Her2 positive
Hello I'm 40 and recently diagnosed with her2 positive. No family history of breast cancer. My sister and maternal cousin recently diagnosed with lobular cancer. They are having surgery. It's been a W...
Forum Discussion
I am SO sorry to see you join our exclusive club, @Cheri .... hopefully someone that is Her2+ will jump on soon xx. Like your sister, mine was Lobular ... Like you, there was no family history of breast cancer (any cancer!) in my family (mine all died from heart attacks) - so it is a bit of a shock! You can be angry, sad, frustrated - all at the same time & these are totally normal reactions to the diagnosis.
Charlotte Tottman (a BC psychologist who was diagnosed herself a few years back) has amazing insight into her own reactions to her diagnosis - and was amazed at how hard it hit her, even tho she'd been counselling others for years ..... it was only after SHE was diagnosed, that she fully understood just how much it changes you ..... She has a very 'easy' speaking manner and most can identify with the emotions that she went thru at the time too.
You can check out both 'seasons' of her podcasts here:
https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/25505/season-2-podcast-series-what-you-don-t-know-until-you-do-with-dr-charlotte-tottman#latest
Direct link to the podcasts here: (Start with No 13 - the very first episode.)
https://soundcloud.com/bcna/sets/what-you-dont-know-until-you
Re chemo prior to surgery - this is fairly standard with some cancers, to reduce the tumour size prior to surgery ...
Is your Oncologist/Medical Team aware of your sister & cousin being diagnosed recently as well? They may be keen to see if there is a genetic link? Have you been genetically checked as part of your treatment so far? Do you have daughters?
You may also like to Check out this thread, it has a heap of info on the Blog & other areas that you may also be interested in .... be it art & craft, gardens, meals, pets etc - even funny bits (we all need a laugh, now & then!)
There is also a link to some 'tick sheets' where you can print them off & 'self assess' your mental & physical 'state' ..... to take along to your Team Meetings - sometimes it is easier to give them a copy, than to actually talk about how you are going xx
https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/23477/a-big-welcome-to-all-our-new-members#latest
Take care and all the best with your Onc appointment next week xx.
Let us know how you go - you can use this thread as a bit of a 'diary' of your treatment & emotions xx
Charlotte Tottman (a BC psychologist who was diagnosed herself a few years back) has amazing insight into her own reactions to her diagnosis - and was amazed at how hard it hit her, even tho she'd been counselling others for years ..... it was only after SHE was diagnosed, that she fully understood just how much it changes you ..... She has a very 'easy' speaking manner and most can identify with the emotions that she went thru at the time too.
You can check out both 'seasons' of her podcasts here:
https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/25505/season-2-podcast-series-what-you-don-t-know-until-you-do-with-dr-charlotte-tottman#latest
Direct link to the podcasts here: (Start with No 13 - the very first episode.)
https://soundcloud.com/bcna/sets/what-you-dont-know-until-you
Re chemo prior to surgery - this is fairly standard with some cancers, to reduce the tumour size prior to surgery ...
Is your Oncologist/Medical Team aware of your sister & cousin being diagnosed recently as well? They may be keen to see if there is a genetic link? Have you been genetically checked as part of your treatment so far? Do you have daughters?
You may also like to Check out this thread, it has a heap of info on the Blog & other areas that you may also be interested in .... be it art & craft, gardens, meals, pets etc - even funny bits (we all need a laugh, now & then!)
There is also a link to some 'tick sheets' where you can print them off & 'self assess' your mental & physical 'state' ..... to take along to your Team Meetings - sometimes it is easier to give them a copy, than to actually talk about how you are going xx
https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/23477/a-big-welcome-to-all-our-new-members#latest
Take care and all the best with your Onc appointment next week xx.
Let us know how you go - you can use this thread as a bit of a 'diary' of your treatment & emotions xx