desmoplastic IDC anyone??

oh so will have to be moved twice somehow??? once for the bench and then again to the scanner bench?  see we use a sling lifter here and that they definitely do not have!

Your surgeon should have notified PRP of your disability. It would be a good idea to ring yourself and check that they are aware.
Having the dye injected is done on the same bench as an ultrasound, it is reasonably wide.
it is not the nicest thing to have done but bearable. Massage that breast well, it helps to spread the dye. My nurse offered to do it for me if I didn't think I could, so say so if you don't think you can.

The CT machine bench is similar but narrower and they do have securing straps if you need them. The hardest thing there is lying so still for so long with your arms up.
If you have worries, voice them.
I found the nurses very compassionate and helpful.

Hi @bevvzy, on the morning of my mastectomy I was put into a gown and injected with a radioactive dye around the tumour while lying down. An ultrasound is used to guide.  The procedure only takes 5-10 minutes and is just a little sting.  I was then asked to wait for an hour, massaging my breast to get the dye moving. (this bit can take longer, we are all different) The idea is that the dye will travel to various lymph nodes the tumour drains into.  I was then put into an MRI type machine which picked up all the nodes effected by the dye. Just because a node is reacting to the dye does not mean it has cancer in it. I was covered in crosses all around my armpit and my nodes were all clear.
my surgeon did another dye test while I was having surgery (this dye is blue) which further showed up the nodes. I still have 3 blue stains on my breast after 7 months!
The waiting is so difficult bevvzy, it really does feel better once you have your results and a plan of attack.  Hang in there, we are all behind you.
Jane xx

thanks to both of you for the reassurance that I am not insane with these mood swings being so speedy. I did see the surgeon yesterday and am booked in for a mastectomy on the 20th, so three weeks time. I feel a little more knowing at least. He did talk about chemo and said that will be taking some nodes and will only know about chemo then. He also said though that chemo is not always as bad as you see on TV hmmm I dont know.  I guess I will just tackle it when it comes, Its the practical things that are the things really getting to me. Like he said on the morning of surgery I have to go to PRP radiology and have dye injected near the cancer and also under the arm. but when I called them they said I would have to be lying down? I just dont know how that will work!!!  How can they go ahead with the surgery if they cant do the dye???

I had a clear mammogram 5 weeks before finding a palpable lump. If you can, let that anger at yourself go. It may not have changed a thing. It didn't for me. Even knowing exactly where the lump was it wasn't visible on my mammogram due to breast density. Focusing on what you can do now to fight the cancer is the best way I found to move forward. Kath x

Use that anger, Bevvzy, I did, and yes, I went up and down at a frantic rate to start, it has settled more now, but I can still go through all the stages.
A week after diagnosis is still raw, no wonder you are having all these feelings.
I did my research and became a lot more proactive in my care and treatment. No more relying on the experts. I never used to question things, now I do it all the time.
A grade 3 is the rate at which it grows, that probably wouldn't have changed, it is the stage that is the issue, which is how big it is and if the lymph nodes are involved.
You probably won't know what stage it is for certain until the pathology after surgery.
I hope you get a lot of help and support from your team through all this, it really helps having so many people trying to get you well again.

: ) I am so glad I got the my journey kit and found this site.  I think my biggest issue at the moment is that these stages of grief which I have recognized, are not happening in any order and they go between each otehr minute by minute, you know its like all 4 seasons in one day. I dont know if you got the my journey journal or not but it has you circle, on a scale of 1 to 5, how you felt that day, I usually circle three of more of them lol now im smiling and happy but 15 minutes ago I was swearing and upset. I think I get angry as I really do blame the nursing home I am in. I am a paraplegic and I came in here 4 years ago, before that I had 2nd yearly mammograms. I was due for one when I came in here and got a reminder. It never happened though and I get a bit angry cause I think that if I had kept having those mammograms, yes, I would still have got it, but would it be grade 3? and IDC? I doubt it, it would probably have been detected very quickly and been insitu still. I know there is no point being angry now, but it doesn't seem to take anything to make me angry. I am always such a passive person, a doormat my daughter used to say :) shes probably proud of my anger lol

Yes, totally normal to feel that way. My IDC was also abnormal as it had growth consistent with a lobular carcinoma but the staining apparently showed it was still a ductal carcinoma. Having an abnormal cancer just ramps up the stress about it I can assure you, however, my Oncologist wasn't concerned about it.
You are eligible for a mental health plan, see your GP to arrange this, they can organise you to see a psychologist and work through the stress if you feel you need it. It should be covered by Medicare. 
My sister says you will go through the 5 (or was it 7) stages of grief when you are diagnosed with a serious illness, and I certainly am. My most common stage is anger and I revisit it often.
I go back and forward through the stages, and still sometimes think it is all a bad dream.

if you go onto the resources section of the BCNA website, there is a fact sheet about Dr Google, it lists the reliable websites for you to access.
it also has many other fact sheets you can order in hard copy or download yourself.
I thought I knew a lot but found many there that were very helpful, including the one on the mental health plan.

we are here for you to ask questions too, and to just listen if you need to let rip about something, ask your Surgeon a lot, they should give you lots of information too, mine gave me the My Journey information book, and they had a brochure for contacting the breast care nurse, who is a fund of information.

hoping you can find a way through the jumble of thoughts and can get your treatment plan in action soon, it really helps.

thanks so much !! i feel like i have fallen into some black canyon, my emotions change by the second, happy, furious over nothing, crying, totally denying the report, its hard to keep up with the minute by minute mood swings, think i nead a psychiatrist lol keep well, i see surgeon tomorrow morning at 10   :#

Basically this is just a response of the body to try and contain the abnormal cancer cells but not being as successful as we would like. It apparently occurs around non cancerous growths as well. My cancer had a high prolifetation rate also, so was a grade 3. I guess the good thing about this is that it response well to chemo. I'm  14 months on now.

Don't get caught in the cycle of over reading in google. Basically I think they say poor prognosis with all breast cancers. Know the stats. 90% of women in Australia with breast cancer will survive at least 5 years.  The best we can do is try to believe we are 1 of those 90%. And yes ...most live much longer than that...I'm planning on at least another 20.

The pic is from the slideshow information provided at the BCNA Summit held 15-17 March.  We are lucky to live in a country with such fantastic outcomes.

Ask your surgeon or breast care nurse to explain the patholgy to you in more detail.

Take Care. Kath x