Nervous about next step

Hi @Schwen, Firstly, welcome to this site - you'll get lots of info and support here.  Treatment isn't a one size fits all and your oncologist will tell you more when you have your first appointment.  For me, chemo didn't begin until the surgeon cleared me as recovering from ops which was approximately 1 month from second surgery. I had grade 2 lobular carcinoma, a partial with sentinel node biopsy, then a mastectomy with axillary dissection ( 3 out of 8 nodes positive) - OR/ER+, HER-. I am currently going through chemo 4 X AC 3 weekly, then 12 X paclitaxol weekly, then it will be rads and hormone therapy.  Your treatment might be similar or might be different. Talk to your doctor's about your planned holiday. It may be that you can fit it in between.  

Hello and welcome! I am sorry that you find yourself here. I hope you find it as helpful and supportive as I have. You never have to apologise for any question, length or otherwise. Yours wasn't that long anyway!

Your chemotherapy will probably be about six months long. As @Sister says there's no one size fits all, so we can't be definitive. Some people have some types of chemo once every three weeks or every two weeks. Other types are weekly. Your oncologist is the doctor in charge of this though your breast surgeon should be able to give you a good idea.

My chemo commenced about five weeks after my lumpectomy, though it was somewhat delayed by Christmas. Mostly they like to crack on with it, especially if you're in reasonably good health otherwise.

Let us know how you get on. Hang in there, K xox

Hi @Schwen,

Welcome to the forum.  Plenty of warmth and advice always available on here. It's all  so scary and horrible at the start,  Once you have a plan you will feel a little more in control.  Everybody is different with their treatment plan and the way they respond to it.
 
 I had a lumpectomy. re excision for better margins and full lymph node clearance.  There were 5 out of the 24 with cancer in them so got the works as well.  Highly ER and PR positive so am on Tamoxifen.
  I began chemo 6 weeks after surgery. Same chemo regime as @Sister. 4 weeks after that 30 x radiation.  All told from surgery to the end of rads it was about 8 1/2 months.  I did alright with the treatment and most likely would have been able to travel straight away.  It just depends on how you get through and unfortunately nobody can tell until you start.

No question is too long or too trivial. There is no judgement on here so keep asking, keep talking we all understand how you feel.

All the best 
xoxoxox

@Schwen - sorry u have to joint us but welcome. I had lumpectomy, partial mastectomy and then full mastectomy in jan/feb of this year - CT scan and lymph nodes clear. Had 4 x doses of TC chemo 3 weeks apart starting about a month after surgery ehich I have just finished and will be going on hormone tablets too. Your oncologist will be the one to decide what your course of treatment will be. Sending u big hugs xoxoxo

Thanks everyone for the heads up, I have my oncology appointment on the 19th of June so will probably have most of my questions answered then, today I had my contrast CT scan of my body, and Nuclear bone scan, my poor left arm is just about had it now, because they can no longer use my right arm after the mastectomy, since the 9th May i have had 6 different Cannulas in, my veins are shitty now lol, and each time i have a Cannula put in it hurts more and more, especially when they move it around trying to get the vein....Just wish it was all over, so i can get on with living....

@Schwen if your veins are already crap, get a portocath. It's a monster idea, having a creepy little box under your skin, but it works. Well, they usually work. No stabbing or jabbing and you have both hands free during treatment. This stuff sucks, but some technology can help. Marg xx

@Zoffiel  I totally agree! Best thing I ever did was have the portacath inserted.  After having an axillary clearance as well in my left arm and then a cellulitis infection which meant four days in hospital on an IV drip, I had four cannulas inserted in four days.  It was so very painful as the veins kept collapsing.  The portacath makes blood tests so much easier too @Schwen. Good luck. M

@shwen I have a love/hate relationship with my port.  I loathe the thing and can't wait for chemo to finish so I can have it taken out.  I love it when I only have to have one small jab through the skin for everything at a treatment and know that my veins are thanking me.

Below are a couple of links to help you find your way around the forum and also how to find a breast care nurse and how to order a MY journey Kit if you haven't got one yet. 

It can be a a whirlwind when we first get a diagnosed.... Breathe and take it one step at a time. 

The what and how thread.

http://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/14879/the-what-and-how-thread/p1 

Breast Care Nurses

https://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/OurMission/OurNurses/FindANurse.aspx 

My Journey Kits and other resources. 

https://www.bcna.org.au/resources/

BCNA Helpline 1800 500 258

If you have any questions, concerns or require any further information or support please call 1800 500 258.  The Helpline is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 am till 5 pm EST and Tuesday and Thursday from 9 am till 9 pm EST.

Hi all, just following up with the latest update, had the scans done and also had my lymph nodes removed last week, all going well the drain will be out tomorrow, had my first oncology app yesterday and walked out more confused then i walked in... she agreed i will need a port as my viens are shit, but to do that it means going under anesthetic again, and my partner hasasked if there is anyway to have it without going under general as both ops i have had i almost didnt servive, was put into icu both times, and my partner cant handle the thought of it again, so oncologist is looking into seeing if there is a specialist that is willing to do it under local...the main thing i am confused aout is..... when she first started talking she said that the scans etc i had, came back clear so far,  so hasnt spread anywhere else, and that the chemo was up to me, if i choose to have chemo, but i reccomend you do, that confused me as i thought i had to have it, also they want it to start in 2 weeks, and will be 4 rounds of 3 weeks, and 12 weeks of weekly, i asked whyi have to have chemo and she just said that is my recomendation, also no one seems to be able to give me an answer as to why iha e to start chemo within 8 weeks of my mastectomy if the seem to of got all the cancer, would an extra 10 weeks make such a huge difference....

One last thing i read somewhere on here a link to a page to do with pathology reports or something anyone know the link please?? Thanks....