Newly diagnosed
@Vix1963 message moved from the activity section by BCNA moderator. Hi peeps Last 7 days been a whirlwind- HISTORY-24 years ago I had two lumpectomies ,one from each breast - both benign. Have had regular mammograms ever since EXCEPT 2020 when Andrews shutdown screening . So it was three years between my last mammogram and this one. So, December 22nd 2021, I had my mammogram. January 20 a BreastScreen call delicately saying that specialists had found a concerning area, could I come in for further tests. Jan 21 I had all the scans, counselling , 3D mammogram and finally 3 biopsies. January 27 called in earlier than original appt made. Doctors sat with me-have just been diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Cancer in my L Breast- Grade 3, Stage 1, HERS 2/3 Then sent off to my GP for referral to Breast Specialist in hospital. QUERY- would you recommend a hospital close and easy access to family (that would be ONJ/Austin) OR hospital close to my home and the beach for respite in between treatments (this would be Frankston Hosp) what do you suggest? Note- Austin is also where I am waiting for my hole in heart to be repaired, and GP says this needs repairing before I start Breast treatment due to clotting bla bla -which hospitals did u go to? Or highly recommend? - what’s the time frame for everything now? they want me to have Chemo prior to surgery (do I lose my thick waist length hair?) thx for reading
Cooling cap
Hello beautifuls, So I’m tossing up between pre shave and trying the cooling cap. Has anyone has success with the cooling cap ?? I’ve had a conversation with my 15 year old son and he wants me to shave as he doesn’t want to watch it fall out. I think he was very brave for telling me this. I’m just wondering if anyone has had success with the cooling cap as I was going to try it ??
To shave for wedding or wait?
Hi all, I was diagnosed with her2+ breast cancer in my right breast and 2 lymph nodes a few weeks back and started AC chemo last thursday (14/11/19) and my next round is on the 2/12/19. My wedding is on the 30/11 and I'm having a quandary about my hair. The cancer care team said my hair would be gone by my wedding day and I'm ok with that and will make plans for a wig for the day but I guess my question is, should I pre-emptively shave my head, assuming that it will definitely be falling out by then and commit to the wig or wait and see (get a wig in case but hold off until it actually starts to fall). As far as I can tell, wigs can be uncomfortable and itchy and I'm in brisbane where it is hot so I guess I don't want to have that added discomfort if I don't have to but, if my hair falls out on the day in large chunks I guess that could be hard to deal with at the last minute. I'd love to hear people's experiences with AC and hair falling out. And wigs. Oh, I should say I am not a very princessy bride so while I want to look nice on the day, it's not my major driving force. Thank you for any advice.
Won the wrong lottery
Hi, 1 in 8 and I wouldn’t win Tatts but I’ve won an early diagnosis triple positive gremlin. Surgery was a little over 3 weeks ago. Clear Margins and negative in the sentinel nodes - another win 🙂 I had an appointment with the radio guru today who says 4 weeks of treatment after my chemo. So that will be a few months away - the height is summer. Does that affect discomfort? He a so mentioned something about large, droopy breasts and a skin fold issue under the breast? I’ll talk to my McGrath Magician about that. Chemo Guru appt is next week. This is the scary one for me. Everything so far I’ve rolled with but I have waist length hair, I’ve always had long thick hair. I have never found a hat that fits and looks good and I look stupid in beanies. So I’m hitting a wall pretty hard on losing my hair. I guess that’s enough about me for now. Cheers.
The good, the bad and the ugly of my cold cap journey
Dear everyone, I am two and a half months past my last cycle of chemotherapy so I though I will share my experience with the cold calp. I had 4 cycles of TC (20/11/18 to 23/01/19). I chose to do a neoadjuvant treatment and start with chemotherapy to allow genetic testing to happen and give me some time to think about the best surgical approach. I used the Paxman cold calp. The extra small cap was too tight, so I wore inner small which moved a bit and outer small to try to keep it in place. I have lost about 50% of my hair (and I have heaps to start with) mostly in my crown, probably because the cap was a bit big for me. All the usual instructions to preserve hair were followed - washes once a week with coldish water and mild shampoo provided by my hospital (Sukin), no hairdryer, gentle brushing, silk pillowcase... They tell you that you are going to lose hair, but I don't think that I was mentally prepared to deal with all the shedding and the clamps of hair in the brush. At face value the treatment has been successful, I only had to wear head scarfs for a couple of months and by now not too many people will tell that I have lost hair. Was it an uncomfortable experience?, Yes, especially the first 20m. I learnt after the first cycle to take the Lorazepam that the hospital provided me to relax a bit earlier in the day at home (about an hour before treatment started) so by the time I got to hospital was almost out and barely felt a thing. Was it worthy?, Absolutely, as you can see in the photos I still have a decent amount of hair Would I do it again?, No, I wouldn't, especially if I required a longer chemo treatment. Chemotherapy and all the decisions that you need to take when fighting cancer is a stressful enough experience. Worrying on whether the caps are working and constantly cleaning up hairs adds another layer of stress that in hindsight I didn't need. Half way through the treatment I had a big bold spot at the top so I started wearing head scarfs and I grew to love them. Below is a photo collage of my journey, I hope that it is useful ladies!
Spreading awareness/fundraising
Just wanted to say hi to everyone 👋🏻 I'm 33 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in June this year. I have 3 more chemos to go and will start radiation in January. I am really keen to do some fundraising or get involved spreading awareness some how but not sure where to start and how to go about it? Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated :-) Thank you, Lauren
Hair loss question
interesting that we value our hair as part of who we are, and loss effects our self esteem, it is reassuring to know you are not alone and others are supportive, it is like belonging to a club and signals you are not alone. The cancer centre certainly becomes home and supportive staff and other patients help you get through the ordeal.
Yep... I became a statistic!
Hi, I have just had a wirlwind 3 week tour of being diagnosed with BC. Sorry, I still can't say the word. I had my lump out last week and pathology back today - it's happened amazingly fast (private health fund). Only 3 lymphs out - no cancer in lymph nodes stage 1 grade 3 so they want to go back into clear the margins on Monday - small op.on scar already healing. then have recommended 4 mths chemo then radiation. Very scared, trying to wrap my head around everything. Doctors says I will be ok, but seeing how scared my husbnd is and how he is handling it hurts. Any suggestions to get me through chemo? I was also thinking cold caps as a I have long hair which is devasting.
