Chemo almost done...next is surgery. Hair growth questions.
Hi all, it's been a little while, hope you all doing well and this year brings you all good health and happiness. I am almost done with my chemo (AC and 12 weeks paclitaxel, 4 perjeta and another one (not sure of name), 2 more infusions of paclitaxel. Did anyone find bits of fluffy hair starting to grow already? I don't want to get too excited but am starting to notice some growth. Anxious and excited about my appointment tomorrow with the surgeon to discuss surgery options and how the tumors have responded to the chemo. Any advice would be appreciated. Still awaiting genetic testing results. Now the fun part. We have a family wedding in October this year and some other events and I am very excited for my hair to start growing. Any tips or advice. Scalp treatment or oils etc vitamins. Should I have a shave after chemo so the hair grows evenly and also what kind of length can I expect in 6 months or so. How did you hair grow? Lastly. If anyone is based in Sydney and would want to meet for a chat, support, pray , let me know. Would love to meet some ladies, we can encourage each other. Can direct message me if you like. Thanks and look forward to hearing your progress xxx
Processing the journey
Moderator moved @Tania_G post from activity section to 'General Discussion' section: Hi everyone, Was diagnosed back in July 2023 stage 3 HER2+ breast cancer. Have done two rounds of chemo. Had surgery in December 2023 and am now getting ready for radiotherapy. I'm experiencing a lot of confusion and loss as I now begin to process this journey. Getting used to my new body and trying to work out who I am psychologically. Any advice?
DMX or Lumpectomy
I was diagnosed in September 2023 as Hormone negative HER2 +. My first thoughts were DMX & get rid of it, surgeon said "no I needed chemo first" which caused my first & only meltdown pretty much all day if I was on my own as I wasn't in control. I finished my chemo on Thursday just gone & have surgery booked for 22nd Feb. I went back & saw surgeon on Tuesday just gone to discuss options, she has now said "it's my choice what I want" as my daughter made a point of bringing up I had my head set on a DMX. I'm now conflicted as to what to do, I'm swinging every few hours between the two. I don't have access to a McGrath Nurse & have relied on the support from family & work colleagues so far. My chemo nurses have been great but now can't help as it's my decision & not their speciality. Oncologist has said only 1% chance of recurrance if clear margins from the lumpectomy but then more chemo if not clear, I don't want to do that again even though it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I will be continuing with Herceptin until September this year. Sorry for the essay.
Core Biopsy Results Are In
So, I saw my surgeon on Tuesday. As my doctor said, she is lovely, not once did I feel anything other than at ease during my entire appointment. So after some difficulty in finding my results on the system, she got them sent over the old fashioned way via fax. The results confirmed my lump to be cancer. A grade 2 Invasive ductal carcinoma to be exact. It is also ER+, PR+ and HER2-. My surgeon has recommended I have a hookwire localised wide excision and a sentinel node biopsy. My surgeon answered all my questions. I had done some reading up whilst I was waiting for the biopsy results about breast cancer, but when you don't know exactly what you're dealing with its kind of hard to know where to focus your attention. I left my appointment with no concerns about my surgery. It has to be done, no amount of putting my fingers in my ears and going la la la is going to make this lump go away. Right now I am focusing on getting the surgery out of the way. There are so many variables that could affect what I will need to undergo after surgery, that from my point of view there is no point worrying about it. These things are currently unknown. I'm not trying to deny anything. I know that further surgery may be required, I know that chemo, or radiation or both may be required. I just like to work with the facts and not speculate. Thankfully I do not work so there is no stress involved from that point. My husband, who works away has been given as much flexibility as we need whilst I have my surgery and whilst we formulate my treatment plan after. Roll on Thursday, let's get this sucker out of me!
Post Mastectomy Results
Hi all, I haven't been on for a few days but wanted to tell you all my good news. First biopsy results were 1cm IDC with micropapillary features grade 2, after mastectomy report 8mm IDC NOS grade 1 stage 1 er+pr+her2-. After all the reading I have done I have never seen a better result after surgery than what the original biopsy was and am over the moon! No chemo but tamoxifen x 2yrs then aromatase inhibitor for 3. Happy dance.....
Surgery pathology results ?
I have recently had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. Pathology results have come in and my surgeon advised stage 1 (tumour size 1.8cm, which was smaller than ultrasound indicated) and grade 3 (aggressive), so very glad we've caught it early. Good news is that margins were clear and nodes were clear so no further surgery required. My core biopsy had me as pr- and er-, so I was very eager to hear if I was her2-. I asked surgeon and he advised that her2 was negative so I asked if that meant I was triple negative - to which he responded he wasn't sure as recent pathology had me down as er 'very weak', pr still negative, he said oncologist would advise further. Anyone have anything similar?