Stages of Cancer ... just found out ... what does this really mean?

@viking1 thats great news! and glad you'll be done by then! Ohhh I know, just when you think you have things under control something else crops up. All you can do is deal with each thing at a time and a day at a time, sounds like youre doing ok as well as expected. Ohhh I didnt worry about nutrition LOL, it really came down to what I could stomach, I was so incredibly ill. Meds should help the thrush! just keep your nurses in the loop and ask ask ask anything you need to know. Hugs M x

Hi @melclarity...good to hear from you! Yes, apparently in WA at my hospital they are making arrangements around the 25th! Fortunately I will be at the end of chemo then ... the last chemo 6 is exactly three weeks before the 25th☺ Touch wood no hospitalisations to throw that out of whack! So far tomorrow will be the second week of chemo 5.  Amazing how the game keeps changing. With this second dose of docetaxol I have the worst oral thrush yet. Didn't get it on FEC. My nutritious diet has done a nose dive to anything that doesn't hurt or burn. Hopefully the meds will work soon ... trying 4! If not will see GP as heard in cancer patients if untreated or not sorted can move to lungs.  Great...what next!

@viking1 just checking in to see how you are going? it is hard when you have someone different, hopefully your nursing staff who you see more of will be consistent relatively. Just keep asking all your questions as you go, I think the more you understand the more comfortable and confident you will feel. Knowledge is power and its important to feel as settled as you can through treatment. Not sure you get a day off lol, I still had to have infusions on public hols, I guess it depends. xx Melinda

@MKitty68 I imagine you have had an axillary clearance in one of your arms re lymph nodes? I have found that armpit scar the hardest to deal with to date pain wise and rehab wise - lumpectomy was easy. They went in twice to end up with 3/16 positive nodes. We must have only a few altogether as I read you can have 30 approx in your arm. I guess the good thing is you are HER2 neg and that saves on a year of herceptin infusions or sub cut injections. I have just had my 2nd and have 17 all up, 3 weeks apart. So I finish that next Sept and opted for injections as veins very sad. Really is swings and roundabouts isn't it? I hope and think we will all get Xmas day off and we can think about something else! xxx Hang in there.

I found on a report that mine was 'Multifocal grade 2 mixed invasive ductal/invasve lobular carcinoma' 
(it doesn't say there but i was told that all 17 nodes were positive, and it's ER+/PR+ HER2- ) 

@MKitty68 I can imagine that that was and still is very confusing for you. xxx It's a bit like snakes and ladders ... except we have the nastiest snakes! Still guessing if @primek is a Dr,  nurse or angel? ☺

Ta, I had some idea that they were a bit like clinical psychologists accreditation wise and just had to do some field work before being let lose on the public ☺ But that helps with the lingo ... I might need to see the consultant...if I'm lucky.

@MKitty68 Grade is how different the cells look compared to how they should look. Stage is size and nodes etc. 

On this chart - it mentions stages and Categories, not grades... are they the same?
https://breast-cancer.canceraustralia.gov.au/diagnosis/stages-breast-cancer

My bc was discovered as i felt something was not right, as well as physical changes to my breast, not routine mammogram. I had 2 x 2.5cm mixed ductal & lobular invasive carcinomas and all 17 nodes were positive. (ER+, PR+, HER2-) When I was first diagnosed, when they did the biopsies, i had 3 spots, 2 of which they tested. 25mm,15mm & 10mm - when they did my mastectomy, they found 2, both of which were 25mm. 
going on that chart, I am at stage 3C due to the amount of nodes. 

At my first visit, my surgeon told me that it was not early bc, (it's locally advanced). Overhearing him discussing with the registrar saying it's in line with metastasis' prior to my mastectomy, I believe that they thought it was going to be metastatic. Thankfully it's not. So basically it wasn't as bad as they thought, but worse than i thought. 

@viking1 Just so you know. A Registrar is a fully qualified Doctor. They are just doing additional mentoring training in the specific field. You will need to ask for the Consultant...ie head honcho Dr.