On Saturday the 2nd of December 2017, 14 ladies met for the 1st time, for a dinner to remember! We came from all corners of GB, including Northern Ireland and met in Manchester.
This time last year all 14 of us ladies were in the early stages of our breast cancer journey, we met on this forum and you can see how it all started in these threads from last year:
forum.breastcancercare.org.uk/t5/Diagnosed-with-breast-cancer/How-s-everyone-doing/m-p/1065090/highlight/true#M58218
We went on to create our own face book group and have supported each other through the entire journey.
There has been a lot of fear, tears and melt downs; worry and anxiety BUT there have also been amazing times, celebrating results and end of treatment as well as sharing tips, giving advice and swapping stories………and not everything has been about breast cancer, we have a good laugh, take the mickey, share photos and just about anything!
We unanimously agreed to post this thread to give people hope and inspiration for the future and to help with that, this is what we have all been through:
How it was found: (lump found by me)
Type: (invasive ductal, ER+ PR+)
Grade: (2)
Node involvement: (micro mets)
Surgeries: (wle, snb, margin scrape, double mastectomy with implant recon)
Chemo: 6 rounds fec-t
Radiotherapy rounds & boosters:
Ongoing: (tamoxifen 10 years)
Lump found incidentally
Invasive ductal/lobular ER/PR+
Grade 2
WLE, SNB
No node involvement
Radiotherapy 3 plus 1 week booster
Tamoxifen for 10 years
routine 3 yearly mammo recall
invasive tubular
ER+, grade 1, 17mm
wle,snb, clear margins
radiotherapy, 15 regular and 5 boosters
tamoxifen for 10 years xx
Found by me
ER/PR - Her +
Grade 3 Stage 2
WLE and full axillary clearance
3 FEC 4 THP
15 rads + 5 boosters
Herceptin x 18
Lump found by me (28mm cubed)
Invasive ductal
ER/PR - Her2 +
Grade 3 Stage 2
WLE and SNB
Neo-adjuvant chemo 8 rounds (4 EC, 4 Docetaxel with Herceptin and Perjeta)
15 rads + 5 boosters
Herceptin for a year in total, so 14 on top of the 4 I had with chemo
Found : me lump in shower
Type: multi focal breast cancer left side. 2 tumours spread over 60mm. ER +, HER2-
Grade: originally 3 they downgraded it to 2 after pathology report.
Node Involvement: 3 out of 8 removed were cancerous
Surgeries: left therapeutic mammoplasty plus node clearance and right reduction mammoplasty, re-excision of medial margin on left (some dcis left over after 1st surgery)
Chemo: neo-adjuvant 6 rounds FEC-T
Radiotherapy: 15 plus 8 boosters
Ongoing: monthly Zolodex injections to suppress ovaries and daily exemestane tablets. Also calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Found when I noticed a difference in size of breast in mirror lifted arm and saw a large indent under breast
Type -invasive ductal carcinoma er+ pr+ her2- 18mm
Grade- 3
Nodes-3 taken all clear
Surgeries-left wide local excision and rotational flap reconstruction
Radiotherapy-15 And 5 boosters
Ongoing-tamoxifen 10 years
Found lump in shower which turned out to be benign. Micro calcifications detected on mammo which turned out to be DCIS and 3cm invasive ducal ER+ HER2- Unsure of grade (1 or 2 but never confirmed with me). 4 nodes involved. Single mastectomy, no recon yet. Chemo 3 EC and 9 paclitaxel Rads 15 (3 weeks). Ongoing tamoxibollocks or similar…they think I’ve gone through the menopause this year so likely to change to Lestrozole.
Lump found by me
Type: invasive lobular
Grade 2. ER+.
Mastectomy left side
Chemo 3xEC 3x T
Radiotherapy x 15
Ongoing - letrozole, alendronic acid - 10 years
How it was found?: lump found by me
Type:4.7cm Invasive ductal – Triple neg
Grade: 3
Node involvement?: None
Surgeries: SNB & Mastectomy – No re-construction
Chemo: 6 x FEC
Radiotherapy : 15
Lump announced itself by huting. 18mm ductal grade 2 + 1mm DCIS. ER + (8/8) PR + HER2-. No nodes, wle + rads (15 + 5) 5-10 years tamoxibollocks.
They (2 large conjoined) found by me. Grade 3 triple negative. Sentinel node biopsies clear. Fec-t Chemo, lumpectomy, followed by 4 1/2 wks of radiotherapy. 2 spots found on liver: Onc now hopeful they aren’t cancerous. 21 Dec another mri liver scan, 28 Dec Review appointment with Surgeon.
- Trial mammogram for under 50’s (no lump found prior to this)
- Recalled
- Invasive Ductal
- 17mm
- Grade 2
- ER+ PR+ HER2-
- MRI showed more lumps
- Hence mx
- Histology showed even more
- No chemo as sentinel nodes clear
- Tamoxifen 5 yrs
Found by routine mammogram
10mm invasive ductal carcinoma plus DCIS ER + 7/8, HER2 -
Wide local excision
Nodes classed as clear, but isolated tumour cells found.
Oncotype score of 15
20 sessions of radiotherapy (15 regular plus 5 boosts)
Anastrozole for 10 years