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Biopsy done 'n dusted!

Celbird
Celbird Member Posts: 680
edited September 2016 in Metastatic breast cancer

Well I survived the biopsy on 26th October! Specimens were taken from the slightly enlarged lymph nodes inbetween my lungs and apparently the procedure went well. I am left with bruising, soreness and no doubt a scar across my neck. The nurses call it the "cut throat procedure"...nice one...thanks for that! LOL! Now I am waiting patiently, again, for the results and a treatment plan. They are due on Tuesday 1st November. I was told to stop the Tamoxifen (as it's obviously not working) and I very obligingly threw it in the bin the other day...GEEZ that felt good!

So now, I am on no treatment at all...and I just sit and wait. The countdown is on until Tuesday, when my life will take another turn...hopefully there will be no more bad news (other than the expected secondary cancer diagnosis) and I can get on with whooping this cancer's arse!

The worst part is the waiting.........

Celeste xx

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Comments

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    What a lovely post...thank you xx

  • jo1234
    jo1234 Member Posts: 291
    edited March 2015

    I know it is easier said than done  but you will be alright regardless of the results so stay strong. You do have to wonder if the medicines  they give us do any thing at all. I think Tonya was on tamoxifen when she got her second bout of cancer.

    Good luck with the results and when things get tough and you don't think you can see that light at the end of the tunnel then don't give up and keep walking because you will reach it .  (heard that on Home and away last night and it made me cry)

    Seriously,  all the best on Tuesday, cheers Joxx

  • Ann-Marie AK
    Ann-Marie AK Member Posts: 166
    edited March 2015
    Hi Celeste

    Don't we just hate the waiting! Will be saying a prayer for you on Tuesday. Hopefully no surprises.

    I have just under 2 weeks until my reconstructive surgery and then I begin tamoxifen. Want surgery over and done with but not in a hurry for the tamoxifen and the side effects that await me.

    Take care

    Ann-Marie xx
  • TonyaM
    TonyaM Member Posts: 2,835
    edited March 2015

    Your life's direction hangs on a pathology result- don't you just hate that! Whenever I have to wait now,I just keep really busy,like clean out cupboards. All the best for Tuesday-let us know how you go.

                                   love Tonya

  • TonyaM
    TonyaM Member Posts: 2,835
    edited March 2015

    Thought I'd better mention that I wasn't on Tamoxifen when I got the recurrence.I was supposed to take it the first time around but it soooo didn't agree with me so I stopped.I am being a good girl this time and taking it- seems to be ok,probably cos I'm through menopause.Just getting the nasty hot flush here and there.But I did have a friend who suffered terribly on Tamoxifen for 2yrs only to get a recurrence in her other breast and lung.You just never know.

                                           Tonya xx

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    Thanks Jo, I had a tear in my eye when I read your post. I have been feeling down since the biopsy...all this waiting around gives me too much time to think, analyse and become anxious. Sometimes I just want to curl up in a ball and hide from this nightmare....I guess I just want it all to go away :-(. I know you are right though...I will be alright regardless of the results...I think I'm just going through a rough patch at the moment! Thanks again, Celeste xx

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    Thanks Ann-Marie, yes the waiting is dreadful but I just keep telling myself that they are taking the time needed to get a 100% correct diagnosis and therefore 100% correct treatment plan. All the best for your surgery and with tamoxifen. i didnt do too badly on tamoxifen I must admit. I had quite bad hot flushes for about 12 months but then they settled down to virtually nothing (they say hot flushes are a good sign that tamoxifen is working, so perhaps when mine stopped that was a sign that things were going wrong...?) Take care, Celeste xx

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    Hi Kathy, no I'm in Adelaide...but still you never know...maybe one day we will catch up! xx

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    Hi Tonya, yes you are right...everything in my life has stopped pending the pathology results! I am trying hard to keep busy though and think of other things. Yes will let you know how I get on on Tuesday, Take care, Celeste xx

  • jo1234
    jo1234 Member Posts: 291
    edited March 2015

    You "think" your just going through a rough patch at the moment, oh Celeste, i dont " think", i know you are and it's cruel and so unfair. I know i would be feeling the same way. It is so normal to have those thoughts you are having. It is a scary and uncertain time for you and being on your own (no partner) definitely does not help.

    I often still have a cry reading peoples posts or journeys. That feeling of fear , hopelessness and loss of control never really goes away, does it?  I always just want to reach out and stop the pain because it's just not right and people will never understand that feeling unless they have had  breast cancer or secondary themselves, no matter how hard they try.

    Celeste, the beauty of being on this site is that we all know that your pain is so very real and we can feel it.  Everybody on here understand what you are going through and if we could take some of that pain away then we would.   Celeste good luck with the results and i'm sure everyone will  be here to help you through this.

    Cheers Jo xx      PS: Big cuddles for your daughter, it's not easy.

  • jo1234
    jo1234 Member Posts: 291
    edited March 2015

    Hi Tonya, You really cant tell if the medication works or not.   So many unanswered questions about it .

    Cheers Jo

  • Joy K
    Joy K Member Posts: 158
    edited March 2015

    This is a common feeling for all of us. We have a biopsy or a scan done and immediately dip into the dreaded waiting time, negative thoughts and the feeling that life is on hold until the results are through. Next we discuss them with our treatment team and help decide what's appropriate for our ongoing treatment.

    Then, because in this journey we have become women of strength, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and head off on a slightly different course with a new treatment regime.

    Cyber hugs for you on Tuesday

    With love

    Joy K 

  • Joy K
    Joy K Member Posts: 158
    edited March 2015

    This is a common feeling for all of us. We have a biopsy or a scan done and immediately dip into the dreaded waiting time, negative thoughts and the feeling that life is on hold until the results are through. Next we discuss them with our treatment team and help decide what's appropriate for our ongoing treatment.

    Then, because in this journey we have become women of strength, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and head off on a slightly different course with a new treatment regime.

    Cyber hugs for you on Tuesday

    With love

    Joy K 

  • Celbird
    Celbird Member Posts: 680
    edited March 2015

    Thank you Joy...yes you are right....we endure and push forward no matter what. Tuesday is not far off now, and while a negative result may be 'good' news in one respect, that still means a lung biopsy (3-4 days in hospital) for further diagnosis before treatment (It is expected that the lung biopsy will be positive anyway).  On the otherhand if it is a positive result on Tuesday I go straight ahead with treatment....hard to know which is better really! Oh well, only time will tell I guess... It's out of my hands anyway. Take care Celeste xx

  • hdubs
    hdubs Member Posts: 82
    edited March 2015

    I will be thinking of you on Tuesday, Celeste.  We've all lost so damn much to this cancer.  Whoop its arse good!

    Helen.