Forum Discussion
Newbie
Hi,
I have been diagnosed with DCIS for a couple of weeks
now but not sure if I am okay or not. A bit confusing I know. When I was told which was over the phone I just said "ok" dr said "no,it's not ok" I said "yes it is I will be fine" I feel I am not sick enough or not important enough to have people worried about me. I know that I am extremely fortunate to have early stage breast cancer and can't fathom what the the poor women go through that get a bad diagnosis.
To be honest when I tell someone whats wrong I say that I had a mammogram and the results came back bad. I haven't even been able to say "I have breast cancer"
Am I having a normal reaction. I don't know how to feel. I feel natural by being positive about it but if you ask people that know me they will tell you that I am one of the most negative people they know. I always find something bad that might happen about everything in life. Which is why I think they are all waiting for me to be sad or angry.
12 Replies
- Hi marnz, you are normal for you! You are definitely important to have people worry about you. Don't compare your experience with others it is yours. It is a crappy time to have a diagnosis ( it is 10 years ago at this time for me) and all diagnosis of cancer are horrid. You need to have a good health care team looking after you. Do have you a good gp? Or is there a breast care nurse you can talk too? Depending on where you live ... Take care be happy be sad be cross but enjoy each day for what it is. Looks like you have a great family hugs jo
- Hi Marnz Firstly, you are important to enough to care about!!!! I too was diagnosed at this time of year 5 years ago and it a crappy time and even thinking back it feels like it happened to someone else, cause i had a picture in my head who breast cancer happened to and it certainly wasnt to women like me!! Do you havee a treatment plan yet? I think once you have that in place things seems clearer. Being DCIS, you dont have to have chemo do you? Anyway, great that you have found us (sorry you had to), its a great place to vent to others that had tread the same path:( Tanya xx
Thanks ladies. You are all wonderful. Xxxx
Hi Marnz,
I was diagnosed and operated on twice within 2 weeks of diagnosis. It was a blessing in disguise as I didn't have time to react. It mostly feels like it is happening to someone else, but then occasionally reality smacks me in the face and I break down. I find a positive attitude helps but don't feel like you have to be like that all the time. How you feel is how you feel. There is a lot of support around, you will find. I have met some amazing doctors and nurses, hopefully you will too. And of course everyone on this network!
Good luck.
V
- Thanks V. Wow they moved very quickly in your case. It does feel like its happening to someone else, even my friends agree that it doesnt feel real. hehe Thanks for your advice. Xx
I was diagnosed in Sept 2011 with DCIS and decided on a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction due to my genes even though it was only detected in one of my breasts. I think it depends on the type of DCIS you have as I think they picked up mine early before it became invasive.
It took my husband and I a couple of months before we were comfortable saying that I had breast cancer or even telling people. We avoided answering questions for quite some time. It didn't feel right saying I had breast cancer given that others have to go through the chemo and I didn't but it is still a form of breast cancer.
Everyone handles the news in different ways and I went through all the emotions at different times eg angry, why me?, upset, frustrated, elated, confused. You are often overloaded with information too and feel overwhelmed. We had a lot of support from doctors/ psychologists/ family etc and talked to lots of people before we came to our decision which was not easy.
Take each day as it comes and work out what you want.
- Hi Wendy, I have a high grade DCIS but it has been detected early so it's not invasive. I'll find out next week what will happen next then I think it will hit me, but I'll take each day as it comes. Thanks so much for your advice. X
I really struggled with the choice of a single or bilateral mastectomy (we were looking to start a family and there were things I wanted to experience). Lumpectomy with radiation wasn't really a viable option for me and it also decreased the options of having a reconstruction later (I was 32 when I had my operation).
Whilst I think that I had it pretty easy, I am very glad that I went with the bilateral option as I don't think that I would be able to handle going through it again.
My husband and I recently celebrated the anniversary of my initial operation and we reflected on the last year. If the doctors told us at the beginning of the journey that I would be pretty much back to normal (with slight limitations on my upper body strength and flexibility) within 4 months of the initial surgery we wouldn't have believed anyone.
