Metastatic Breast Cancer found just by accident
Enaid
Member Posts: 6 ✭
Hi,
I’m 58 years old & was in pretty good health when I sustained a massive bruise after just a small amount of pressure in my pelvic area. I showed a friend (nurse) who told me to go to the doctor sooner rather than later. From there my journey began. After ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI’s & about 25 vials of blood it was found I had cancer in my lever. It was only after a biopsy on my liver & mammogram that my breast cancer was diagnosed. It’s been 8 weeks since that bruise & here I am now trying to come to terms with the diagnosis. I’m off this morning for a biopsy on my breast where a large tumor as become obvious over the past 3 weeks, an Echo after that then a PET scan on Wednesday. My chemo & cocktail will start in a week or so. My family & friends a very, very supportive but everyone has a story to tell & not all of them positive. I hope & pray I can keep up the strength I know I’m going to need to continue on the emotional rollercoaster I’ve found myself on.
I’m 58 years old & was in pretty good health when I sustained a massive bruise after just a small amount of pressure in my pelvic area. I showed a friend (nurse) who told me to go to the doctor sooner rather than later. From there my journey began. After ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI’s & about 25 vials of blood it was found I had cancer in my lever. It was only after a biopsy on my liver & mammogram that my breast cancer was diagnosed. It’s been 8 weeks since that bruise & here I am now trying to come to terms with the diagnosis. I’m off this morning for a biopsy on my breast where a large tumor as become obvious over the past 3 weeks, an Echo after that then a PET scan on Wednesday. My chemo & cocktail will start in a week or so. My family & friends a very, very supportive but everyone has a story to tell & not all of them positive. I hope & pray I can keep up the strength I know I’m going to need to continue on the emotional rollercoaster I’ve found myself on.
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Comments
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It’s an awful ride. Your whole world up ended in a heartbeat. Sending best wishes and some comfort that we have world class breast cancer treatments in this country. Xx5
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Advice I received from a Counsellor on day of diagnosis was to appoint someone as the gatekeeper, in my case Hubby, so that circle of friends and family and unrelenting stories are controlled. Sometimes we just don't need to know how Mrs What's-her-name from down the street had the same as you but in actual fact didn't!
We are all different in how we react to treatment and hopefully you are in the category of someone who can sail through with very few side effects!
It's a so and so but I am sure once all the biopsies are complete and a plan in place you will feel like you are having a little more control on where you are at
Best wishes and take care
BTW the website is full of lots of information to guide you, here's a couple of links to help you along
Fact sheet: Breast cancer pathology | Breast Cancer Network Australia (bcna.org.au)
Types of breast cancer (bcna.org.au)
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@Enaid What a distressing situation 😕. Difficult to say the least. You have friends here on the forum so check in whenever you need. And please, do NOT listen to those stories. I seriously don’t understand what’s wrong with people sometimes. I heard stories too before I was even diagnosed. I’m staying away from those people, or just don’t talk about the cancer so they don’t have an opportunity to share more 🙄.It’s better to get advice and help from people who have experienced it, and that’s us here. So I can tell you it will be hard, but that you definitely have the strength. Definitely. Just please take it one step at a time. Otherwise you will exacerbate your anxiety unnecessarily. It’s a long process so do what needs to be done at the moment, and in the meantime still try to find fun and pleasurable things to do, as much as it’s possible. Don’t wait till it’s all over to enjoy yourself. You should do something good for yourself every day.
Good luck and keep in touch 🍀♥️7 -
Dear @Enaid
I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis but as the lovely ladies who have responded to you have said, you have come to the right place for support - day and night - and some very good suggestions.
There is a private group that you can join if you wish to 'Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer' that I joined and have found invaluable.
Best wishes and hugs, you will get through this
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People often mean well but really should put their brains into gear before their mouths. The gatekeeper idea can work really well. My husband dealt with family and my two closest friends with everyone else. There was a great thread on here a couple of years ago - something like "Did you really say that?"
@enaid Be kind to yourself and allow yourself whatever feelings you have. You have had a massive shock and it takes some coming to terms with.5 -
Thanks for the advice ladies, I live on my own so have to screen my own calls. I guess I just need to speak up when someone’s telling me something I don’t need to hear. I’ve always found that difficult, I hate to hurt peoples feelings but I’m finding myself getting really angry when people tell me about others cancers and experiences.3
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@enaid If you have a close friend or two you can rely on who know a fair range of your other friends, or a relative, you could try asking them to be the gatekeeper - anyone wanting to find out how you are going would then speak to them instead of you. I found that most people were very understanding particularly when it was put to them that going through everything each time someone called was overwhelming for me. Another option, which I utilised a couple of weeks later, was to start a blog (lots of free sites for this) and kept people updated this way. It has also been a great diary to look back on.4
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So sorry to see you here @Enaid ... all the best for your biopsy and other scan results ...
I was ‘the gate keeper’ for my husband’s cancer 10 years ago, and when diagnosed myself 3 years ago, I just kept everyone informed with a weekly then monthly email. I didn’t tell some family and friends for well over 12 months .... only tell those who will be supportive of you xxx
As @FLClover says ... try and find some good in every day as it will help keep your mind buoyant ... even if it is just eating a mango or some other ‘treat’ .... The waiting between appointments really sucks, so keep as busy and active as you can, doing things you love. I went fishing every day between all my appts ... it kept body and mind ‘busy’!
Stay away from Dr Google, as everyone’s case is unique and a lot of stuff there s old and obsolete and may scare you!
Take someone with you to appts, both for moral and physical support .... and record your meetings on your phone for future reference (if you need to go over it again later.) It is easy to ‘miss bits’ in the stress of the moment.
Vent away here .... we’ve all had idiots giving useless advice .... I was told to drink iodine! AS IF!
All the best, take care xxx4 -
That’s a great idea @Sister! 👌🏻. If you don’t mind, would I be able to have the link to your blog so I can have a read? Only if you don’t mind. You can PM the link if you want.
And I think we should restart that thread, about the great pearls people say to us, just for laughs 😜1 -
Dear @Enaid, you sound like me, and I’m guessing the majority of ladies on this forum. Listening to useless advice and bad stories just to not hurt people’s feeling. But something I’ve been working on with my psychologist is to go back to standing up for myself, self care/love/respect etc and that includes not listening to BS. Theres no need to be rude about it of course, but when they start just say, ‘Hey I’m on top of it, and my situation is very different. Thanks anyway!’ OR you could interrupt at the beginning with your own story, start spilling stuff out that’s been bothering you, and chances are they won’t do it again in case they have to be the ‘listener’ and not ‘speaker’ again. People are funny like that. They love speaking, but not listening. Anyway, whatever works, just remember that right now your feelings are more important. Good luck darl 😗
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