To chemo or not to chemo
Hi there, any thoughts on this would be appreciated. My early breast cancer is: no node involvement, no blood / vascular involvement detected, HER2 negative. I've had a complete single mastectomy...
Forum Discussion
@CellyK the day I was diagnosed, it was at Breastscreen. My husband was with me along with a psychologist and a band of people that I hadn't seen before but appeared from nowhere. We had been put with a psychologist the minute we arrived at Breastscreen so I knew it wasn't going to be a good day. After she explained it was going to be a long day and the process of the day I was then instructed to go and get changed and head into the holding pen with all the ladies only to be greeted by "what are you doing here?", turns out I knew 5 of the ladies there. The room was overflowing. Our screening originally was the mobile bus. Can't say it's something in the water as most of those ladies are town ladies whereas I live on acres with tank water. Anyhow,
The breast surgeon said, you've got breast cancer he also went on to say you'll be my patient for the next 10 years. Well I have to say the 10 years part dominated my thoughts in like, who the, what the, how old will I be, why would you say that when we only met 5 minutes ago!! Now that I am over that and settled, it's a breeze, ha! ha!. Must say my acceptance came within that first day and I am of the view that acceptance is a huge part of coping and getting on with it. I assume now that the 10 year is because I am hormone receptor positive.
My treatment was, ultrasound and biopsy to confirm diagnosis, the pressure they apply to stop the bleeding after biopsy was harder than the biopsy itself, followed by sentinel node biopsy, left breast mastectomy, sentinel node and two guards removed and immediate insertion of expander. A couple of hiccups along the way and eventual changeover surgery to a permanent implant.
The Oncology part of treatment is the part that I wasn't prepared for, options, more than one Oncologist is needed and so it goes. It was decided that I should have 26 x zoladex injections, one every 4 weeks as well as Tamoxifen for 10 years. Zoladex injection is a small port that is injected in the abdomen area and slow release over the 4 weeks, the port dissolves. They like you to keep with the 4 weeks and not extend it out to 5. Zoladex gave me the runs from the get go and some strange episodes of bone pain, dizziness et cetera, some days I could hardly walk, which I still get, as well as other side effects that I cannot contribute to one or the other. Amongst it they decided that my thyroid was up the put; now on daily medication for the rest of my life; and that I would also need vaginal ultrasounds on a regular basis as the endometrium is thickening and so it goes................ I've been introduced to specialists that I knew nothing of, terminology that I had no need for and found myself learning to spell words that are not my normal language. I occasionally have remedial massage as still today I have nerves that haven't settled and a little bit of swelling around the sternum.
I am getting too long winded now but I guess what I am trying to say, we all get a diagnosis that says Breast Cancer and then we all go into different treatment regimes, all dependent on, who the, what the and we are drip fed information along the way.
Side effects for all of us are a pain in the behind yet they are not really spoken about prior, as some are unfortunate to get the full deck of cards and others maybe one or two. Hopefully you're lucky enough to be in the very few category...................
My surgeon called me tough as old boots and I smiled because I know I am and I take after my Mother. I never cried when I was diagnosed and I still haven't, but we are all different! I did cry the other night when I watched, Vet on the Hill and saw Rosa the dog die from breast cancer. It is the toughness that allows me to cope. My last stint in hospital the nurses said it is lovely to come into the calm room. That is my acceptance of where I am at and rolling along with it. At present I have lost a neighbour at the 9 year mark since diagnosis and a cousin at the 2 year mark.....................can't put my head in that space for long as it only rattles the nerves. I have no plans of following them. I had to make a speech on Friday at an industry conference and a fella came up to me later to say his wife was at the 17 year mark.................here's hoping we all head into the 17 year mark and beyond
Take care and sending you a virtual hug xx
The breast surgeon said, you've got breast cancer he also went on to say you'll be my patient for the next 10 years. Well I have to say the 10 years part dominated my thoughts in like, who the, what the, how old will I be, why would you say that when we only met 5 minutes ago!! Now that I am over that and settled, it's a breeze, ha! ha!. Must say my acceptance came within that first day and I am of the view that acceptance is a huge part of coping and getting on with it. I assume now that the 10 year is because I am hormone receptor positive.
My treatment was, ultrasound and biopsy to confirm diagnosis, the pressure they apply to stop the bleeding after biopsy was harder than the biopsy itself, followed by sentinel node biopsy, left breast mastectomy, sentinel node and two guards removed and immediate insertion of expander. A couple of hiccups along the way and eventual changeover surgery to a permanent implant.
The Oncology part of treatment is the part that I wasn't prepared for, options, more than one Oncologist is needed and so it goes. It was decided that I should have 26 x zoladex injections, one every 4 weeks as well as Tamoxifen for 10 years. Zoladex injection is a small port that is injected in the abdomen area and slow release over the 4 weeks, the port dissolves. They like you to keep with the 4 weeks and not extend it out to 5. Zoladex gave me the runs from the get go and some strange episodes of bone pain, dizziness et cetera, some days I could hardly walk, which I still get, as well as other side effects that I cannot contribute to one or the other. Amongst it they decided that my thyroid was up the put; now on daily medication for the rest of my life; and that I would also need vaginal ultrasounds on a regular basis as the endometrium is thickening and so it goes................ I've been introduced to specialists that I knew nothing of, terminology that I had no need for and found myself learning to spell words that are not my normal language. I occasionally have remedial massage as still today I have nerves that haven't settled and a little bit of swelling around the sternum.
I am getting too long winded now but I guess what I am trying to say, we all get a diagnosis that says Breast Cancer and then we all go into different treatment regimes, all dependent on, who the, what the and we are drip fed information along the way.
Side effects for all of us are a pain in the behind yet they are not really spoken about prior, as some are unfortunate to get the full deck of cards and others maybe one or two. Hopefully you're lucky enough to be in the very few category...................
My surgeon called me tough as old boots and I smiled because I know I am and I take after my Mother. I never cried when I was diagnosed and I still haven't, but we are all different! I did cry the other night when I watched, Vet on the Hill and saw Rosa the dog die from breast cancer. It is the toughness that allows me to cope. My last stint in hospital the nurses said it is lovely to come into the calm room. That is my acceptance of where I am at and rolling along with it. At present I have lost a neighbour at the 9 year mark since diagnosis and a cousin at the 2 year mark.....................can't put my head in that space for long as it only rattles the nerves. I have no plans of following them. I had to make a speech on Friday at an industry conference and a fella came up to me later to say his wife was at the 17 year mark.................here's hoping we all head into the 17 year mark and beyond
Take care and sending you a virtual hug xx