hi there, I am 30 years old and have just been diagnosed with BC which doctors think is IBC grade 3 (not sure of stage) I have had a swollen breast for nearly 6 weeks which doc initially thought was an infection. 3 biopsies later and I have a semi diagnosis. I have no family history of BC. I am also HER2+. I have noticed people talking about hormone receptors and triple negative. Can anyone explain this to me? I am to take a drug for 1 year because I am HER2+? Treatment plan is chemo - 6 rounds (every 3 weeks), then surgery and radiation. I have my consultation with the oncologist on Tuesday so will know when I will begin chemo then. I am still processing and slowly learning about everything. I have so many questions. Any advice as far as treatment would be ever so helpful right now. Did anything really help you through chemo? Kylie

Hi Kylie welcome to the site. When you are first told it is like hitting a brick wall. The feeling of this cant be happening to me I didn't hear that right. It will take time to sink in, this site is good for support ask away someone generally has something to say even if it is sending you a hug and someone to listen. Chemo is a hard one and everyone is so different, take it one day at a time, Try and take someone with you when you go to doctors as another set of ears helps. If you haven't already done order your my journey. You are not alone we are all here for you, sending you a hugxx.

Hi Kylie, & welcome to a great place to get support & information. Hopefully, as you've found this site, you've also ordered your "My Journey" package. It's also well worth having, as it has lots of useful information, & you can dip in & out of it at your own pace. Ther is information on the BCNA website about HER2 & hormone receptor status. My understanding is with HER2 positive, you'll be treated with herceptin, I think it's 12 months. If you are hormone receptor positive then your cancer feeds off oestrogen & progesterone, so you get hormone suppression medication for 5-10 years after active treatment is over. (I'm hormone receptor positive, so know mere about that) I, too, started my treatment with chemo, 6 cycles, each one 3 weeks apart. Everyone reacts differently. Talk to the oncologist about whether to think about an implanted device (portacath) for your chemo. They will assess & advise. I have one, but I knew from the start that I had very difficult veins to access, so it made chemo much less traumatic for me. Heartburn is one side effect from some chemo. I have heard of someone using fruit tingles to help that. I tried it recently, & they do work. They also work quite well to disguise the taste in your mouth that you can get with chemo. Take everything one day, one appointment at a time, and don't think too far ahead in your treatment. Keep coming back here with questions. It is overwhelming in the early days. Take care, Lyn

Thank you! I have begun a list of medications, foods and other helpful things to purchase at my next shop! how long is a chemo treatment? What do most people do during this time?

Hi Kylie, welcome to the site. So sorry you have had to join us but I hope you find lots of support here. My tumours were HER2+ as well as hormone positive. What this means is that the growth of the cancers on the two hormone positive tumours I had were driven by female hormones (oestrogen & progesterone), whereas the HER2+ tumour had a higher than normal level of a protein called HER2. So in both instances the breast cancer cells were over-expressing particular things; either hormones or the HER2 protein. I had a mastectomy in April 2012 followed by 6 rounds of chemo every 3 weeks, Herceptin (to treat the HER2+ tumour) every 3 weeks for 12 months and radiotherapy for 5 weeks. I finished active treatment in July 2013 and am now having Tamoxifen (daily tablet) to suppress my hormones for the next few years. All of these treatments have their own challenges but you can get through them, especially if you tell your oncologist and team about any issues you might have as they can usually come up with something to help. Like Lyn said, the My Journey Kit is really useful just to give you an idea of what to expect and helped me to work out my questions before I saw any of the specialists along the way. I also had a portacath put in rather than trying to find a vein every 3 week for 12 months - my veins would not have coped with that!- definitely worth talking to your oncologist about. Best wishes, this is a difficult time for you but like Rowdy says, we are here for you. Jane xx

Newly diagnosed | BCNA Online Network

14 Replies

Kylie_S
Member
10 years ago
Thank you! I have begun a list of medications, foods and other helpful things to purchase at my next shop!

how long is a chemo treatment? What do most people do during this time?
lrb_03
Member
10 years ago
Hi Kylie, & welcome to a great place to get support & information. Hopefully, as you've found this site, you've also ordered your "My Journey" package. It's also well worth having, as it has lots of useful information, & you can dip in & out of it at your own pace.

Ther is information on the BCNA website about HER2 & hormone receptor status. My understanding is with HER2 positive, you'll be treated with herceptin, I think it's 12 months. If you are hormone receptor positive then your cancer feeds off oestrogen & progesterone, so you get hormone suppression medication for 5-10 years after active treatment is over. (I'm hormone receptor positive, so know mere about that)

I, too, started my treatment with chemo, 6 cycles, each one 3 weeks apart. Everyone reacts differently. Talk to the oncologist about whether to think about an implanted device (portacath) for your chemo. They will assess & advise. I have one, but I knew from the start that I had very difficult veins to access, so it made chemo much less traumatic for me.

Heartburn is one side effect from some chemo. I have heard of someone using fruit tingles to help that. I tried it recently, & they do work. They also work quite well to disguise the taste in your mouth that you can get with chemo.

Take everything one day, one appointment at a time, and don't think too far ahead in your treatment. Keep coming back here with questions. It is overwhelming in the early days.

Take care, Lyn
Kylie_S
Member
10 years ago
Thanks!
rowdy
Member
10 years ago
Hi Kylie welcome to the site. When you are first told it is like hitting a brick wall. The feeling of this cant be happening to me I didn't hear that right. It will take time to sink in, this site is good for support ask away someone generally has something to say even if it is sending you a hug and someone to listen.

Chemo is a hard one and everyone is so different, take it one day at a time, Try and take someone with you when you go to doctors as another set of ears helps. If you haven't already done order your my journey.

You are not alone we are all here for you, sending you a hugxx.

Forum Discussion

Newly diagnosed

14 Replies

Recent Discussions

2nd operation DCIS

3rd Op.

Covid jab

Triple positive invasive lobular carcinoma

Triple Positive HER2+

Disclaimer:

Foundation partner	Major partners