Newbie - My Story
I found a lump (unusually my lump/ cancer was under my nipple at the 6 o'clock position) in October (after my very light 6yr old (wears size 2-4 clothes) neice jumped on my breast while I was lying down, leaving me in AGONY) and then checking my breast and finding a SMALL lump, maybe about the size of a pea, and noticing a small pucker in the skin), I saw a GP the next day, who referred me to a specilaist (general surgeon), who told me it was nothing, just a band of Fibrotic tissue, don't worry about (my mammogram and ultrasound 8 months ago was clear).
I couldn't stop thinking about it and demanded another mammogram and ultrasound from a GP, and they found a 2.8cm malignant looking lump and took 4 core biopsies then and there, on 21/12/11 and on 22/12/11, I got the diagnosis of Breast cancer, but as it was Christmas we knew NOTHING more until 16/01/12 when the doctors returned from their Christmas holidays.
I had been having routine ultrasounds (every 2 years) since I was 30yrs old due to family history (Mother and Maternal Aunt both had breast cancer), and had my first mammogram in April 2011 when I turned 40 yrs old and it (and the ultrasound then) were both clear, in December (8 months later) I was diagnosed with a 2.8cm stage 2 tumour. I am still awaiting an appointment with the genetics clinic for genetic tests to see if I have any of the faulty BRACA genes etc.
Goes to show, don't believe the Doctors if you heart/ mind/ gut or body are telling you something else. Go with your instincts, it is YOUR body and YOU are the one who suffers the consequences if the doctor(s) are WRONG.
So on the 16th january when the docotrs returned from their Christmas/ New Year holidays I saw a breast surgeon and was told I was borderline for a lumpectomy or mastectomy but I had already decided I didn't want them, so went the mastectomy route.
On the 03/02/12 I underwent a Left Breast nipple and partial skin sparing mastectomy with immediate silicone implant reconstruction & sentinel node biopsy (2 sentinel nodes take, 1 with 5mm deposit).
My post surgery results were - Invasive Ductal Cell Carcinoma (IDC) - Stage 2, Grade 2, 3.1cm, PR-, ER+, HER2+, Node + x 1, LVI+.
On the 30/03/12 I had Port-a-cath (Vital-port) insertion surgery, for my chemotherapy and herceptin therapy.
On the 02/04/12 I began TCH (Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin) Chemotherapy where I am having 6 cycles of TC and 18 cycles of H every 21days.
After I finish chemotherapy I will be having a Right breast nipple and skin sparing mastectomy with silicone implant reconstruction (as a precaution, because I am high risk, and I want it gone), my breast surgeon has already agreed to and planned the surgery, they even placed my port in a slightly different place (mine is "just" to the right of my sternum), so that it would not interfere with the 2nd mastectomy surgery (my breast surgeon came into my port insertion surgery, with my port surgeon, to make sure it was placed where it wouldn't interfere with his planned future prophylactic mastectomy surgery).
My hair began falling out on sunday and tomorrow I am having my hisband give me a crew cut becasue I can't coe with it any longer, I am sick of getting tied in, eating, choking on, picking up my hair from everywhere.
Yesterday I did the Look Good Feel Better workshop and had an ABSOLUTE ball, and learnt a LOT, and recommed it to EVERYONE.
Comments
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Hi Shaz, welome to this site. I hope you will get lots of advice and support from us here. You certainly have joined us on the roller coaster ride called breast cancer. Like you, I have opted for a doube mastectomy, though my nipples were taken. I had one cancer, 21 mm and a grade 3 discovered, and , like you, it was following a normal mammogram only 3 months before. I was checking up on an old lump, that for some reason I was suddenly concerned about. Fortunately my GP sent me for an ultrasound and repeat mammogram. The ultrasound confirmed that the old lump was nothing more than some fibrous glandular tissue, however a tiny cyst like lesion underneath was found. Another mammogram,
was still normal, but as a precaution they did a
fine needle biopsy. This 4mm lesion showed
invasive ductal cancer. My lumpectomy became a
mastectomy 3 weeks later, after pathology revealed a much larger and aggressive cancer, than what they were expecting. I had firstly a
clear sentinel node biopsy, but my surgeon
wanted to check beyond this, so I had 10 more
removed at the time of mastectomy. None were
involved. Following chemo, I went back to theatre
and had the second mastectomy, as I had
decided, that I would struggle to believe a normal
mammogram in the future. It was one thing I could control, and now I have 2 new perky boobs,
and have no regrets at all about my decision to
have a double mastectomy. I am ER+ and PR+ and Her2 -, so will be taking an Aromatose inhibitor for many years. Good luck with all your treatments. Love Chris xx0 -
Thank you both for your wonderful welcomes. I had made a few litle posts before I took the plunge and posted my story, but I am glad I did.
Chris - our journeys seem similar, my surgeon decided against any further axillary clearance becasue Ihave a disability to my Right arm and it is weak and causes problems and the risk was too high of weakening my Left arm and leaving me totally inconpacitated, and totally reliant on someone for everyday life activities (my husband is already my carer, but needing someone to do the intimate things I can do for my self - not if I can help it). My surgeon says there is a very very low likelyhood that any of my other nodes are involved because the one sentinel node that was involved "only had a few cancer cells".
like you once chemo is finished the other breast is coming off, as I also would never believe a mammogram again, and I would always have the fear of it returning and being undiscovered in my head, and with my family history I have been told I have a higher than normal risk of getting it again 9not related to this one, but another breast cancer).
Like you I have one perky book at the moment and the 2nd will follow. We willhave the perkiest boobs in the nursing home, later in life <LOL>. I have no concerns or regrets about choosing the mastectomy for the first breast over lumpectomy, and I left it up to the Dr about the nipple I was happy to have it taken but he said when he went it, it was no where near the tumour and the margins around it were all clear so he kept it (it isn't attached to anything but the blood supply so it is just cosmetic, but it does look good (Not that I would have cared either way I would have just had a new one tattooed on later if it was taken), we thought we were going to loose it for the 1st 5 or so days after surgery becasue the nipple went very dark and didn't look good, but then it came back and pinked up properly (I have some light scaring on it from some blister and things I got during this process and from what they think was a reaction to thesteri strip dressing on my wounds).
I know I will have to take a hormone therapy after I finish chemo and herceptin therapies (in 12 months time and believe it will be for a minimum of 5 yrs and the drug will depend on if the chemo sents me into temporary or permanent menopause).
We seem to have something else in common , looking at your picture you also seem to have a fur baby - I do too.
I see my oncologist tomorrow and my 2nd cycle of chemo is set for Monday but as I have ben in the ER all day, and the cold I had, which turned into a chest infection, seems to have become a deep lung infeaction, I am not sure if they will pus it back , but I have been on oral antibiotics for 5 days now and have another 5 days worth as well to take, and they said it looked like it was resolving itself. I have right sided pain along the base of my rib cage, when began in the front and travelled around to my back over time, they suspected gall stones but the ultrasound came back all clear,so they aren't 100% certain what is is/ was but it seems to have resloved itself.
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Hi Shaz, not sure if I have mentioned to you before, but there is an excellent book I would like to recommend. It is by a Sydney breast oncologist called Professor John Boyages and is titled Breast Cancer, taking control. It was first published in October 2010, and will cost about $34 at Dymmocks book shop, or online. It has just about everything you would ever want to know about breast cancer in it, written in easy to understand layman terms. I still sometimes refer back to it. From memory, I think you can read a few pages of it online for free. good luck with everything. Love Chris xx0
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Hi Shaz, not sure if I have mentioned to you before, but there is an excellent book I would like to recommend. It is by a Sydney breast oncologist called Professor John Boyages and is titled Breast Cancer, taking control. It was first published in October 2010, and will cost about $34 at Dymmocks book shop, or online. It has just about everything you would ever want to know about breast cancer in it, written in easy to understand layman terms. I still sometimes refer back to it. From memory, I think you can read a few pages of it online for free. good luck with everything. Love Chris xx0
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Hi Shazinoz & ChrisI thought you both may be interested to know that we now sell the book you referred to - Breast Cancer: Taking Control - in our online store, with a saving of $4.99 from RRP for BCNA members.
To view the listing in our online store please visit http://www.bcna.org.au/store/products/breast-cancer-taking-control
Take care
Tess0
