Hello Mermaid13
Thanks for posting. Making decisions about treatment can be difficult and it’s understandable you are struggling with your decision.
When deciding which areas to treat and how, your treatment team will consider factors such as the location, grade, size and stage of your cancer. Information from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produce guidelines for the treatment and management of early breast cancer. These include information about partial breast radiotherapy, and outline who it might be suitable for and the risks and benefits.
Side effects may include a change to the size and shape of the breast for some people and it’s understandable you’re concerned about this.
As you are worried about the difference between partial and whole breast radiotherapy, are unsure about tolerating hormone therapy and concerned about appearance and risk of recurrence it might be helpful to have another conversation with your oncologist. They have all the information about your individual situation and are best placed to advise you.
We offer a range of free supportive services for anyone who has had a diagnosis of breast cancer which you may be interested in. They include face to face and online courses and events.
In particular, talking to someone who has had a similar experience can be helpful and our Someone Like Me service can match you with a trained volunteer who’s had a similar experience to you. They’ll be a phone call or email away to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen.
You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0114 263 6490 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.
We are currently evaluating this service and would appreciate your feedback. Please click here to the survey. It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen to your concerns, talk things through and signpost you to more support and information. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000, (Relay UK - prefix 18001).
If you would prefer one of our nurses to call you. To do this, please complete this form t** icking the box agreeing to a call back.**
Our usual opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and 9am - 1pm on Saturday.
Out of hours you can leave a message and we will call you back when we next open.
Best wishes
Val
Breast Care Nurse
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