Hi Danka
Your cancer sounds almost identical to mine so far. I also have invasive bc, Her2+, big tumours, probably a bit bigger than yours and also problems in the lymph nodes. I was disagnosed in November.
When you have a swollen lymph node it could mean that it is inflamed due to the other cancer, or it could mean that you have cancer cells there too. When they do your surgery they will probably sample some nodes there and test them and remove lymph nodes that need to come out to help treat you cancer. I had 13 lymph nodes positive for cancer cells and the surgeon took out 24 which was all the tissue that he could see. They don't count the lymph nodes in surgery. That happens later in the lab. He just gets out what he needs to.
The bone scan is to look for cancer in other parts of your body. Hopefully there will be none. Mine was clear. The bone scan isn't that bad to have done. They usually give you an injection that highlights any cancer in your bones, you drink a certain amount of liquids and then you have to lie in the scanner for a while. It's hard to stay there for so long but nothing really hurts which is important when you are going through so many procedures. Don't be scared of the bone scan.
If you have big tumours in your breast, they normally do a mastectomy but everybody is different. If you have any cancer in your lymph nodes, they usually remove some of them. Once they know exactly what you have, they will refer you to an Oncologist who will recommend a treatment plan for you. I would expect that you might be looking at some radiotherapy and possibly some chemotherapy if the lymph nodes are bad. That's what I'm doing.
It is great news that you are Her2+ I was so happy when I found out that I was. That means we are both one of the lucky ones who can benefit from a drug called Herceptin which can halve the chance of cancer returning somewhere else in your body.
The operation is scary and the recovery takes a few weeks. You will be ok. Lots of people say the mastectomy was nowhere near as hard as they expected. My operation was six weeks ago and I am starting to feel much better. I had my first chemo yesterday and it was ok too.
You will be worried, scared and anxious. That's normal. At least, that's what I felt like. It gets a little better all the time. When they can tell you all about your cancer after the operation is over and you know what is ahead, you will feel a lot better because you can plan.
This is not a death sentence. You can survive this.
Good luck.
Natasha
