Diagnosed 1 March

Hi Everyone,

I have been following the forum for the last few weeks and have found the information extremely useful and everyone is so kind I thought I would take the plunge and join as I am sure I will be glad of your advice and support along my journey.

I am 62 years old and first noticed ever such a slight indentation in my nipple in November last year, having had a mammogram in Sept 19 I wasn’t really too concerned but decided it was something I should watch, by February the indentation was more marked and I could feel a thickening in the tissue around my nipple, so I decided it was time to visit my GP (appointment 9th Feb) I came under the “urgent” referral guidelines and have to say the NHS in my area has been brilliant.  I had my first consultant appointment on 22nd Feb, mammogram, ultrasound & biopsy all done same day.  I had my results in Appointment the following week on 1 March.

I have been diagnosed with a grade 3 IDC (reading the forum has definitely paid off)  I am ER+/PR+/HER2+.  Wasn’t expecting that I can tell you.  I am scheduled for surgery on Monday (22nd subject to negative covid test and have opted to have WLE with SNB as my lump was 13mm so my surgeon offered me the choice of mastectomy or lumpectomy although my nipple (but not aureola)  will be being removed even with lumpectomy,  I must admit if I have a doubt it’s that I should have opted for the mastectomy but my surgeon seemed to think that my treatments would be the same either way, so I decided to go for lumpectomy with the nipple removal.  If anyone has any experience of this and would like to share their experience I would be very grateful to hear them.

Obviously until I get my lymph node biopsy I don’t know exactly what treatments I am going to be given, so I’m anticipating being told I need the lot and anything less will be a bonus.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Yvonne

Hi Yvonne - welcome to this lovely forum, I’m really glad you decided to take the plunge and post your story and questions. I hope you will find lots of support as you go through your treatment. Please ask if you have any questions about this forum and the services offered by BCN.

I’m sorry I can’t answer your specific question as I had a mastectomy, but I’m happy to try to answer any general surgery type questions you may have. Or if you feel anxious then this is the best place to share your concerns. I wonder if you have tried searching the general forum to find previous discussions about your questions for example?

From my experience surgeons and medical teams tend to be ultra cautious so if they have told you that both options, lumpectomy or mastectomy, will give the same result then I would trust them. But on the other hand, it’s always good to find out what others have had and just compare advice - it’s your body after all.

My very best wishes to you, and a big hug, Evie xx