And so the fight begins...

Hi @"Prime time" - as @melclarity said, you’ve definitely come to the right place. 

This forum will provide you with so much support - there’s always someone online to share advice or just a word of encouragent. It’s been a life- saver for me! 

The appointment with the breat clinic will hopefully answer a lot of your initial questions. I’d suggest going with a physical list of all the things you want to know. No question is silly or unreasonable so make that list as long as you need it to be. This is all about you and you want to make 100% sure that you walk out of that appointment feeling confident that you’re armed with all the information you need to take the next step. 

There will probably be some more scans and tests on the horizon and that can be a really difficult time as you wait for results. It’s actually the worst bit - waiting for a plan of action and treatment plan. But as soon as there’s a clear direction for you, you’ll feel much more in control and if information seeking is what helps you, you’ll be able to do some research about what you can expect. 

It’s really important that whatever is recommended to you, you’re confident and have faith in your medical team. If you have any doubts, if your questions are going unanswered, if you feel like you’re not being listened to or that you’re not being treated with respect - go seek another opinion. 

And please jump on here often - whether it’s just to confirm that what’s in your head is normal, whether you just need to download or whether it’s to do research - there are so many amazing people on here that are only too happy to help. 

All the best tomorrow and please let us know how you go! 

Xxxxxx

Welcome @"Prime time" it's not an easy place to be...but....coming here will honestly be one of the best things you could have done. There is such an array of experiences and knowledge and the best thing is no judgement. Everyone is very selfless and giving of themselves to help make others path a little easier through knowledge. 

So you didn't have a lumpectomy? just biopsy of breast and lymph is that right? so generally the next step from a biopsy is a lumpectomy as the diagnosis comes from that, as it can be different to the biopsy. Its the one way your pathology is definitive. Once that happens you will get your diagnosis, my first in 2011 was DCIS so thats classified as 0 stage, pre cancer. 6 weeks Radiation after lumpectomy and 4 years on Tamoxifen. My 2nd diagnosis in 2015 was 2.5cm tumor ER+ only, Stage 2 Grade 3 and lymph node negative, 6 months chemo and put on Arimidex. 1yr later single mastectomy/diep flap recon.  It is an overwhelming time but here are somethings that may be of help.

BCNA Helpline 1800 500 258 the Helpline is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 am till 5 pm EST and Tuesday and Thursday from 9 am till 9 pm EST.

http://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/14879/the-what-and-how-thread/p1

You can order your My Journey Kit here and other resources.

https://www.bcna.org.au/resources/

It really is the tough part at the beginning, so take it honestly 1 step at a time. Let us know how your appointment goes and what your next step will be. 

Hugs Melinda xo