Hi everyone, I’m new to all this so please bear with me if I ramble on a bit! I was diagnosed with bc 4 weeks ago after a biopsy. My consultant discussed options with me and it was decided I would have mastectomy with immediate reconstruction using a back flap and saving much of my breast skin. I was under the impression I would have to wait for recon. as if I needed rad. therapy then it would be better to wait. However, I had a sentinal node biopsy on Tuesday and the results showed positive so now I have to have clearance, still have mastectomy on Tuesday 1st March but no reconstruction. I am ok with that as that is what I had geared myself up for right from the beginning, but I am so worried now that the cancer is in the nodes that it might be somewhere else and it’s racing round my body at a rate of knots and I can’t stop worrying! Sorry to sound like a lunatic but I feel really knocked back. I am seeing my consultant on Monday, who incidentally is a wonderful man and did tell me not to panic, to discuss things further. He didn’t want to discuss things over the phone but I insisted he put me in the picture. I’m a bit of a stubborn mule! I Can’t seem to focus on much other than nasty little cancer cells destroying me while I kill time till Tuesday.
Hello Mrstiggs,
Sorry you have to be here, but welcome. There are many people with similar stories.
Don’t worry too much about the nodes - it means that you will probably need to have chemotherapy - not nice but doable and many threads and people to help you through. You will feel a little better when you have seen your onc and know your exact treatment plan. Those cells will not do any damage between now and then.
The waiting is a horrible time. The forum is a great place to get support, advice and people to travel along your journey with. Try to do some nice things over the weekend to take your mind off it.
Good luck. Stella
Hello Mrstiggs and welcome to the BCC forums
In addition to the support you have here please feel free to call our helpline where you can talk things through with someone in confidence on 0808 800 6000, the lines are open 9-5 weekdays and 9-2 Sat.
I am posting a link to support and information BCC can offer you, specifically aimed those with a new diagnosis which you may find helpful:
Take care
Lucy
Hi
You are in the bit that’s the worst, which is the waiting.
It’s good that you have got your head aroung the op and understandable that you’re panicking about it spreading but try not to.
If they think that there is any chance that it has decided to spread they will send you for every test under the sun, i had them and they took a couple of weeks. My consultant reassured me by saying that she had 3/6months to work out a treatment plan before any panic needed but they needed to complete in 2 weeks to meet NICE guidlines, otherwise they wouldn’t get paid.
If they really thought they needed to see you the next day they would.
Try to sit tight - I know it’s hard!
best of luck x
Thanks you lot. I am so pleased to have this means to communicate with others who are treading the same path. Just reading through other people’s comments about their situation makes me feel better, knowing I am not alone, even though I have the most amazing support from my husband, family and friends. I feel a little more positive now and I am determined to enjoy this weekend before all the turmoil begins on Tuesday. Thanks again.xxx
Hello mrstiggs,
The waiting is most definitely the worst part - we all understand that so well here. I had a lumpectomy (big boobs so they could get it out without a mastectomy) and all my nodes cleared on Christmas Eve.
I panicked just like you and imagined that it must be everywhere else, particularly when I had the op results and was told it was in 6 of the 12 nodes they took out. However, once its in your nodes, although there will be cells elsewhere in your body (that’s what the chemo is for, to mop them all up) there’s no reason to suppose it will actually be growing anywhere else - in the huge majority of cases it won’t be.
You’ll have scans to check on this - I had bone and CT scans but it does vary a bit, and then you’ll be given the results of those, which hopefully will be clear, so no secondaries. You may even have started your chemo before you have the scans. You’ll also have a heart ultrasound to check your heart function as chemo can be tough on the heart.
My consultant told me that a three week wait for the op was unimportant, but he wouldn’t want to leave it three months. I actually had my op privately so had it only 9 days after diagnosis, but the NHS would only have been a couple of weeks after that.
So yes, as said before, the waiting is truly awful and nobody who hasn’t been there could possibly understand - even the consultant doesn’t really have a clue. Hang on in there, shout, scream, cry, ask questions and chat to us lot. Once you start treatment it does get easier - honestly! And whatever you do, keep your Googling to an absolute minimum!!
Best of luck,
Jane xxx
Hi Mrstiggs
I am sorry you find yourself here but you are in good company and you’ll get lots of support.
The scans bit is scary but as Jane and SCACO posted, they hurry them up to meet guidelines. In most cases they are just to rule things out. I’m sure all will be well.
When I was diagnosed in October, the waiting for scans and results was the hardest of all, harder even than the initial diagnosis;
As Jane said, try not to google while you are waiting.
Once treatment commences you will feel so much better.
Best wishes,
Sue
x