Back In Shock Again.
Hi , I am new here. I am 53 fit and healthy, lap swimmer, rock singer. I was supposed to be getting married this year and will be welcoming my first Grandchild in July. There are so many reasons why this shouldn't be happening. I guess we all have those.
I was diagnosed with High Grade DCIS in two small calcified areas spanning 30mm in my right breast, on 12th January. I had already waited all over xmas to return to breastscreen for that first fateful follow up appointment. My original regular mammogram where this was picked up was back in November, 3 months ago. It has seemed like a lifetime and so many appointments to wait to meet the surgeon and plan treatment. Finally, I was booked to have lumpectomy and sentinel node followed by radiation. I would have been having that op tomorrow, 1st March, after 6 weeks of sleepness nights, manic activity and tears. I have had 12 appointments; pre-eadmission check up, met anaesthetist, right now I would have been on my way to hospital to have a radioactive injection for the sentinel node. I was as psychologically prepared as I could be. They had said it could be done quite neatly and I wouldn't notice much difference afterwards. I wasn't looking forward to it, but had come to terms with the need for surgery.
But............... I had preoperative planning MRI last week, and Monday morning (yesterday) I was given the bad news. The area of DCIS is actually up to 90mm (very large) so my surgery is off, I am back on the waiting list to go to a Brisbane hospital, it has gone from a lumpectomy to a mastectomy. No Choice, lumpectomy is no longer possible. I am siting by the phone waiting for a call to tell me when I can get first appointment to see new surgeons in Brisbane. I'm back in shock again like I was after the first diagnosis, the original surgery plan was hard enough to accept but this is just horrific. I've had regular mammograms since i was 40, but apparently I have occult cells that can't be seen on mammography or ultrasound so it hasn't been picked up. 2 specialists have examined me since diagnosis and there is no lump, discharge, dimpling, my breasts are symmetrical. No clue at all except these 2 tiny areas that looked like grains of sand on my mammogram. And the whole quadrant of my breast is full of this . I am planning for immediate reconstruction and I'm really scared. This seems such an extreme treatment for a stage 0 condition, and of course I wont know what other treatment I need till it is removed so I'll be waiting again for a treatment plan. From what I am reading, the initial surgery is only the beginning. The waiting is so hard, I'm scared this has been growing while I've waited all this time for treatment anxiety is kicking in again.
I'm fully aware this could be a lot worse, and I keep reminding myself of all the positives, but I'm still devastated. Thanks for reading I don't have much more to say at the moment.
Cheers
Vicki
I was diagnosed with High Grade DCIS in two small calcified areas spanning 30mm in my right breast, on 12th January. I had already waited all over xmas to return to breastscreen for that first fateful follow up appointment. My original regular mammogram where this was picked up was back in November, 3 months ago. It has seemed like a lifetime and so many appointments to wait to meet the surgeon and plan treatment. Finally, I was booked to have lumpectomy and sentinel node followed by radiation. I would have been having that op tomorrow, 1st March, after 6 weeks of sleepness nights, manic activity and tears. I have had 12 appointments; pre-eadmission check up, met anaesthetist, right now I would have been on my way to hospital to have a radioactive injection for the sentinel node. I was as psychologically prepared as I could be. They had said it could be done quite neatly and I wouldn't notice much difference afterwards. I wasn't looking forward to it, but had come to terms with the need for surgery.
But............... I had preoperative planning MRI last week, and Monday morning (yesterday) I was given the bad news. The area of DCIS is actually up to 90mm (very large) so my surgery is off, I am back on the waiting list to go to a Brisbane hospital, it has gone from a lumpectomy to a mastectomy. No Choice, lumpectomy is no longer possible. I am siting by the phone waiting for a call to tell me when I can get first appointment to see new surgeons in Brisbane. I'm back in shock again like I was after the first diagnosis, the original surgery plan was hard enough to accept but this is just horrific. I've had regular mammograms since i was 40, but apparently I have occult cells that can't be seen on mammography or ultrasound so it hasn't been picked up. 2 specialists have examined me since diagnosis and there is no lump, discharge, dimpling, my breasts are symmetrical. No clue at all except these 2 tiny areas that looked like grains of sand on my mammogram. And the whole quadrant of my breast is full of this . I am planning for immediate reconstruction and I'm really scared. This seems such an extreme treatment for a stage 0 condition, and of course I wont know what other treatment I need till it is removed so I'll be waiting again for a treatment plan. From what I am reading, the initial surgery is only the beginning. The waiting is so hard, I'm scared this has been growing while I've waited all this time for treatment anxiety is kicking in again.
I'm fully aware this could be a lot worse, and I keep reminding myself of all the positives, but I'm still devastated. Thanks for reading I don't have much more to say at the moment.
Cheers
Vicki
