry to hear of your journey so far, I really hope you recieved some good news with the Pathology results, yesterday.
I had stage 3 lumpectomy (2 surgeries) in July and 10 lymph nodes out, with 7 with cancer cells in them and am also Hormone Receptor Positive.
Having a chance at a family after all this was very important to me and my Hubby, so we made sure we were given time for a couple of ivf cycles before treatment started. (We found out that we were pregnant earlier this yr with our first child, but sadly had a missed miscarried at 10wks
( After finding out about the BC, I think that our Little Angel left us to save my life.My first ivf cycle was cancelled as I only had 1 egg that responded to the daily injections, this was probably because I was anxious about the 2nd surgery I needed. Anyway, the 2nd cycle was heaps better, 6 eggs before collection, 4 eggs were good enough to collect on the day, 2 were fertilized and then we managed to secure 1 embryo in the freezer. Better than no chance at all.
) Bear is mind I am 38, so the younger you are the better odds you will definately have. My advice on ivf, providing your partner/hubby agrees, as you have to both sign documents. Is to work on getting embryo's frozen, rather than eggs, as it gives you a better chance at the end of your BC journey, especially if you go through menopause with your treatment. The hard work is done for you, so to speak and when I spoke to the Scientists, they mentioned that it is possible at defrosting to wait up to 5 days before insertion, just to make sure the embryo is growing at a good rate.
I hope my message hasn't been too much for you to work through. It was really hard for me to make dicisions for the future, when I was dealing with so much in the right now, but try and work through your options when you feel up to it.
You are going through a lot at the moment, and the information you will get from this website will help you no end, as it has for me.
Take care and let us know how you are going.
Rach x
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Hi,
I was diagnosed with early breast cancer (DCIS) which was over a large area of the breast. I had a total mastectomy in June. Lymph nodes were clear and the cancer was hormone +ve. They found a 3.5cm tumour in the removed breast, this the oncologist said necessitated preventative chemo which I started in July. I have just had my 4th out of 6 treatments of FEC100. While it is not a walk in the park I felt it was necessary in case any cancer cells had shed from the tumour.
Fatigue is the main bugbear along with losing my hair. But everyone has told me that it will grow back curly and I had straight hair so I am looking on the bright side.
Hope this helps,
Jayne xx
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Nice to hear from you Jane. What grade can i ask was your tumour? xx
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Hi Kathy, lovely to hear from you. Finishing up IVF Friday thank godness its making me feel very tired and sore- very period-like. Are you still doing chemo? If so how are you going with it? Are you able to manage, work, cook etc through it?
PS Pathology was her+ grade 3 tumour, 1 lymph node effective but all taken out. It was a lot smaller than they had thought, although i dont know if size means anything...?
Id love to hear how you're going/feeling now xxx
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So pathology came back. Grade 3 tumour. They had clear margins, it was smaller than they thought. 1 lymph node effected. They seemed to think it was positive,,,, it dont know what to make of it. I guess I'm just guided by their reaction.
Seeing oncologist Friday to get treatment plan. I'm thinking I will just take the 2nd breast off and get a new pair once this is all over. I cant bear the thought of thinking 'what if' it returns again one day. I just want to be rid of it.
I'm finishing the IVF treatment Friday, getting the eggs collected, thank god becasue its making me feel horrible. Bloated, period like symptons, head aches, yuk.
One day at a time i guess. I wish they'd find a bloody cure for this.
Love to you all xxx
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Hi this is my first time on this site wanted to say hi and let you know my story so far. I was diagnosed just over 5 weeks ago with a lumpectomy and lucky enough that my nodes and surgical margain was clear. Some strange spots on the lungs but praying these are not related. At first I was told that I was Stage 1, Grade 1 but my tumor got an upgrade in the wrong area to a Grade2. The oncologist said that this would benefit 4 rounds of chemo..hearing this news after celebrating with the first news with family & friends was really hard but I suppose at the end of this journey if you can call it that we want the best insurance policiy to be around to watch our gorgeous children grow up ten that is what i needed to do. i had my first round of chemo last wednesday so am 5 days post now. Day 3 & 4 were really hard, they talk about chemo brain which is a really weird fog if you can describe it as that for me, that is slowly lifting. I have been lucky to have no nasuea the drugs have worked. Just feeling very heavy in the body and frail. I hope that my treamtments will be done this side of christmas and then the 6 weeks of daily radio therapy & 5 years hormone treament. Suppose I will be lucky to come along with the menopause as well! I am also like you I think that I will look to discuss having both off and start afresh with a nice new pair as well. We have to get something out of this right!
Anyway lovely to have chated with you
Mel ox
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Hi Mel and Harmonious, I'm recovering from having had a second mastectomy 3 weeks ago, for no reason other than I didn't want to ever get BC again. My first tumour was 21mm and a grade 3 ER+PR+ with no nodes involved. As this didn't ever show on a mammogram, I didn't want the fear of recurrence to dominate my life, so decided to get rid of it at the same time that bilateral tissue expanders were put in. I've had 4 cycles of chemo, and whilst it wasn't too bad for me, I really don't want to do it again. I'm very happy with my decision. Good luck with your chemo and IVF.
Love Chris xxx0 -
Hi I am about to finish my 30 treatments of radiation this thursday (as well as 5 rounds of chemo late last year).I am after some advice from those that have 'come out the other side' after treatment. I have been suffering bouts of depression and anxiety that I have never had before. Whilst I am so happy that hopefully all of this will be behind me life feels really strange after putting it on hold for the last 6 months. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mel
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