Time span from diagnosis to treatment
Hi- need advice or reassurance please -Overdue BreastScreen Dec 22. -Received call from BreastScreen Jan to come in for further tests/ lump found. went to hospital and had two scans, 3D mammogram, ultrasound and 3 biopsies under ultrasound/local anaesthetic. -Called back 1 week later- confirmed invasive lobular Cancer Of L breast- HER-2 Referred to Family GP That day, Family GP referred all test results to 2 hospitals- one close to my new home at beach and one close to my family jn Melbourne and where all medical records are (I still have to have a hole in heart To be repaired and post cervical cancer checks) I deferred appointment with specialists at beach hospital til feb 22 as I received an earlier appointment to meet specialist at Melbourne hospital (Austin/Olivia Newton John wellness centre) and thought to check it out first (I’m told two opinions is good idea) Halfway down the freeway to Austin hospital I get a call to say specialist has gone home sick- my appointment is. Cancelled and I’m back on wait list for an appointment again. No idea when my next appointment will be i haven’t seen a specialist yet have no treatment plan and it’s nearly two months since my original mammogram Am I right to be panicking and frazzled that the Austin hospital has STILL not gotten back to me for an appointment and treatment plan? Should I just forget the Austin and go to frankston on 22nd? Makes me Feel like maybe what I’m diagnosed with isnt a big deal to the hospital. Alternating between panicking and total absolute apathy
CanCope - an online program to help those with Cancer, cope both emotionally and physically
Woohoo!! Are you feeling down and depressed with your 'post BC body & mind'? Would you like to access a Psychologist but not able to? Monash University is running 2 programs over 12 months - for people with cancer, to help cope both mentally & physically with a cancer diagnosis & treatments. This program gives EVERYONE access to quality psychological help. Tell your friends who have had other cancers too, not only those of us with BC. There are 2 modules - Mind and Physical - and both are FREE!! Matter of fact you will even be sent some $$ for taking part! The CanCope team are a group of researchers and mental health professionals with an interest in cancer. https://cancope.weebly.com The two CanCope programs The two programs are CanCope Mind and CanCope Lifestyle. If you take part, you will allocated to one of the two programs (however, by the end, you will gain access to the content from both programs!) FAQ here: https://cancope.weebly.com/faq.html You can read reviews on the programs here: https://cancope.weebly.com/reviews.html Or you can just contact the chief psychologist directly (see email address on the 'flyer' or the 'explanation sheet', Page 1) I think this will be invaluable for many of our members who normally can't access a psychologist ...... so don't be shy - give it a go! ANYONE can do the programs, so long as their 'active treatment' has been completed. Even after this program has finished, chances are they will be replaced by other similar programs.Heart Palpitations without chemo - could it be a side effect of AIs?
Hi guys Has anyone else had heart palpitations who HASN'T been on chemo, but IS on AIs? I've been on Arimidex for 12 months now. I guess it would be similar to 'panic attacks'? Tho pretty sure it isn't this! I've had a scary few days this week, with thumping heart palpitations (skipping beats every 5 or 6 beats, then maybe after 10-15 beats) but yesterday morning at 3am, it was after EVERY beat & it scared the crap out of me. I also had a 'throat blockage' that felt a bit like indigestion & I know this can be a sign of a heart attack, but didn't have the pressure, pain or clamminess associated with a heart attack. I was awake from 3am on ..... So I 'sat it out' til 10am with the thumping skipped beats still happening - then went to the GP. They did an ECG but it didn't show up - and wanted bloods done to make sure the troponin levels weren't 'up' (showing an enzyme related to heart attacks) but there were no pathology centres open on Sat in our towns which surprised me as they always used to be open - maybe they closed due to Covid? So now I had to go to the closest hospital (and waste THEIR time) to get a simple blood test, ECG etc, when the pathology place should have been open. :( I said I would drive to the closest town where the hospital would do the bloods - but they didn't want me to drive in case I had an episode on the way ... so they called the ambos to take me. This really upset me as it is a waste of an emergency service & I felt guilty that I was using the Ambulance when a more serious case could be impacted by it not being available! :( So at the hospital, they did another ECG (the beat abnormality didn't show, even tho the skipping continued throughout the day.) Chest xray was clear. Bloods were good. I finally got home at 6pm with one of my uke ladies driving up to pick me up. Hubby thought I'd been out kayak fishing all day! His dementia at least stopped him being worried! LOL I go back to the GP for more bloods tomorrow (thyroid etc) and hopefully get fitted with a Holter monitor to check my heart beat over the next day or so - and I truly hope that it will pick up on the skipped beats. My dad died young from heart (had his first one at 40 and died at 50 with numerous attacks in between.) My brother was fitted with a pacemaker 2 years ago after a single catastrophic incident (he is incredibly fit & thin so that was a real surprise!) My sister now tells me she has had palpitations for years - I didn't know! So it is possibly inherited, could be age related, or could be a side effect from my AI tablets! I see my Onc on Tues, so will be mentioning both the ticker problems & the urinary urgency (which started about 4-6 weeks ago) as my main concerns. Who else has had heart issues when they've NOT been on chemo but HAVE been on AIs? (I know that chemo can cause heart problems - and they now check patients before & after chemo - tho the problems can start years after the treatment - so everyone needs to be aware of this.) Hopefully this will all settle down soon without the need for too much medical intervention - I DO need to drink more water, as this can upset the electrolyte balance in the body (as can drinking TOO much water - it washes the electrolytes OUT of the body. This happened to my neighbour - she ended up with a pacemaker.) So I have my fingers crossed. It has also raised fears about what will happen to my husband if something adverse DOES happen to me - as we don't have family nearby - and I can't rely on friends to take over the care of hubby (with dementia) if I am unable to do so. I will be contacting My Aged Care this week to kick start getting him 'on the books' even if we don't use their services initially. What sort of Plan B do you have for your elderly partner/parents, in case something happens to you? We don't have children tho we do have 2 stepchildren in NZ - but can't expect them to take over his care.
Panic attacks
Evening, i have just finished my 4th AC and this week going on to 12 weekly taxols. during my ac I would have a week feeling really off physicaly and emotionally but would pick up the following week... as of my last ac I have not been coping emotionally and have been having awful panic attacks and anxiety... I’m just wondering if others have experienced similar? Wondering if perhaps it’s my body being forced into menopause or just a side effect of chemo? thanks for reading xxxx
trying so hard to be 'fine' ahead of radiation
Hi Everyone - I've been in and out of the forum for the last 6 months trying to keep my discussions focused on treatment. But I need to just let things out - I had a major panic attack on Sunday that took a lot out of me. At the centre of it all was a lack of feeling safe (emotionally mainly) with old traumas & stressful situations all coming flooding back. I've finished my chemo, had my surgery & am cleared to start radiation next week. I should be happy that I've had such positive results so far, but there is part of me that is afraid. There has been a lot on my plate work & family wise and I believe this is why the panic attack came on so strong as I've been trying to be 'strong & ok' for a long time. I'm struggling with finding ways to be positive about my situation & feel guilty for not doing so. As I'm sitting at home on my own a lot & not 'busy (i.e. distracted)' again yet with treatment I've got too much time to think. I'm scared of what the future brings & whether it will be 'rosy & fullfilling' or just more of the grind & stress that I've faced in the last few years, which I fully believe contributed to my breast cancer. I wonder if anyone else has felt like this? Thanks in advance.
Panic attacks
I've just been diagnosed and have an appointment with the surgeon on Friday. It is my daughters birthday on Sunday so none of my family apart from my partner and one or two close friends know. Surgery will be next week. My daughter is coming over so I can do her hair - trying to keep it together and have hidden any paperwork, etc. I have also just found out I've got a new job who are waiting for me to advise of my start date (have got at the moment one month up my sleeve). And....I am also in current position that I am off at the moment and need to work out with what to do there. So yeah - no stress and no time for this thing called Breast Cancer.!! So...........just trying to keep calmish,hide from my family and put on the "all good", try not to drink too much and sleep with the aid of sleeping tablets Sure this isn't anything new :)
