Hi All!
New to here - brief into (hope I’m doing this right!): ER/PR+ HER- 2.1cm lump in 2020. Lumpectomy & radio, Letrozole for 5 years. All ok, then Yr 4 routine mammo found brand new cancer - low ER/PR, HER2+, stage 1, grade 3, 3.6cm lump in previous scar tissue.
My first surgery was the day Boris declared the first Covid lockdown - i got thru everything on my own, no Breast Nurse, no follow-ups - all was fine.
This time, I was devastated by this 2nd diagnosis - I just don’t understand why I have a new cancer. It’s been a horrible 2 month rollercoaster of tests & waiting (I know you all know ALL about that!), & mastectomy 4 weeks ago. All my news is good - no node or vascular supply involvement, clear margins, bone & CT scans clear - I have much to be grateful for. Chemo will start soon.
BUT I am so, so physically exhausted! My recovery hasn’t been straightforward - a lot of bleeds, huge haematoma still ongoing (being aspirated weekly by surgeon), and I still feel stressed. I’m 67 & not v fit (mobility issues), but I’m still finding that pottering for an hour in the kitchen leaves me shattered & needing a rest. I feel everyone else is up & hill-walk-ing a few days post-op, whereas I’m often light-headed & weak if I just go out with a friend for tea. Could it be stress-related? Blood loss? (about 150mls is being drawn off each week). Anyone else felt like this??
Hi @thehappygardener I’m so sorry about your second diagnosis. What a bummer. I have often wondered whether, if one takes endocrine therapy, a new primary might turn out to be HER2+ or even triple negative. So many new primaries or local recurrence seem to appear around the scar tissue. I wish you well with the treatment plan and am glad there is no apparent spread.
Alas fatigue is a common denominator for lots of us. I was 66 when diagnosed two years ago, had surgery, rads and am on Letrozole for 5 years. I was poleaxed by fatigued about three months after finishing rads, by which time I was 67. It lasted about 5 months but still comes back from time to time. I would be quite sedentary during that time, which is not good, and longed to be ‘normal’, to get in a car and go to the shops or accept an invitation to go for coffee with a friend. Instead it was as if they’d said “we’re off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. In flip flops. Wanna come?”. So I completely empathise with the fatigue. How long it will last, is impossible to conjecture as it’s so individual. The advice is to do some exercise, despite it being counter-intuitive . I can recommend a book called “Get your Oomph back” by Carolyn Garritt. It is a guide to exercise after a cancer diagnosis and includes suggested exercises for all levels including chair exercises for those less mobile. I got my copy from Amazon.
I hope that you have good support from family and friends as you tread the breast cancer path a second time and wish you a full recovery.
Oh, thank you for this!! It cheered me up no end! It really made me feel far less of a freak for being so weedy - that is EXACTLY it - even driving myself to meet a friend for coffee & chatting for 2 hours is equal to heading up Kilimanjaro in flip-flops - love it!
I too wonder about the new cancer appearing in the scar - it feels as if the new cancer is taking advantage of a nice location in damaged cells which maybe can’t fight back as effectively (I’m probably way out on this), & that’s what made it easier for me to accept a mastectomy. It felt as if that breast had simply gone rogue, & could no longer be trusted, & I’d be better off without it.
Thank you so much for understanding, & I’ll follow up the book recommendation.
Yes, I have a great husband (sadly working long days in London), & good friends, but nothing beats hearing from those who’ve been there.
Now I’ve landed on this forum, I’m sure I’ll be back again soon!
It’s absolutely true that, no matter how sympathetic and (often) tolerant, our loved ones are, they really don’t get it in the way that we do. Come back and join in as often as you like or need. You will find loads of people who have been through what you’re going through at any one time and if you ever want to just check things out, you can search on a key word like ‘fatigue’ by using the magnifying glass icon and look at stories past and present. It’s so unfair that you’ve got to go through this again but keep us up to date with progress. Big hugs.
Again, thanks for understanding- you are so right. Husband is with me every step of the way, but not in those scary hours in the middle of the night, or yesterday when I woke to find wound leaking madly.
Off to oncologist today to find out chemo plan - I have a massive urge to run away right now!
Hugs back, x
Hi @thehappygardener, welcome to the forum - I hope you find the support you need here.
I hope your fatigue eases up the further you move on from your surgery. I found this page on our website that may be useful: Extreme tiredness (cancer-related fatigue) | Breast Cancer Now
Sending our warmest wishes
Bernard
PS Love your username! 