Hi I have posted before I was dx in dec had a lumpectomy and then further op to widen margins as they were clear but narrow. Just been back for results today and the good news was margins now clear but hers2 so have to have chemo and radiotherapy then a year of herceptin. I think I always new I would have to go down this route but still feel stunned, shocked and devastated. Would love to hear some good advise on how to deal with this. x
Sorry you are having to join us here. Its crap isn’t it. Give yourself time to get your head round your treatment, and no matter how bad you feel right now, it WILL feel better and do-able in a while. My only advice, as I’m sure others would agree, is just to take things a step at a time and focus on what is coming up eg your chemo. Have you got children / family? If so how are they reacting to the news? Once you start your treatment it can sometimes be the reactions of others (overly positive, unsure, or avoiding the topic etc) that affects how you feel almost as much as anything. I had a need to express how I felt and I didn’t always find it possible with those around me. I guess they just didn’t always understand how it felt to be me, scared, worried about the future, the treatments etc. I have found this site great for ranting and shouting - even when I haven’t ranted myself, there is always someone else going through something similar who IS, and it is good to know that others feel like you do. It feels a bit like a rollercoaster that you can’t get off, (and didn’t want to get on in the first place!) but I’m sure you will find your own way through. Keep posting. Love scottiedog x
Hello,
So sorry to hear you have to go through all this. I was dx nearly three years ago, had mast, chemo, rads, herceptin, now on tamoxifen, so I know what you are going to be going through.
I think the best advice is to take it all one day at a time. Try not to worry about what is to come, but deal with what is happening today.
Chemo is usually not as bad as you imagine it is going to be. Yes you will get side effects, but you won’t get all of them, just your own personal selection of them. No-one can tell you in advance which those are going to be, although some are more common than others. The prospect of being very sick worries a lot of people, but the anti-sickness drugs now are very good, and it is usually possible to get a combination that works for you. Also the loss of your hair is a real bu**er, but if you are prepared beforehand with a nice wig or a selection of scarves you will cope with that too.
If anyone offers you any help take them up on it. You will probably get very tired over the course of your chemo.
Don’t worry about the rads & the herceptin. A doddle once you have done chemo. Rads is just a pain because it is every day, so the travelling gets you down, but otherwise no problem, and herceptin is just turning up to the hospital every three weeks for a year, so time consuming, but the side effects are generally extremely minor.
I send you my very best wishes for the months ahead. You will get through this, and discover that there is life again after breast cancer.
xx
Hi Road Runner and Scottiedog Thanks for your prompt replies its is so much better hearing things from people who have been there.
Love Lalax
My advice, and what gets me through everyday is talking to others on the forum.
This place is a life line, someone is always willing to listen, and more importantly understand what you are going through.
Hopefully we will all get through this journey together (God hope that doesnt sound tooo American)
Take care