I am a 43 yr old pediatric nurse. I have a supportive husband and two fantastic kids, daughter nearly 8yrs and son 10yrs. I was diagnosed with minimum stage 2 breast cancer last Wednesday the 26th June. I am having a lumpectomy on the 5th July and am petrified that there will be cancer in my lymph nodes. My nursing experiences are mainly in intensive care have given me mainly fatal stories about cancer and I am really struggling to remain positive. I need survival stories from those with a similar diagnosis to give me some hope. I wish right now I new nothing medical at all because my thoughts are torturing me and I am struggling to sleep even with temazepam . Can anyone offer me some positive stories please. Lara xxx

It is all scary, and so unfair when you are so young. But I truly believe in the power of positive thinking. Look at your beautiful family, enjoy every moment with them, plan things with them, force your mind to push away the dark thoughts. Embrace whatever treatment you can have to fight it. Just take one day at a time, try not to project the might bes and what ifs. I KNOW it is hard, I've done it too. I am one year down the track and it gets easier. I have all fingers crossed for positive results from your lymph. magicmum

Hi Lara, I am 49 and was diagnosed in march this year, had a partial Masecomy and was told that my lymph glands were clear by an ultra sound and would only have to have radiation.After the OP that went well, a week later had to path results, the lump was alot larger that they thought but it had started to go into my lymph nodes. This meant that i now would have to have Chemo, Radiation and 5 years of tablets - my husband and i were devestated, but when the Doc explains to you in percentages of the benefits of having all the treatment or only radiation the window of recovery was huge and a no brainer to our decision. I am half way through my chemo, then 6 weeks of everyday radiation and then 5 years of tablets, but the outcome is good for me. Please i know it is hard not to dwell and think the worst - the WAITING is the worst, but wait for the results and deal with it then. Hope to keep reading on your progress honey, all the best with the OP. Jody xoxoxoxoox

Hi Lara, I was diagnosed at 41 in June 2012 with multi focal stage 2 grade 2 IDC lymph nodes clear. I have had 2 lumpectomies that did not remove all evidence of disease so after chemo finished had a bilateral mast and skin sparing free tram flap reconstruction. I am 12 weeks post that last surgey. The waiting is the hardest part I found. Waiting for results is torture. But whatever the news, knowing is better than not knowing and means you can move forward with whatever you need to do. So now I am 12 months on and completing treatment in December (as I was her 2 Positive thus on herceptin). I am returning to work after the holidays. I feel strong and reparied, a;most like before this whole cancer episode. I still have revision surgery and nipples and plan to be complete by the end of this year. I hope you get clear nodes, but until they get in there they will not really know staging and grade anyway. I should also say that having an MRI was my turning point and am very glad i had one as it resulted in a better diagnosis of DCIS and subsequent need for the mastectomy. Otherwise we would not have known what was there. Hard as it is its all doable. i found i was not worried about some things like i thought i would be; eg loss of hair and no nipples. But somehow, I think due to my great kids, I just soldiered on and we had plenty of laughs. Take care and ask heaps of questions and always get your pathology reports to do your own research so you know whats going on. XXX Louie

If I tell all the women on the BCNA website to look out their front window and tell me what they see, then that is what breast cancer is like. It all depends on the view, the attitude and your own experience. I had to have 2 operations to remove nodes, but I never once felt terror, just thought, lucky it hasnt gone further. As you go through your own experience, it will greatly depend on how you think. and how positive the stories are around you. I found It is easy to focus on the negative because its not great being diagnosed with Cancer, but you do adapt and ultimately, trying to be a positive person, I feel will have more positive result . I am so glad the view from my window was tranquil. xx Bel

Need some positive stories | BCNA Online Network

43 Replies

Lara_O_Perth
Member
13 years ago
No tumours found elsewhere in my body on the CT scans and Bone scan.Yay Yay Yay!!!!I know you all know this already but until you experience it you don't really get it as to how much this IS really a rollercoaster for your emotions! (complete with rollercoater nausea too)I am seeing an Oncologist on the 29th and another on the 30th, they are both meant to be fantastic but given I will be seeing so much of them I wanted to be sure they suited me. I found my surgeon didn't think all my questions were neccessary but for me they are extremely important so I want to feel like can always ask questions and time will be taken to answer them. My surgeon said "Lara you really need to see a clinical Psych, its not good for you to ask so many questions". I am happy to see a Clinical Psych but I strongly disagree that asking questions is not good for me!!I guess I am the "annoying patient who is a nurse and asks loads more questions than anyone else". In the nursing world, nurses generally try not to tell the Drs who treat us that we are nurses because their attitude often changes when they find out we are a nurse, and usually not in a helpful way. But I don't care, its my life and as Bel said above, (thanks Bel) the answers give me relief, even if they are not the answers I want to hear it is still far better than what my head thinks the answers could be at 2am. Thanks yet again for all your wonderful support and good advice. I am seeing a Breast Care Nurse on Friday just as you recommended Bel and as soon as I was diagnosed my husband went and bought us a journal each to write it all down, (he really surprised me), also as Bel recommended.My next fear is the aggressive chemo I am bound to get given my pathology. I am mainly scared of the brain effects, as I have seen some people really freak out having high dose chemo (this is the stuff I wish I didn't know)!!If I had my way I would say "stick me on a bed somewhere, sedate me for a year and wake me when its all over.....ahh!! my imaginary perfect world!! Clearly this ain't gonna happen.Any advice for a Chemo virgin??Love to allLaraxx
LouiseTurner
In Memoriam
13 years ago
Hi Lara, so sorry to read your bad news. I hope your next set of tests give you some relief, yes you're due for good news now. Sounds like they are working very quickly for you, take care and let's us know how you get on, Xxxlouie
susie_Q
Member
13 years ago
Big Hugs Lara, bugger bugger, didnt really want that news, BUT they are on to it quickly. Sending you all the positive vibes for some good outcomes with yre scans and tests. Love and prayers, and some tears for you Lara.Susie
susie_Q
Member
13 years ago
Big Hugs Lara, bugger bugger, didnt really want that news, BUT they are on to it quickly. Sending you all the positive vibes for some good outcomes with yre scans and tests. Love and prayers, and some tears for you Lara.Susie
Lara_O_Perth
Member
13 years ago
Hi All again, I got my final pathology results today from the lumpectomy, . My tumor ended up being larger than previously thought at 35mm, it had also extensively invaded my blood vessels which means cancer cells could be anywhere in my body now. Also after further pathology of the removed lymph nodes that were previously thought to have no cancer they found a very small metastese in one of the lymph nodes. And the tumor itself is a Grade 3!!! So I am really flattened by all this, I was so happy after my surgery and all this hit me like a truck. Only good news is I have estrogen and progesterone receptors and am HER2 negative. I now have to spend all of tomorrow having full body CT and bone scan to look for tumors in other parts of my bbody. I really hope I am due for some good luck soon, as I am running low on optimism. Lara
Lara_O_Perth
Member
13 years ago
Hi All again, I got my final pathology results today from the lumpectomy, . My tumor ended up being larger than previously thought at 35mm, it had also extensively invaded my blood vessels which means cancer cells could be anywhere in my body now. Also after further pathology of the removed lymph nodes that were previously thought to have no cancer they found a very small metastese in one of the lymph nodes. And the tumor itself is a Grade 3!!! So I am really flattened by all this, I was so happy after my surgery and all this hit me like a truck. Only good news is I have estrogen and progesterone receptors and am HER2 negative. I now have to spend all of tomorrow having full body CT and bone scan to look for tumors in other parts of my bbody. I really hope I am due for some good luck soon, as I am running low on optimism. Lara
fungooleyruley
Member
13 years ago
Hi Lara,

Just had a read of your blog and am so pleased for the surgery result you have had. I was diagnosed in September last year and because I had worked at the BreastScreen office in Perth a few years ago I was reasonably aware of what was going on. I ended up with two surgeries because the first one didn't get the clearance required but thankfully my nodes pathology came back clear. I completed 6 weeks of radiotherapy in April and I must say that apart from the odd bit of stiffness and a diagnosis of gastritis which has been connected to the radiotherapy, I am feeling pretty good. Going to the last Perth Group get together and spending time chatting to the other ladies in the group has also given me a more positive outlook, so if you are in a position to come along to the next one on 24 August I can guarantee wonderful company. Be positive and don't forget that there is plenty of support for you out there!

Vicki R oOo
Lara_O_Perth
Member
13 years ago
Thanks Sue Yelling at the phone sounds like a great idea.
susie_Q
Member
13 years ago
Hi Lara, so pleased to hear (read) that your nodes are clear, that is great news. The next few days are the hardest..waiting....... waiting for results, I remember yelling at the phone one day because it just wasn't the phone call I was waiting for...I did apologise to it after tho...silly but it helped to relieve the tension in the waiting. I had to wait about 3 weeks for some of my test results. Sending you very best wishes for a comfortable recovery and good results. Sue
susie_Q
Member
13 years ago
Hi Lara, so pleased to hear (read) that your nodes are clear, that is great news. The next few days are the hardest..waiting....... waiting for results, I remember yelling at the phone one day because it just wasn't the phone call I was waiting for...I did apologise to it after tho...silly but it helped to relieve the tension in the waiting. I had to wait about 3 weeks for some of my test results. Sending you very best wishes for a comfortable recovery and good results. Sue

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