No tests before surgery
Hello everyone, im having surgery in 15 days. Obviously im getting a bit more anxious. I asked my Dr do i need scans or bloods before my bilateral mastectomy he said no. My sister said that is strange and not right. She made me worry and stress more. I just want to get thru this and hopefully be all clear and not require further treatment. Can I ask what others have had to do prior to surgery..eg bloods and such. Thank u xxx? Worried that there is worse not found yet
Hello everyone, so I had high grade dcis removed with good margins following a lumpectomy. I am having a bilateral mastectomy in 20 days. My brain is running wild with the what ifs. Im terrified they may find something else when I have the surgery. My surgeon seems pretty confident that the mastectomy will remove any worries like that. Do others panic about things like this. Waiting for surgery is torture for a super anxious person like me. Thanks for letting me vent. Hugs to all x
New diagnosis metastatic breast cancer
Hi, I'm all very new to this being diagnosed only 7 wks ago with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (triple positive) which has spread to my bones. I am 51 with 2 children. I had only had my first mammogram 18 mths previous which was clear. I felt unwell at work & went to hospital and they found it looking for something else. It has been such an overwhelming process. My family & friends have been amazing but am feeling so very alone.Hello
Introducing myself - I’m a 65 year old writer and TAFE teacher. Diagnosed with high grade DCIS about a month ago. I’ve had a lumpectomy and am due (fingers crossed) for a re-excision tomorrow before starting radio therapy. I’ve had a monster of a cold so the re-excision may not go ahead - in which case I’ll have to live with the less-than optimum margins in one specific spot. I live with my husband and my 94 year old mother - we care for her as she has a form of dementia. I am considering getting respite care for her through part of the radiotherapy just as a bit of emotional relief but haven’t completely made up my mind yet. I’m finding these new challenges a tricky tightrope to walk. Work has been great - and I know I’m lucky! We teach online and have done so since about 2007 and are a small but supportive team. But it’s still hard, isolating and the domestic front is emotionally exhausting. Still, courage comrades!High grade DCIS
Hello everyone, diagnosed with high grade DCIS I've had a lumpectomy. The surgeon said clear margins. Im scheduled to have a bilateral mastectomy in 29 days. Im going to go flat no reconstruction. I have no family support and quite frankly a useless husband. Rocky marriage prior to the diagnosis. My surgeon said I don't need lymph nodes removed because of the clear margins. I have myself dead and buried im terrified. I have no one to talk to. Hence why I'm here reaching out to you wonderful people. Please be a support for me I have no one. I've lost two sisters to this disease I don't want to join them just yet. Love and blessings Shannon
WHO do I tell?
I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer 2 weeks ago and had a lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy last week. I’m recovering , but figuring out support has been tricky. I’m single, with a small close circle — amazing women who are already doing what they can, but they’re busy and going through a lot themselves. I know I need more help, but the next layer of friends includes people who always overshare others private news. I’m hesitant to open up, even though some of them might be able to support me practically. I also love my privacy, alone time I'm not good at asking for what I want/ need - and so far have managed. So I’m a bit stuck between needing more help and not being sure who I feel safe relying on. Has anyone else struggled with this? How did you decide who to tell or lean on — especially when trust or privacy was a concern? Should I even worry about privacy - would it be so bad if the whole world knew...? I prob feel it might from romantic and future job perspective... Thank you in advance!
Fluoxetine and Letrozole
Hello folks, I'm wondering if there is anyone in this community with experience of low mood being exacerbated by Letrozole. I have been on Fluoxetine for many years but am finding after six months on Letrozole my mood has become very low. Does anyone have a similar experience and what have you done to alleviate it? I have an appointment with a GP to ask about it but would like to read about other's experiences and fixes.
De novo Mets
It's everywhere, all through my spine, left shoulder , should blade, breast bone, hips and both femurs. Some of them are big . In February I was blissfully happy with my husband , backpack hiking in Tasmanian mountain wilderness for our 1st year anniversary. I just had an annoying sore shoulder and what I thought was normal menopausal aches. The tumour in my boob is tiny, I can't even feel it now I know where it is. It wasn't picked up in mamograms. My blood test are normal. I don't feel sick other than waves of panic. I'm not angry, just terribly terribly sad . Biopsy says it's a HR+ PR+ Her -. The nurses telle that's good and slow growing, lol, tell that to my skeleton! I'm finding it hard to be positive given the extent of the spread. Still waiting to see a specialist and start treatment. My doctor has said no running, cycling or hiking and that I'm lucky I haven't broken my arm or back. I literally don't know what to do with myself. It's like I have to give up my "core" personality
Feeling scared and just a bit angry
Hi, I'm Karen, 61yo, from Victoria. I was diagnosed in September, my birthday actually, I was numb. I had been dealing with a very coercive relationship, narcissism, gaslighting the lot, to be told this news was just too much, I had all sorts going through my head, How do I tell my children? How do I do this? Why me? Everything was so hard to process and even now I'm struggling. I was told it was an Oestrogen based cancer, sorry I cant remember much of that conversation, but 2 Biopsies, the first one they biopsied the wrong lymph node, Pet scan, M.R.I and blood test later to be told sorry its not good news, well having a lump in the breast isnt good news anyway but, I had my right breast and Lymph nodes removed, then to be told its bad news I'm so sorry was another kick in the guts, 35 of my 36 nodes were affected, so onto another more thorough Pet scan, blood test and M.R.I, To get the good news that it wasn't anywhere else in my body. Now I'm preparing for Chemo to start on the 2nd of Jan and I'm absolutely terrified, I have no emotional or any other support at home, even though I'm told everyday that he cares, they say actions speak louder than words well Im yet to see any, my son who is my heart, doesn't know how to deal with this and neither do I. They have just had an Eptopic pregnancy and I'm hurting for them, we were all so excited and happy. I don't know what to do or how I'm going to do it, my living situation is so toxic to my mental health and is impacting on my son and daughter-in-law as well. My partner is trying to get me out of the house and that is something I can't deal with at the moment as I'm trying to deal with being there for my son and daughter-in-law and Chemo, I feel like I'm rambling, my life is a mess, I just don't know what to do. Sorry for the rambling talk I'm not very good at putting things on paper, everything is very disjointed.
Recent diagnosis and new to the group
Good afternoon. My name is Jenny and I was diagnosed with Grade 2 cancer in my right breast on the 17 April. I had lumpectomy surgery on 4 May and a PET/CT scan last week as cancer cells were detected in 1 of 3 lymph nodes and results are pending. We met the Oncologist last Tuesday and due to several risk factors, chemotherapy has been recommended as the next step and I commence on 12 June starting with fortnightly infusions for the first 8 weeks then weekly for the next 12 weeks. Radiation will follow as they were not able to get the level of clear margins with the surgery and no further surgery is possible. Then if all this goes onto hormone blocking medication for 5 years as I'm ER positive, PR negative and HER2 negative. I'm feeling OK negotiating the roller coaster of procedures, tests and waiting for results and adjusting. At this stage, I've accepted what is happening and learning to live my best life with this diagnosis now and in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read to my story and appreciate the insights others can give from their lived experience. Kind regards, Jenny
