Is "Brian" the new Farnham??
So.......I thought I had given my lump "Brian" a beautiful farewell concert, complete with audience, drinks and a hearty "F...k Off Brian" back in March. At that stage, I was cruising through the Stage 1, grade 3 euphoria of "You got this Girl!" Doctor will do a Lumpectomy one morning, rip out a few nodes, dose of radiation and some pills just in case. Oh yeah, I was still scared, but I was being told - "we" got this!" "Brian" has left the building!!! So......the discovery of a 85mm lump of "Brian" and 4 positive nodes and 1 pissed off node, caused panic and it is now Mastectomy time. The family and I throw a "Fast and Furious" Movie Marathon as a Farewell to "Lefty". Receive a beautiful Love Note from my oldest daughter thanking "Lefty" for being an amazing breast and the Husband gets the final touch.. Rocked up for surgery on 6th May -it goes really well. Up and about that afternoon walking with the drip in my room, that I share with a 72 year old Lady who "Screams" in her sleep, calls out my name nonstop, refuses to eat and sneaks off for cigarette breaks. I wanted to go home just so i could actually sleep and rest!!! Anyway, 2 days after surgery, Dr. (I am God) Bolshy turns up with his entourage of Junior Registrars and says - "you can go home and by the way you are now Stage 3, Grade 3 and walks off." W.T.F. Did you just say? I had to chase this Bastard down the hallway and make him come back to my room!!!!!!!!!!!!! he refuses to tell me anymore other than you have jumped from Stage 1 to Stage 3 - the surgical team will tell you. I met up with the Surgical team last week and all hell breaks loose! "Brian" made a comeback!!! In fact "Brian" had been a busy little Lead Singer - shacking up with as many "Cell Groupies" as he could find the energy for and also shacked up with a Node (making 5 positive now and 1 annoyed) while spreading the love around! All he needed was 3 weeks of love action and he had created another 2mm aggressive growing "lump" near the original site where he was sliced/diced from the show and left his love juice in the form of 18mm of "Baby growing cancer cells" in my milk ducts. I am literally so shocked, I am unable to talk, comprehend or make any sense of what i was being told. What happened to "We got this??" Even though I am told "Brian is gone" and all is well - I am wondering if "Brian" is going to do a Farnsy and keep on making a comeback tour??? Anyway, IF Brian has left any love juice in my body or is thinking of making a 'Come Back" tour - He is in for a rude shock! I have a new band signed up to play in my body - SHE is called "Chemo and The Chemicals".....playing Centre Stage for the next 5 months in LOIS TOWN.....!! (lol) My new Motto: Find positivity in the little things and Use your words to defeat adversaries! Big Hugs Lois......who is not a Doctor's doormat.
Letting go of blame - WHY did I get cancer?
I've just listened to BCNA's excellent podcast: What you don't know until you do, and one of the comments there made me want to share something that might bring comfort to anyone wondering “Why me?” When I was diagnosed, I went straight to questioning what I might have done wrong. I think a lot of us do. It’s easy to assume cancer comes from our own doing - e.g. drinking, not exercising enough, or eating poorly. But in my case, none of that fits. I have never smoked or drank alcohol (!), and for decades now I’ve exercised daily and eat a vegetarian/pescatarian diet with no dairy, no processed food, and very limited processed sugar etc. Over the last years, I'm moved to a job that's relatively stress-free and giving me much satisfaction and flexibility. I’m young, healthy, lean, muscly, and don’t carry any of the high-risk genes. And still, I got breast cancer. I’m not sharing this to scare anyone or suggest healthy habits don’t matter. They absolutely do — and I believe they’re helping me now in recovery, physically and mentally, and hopefully they've contributed to having less aggressive cancer type. But I’m sharing it in case it helps some of you lift some guilt. If you’ve been blaming yourself for a glass of wine, skipped workouts, or a part of your diet — please don’t. Cancer is complex, and sometimes it just happens, even when you’ve done everything “right.” Sending love and strength to everyone going through this. *Moderators - pls feel free to remove if not appropriate*
Depression, Anxiety and Suicide
This is a post for those of us who suffer from depression and entertain thoughts of leaving this earth. Not everyone is comfortable calling a help-line but Beyond Blue has an on-line resource which may be helpful to us in those dark moments. I do know it has made my friend think and not act with a disastrous outcome. Even if death does not occur sometimes the injuries of an attempt can be far worse. I hope this helps even one lady. Anne www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/beyondnow-suicide-safety-planning Sending happy vibes to all.
A tiny inflatable boat in a huge storm
Like many others, here I am joining this not-so-sought-after club- and feeling very much like a tiny inflatable boat in a stormy sea. I‘be just been diagnosed this week, although the process has been a bit back to front due to how busy things are during COVID. It feels like everything is happening all at once. Every day this week my understanding of my situation has radically changed. My brain is struggling to comprehend. What I know so far is that it is 99.9% likely that I have inflammatory breast cancer. Even before the biopsy the doctor was prepping me for the likelihood of chemo starting next week (🙀👎💩). But now, having received my FNA and core biopsy, the appointment has been moved up to tomorrow. Understandably I am freaking the @&$! out! My rational brain knows this is “bad but good”. Bad news, but good to have modern medicine, urgent care, to know this is happening in my body. I’m struggling to keep up with the pace of things, let alone telling people in my world AND figuring out what to do as a self-employed business owner. Finally I come to my question: for those of you who have been in this “new diagnosis shock” stage, what are the things you think can wait, and what are the things a person should focus on at this time? Eg/ should I be worrying about my business right now? How much should I let everything fall apart? Well, that turned into an essay-length vomit of all my feelings but having read other posts, I know I’m not alone in this weird state of diagnosis mind!!! (Thank you to all the posters on this site for your generosity in sharing your painful experiences, searching the threads has been really useful and helped me to gain a little more perspective with everything I read).
still in shock
Five weeks ago I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in both sides. I have had surgery and have a oncology appointment next week. The pathology result down graded the cancer from 2 to 1 and lymph nodes were not affected. So some good news in a not so good situation. Everyone around me has been so supportive and positive. It is very hard to tell people the emotional devastation I am going through. In the scheme of things my situation is no were near as bad as some and I keep telling my self that I should be greatful for a good pathology result. But still the tears flow.
Newbie…long story
Hi everyone, Newbie here. Never dreamt I would be joining this club, but who does ?! This forum and website have been so helpful to me over the past month. My journey started last June when I decided to speak with my GP about a tender spot right on the inside edge of my left breast. She reassured me that tenderness isn’t typically a symptom of breast cancer, but we would check it out. Got an ultrasound and mammogram. US identified a small mass, mammo some calcifications. Got an us biopsy around October, all clear. Then around Christmas I noticed some brown nipple discharge (took a while to accept it was coming from the nipple, thought I had spilt something…. Every few days in the same spot!!!). Back to the GP, another ultrasound. The report said there was “debris” in the duct, couldn’t exclude papilloma, MRI would confirm, surgical consult recommended. So off for the consult, after which I was told the discharge was due to trauma to the breast from the biopsy (they didn’t send me for the MRI). This was purely based on discussion and very brief examination. In hindsight and knowing what I do now, I would have pushed back and demanded the MRI regardless. Relief! But my GP wasn’t convinced. She sent me for an MRI then a consult with a specialist breast surgeon who, after looking at the MRI, immediately sent me for some MRI and stereotactic biopsies…2 in my left and one in the right. That was a bit of a marathon! I was convinced it was all a waste of time and money! I turned up to the surgeon for results unconcerned…obviously rather naive! “You’ve got a lot going on in your breasts!” were her first words. LCIS and papilloma in my right breast, DCIS and invasive Mucinous carcinoma in my left. I was speechless. Shocked. Bewildered. Confused. We briefly discussed next steps, but I couldn’t get out of there fast enough! I called my husband in tears. We went back together to the surgeon the following Monday, after doing a bit of research, lots of reading, and chatting with a wonderful McGrath Breast Care Nurse. After asking more questions, I decided on a left mastectomy and right lumpectomy. Plus sentinel node biopsy on the left. But I was so angry. How could the first surgeon send me away without really being sure??!! I went through all the feelings, disbelief, anger, sadness, grief, a bit more anger, and finally acceptance (mostly anyway!!). I realise I have to let go of the anger, and am taking it on as a learning - it’s important to advocate for our own health and not accept something too easily if it doesn’t seem right. Hubby and I had a two week holiday booked up north the following week, which the surgeon said was fine, so we booked surgery for August 13, ten days after we would get home. The holiday was great, we hadn’t told anyone at that point (except my mum and work). We were able to not think about it and had some really special time together. It was good to have the space and time to process what was happening. so now I’m one week post surgery, contemplating the future, keen to get back to everything I used to do. I had been training for a half marathon in September, which of course now won’t be happening. We are hiking the Overland Track in February, so that’s what I’m aiming for. I’m so very lucky to have an amazing, competent, supportive partner. He has taken the same time off work as me to support my recovery. He even washed my hair for me yesterday :-) Recovery is going pretty well, although I’m often still uncomfortable in bed. Getting the drain tube out a couple of days ago was wonderful! We go back to the surgeon next week (two weeks after surgery) for dressings etc and results. Fingers and toes are all crossed! Thanks for getting this far, there’s something a little cathartic in writing this down. I’ve really appreciated reading others stories, it helps with knowing we are not alone and the feelings are valid. Thank you :-) Belinda xx
Spoons of energy
Here's an analogy I heard recently. It helps describe to people who aren't living with chronic pain/illness what it's like in a way that's a bit easier to understand. Every day, I wake up with 20 spoons full of energy. This is my entire allotment of energy for getting through a day. Getting out of bed, some days this takes 2 spoons. Having breakfast, getting ready and driving to work in traffic and walking to the office - well that's 3 spoons if the traffic is bad. A whole day at work - there's 10 spoons right there. And if I have to go to a meeting which ratchets up my anxiety? Let's add another 4 spoons to get through that. If there's a medical appointment on this day - wow that could be any number of spoons. Getting home will take another 3 spoons after I have walked to my car with aching feet and burning joints and battled more traffic nightmares. So by the time I get home, I've gone over to 22 spoons. Where do I get the extra spoons from? How do I find the energy to make dinner, have a shower, prep lunch for the next day? Do I take the energy from tomorrow? What then? I have to start tomorrow with only 18 spoons of energy. How do I ever catch up? I guess what I am learning through this is that I need to be more careful about giving away those spoons of energy on things that are not useful, not helpful and drain me too quickly. Do you deserve my spoon? Have you earned my spoon? What would I prefer to allocate my spoon to?
