I was dx on 10th of July,15mm lump,stage 1 grade 2 invasive ductual,i am 52 years old. Had surgery on 25th of July,lumpectomy,plus removal of all lymph glands.results 2 weeks later,clear margins,no lymphs involved. Told a week later that its not a hormone driven cancer? so not suitable for hormone replacement therapy,told week later herceptin negative? so told chemo and rads? dont really understand,and dont like bothering my bcc nurse. just wondered why chemo? if clear margins and no lympth involvement? due to start chemo 4th of Sept,worried cos i also have emphysema. any help appreciated in advance ,take care every one x
Mandolinwind,
I cant really give any advices but all I can say is that I had a 3.2cm grade 2 clear margins, clear nodes etc…
I am to start 18wks Chemo and 5 weeks Rads on the 18th Sept.
I feel that although they got clear margins, they think it is nessasary to blitz me with the chemicals and I am not entirely sure either but am very happy to go along with their decission, as they I will feel confident that they have got rid of every stray bit that may be hiding in the far reaches.
Sorry I could not be of help but just to let you know I am thinking of you hun and good luck 
Hi there
I think because of your age (you are relatively young) you get offered chemo automatically, also as you are not hormone driven this will be the best way for mopping up any stray cancer cells that could be lurking, cancer can spread through the veins and vascular tissue aswell as the nodes so this is an insurance policy.
Good luck and you can get through it.
Nikki x
Thanx Khyrah and Nixxic, Just want to get my first one over with now,probably wont be as scarry after that,does any one know how long i can expect to be at the hospital for each treatment(FEC) ?
I am not sure how long each will take, I am allowing about an hour for each. I also dont know what kind of Chemo I am going to have yet. If you want to try the cold cap (to save hair loss) I beleive this has to be worn of an hour before treatmen and an hour after, so will have a bearing on time spent in the unit. I am not bothered about losing my hair so hope to be in and out asap lol.
Take care ang good luck Lisa x
Hi Kharga,nice to see you back,how you doing?well i hope,Well my big day tmorro,I too have now decided i am not going to bother with cold cap. Surprising what you can come to terms with in a few short weeks, Thanks Khyrah,suppose i will have a better idea,after first lot,regarding how long i can expect to be there. take care every one x
Hi Mandolinwind
Have my date for my tatoo - 18th September. I am joining the IMPORT trial for rads so have to have another ultrasound scan before I start to make sure they can find where the tumour was. My surgeon said that he was going to put in 4 small titanium arrow heads surrounding it so hopefully they should be visible! I also get photographed - or rather my boobs do - before treatment, after 2 years and after 5 years. I also get a physical examination 1,2,5 and 10 years after my rads. At least I will be well checked, as well as my yearly mamograms!
Good luck for today!!
Glad you are doing ok Kharga, Never heard of the treatment you are going to be having, hope all goes well for you,i will be starting my chemo tmorro all being well,after having to cancel last week,feeling back to normal again now,going to try not to worry too much this time,take care x
just looked at my first post on this thread,cant believe i put stage 1 grade 2 doh, i have known dam well all along that it was stage 2 grade 3,scrambled brain syndrome again lol x
I was wondering Mandolinwind,abot grade I’m 51 and was grade 1 clear lymps,just had lumpecomy and rads for 3wks.but there again mine was hormonal.
My OH also had Emphysemia,He had a double lung transplant 5yrs ago,he had oygen fitted through out the house,so think i know how that affects your life,
Hope everything goes well for you with chemo and you don’t have to much sickness.I believe there is alot of things to help you cope,and like everyone gets through
it differently,please let me know how you go on,xxxxx
Hi Mandolinwind - friend who had chemo was only sick for a couple of days after the first session, then was OK , mind you, she threw up for a couple of days in hospital after her mastectomies, so perhaps she is just a vomity person! I am 57, grade 1, tubular cells, clear nodes and just having rads. I am just post menopausal (somewhat late I know!!) so may have been hormonal!
Good luck
Angela
Hiya Walton, how is youre OH now? I suppose i am bad but not as bad as some with my emphysema,i am on 3 different inhalors,its just when i am out and about walking,i have to stop quite regulary to get my breath back,then i walk a bit further,rest and so on,i get from A to B eventually lol,also carrying any thing heavy makes me breathless,and my chores but i have learned to live with it, and rest in between. I stopped smoking sept 2006,and can honestly say i never had as much as another drag of a fag,untl day before my dear Brothers funeral(he died unexpectedly 3 days after my op) my daughter had left her fags at my house,and every thing got too much for me,stupid i know(23month fag free) but if it gets me through all this shit then who can blame me, in fact after stopping my chest seemed to get worse,cos were as when i was smoking the gunge used to come up easily,after i stopped i found it hard to get up, I have always been scared of that next step(oxygen) thats why i was so determined to give up. No doubt about it it deffinatly ruins the quality of life,and its so embarassing to feel like a 80 year old,when people are telling you you look well and dont look youre age,i feel like saying wish i felt it lol,Many of times i have felt that the onlly thing that would improve my life is a lung transplant,but i know how long people wait for them, and i would probably be scared i might not last long after wards. so its intersting that you understand what its like,cos most people dont have a clue what it is let alone how it affects you. so let me know more about youre other half please,and i wish him well, well gonna have to go bed soon,got to be at chemo suit at 8 .30 am. take care x
Kharga ,dont know how to whisper back lol,but tried searching for lymphomaniacs a bit since and cant find it,let me know how to do it,would be great chatting to people who are all in same boat,take care and i will let you know how i get on tmorro x