New here...my story so far

sunrise_sunset said:

Thank you @Cath62, deep breaths indeed. I got good and bad news today. I'm still processing and will share with the group soon.

Hello again everyone,
I thought I would post an update to my journey so far. Last I posted, I mentioned I had both good and bad news. Well, the good news was that the PET body scan came back negative for showing any active cancer activity - well large enough to be detected, it doesn't rule out any cancer cells travelling along in my body. As I understand it.

The bad news was that my medical oncologist recommended chemotherapy. Up until my meeting with him, chemo had not been on the radar. He also used the term 'aggressive cancer' for the first time. This is where I started to get really scared. He also mentioned I had the choice of doing an EndoPredict test - you can read about that in this discussion thread https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/discussion/26977/considering-endopredict-before-accepting-chemo#latest.

So, I have chosen not to have the EndoPredict test as I wrote about in that other thread. I start chemotherapy on 15 November and as I understand it I will have 4 cycles of Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide and Pegfilgrastim then 12 cycles of Paclitaxel. I am not sure how this will affect me, what side effects I will have but I am hoping for the best. I have also chosen to use the 'cold cap' method to hopefully reduce the chance of losing my hair - here's hoping!!

I am now almost 5 weeks post surgery. I find the most discomfort in the taping up of the scars. As I understand it, it helps to flatten out the scarring. I'm feeling stronger and with more energy so I am starting to do small things around the house and other gentle activities.

A small set back, I developed an infection in my cancer breast and have had to go on more antibiotics. Thankfully my physiotherapist picked up on this and told me to alert my reconstructive surgeon. I can't tell you all how much I love my physiotherapist. That lovely lady has been with me through my first cancer and is the reason I have a functioning arm. She is the one who referred me to my breast cancer surgeon, so my trust in her is without question. I may not have an assigned breast cancer nurse but I do have her.

On the question of breast cancer nurses, I know others get assigned one and I am not sure why I do not have one. It could be because I am a private patient, I don't know. I'm asking around about that one.

Thank you for following along. I'll post another update after I start chemo.