Hello ladies, I have just had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with early breast cancer 2 weeks ago. I am getting my pathology results today. They havent found cancer anywhere else but I think I'm going to be getting preventitive chemo and radiotherapy. I would love to hear from anyone who has been through this process and come out of the other side. Also I have started doing IVF to preserve some eggs. I am concerened about pumping eostrogen into my body as I know it can be harmful and could have even caused the cancer in the first place. Has anyone else been through this and had a good/bad experience from doing the INF before chemo? Also has anyone decided not to do the preventitive chemo? Gone down a natural medicine route? Also is anyone working through chemo? I'm not sure if I will be able to? I'd love to hear from you.

Welcome to this sight, you will get so much support. I had grade 2 breast cancer in March this year. I had a mastectomy and 15 lymph nodes removed. The cancer was confined to the lump, no nodes involved . I did not have to have chemo as it had not spread and was told because I had a mastectomy I did not need radiation as they took the breast. Have been put on Femara tablets. I am 53. It is a roller coaster ride, everybodys journey is different. I struggled for a while with depression and anxiety,but I am now in a better place emotionally.When I was down I would get on this sight and let it all out, made me feel better. The ladies are so supportive. Any questions you have ask . Have you got my journey kit yet?. Do you have a Jane Mcgrath breast nurse in your area?. I also joined a support group in my area, which has been very good for me. Take care , big hugs . Debbie

hi, i had a lumpectomy in 1998, 11 nodes, one with cancer. i had chemotherapy and radiation. i had another lumpectomy on the other side in 2003 and more radiation. everyone is different, depending on age, type and extent of the BC. i was grade two, early BC both times. get information, and be guided by your team, then make the best choice for you i think there are pros and cons re the treatments, but you have to do something to get the BC. it is a scary time and a shock for you and your loved ones. i looked at conventional and some alternate therapies. make sure you discuss with your medical team, as some things can react with conventional treatments. be kind to yourself, and take things day by day. hoping you get through it all ok. all the best, kathy.

Hi! Sorry to hear of your journey so far, I really hope you recieved some good news with the Pathology results, yesterday. I had stage 3 lumpectomy (2 surgeries) in July and 10 lymph nodes out, with 7 with cancer cells in them and am also Hormone Receptor Positive. Having a chance at a family after all this was very important to me and my Hubby, so we made sure we were given time for a couple of ivf cycles before treatment started. (We found out that we were pregnant earlier this yr with our first child, but sadly had a missed miscarried at 10wks :o( After finding out about the BC, I think that our Little Angel left us to save my life. My first ivf cycle was cancelled as I only had 1 egg that responded to the daily injections, this was probably because I was anxious about the 2nd surgery I needed. Anyway, the 2nd cycle was heaps better, 6 eggs before collection, 4 eggs were good enough to collect on the day, 2 were fertilized and then we managed to secure 1 embryo in the freezer. Better than no chance at all. :o) Bear is mind I am 38, so the younger you are the better odds you will definately have. My advice on ivf, providing your partner/hubby agrees, as you have to both sign documents. Is to work on getting embryo's frozen, rather than eggs, as it gives you a better chance at the end of your BC journey, especially if you go through menopause with your treatment. The hard work is done for you, so to speak and when I spoke to the Scientists, they mentioned that it is possible at defrosting to wait up to 5 days before insertion, just to make sure the embryo is growing at a good rate. I hope my message hasn't been too much for you to work through. It was really hard for me to make dicisions for the future, when I was dealing with so much in the right now, but try and work through your options when you feel up to it. You are going through a lot at the moment, and the information you will get from this website will help you no end, as it has for me. Take care and let us know how you are going. Rach x

Hi, I was diagnosed with early breast cancer (DCIS) which was over a large area of the breast. I had a total mastectomy in June. Lymph nodes were clear and the cancer was hormone +ve. They found a 3.5cm tumour in the removed breast, this the oncologist said necessitated preventative chemo which I started in July. I have just had my 4th out of 6 treatments of FEC100. While it is not a walk in the park I felt it was necessary in case any cancer cells had shed from the tumour. Fatigue is the main bugbear along with losing my hair. But everyone has told me that it will grow back curly and I had straight hair so I am looking on the bright side. Hope this helps, Jayne xx

Just been diagnosed | BCNA Online Network

11 Replies

pisces_tas
Member
14 years ago
hi, i had a lumpectomy in 1998, 11 nodes, one with cancer. i had chemotherapy and radiation.

i had another lumpectomy on the other side in 2003 and more radiation.

everyone is different, depending on age, type and extent of the BC. i was grade two, early BC both times.

get information, and be guided by your team, then make the best choice for you

i think there are pros and cons re the treatments, but you have to do something to get the BC. it is a scary time and a shock for you and your loved ones.

i looked at conventional and some alternate therapies. make sure you discuss with your medical team, as some things can react with conventional treatments.

be kind to yourself, and take things day by day. hoping you get through it all ok.

all the best, kathy.
Debbie_J
Member
14 years ago
Welcome to this sight, you will get so much support. I had grade 2 breast cancer in March this year. I had a mastectomy and 15 lymph nodes removed. The cancer was confined to the lump, no nodes involved . I did not have to have chemo as it had not spread and was told because I had a mastectomy I did not need radiation as they took the breast. Have been put on Femara tablets. I am 53.

It is a roller coaster ride, everybodys journey is different. I struggled for a while with depression and anxiety,but I am now in a better place emotionally.When I was down I would get on this sight and let it all out, made me feel better. The ladies are so supportive. Any questions you have ask .

Have you got my journey kit yet?. Do you have a Jane Mcgrath breast nurse in your area?. I also joined a support group in my area, which has been very good for me.

Take care , big hugs . Debbie

Forum Discussion

Just been diagnosed

11 Replies

Recent Discussions

Sydney Lymphoedema Public Information Day

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Papillary Lesion - overwhelming anxiety

Triple positive invasive lobular carcinoma

Fluoxetine and Letrozole

Disclaimer: