I had an initial examination at the royal marsden on thursday. They did an ultrasound, mammogram and took biopsy samples. They’ve told me that apart fron the lump I found I have a further two and that it is cancer. At the moment I’ve got to wait to go back this thursday to find out what type and what stage from the biopsy results.
someone I’ve spoken to has told me it’s best to have any questions I want to ask written down before I go as my mind will probably go blank with all the information they give me. What I would like to know about is what questions I should be asking? Everytime I try to think my mind just goes blank.
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Hello there and believe me when I say we all know how you’re feeling at the moment.
They will tell you everything they know when you go back for the biopsy results, and you will be very well looked after. This is what they do, everyday, for all of us woman with bad lumps. Don’t worry about having to know everything all at once, that can’t happen as this is a game of testing and retesting… some results come in quick-sticks, others take the lab a bit longer to process. Just take someone with you for support and remember, they will have a plan of action, and that plan is there to make you well again.
This is the worst bit. Go easy on yourself and things will get calmer, promise.
big hug
Jane.
ps i go in for lumpectomy and node clearance tomorrow, so forgive me if I don’t pop up much here for the next couple of days.
So sorry to read that you’ve been diagnosed. I haven’t been diagnosed but my mum has so I’ve been at her consultations, asking the questions and spent a few hours on this site reading and asking all that I can. In fact I’ve been mega stressed and can’t stop reading. When we went to my mums consultation, the consultant kept it too simple. Said she had abnormal cells in her breast and her lymph node in armpit. I had to ask the rest of what we wanted to know at this stage. I asked what grade it was, which equates to how fast it grows/aggressiveness, what stage - although they need lymph node information before they know this, and about the receptors on the cells. You may have read about ER (oestrogen), PR (progesterone) and HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2) - the receptors that may or may not be present on the cells. They effect how the cancer is treated so it is something you may wish to ask as our breast consultant was giving nothing away until we asked.