Been diagnosed for 5 weeks now... wow what a whirlwind!!. Now they tell me Its my decision if or when to start treatment... Im in no stste of mind to be making decisions like that. I dont have time to be sick, Im a busy women...but in all honesty I am scared as hell.
I agree with Di.
Tell your team how you fell, sometimes they can really help, and if you don't tell them, they have no way of knowing.
Let your team know how you feel, Jo. They may say that a small delay until you're ready doesn't matter.
Di
Thank you to all for your replys and good wishes.
A little background; I am 50 and live alone, my only child is married and lives in another state from me.I work fulltime plus some as a area manager for a large corporation. I am a grossly private and independent person who would never ask anyone for help, I am normally the person who everyone around me depends on!
I first had a lumpectomy (2 cancers found), then when the path results come in it wasnt good news! so 10 days after my first op I was back into hosp to have an axcillary dissection. I went in as a public patient, so was discharged quickly after 1 day, and sent home with a lovely new accessory. My drain, to which I had to empty twice daily. A little comfronting at first, but I soon got use to it.Kept that for 10 days. So at that point I was house bound ,Breast throbbing, tingling and numbness, heavyly bandaged and attached to my new accessory and sitting alone crying on a daily basis, slipping slowly into depression.By this stage I have had enough of this, it doesnt fit into my lifestlye and I am over it!!
So now, where am I at?? I have seen my lovely oncologist and he has given me all the information that I need for now and I am trying to decide what to do or at least when.
I will most likely will go with the chemo, I think I should trust what the specialists are telling me, but I just want to heal from the ops first. and have a couple of weeks feeling well with no pain and some kind of normal!! I am 5 weeks in and I am sick of the pain, and I just want a good night snuggly down sleep!!
Dont think thats too much to ask.
Hi Joro,
I hear what you are saying about decisions.
For me my first knee jerk reaction and solution, was to have both breasts off immediately (this was before speaking to the surgeon). Then, changed my mind, after hearing the recommendation of the surgeon to rather go Lumpectomy & Sentinel Node 'cos it was small with poss chemo and radiation afterwards. I am now on day 13 of my first of six chemo treatments (3xFEC100 and 3xTaxotere). I too figured that the experts should know more than me with all their experience and expertise. Am I happy with my decision, yes I am.
I pray that as you talk about your diagnosis, read about it, and listen to the experts your decisions will be easier to make.
All the best, Ann
Hi Jo, just wanted to follow up Sam's post and also say 'welcome'. It's great to see you here. :) I can only imagine how overwhelmed you feel, but jump in any time and ask questions when you have them. At the end of the day the decisions will be yours, but there's nearly always someone here who can share their experiences with you to help you work out what might work best for you.
Di xxx
Hi Jo, just wanted to follow up Sam's post and also say 'welcome'. It's great to see you here. :) I can only imagine how overwhelmed you feel, but jump in any time and ask questions when you have them. At the end of the day the decisions will be yours, but there's nearly always someone here who can share their experiences with you to help you work out what might work best for you.
Di xxx
Hi Joro,
I am so sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis, but am glad you have found this site. It is full of wonderful inspiring women who have been where you are now. I was diagnosed in oct 2011 and if it wasn't for this site I seriously think I could have sunk into depression. It is certainly a tough time going through a breast cancer diagnosis. I hope you have family and friends that are there for you, but if not, hop on this website and get support from us girls who know what you are going through.
Making decisions about your treatment is tough especially when it is all so new to you. Do you feel confident that your doctors know what they are doing? Perhaps you can ask there advice, do some research from reputable places (like BCNA and Cancer council) and come to your decision with the help from your family & friends. I wasn't really asked rather than told what the best treatment would be, and I felt fairly confident that they knew a lot more than I did. So I had a mastectomy and sentinal node biospy. Once you have all your results and treatment plan things can seem a bit more manageable but still now i have days when I am miserable for no real reason, except I miss the old unknowing me.
Goodluck,
Lots of hugs,
Sam
