Forum Discussion
Janine60
8 years agoMember
New here
Hi, I have just been diagnosed with early breast cancer. I have learned so far that it is very treatable but at this stage do not know what that treatment will look like. I had two different types of invasive breast cancer, one being invasive ductal carcinoma and the other invasive lobular carcinoma. It stated that they both were Grade 1 but on the invasive ductal CA it says that the Nuclear is Grade 2. Does anyone know what this means? The other question I have is that my invasive ductal CA was 20mm long or 2cm. Does this push me into stage 2? There is no node involvement. I am just trying to get my head around it all so when I get to see the medical oncologist for the first time, I have some knowledge around what he is talking about and I can make informed choices rather than be overwhelmed with trying to process emotions. Lymphovascular invasion is absent with both tumours. The invasive lobular CA was only 2.5mm long. I am ER/PR + HER2 -
The other comment I have is my mum passed away from breast cancer. She was Grade 3, stage 4 with METS. She got 15 months from diagnosis. This is the only script I have in my head. I really need to hear stories from people who are similar to me and what their treatment pathway looks like.
Lastly, we are a family who lives with high levels of stress and caregiving roles. We are a blended family with five children between us. One adult child was the victim of a crime against her and had to be placed in witness protection. We spent a lot of money protecting her and her children and moving them from one end of the country to the other. We followed to support her. She is in a new relationship with a lovely guy and she has two additional children to him. Her eldest daughter was the victim of sexual abuse and the perpetrator is now in jail for his crimes. My anxiety and emotions will rise when we learn that he is granted parole. Two of our adult sons have a severe intellectual disability. They live at home with us. They are generally very good with good structure and boundaries. My daughter lives at home with us with her little boy who turns 4 soon. She is doing her teaching degree. We also have started to support my nephew and his girlfriend. They have just moved in and we are not asking for board or rent in lieu of participation in household chores and their share of cooking. We plan to support my nephew into his first job and his girlfriend into the TAFE course that she wants to do. That’s a lot on our plate in addition to my diagnosis, but I think it will work.
Any stories that describe the treatments that was recommended to you and snippets of wisdom would be really helpful and appreciated.
The other comment I have is my mum passed away from breast cancer. She was Grade 3, stage 4 with METS. She got 15 months from diagnosis. This is the only script I have in my head. I really need to hear stories from people who are similar to me and what their treatment pathway looks like.
Lastly, we are a family who lives with high levels of stress and caregiving roles. We are a blended family with five children between us. One adult child was the victim of a crime against her and had to be placed in witness protection. We spent a lot of money protecting her and her children and moving them from one end of the country to the other. We followed to support her. She is in a new relationship with a lovely guy and she has two additional children to him. Her eldest daughter was the victim of sexual abuse and the perpetrator is now in jail for his crimes. My anxiety and emotions will rise when we learn that he is granted parole. Two of our adult sons have a severe intellectual disability. They live at home with us. They are generally very good with good structure and boundaries. My daughter lives at home with us with her little boy who turns 4 soon. She is doing her teaching degree. We also have started to support my nephew and his girlfriend. They have just moved in and we are not asking for board or rent in lieu of participation in household chores and their share of cooking. We plan to support my nephew into his first job and his girlfriend into the TAFE course that she wants to do. That’s a lot on our plate in addition to my diagnosis, but I think it will work.
Any stories that describe the treatments that was recommended to you and snippets of wisdom would be really helpful and appreciated.
19 Replies
- Janine60MemberThank you all. It’s very overwhelming and none of the options are ‘nice.’ It’s just trying to make sense of it all and wanting to reduce the possibility of it re-emerging, particularly when we live with a lot of stress in our every day life. It’s just what we do because of the family we have. Our resilience is high so we have that going for us. I did find a group in town and I will ask for access to it once I find out what’s happening for me. The process is taking its own sweet time and that is probably the hardest part for me, I want to get going tomorrow! Even our dogs are high maintenance, one is having an operation tomorrow cos he chewed his tail right to the bone. We think it’s behaviour cos he is a very anxious dog - but we chose that.
- iserbrownMemberThis link is part of the BCNA website - https://www.bcna.org.au/services-and-support-groups/
Hopefully there is something within reach for you - onemargieMemberHi there @Janine60 wow you have got a lot going on but there is never really a “good time” to get breast cancer is there it’s common for it to read it’s ugly head when we have other stuff going on. See what the oncol says you might even qualify for the genetic testing since your mum had it as well (god bless her}. My best advice would be to not google anything take advice from your team and get yourself a good breast care nurse mine was bloody awful, trust your gut too on what’s right for you. I had triple neg so my story is different to yours. Keep us posted how you go. Biggest hug. Margie xx
- primekMemberWelcome. I'm sure your daughter has googled by now but here is a fantastic link that explains pathology in detail.
https://www.cancer.org/treatment/understanding-your-diagnosis/tests/understanding-your-pathology-report/breast-pathology/breast-cancer-pathology.html
Hope this helps. Kath x - Janine60Membermy kids are adults. My nephew was showing our 2 year grandson how to fire the nerf guns. He came out to try and shoot poppy.
- Janine60MemberDistraction works well. Today our youngest granddaughter came round with her little brother. I took her to a craft shop to get some scrapbook supplies and she played with my kids and families. We have such a lovely blended family. ❤️❤️❤️
- MollygirlMemberHi @Janine60, welcome, but sorry you have to be here.
Wow, your place sounds busy! But I hope that having everyone around will help you cope thru treatment or certainly be good distraction for you.
As far as your path report goes, get your oncologist to go through it all with you. We are all 'experts' in our own story and each are individual. We are all here for you xx - Janine60MemberThank you.
- SoldierCrabMember@Janine60
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.
- iserbrownMemberIf you use the BCNA website, as opposed to this the forum, you will be able to surf around and find an area for support groups in your area - there's lots to explore or use the Search on the right hand side of the page
Here's a link if you are miles from anywhere
https://www.bcna.org.au/health-wellbeing/support-in-rural-areas/