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Caity's avatar
Caity
Member
4 months ago

Scared about the side effects of treatment

Hello everyone,

I'm 35 with two young girls- I was initially diagnosed with LCIS just after a routine scan- but after my mastectomy surgery 2 weeks ago, the pathology has come back that I have HER2+ estrogen and progesterone + Lobular carcinoma, but thankfully no spread. It was a real shock as I was not expecting this news, thinking I would only have to have the mastectomy and that would be it. 

I am starting chemo, immunotherapy and hormone therapy in a few weeks. 
After what I thought was going to be a relatively straight forward recovery after my mastectomy and 6 weeks off work the oncologist said I am now looking at 6+ months off due to the upcoming treatment. 

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and sacred about the effects of the upcoming treatment on my overall quality of life (and caring for 2 young children!). 

I will likely lose my hair with the chemo- the oncologist mentioned I could try the cold cap therapy- for those that have had it has it made a significant difference (the Dr said it takes a long time each chemo session to put on and off!)?

I would also appreciate any insight into how to approach looking for some counselling support as well- would it be best to go through a GP or...?

Thank you for reading, I'm so glad there is a support network like this available- I feel very alone so far. xx