My diagnosis is grade 2, IDC 27mm. No lymph nodes involved. Surgery in 2 weeks. Can it spread without lymph node involvement? No mri or other tests were required and Dr says it has not spread, but i am terrified that it has. I have been feeling faint and have blurry vision but everyone says its paranoia and anxiety. Im telling my nurse about it but wondered what you helpful folks think.
2 Likes
Hello @bluesatsuma
No they are very unlikely to be wrong.
I know it’s hard to understand everything that is going on when you receive a diagnosis: it’s a very steep learning curve and you need to learn to trust your team.
Your diagnosis sounds a lot like mine: small tumour and no node involvement hence no need to look further with more scans. My surgery involved clear margins and the SNB confirmed no spread.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is extremely stressful and this can cause our bodies to react in all sorts of ways, please be assured that the sensations you are experiencing are in all likelihood be down to stress.
You might find it helpful to keep a journal and a note of what you are experiencing, this will serve several purposes, you can always refer back to it if you want to discuss with a health professional, and just the act of journaling is really helpful when dealing with anxiety
AM xxx
2 Likes
@adoptedmanc, thank you for your reassurance (again). I feel rough today as I’ve had bronchitis, so i think it’s just added to my anxiety. You are right…the dr has seen hundreds like me and he will be right.
2 Likes
I can so relate to what you are feeling. My diagnoses sounds very much like yours. I have another biopsy on Monday to a small area and then finally a date for surgery. I was diagnosed 5 weeks ago and the wait has been horrendous . I am told it’s an early cancer and treatable but every ache or change has my mind going into overdrive….I can only say what many others on here are saying , take it one step at a time . Sending hugs x
2 Likes
Hi @bluesatsuma I want to echo what the others have said. I would wager a great deal on the fact that the majority of us worry about our cancer spreading even when the expert opinion, backed up by empirical evidence, suggests it hasn’t.
I have been one of those people who, despite having clear lymphs and no LVI after surgery, nevertheless was suspicious about a stomach issue a year after surgery and rads (still on an AI) and had worked myself up into a state of inevitability about it being mets that I honestly thought I was close to a breakdown. Had a gastroscopy and a CT scan with contrast of head (because obviously the state I was in could only be explained by it having spread to my brain) and torso. Stomach thing was explained but absolutely nothing to do with cancer, no sign of spread anywhere. I have been like a Spring Chicken ever since the results in November and am starting to believe the oncologist who said that they consider me cancer free. Anxiety gone in a puff of smoke!
So it is 100% understandable what you are feeling and the anxiety is driven by fear. Once you’ve had the results of your surgery and start on whatever adjuvant treatment is suggested to you, you’ll feel better. Not going to lie, it takes a while for the fear to subside because it happened once when you weren’t expecting it, right? What’s to say etc etc. Just hang on to the fact that the surgeon treating you has done it hundreds of times before and knows what they are talking about AND that 70% of women go on to never have a recurrence. We all need to be observant about our bodies in the future and get anything that doesn’t feel quite right checked out but the chances are you’ll be looking at this in the rear view mirror in time.
2 Likes