Hello all,
My name is Jane, and i live in County Durham.
I found small lump and was referred and have since been diagnosed with high grade invasive ductal carcinoma.
Looking at mastectomy surgery on Friday followed by chemo, although waiting for HER2 result.
First few days was complete shock, but now I’m surprisingly calm about it which i don’t think is normal!
Lots of people have suggested support groups, hence my first post today ladies x
Hi Jane - first of all a very warm welcome to this lovely forum where I know you will find loads of support as you go through treatment, but I’m obviously sorry that you find yourself here. I’m glad people recommended support groups to you, I found this site enormously helpful while going through treatment and afterwards. Like you, I had chemo and a mastectomy, so if you have any questions I’m happy to chat more or help you to find other threads.
Everyone deals with the shock of diagnosis in their own way. Feel free to ask any questions on here, nothing is too big or small or silly, or you may just want someone to listen. If you have medical questions you may want to give the lovely nurses a call on the number at the top of the page.
I wish you all the best for your surgery on Friday and recovery. If or when you feel like it please do come back on and let us know how you are, or do continue chatting in the run up.
Hugs, Evie xx
Hi Aqua Jane,
Welcome to the forum - a great place for advice, support and the rest. As Evie mentioned there is also the phone line, the option to ask to be put in touch with someone who is going or has gone through similar, plus a space on the forum to message the nurse.
We all respond in different ways at different times through treatment. I hope the relative calmness continues - it can be bit of a rollercoaster journey so be kind to yourself and do post if you need and want to reach out.
Seabreeze (6 years on and doing ok)
xxx
Hi Jane
I have also been diagnosed (last week), and all the extra tests and waiting for a nightmare but they are pretty speedy. I didn’t even find a lump you can’t feel it, came up in my first mammogram and they also found affected nodes in armpit … Getting full results and treatment plan hopefully Friday as next apt. Had MRI scan and CT scan tomorrow. Not sure but think I am possibly TNBC as well not got HER2 either yet to be sure. Grade 3 but 20mm so faster growing but small so caught early! Spread to nodes is scary though hence other tests.
I go through stages, one minute normal, calm then it hits me, so you are probably just still in some shock, and being strong etc too, sure we will all be fine and this forum is really good to speak to those in same boat at same time. Good luck with surgery!
Jo
xx
Hi Jane
Sorry you have to find your way here but you can’t find a better place for support and even advice. You suggested that feeling “surprisingly calm” couldn’t be normal but anything is normal now. If that’s how you feel, that’s your normal. I remember feeling devastated as no one, not even the consultant, expected breast cancer, let alone extensive breast cancer, but once everything was set out and a mastectomy was inevitable, my inner hysteria gave way to acceptance and calm that lasted me all the way through treatment. Completely uncharacteristic but normal.
Just in case you haven’t been given pointers, make sure you have front opening pjs for hospital (if you’re staying) and afterwards and plenty of loose, front-opening clothing (I pinched a couple of my husband’s shirts). It’s a good idea to ask if you’ll be having a drain as it’s a bit of a surprise to find you’re attached to a bottle for several days, let alone know how to get around the house with it!
Depending on the size of your boobs and the extent of your surgery (sometimes they do axillary clearance of the lymph nodes if the evidence points to anything amiss there), you may be happy to go bra-free or may need to find suitable support. Often comfort bras bras do the trick (Asda/George do some decent and cheap ones) but I preferred tight support and needed something seamfree so I opted for Under Armour sports bras my goddaughter found for me.
Apart from that, the hospital will direct you so be prepared to start exercising almost as soon as you wake up - the breast/shoulder exercises will prevent frozen shoulder and all sorts of debilitating problems, even if they are the last thing you feel like doing. If you believe in homeopathy, don’t forget the arnica tablets (better than painkillers) but these won’t be allowed once you move to chemo.
I wish you all the best for a smooth recovery and hope you hold onto that calm. What lies ahead is sh** but it’s all manageable and it’s worth every effort you make. Take care, and keep us posted,
Jan x