New to all this and need friends

Thanks Joy I will look into it carefully first......Do you know what the parking is like at Moorabbin.......afternoon would suit me better as i do mostly 6.30am starts but could finish at 3pm everyday.

My car is still in panel beaters so I will make some calls Tuesday after my Radiology appointment....If I call both places will they be able to tell me the costs etc?

Regards Selina

Hi again Selina

All treatment at Moorabbin is free. Peter Mac at Moorabbin is a public hospital and all radiotherapy is coverered uner Medicare rebates. You just take the cheque into them when you receive it from Medicare after you have finished treatment.

I think Frankston Private offers radiotherapy under the private system, and you will be many thousands out of pocket for the course of radiotherapy, even allowing for the Medicare rebates. Don't think you can claim under Private Health insurance either.  Moorabbin will cater for your needs if you are working. They keep the early morning slots and the late afternoon slots for those in the workforce.

Ask questions before you commit to either treatment centre!

Good luck for your vein surgery.

With love

Joy K

 

Hi all, hope everyone is doing ok today, I am doing good atm had a little cry the other morning I think that is cause I have been keeping most of this emotion locked inside.

I got my results on tuesday and they are 99.9% confident that they have removed all the cancer, Now to start 6 weeks of radiotherapy and then go onto tomoxifen for 5 years. I havent decided as yet where I will get treatment, I have a choice of Morrabbin or Frankston Private......Since I work at Hawthorn and live in Frankston either i guess will be suitable and both will cost about the same in the long run. Guess it will depend on the time slot that I will require once I talk to my work in changing my shifts to suit.

I had a lovely surprise visit from my daughter and grand daughter from Brisbane last week I think my daughter needed to be near me to make sure I was doing ok.

I know I am at this stage lucky to have a good result and I know some of you all are going thru worse than me, and I just want to say thank you to you all whom have been in contact it has all helped and I dont feel alone in this journey.

The oncologist has agreed for me to have my vein surgery on the 22nd of this month before starting radiotherapy.

Thanks again to all, havea good weekend....Selina

Accessing your superannuation early depends on the staging of your breast cancer and you won't know that till early March when you get your results.

I am being treated at Moorabbin (and you can arrange suitable times for Breast Oncology Clinic and other treatments later in the day) and have Stage 4 breast cancer which was diagnosed at original diagnosis. It's easy for me to say don't worry about the future but as you say you have faith in the medical profession. No amount of worrying or amount of scans will stop the cancer coming back if that is what it is going to do. Just trust in your doctors and know that it will be picked up and treated accordingly if it does. The only difference in my life to someone living with early breast cancer is that I have to fit my active life around medical investigations and treatments and be very organised. Despite having had neoadjuvent chemotherapy, radical mastectomy with all lymph nodes on affected side removed, radiotherapy and then more radiotherapy followed by lymphoedema I can honestly say I feel better than I have in years.

There is life after or even with this disease. 

With love

Joy K

Selina, check out with ur Breast Care Nurse or even just the ward at the hospital, often the auxillary ladies make these small pillows that sit in ur underarm area and make it much more comfortable while u are recovering from surgery..mine was a godsend!..

Sam :)

Diagnosed with stage 3 ductal Carcinoma in my right breast August 2011, sent me on the roller coaster of waiting rooms machines that go ping and 8 rounds of chemo. Now with chemo finished I am into the next phase. Next Thursday I will have a Masectomy plus a reduction on my left breast and an axillary clearance. 4 nodes were positive however I think they are going to take many more. I have 2 kids a son 19 an a 15 yr old daughter, my husband who has struggled through this but is supportive. Feel like the chemo drugs are finally leaving my system. I hope we can support each other through this forum and perhaps a catchup sometime with coping strategies. I live and work in the bayside suburbs and hope that part of my recovery will include walking regularly along the beach at Brighton with women who know what I am going through Your posts inspire me. It is hard to stay positive .....but I'm trying thanks- Helena

Diagnosed with stage 3 ductal Carcinoma in my right breast August 2011, sent me on the roller coaster of waiting rooms machines that go ping and 8 rounds of chemo. Now with chemo finished I am into the next phase. Next Thursday I will have a Masectomy plus a reduction on my left breast and an axillary clearance. 4 nodes were positive however I think they are going to take many more. I have 2 kids a son 19 an a 15 yr old daughter, my husband who has struggled through this but is supportive. Feel like the chemo drugs are finally leaving my system. I hope we can support each other through this forum and perhaps a catchup sometime with coping strategies. I live and work in the bayside suburbs and hope that part of my recovery will include walking regularly along the beach at Brighton with women who know what I am going through Your posts inspire me. It is hard to stay positive .....but I'm trying thanks- Helena

Hi Selena

This is Kathy from BCNA. In case you haven't seen it, I wanted to point you to the Practical issues page of tthe BCNA website, which has information about financial and other practical matters. At the bottom of the page are some links to other places where you can find more information. One I would particularly recommend is the link to Issue 56 of The Beacon magazine, which was on the topic of the financial impact of breast cancer. It has articles about finding support, public v private treatment, and lots of stories from women about their experiences. There are also some links to resource sheets that list organisations that provide financial assistance and government schemes to help reduce medical costs, eg the Medicare Safety Net. Hope this is helpful for you.

I'm so pleased you joined this site - good on your partner for suggesting it. You will find you get lots of support and helpful advice from the women here.

All the best, Kathy

Hi Selena

This is Kathy from BCNA. In case you haven't seen it, I wanted to point you to the Practical issues page of tthe BCNA website, which has information about financial and other practical matters. At the bottom of the page are some links to other places where you can find more information. One I would particularly recommend is the link to Issue 56 of The Beacon magazine, which was on the topic of the financial impact of breast cancer. It has articles about finding support, public v private treatment, and lots of stories from women about their experiences. There are also some links to resource sheets that list organisations that provide financial assistance and government schemes to help reduce medical costs, eg the Medicare Safety Net. Hope this is helpful for you.

I'm so pleased you joined this site - good on your partner for suggesting it. You will find you get lots of support and helpful advice from the women here.

All the best, Kathy

Hi Jo, I saw Belinda Brown privately but went thru Frankston hospital public. I live in Frankston 5 mins from the hospital, work at Hawthorn and yes had it all worked out that if I need further treatment then I could work in the morning finish early and call into Monash for treatment on way home....this sounded good till my local doctor said it doesnt quiet work like that as it isnt drive thru service.....lol and why not I asked, you can get just about everything else these days drive thru.

I guess I will have to wait and see what the results are then cross the next bridge.

I did call up my super fund to see if I could take some early to help with morgage payments and living expences incase I cant work once I have used all my leave hours , they refered me to DHS and they want quotes etc for my treatment and yes cause I can get it for free they wont release early funds.

It's a bit like jetstar atm too I called told them I was unable to fly this trip sent them medical certificate, letter from surgeon and still got a call back saying it wasnt enough to get refund on our flight, had to go and get a new medical certificate saying I am unable to fly within next 6 months, bet you anything they still wont give me a refund.

I know i should be looking at the light at the end of the tunnel but at the moment it is a really long tunnel and I cant see it, but i know it is there and will find it once i go round the bend.

I will have a look round site more later thanks for the help.

Have a nice day Selina