Hi Bel, thanks for the link. I’ll get some in for when chemo is finished. Sounds great for something so easy to take!
Anne (soscared), good luck with your op Friday. I agree, it’s really not as bad as you expect. I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to look after my children for ages afterwards, but I carried on with almost everything as normal. And some things needed a little thought but was manageable (pillows for feeding my then 10 week old). I have found so far, everything sounds scarier than it is. And it is because we prepare ourselves for the worst case scenarios, when in reality, most people have a much better experience than that.
So lovely reading the positive posts. Gives real hope to people like me who are still in the middle of it all! xx
Hi Macgirl, if you click on the name of the person, then on bio, you will have an option to send private message. This is how it works from my phone, not sure if it is different from a computer though. Hope that helps x
ive just been diagnosed too and have been reading through your posts to try to help me feel better - as someone has already said, I’m so glad I found you
i got my diagnosis on Friday and feel like I’ve been hit by a train , it was such a shock. I feel like I can’t function but not able to cry. Just waves of fear keep sweeping over me and I feel sick. I don’t know how any of you manage to cope with this , let alone stay positive ( as people keep telling me) as I feel like I want to crawl into a corner and never get out again. I’ve been told that I’m having chemo first followed by surgery - not sure why as the 1 node biopsied was clear but still waiting for that appointment to come through and it feels like forever.
Can anyone please tell me how you came to terms with this awful diagnosis and then turned it around in your head into something which you could manage. Did this feel better once your treatment got started ? I’ve tried practising mindfulness and positive thoughts but they just won’t come
Why is it you get fantastic news then follows not so good news! Been to see surgeon today and go in for op on 17th August! Feeling cack as surgeon confirmed tumour was bigger then first thought it was 3.8cm not 2.8cm! He also said because I’m triple negative the prognosis is not good re reoccurrence but he will
Know more after surgery! He also said its treatable but did not say curable so I’m very worried now! It will also depend if I carry the brac gene and if so I will have double mastectomy hysterectomy and removal of all my ovaries later down the line! When he operates on 17th he’s taking all my lymph nodes and I will be left with a big dent and scar under my arm so again later on I will have reconstruction if I don’t have brac gene! I know he has to give me worst case scenario but difficult to hear none the less! OH or
Mom not taken it well! He did say my response to chemo was amazing though! X feeling deflated ?
Hi Warcol, I’m sorry you are feeling deflated after your appointment. It’s really good that you have had such a good response to chemo though, that has to go in your favour in terms of recurrence. I’ve had surgery first so there will be no way for them to tell how well I have responded to the chemo. Which bothers me. But nothing I can do about it. I’m waiting for brca testing too. I can’t even begin to think about the possibilities after that. Just need to get through this stage first. I hope you can get some support from your mum and OH when they come to terms with things.
Chris, I remember those feelings so well. How do you ever cope with this? But honestly, given time, things sort of change in your mind. Noone is positive all the time. I don’t think that’s possible. But slowly, the good days become more than the bad says. My worst days were between biopsy and diagnosis. And then waiting for results of ct and bone scan. After that they booked me in for surgery and I had something to work towards. After surgery I felt like a weight had been lifted. It was only as my post op appointment approached that I started to worry and think about things again. I’ve just had my second round of chemo today. So still a long way to go, but getting there. Like I say, some days the anxiety of it all still hits me. But most of the time I accept that it is a fruitless activity to worry about something I can do nothing more about than I am already doing. Hopefully once you get your treatment plan you will start to feel differently as you can see the way it is going to go. And until then, vent here all you want. We will listen and will most probably have shared all the exact same feelings xx
thank you so much for replying I felt a real lift when I saw that people had responded because it did make me feel a bit like I wasn’t quite so alone in the middle of this nightmare. I am hoping that once I had a treatment plan I will feel more positive but just heard today that my initial consultation isn’t for another week! I’m sure you all know that every minute seems like a lifetime when you are waiting on something so important as this. I found myself pleading with the booking clerk to try to bring the appointment forward which was very unfair of me and probably will make no difference anyway. Just so worried and struggling to eat anything but conscious that I really do need to be a decent weight before the chemo starts as I’m sure that will knock my appetite too.
thank you for your practical tips too. Sue I really liked your analogy to the life raft and I am going to try and visualise that. Colista please could you send me the fb page as I may look at that too. Tar can - you are right I am going to try to focus on one positive thing each day (this is today’s). Ann (so scared) hope your op goes ok on Friday. I’m a nurse by background and that bit feels less scary for me but I completely understand your worries and I’m sure you will be in safe hands.
i live in South Manchester and so having my treatment at the Christie - is anyone else from this area at all?
everyone - you are an amazing bunch of women - thank you so so much for taking the time for me
For those of you now confused, I am both Macgirl and ChrisAsh. I got a bit confused when I was first setting up my membership. Will probably ditch the Macgirl one
Hi ladies
Hope you are all well. I haven’t posted on the thread for a while but having seen a few new ladies on here thought I would pop on. I’m not by any means a long term survivor but going threw treatment I clung on to any glimmer of hope and still do.
I had a large tumour and positive node, I had chemo X 8 right mastectomy and rads X 15. I finished treatment last July . I don’t know what the future holds but I’m back to work full time, my real hair is just below my ears( I’ve had a few longer raccoon extensions ) and I am back running. I ran almost a mile and half last night and try to go on my exercise bike each day.
Hoping this gives a bit of encouragement to new ladies .
Sending lots of love Amanda
Hi ladies, A bit of bad news. Had surgery last week to remove 3 cysts in same place as original tumor, and one of the cyst walls was a tumor. I ask myself how can a tumor develop whilst having chemo. They decided to wait till I finished chemo before operating. And I’ve just read an article that a decade ago they realised that chemo is no good for breast, colon and lung cancer. It can only reduce tumors.
Now waiting for another op to get clear margins.
Marina
To answer your question I had tumour removed in Oct 2015 and the cysts appeared during chemo. They decided to wait and finish the 8 sessions before operating, only to descover that the walls of one of the cysts was cancerous. Now waiting for date for 3rd op to get clear margins.
Am taking my diet very seriously now, juicing etc.
AnnDaw/ Sue thanks for the info about supplements which I will definitely look into once my chemo is finished ( initial appt on weds). Can I ask where you get your info re clinical trials etc as I am interested to know but in a way scared to google anything in case I scare myself even more - if that’s possible.
I haven’t posted for a while but have been lurking. Hope you are all doing ok. I’m about 8 weeks into my chemo. Having weekly tax and carbo at the mo. I’ve been cold capping which I thought had been pretty successful but my hair has started to thin now which is a bit depressing. I don’t know why I care really but I suppose continuing to look like me makes things seem more normal. I’m still upset and panicky quite a lot of the time. I’m just terrified of what could happen. I’m ok for a bit and then it just comes over me in a wave of panic. Does anyone else feel like this? Xx
I’m new to this forum. I found a lump 7 weeks ago and was told a week ago I have breast cancer, and on Friday that its TNBC.
I have a son who is 13 weeks old and my husband is disabled so I’m scared. Really scared! Not for me but what will happen to them if treatment doesn’t work. Any advice gratefully received. I will look back through posts on this thread too.
I’m sorry you have found yourself here with us. I don’t have any great words of wisdom I’m afraid. I was diagnosed in May when my baby girl was 8 weeks old, so I know the place you are in right now and it is more than scary. Since then I’ve had a lumpectomy and full node clearance, and had my 2nd round of chemo last week. It’s been a tough couple of months, but the days and weeks around diagnosis were definitely the hardest. Once you get a treatment plan in place and you can see where you are heading, the focus changes and I felt different after that. Hopefully you will find the same too, especially as this first part seems to be such a whirlwind there is no time to sit and take on board all of the information and emotions properly. Have you got your next appointment lined up or any idea what treatment they will start with? You’ll get lots of support on here so use us to vent/share with as much as you like.xx
Thank you Taran. I’m sorry to hear you’re in the same boat too, but grateful not to be alone my next appointment is Friday when should have the scan results back from CT and bone scan. They’re expecting these to show it hasn’t spread yet. If the sample they took Friday comes back negative from lymph gland they are talking about starting chemo the week after, once they’ve put a marker in the lump. I’ve been told I’ll have chemo once every three weeks over 18 weeks. Your treatment similar? Xx
I hope Friday comes around quickly for you. The waiting is the worst bit. The treatment plan is likely to be similar, but maybe in a different order. I had positive lymph nodes and had my surgery first. Then 6 rounds of chemo, 3 weekly. Then radiotherapy. I’m sure you’ll feel better when all the results are in and you can start treatment xx
