Newly Diagnosed Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
Hello Everyone
I recently got diagnosed with what they thought was DCIS but after all the ultrasounds, MRI, CT, PET scan, and biopsies, the diagnosed me with stage 3, Locally Advanced Breast Cancer. I am 37 years old (hopefully reach level 38 in January), and in June 2023, I found a lump in my left armpit. Not very big. About the size of a grain of rice. I didn't think much of it until a month later, I found a lump under the areola of my left breast. I had found those kind of lumps before in my right breast and got them checked straight away but they all came back as benign cysts. But I did the right thing and went to my GP. Rather than telling her about the breast lump, I mentioned about the lump in my armpit instead. She had a feel and thought it was just a gland until she asked if I had found one in the breast as well. I said yes. Straight away she gave me referrals for a mammogram and ultrasound. But I was so convinced that it would just say it was a benign cyst again, that I put the referrals up on the fridge and left them there....until November. By the beginning of November, the lump in my armpit was big. But the one in my breast didn't feel like it had grown. But I went and got the mammogram and ultrasound done and a few days later my doctor called me back in. I still remember, very clearly, my doctor starting to cry and apologising to me. I should say, my doctor is a strong woman and I have never seen anything phase her but she was crying and I knew straight away the results. Fast forward to now and I am currently waiting to meet my surgeon and oncologist. I'm not expecting to see them until the new year, despite being a priority 1 with the hospital.
My official diagnosis is Stage 3, locally advanced Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It is ER+, PR- and HER2- (as far as im aware unless i read it wrong). The weird thing is, every female on my mother's side that has had breast cancer (my nanna/mum's mum, nanna's 2 sisters, my aunt/mum's sister) have all had it in their left breast but none of them have had it spread to the left armpit lymph nodes like i have. They were all stage 2. I'm currently trying to get my mum to go and see the doctor because when I got my diagnosis, my stepdad quietly told me that mum hasn't had a mammogram done in 16 years and 18 months ago she noticed the nipple in the left breast has become inverted.
Sorry for the long introduction to my story. I still haven't fully acknowledged what is happening. I hear everything they say and I have read all the reports, looked at the imaging. But I feel like I am numb right now. Nothing is fully registering and I have had some people ask me why its taking me so long to feel something. I honestly don't know.
I recently got diagnosed with what they thought was DCIS but after all the ultrasounds, MRI, CT, PET scan, and biopsies, the diagnosed me with stage 3, Locally Advanced Breast Cancer. I am 37 years old (hopefully reach level 38 in January), and in June 2023, I found a lump in my left armpit. Not very big. About the size of a grain of rice. I didn't think much of it until a month later, I found a lump under the areola of my left breast. I had found those kind of lumps before in my right breast and got them checked straight away but they all came back as benign cysts. But I did the right thing and went to my GP. Rather than telling her about the breast lump, I mentioned about the lump in my armpit instead. She had a feel and thought it was just a gland until she asked if I had found one in the breast as well. I said yes. Straight away she gave me referrals for a mammogram and ultrasound. But I was so convinced that it would just say it was a benign cyst again, that I put the referrals up on the fridge and left them there....until November. By the beginning of November, the lump in my armpit was big. But the one in my breast didn't feel like it had grown. But I went and got the mammogram and ultrasound done and a few days later my doctor called me back in. I still remember, very clearly, my doctor starting to cry and apologising to me. I should say, my doctor is a strong woman and I have never seen anything phase her but she was crying and I knew straight away the results. Fast forward to now and I am currently waiting to meet my surgeon and oncologist. I'm not expecting to see them until the new year, despite being a priority 1 with the hospital.
My official diagnosis is Stage 3, locally advanced Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. It is ER+, PR- and HER2- (as far as im aware unless i read it wrong). The weird thing is, every female on my mother's side that has had breast cancer (my nanna/mum's mum, nanna's 2 sisters, my aunt/mum's sister) have all had it in their left breast but none of them have had it spread to the left armpit lymph nodes like i have. They were all stage 2. I'm currently trying to get my mum to go and see the doctor because when I got my diagnosis, my stepdad quietly told me that mum hasn't had a mammogram done in 16 years and 18 months ago she noticed the nipple in the left breast has become inverted.
Sorry for the long introduction to my story. I still haven't fully acknowledged what is happening. I hear everything they say and I have read all the reports, looked at the imaging. But I feel like I am numb right now. Nothing is fully registering and I have had some people ask me why its taking me so long to feel something. I honestly don't know.
