Discussion & tips
hello fellow peeps, I am a kick ass 34 yo woman who was diagnosed June 7th with stage 2 BC in my left breast & lyphnodes. I’ve had a double mastectomy June 18th and now I’m awaiting to have IVF th...
Forum Discussion
Hi there @Kkbbth. Welcome to the forum sorry youve had to join us. there is plenty of support on here for you whenever you need it. I had stage 2a grade 3 (3cm tumor) triple negative breast cancer May 2016 aged 43 in the left boob no lymph node involvement. Had a double but still waiting for my recon I also had 8 rounds of chemo. If you give us some more info about your diagnosis you can get more info from the crew on here. Your surgeon will definately refer you to your oncol. Where abouts do you live ?
But did you say your having IVF prior to your treatment ? Is that to save your eggs for after your chemo?
And normally it’s your oncologist that lets you know your trestment plan? Or Is that what your surgeon has told you.? How many lymph nodes were involved, how many did you have removed, exactly what type of bc do you have? Do you have a family history of breast cancer? And As you are under 50 you may qualify for the BRCA gene test. Have you got all of your results yet? All this will help us to help you with all the questions you will have.
Amd good to hear you’ve found a specialist to help you with the lymphodema prevention. Not everyone who has the lymph nodes removed gets lymphodema so you can discuss preventative measures with them. Ask your gp about getting a care plan to help cover the costs of the lymphodema physiotherapist you can get up to 5 visits per calendar year for this. There are a lot that don’t have out of pocket expenses for their services and are happy to bulk bill with the care plan referrals.
As for your your blood tests I’m assuming you had the right boob off as a preventative measure.? and didn’t have any nodes removed from that side? If that’s the case you can have blood taken from that side no problems. I have also had blood taken from the left affected side with no dramas but I don’t have any lymphodema either. It’s not routine to take bloods from your feet.
If you do have chemo you can have a portacath inserted and the hospital can take bloods from there if needed. Depending on your type of trestment will also depend on how often you need to have bloods done.
Also prior to treatment your oncologist will most likely ask for you to have an echocardiogram of your heart and full body scans and maybe also a bone scan. These can be routine requests but can vary depending on your oncologist . Try not to think too far ahead. It’s really a day at a time thing until you see him or her and get your exact plan of attack with what type of chemo you will be having and how often.
If your breast cancer is hormone receptive which it sounds like it is if you’ve had your results ?then you will also need to talk to your oncol about your IVF treatment too. There have been ladies on here who have had chemo while they are pregnant so I’m sure someone will be able to help you with advice on any IVF questions you have also.
Have you joined the young women’s group here on the forum? That might be a good place to get advice too. And you definitely need to have a kick ass attitude to get through this. Sounds like you’ve got that covered which is great. Make sure you delegate if you need too and accept help of it’s offered and try not to google if you can help it as everyone’s treatment Is different and this varies so much between all of us. And You don’t have to be Wonder Woman through all this ok. I hope you have a supportive partner and family around you too. Rest assured you can kick bc in the balls for sure. Big hug. Margie xx
But did you say your having IVF prior to your treatment ? Is that to save your eggs for after your chemo?
And normally it’s your oncologist that lets you know your trestment plan? Or Is that what your surgeon has told you.? How many lymph nodes were involved, how many did you have removed, exactly what type of bc do you have? Do you have a family history of breast cancer? And As you are under 50 you may qualify for the BRCA gene test. Have you got all of your results yet? All this will help us to help you with all the questions you will have.
Amd good to hear you’ve found a specialist to help you with the lymphodema prevention. Not everyone who has the lymph nodes removed gets lymphodema so you can discuss preventative measures with them. Ask your gp about getting a care plan to help cover the costs of the lymphodema physiotherapist you can get up to 5 visits per calendar year for this. There are a lot that don’t have out of pocket expenses for their services and are happy to bulk bill with the care plan referrals.
As for your your blood tests I’m assuming you had the right boob off as a preventative measure.? and didn’t have any nodes removed from that side? If that’s the case you can have blood taken from that side no problems. I have also had blood taken from the left affected side with no dramas but I don’t have any lymphodema either. It’s not routine to take bloods from your feet.
If you do have chemo you can have a portacath inserted and the hospital can take bloods from there if needed. Depending on your type of trestment will also depend on how often you need to have bloods done.
Also prior to treatment your oncologist will most likely ask for you to have an echocardiogram of your heart and full body scans and maybe also a bone scan. These can be routine requests but can vary depending on your oncologist . Try not to think too far ahead. It’s really a day at a time thing until you see him or her and get your exact plan of attack with what type of chemo you will be having and how often.
If your breast cancer is hormone receptive which it sounds like it is if you’ve had your results ?then you will also need to talk to your oncol about your IVF treatment too. There have been ladies on here who have had chemo while they are pregnant so I’m sure someone will be able to help you with advice on any IVF questions you have also.
Have you joined the young women’s group here on the forum? That might be a good place to get advice too. And you definitely need to have a kick ass attitude to get through this. Sounds like you’ve got that covered which is great. Make sure you delegate if you need too and accept help of it’s offered and try not to google if you can help it as everyone’s treatment Is different and this varies so much between all of us. And You don’t have to be Wonder Woman through all this ok. I hope you have a supportive partner and family around you too. Rest assured you can kick bc in the balls for sure. Big hug. Margie xx