I was diagnosed with a 5cm lump in breast in october, treatment so far has been node removal sentinal plus 4 others and then chemo. The chemo was stopped after 2 sessions as it was not working Iam now on tamoxifen and zoladex injection. I have also been told they will have to go back into lymph nodes and that I have a further problem in a rib although they are not saying a lot about this at the moment. My questions are 1) Is chemo not working common and is it a bad sign? 2)Should they not be scanning my bones again as a problem showed up in my ribs? (last scan 3 months ago) 3) If its in the bone is it secondary cancer? 4)what level of cancer should I grade myself at. Sorry for all the questions but my consultant is not very forthcoming with any of this info. Also I was to get lumpoctomy after chemo but should I just ask them to take the breast or is the reason they are not because the cancer needs to be shrunk. 2 months of tamoxifen have not changed the lump still 5cm.
HI.
Sorry cannot offer much advice, but as your consultant is not forthcoming why not ask for copies of your consultation letters.I asked for these at my GP surgery and found out a lot of information I was unaware of.If this is no help I think you should go to your consultant with a list of your questions,obviously you are worried and need answers.
Good luck and I hope it is good news.
All these unanswered questions cannot be good for you, you obviously need these answers. I really think you need to phone your breast care nurse an give her a list of all the questions you have,then make an appointment to see her, so she can fully explain things (she will get all the answers off the oncologist if she doesn’t know the answers already). I,m in Manchester and the breast care nurses will even come to your home if you prefer.
I would go along with what lucinda says. You have a right to have copies of letters sent to your GP. If you are not sure how to go about this have you got a PALS in your hospital. If so they will sort it for you.
It is quite common to give chemo before doing any surgery when there is a fairly large tumour. My first one was 5cm and this was the route I went down. It is not a bad sign that the chemo didn’t work, though obviously it would have been better if it had. Not all chemos work for everyone and at least having chemo before surgery means they will find out which chemo is the best one for you. If you have not had any shrinkage with tamoxifen I think you should be pressing for some action! The further problem with your rib doesnt necessarily mean it is cancer. What scans did they do that showed it up? You can’t guess at what grade your cancer is - that is done conclusively when they have tested a sample of the tumour. If you have a breast care nurse then she would be very helpful in getting your notes and answering any question for you. It really is a shame when some of the consultants treat patients as if they don’t need to know anything! I think you really need to be pressing for some action.
I am posting the number to our helpline, please feel free to call to talk through your concerns on 0808 800 6000, the line is open weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2, our helpline staff are here to support you and help you through this so please do call.
Hi there, I agree with previous posts - you shouldn’t have to be worrying about what you know and don’t know since you have enough for your energies to be focussing on in undergoing the treatment. So just go right ahead and ask - your BCN, your GP, if you feel OK doing that , or write to the consultant and say what you feel you still need to know, or ring consultant’s secretary and give her (probably a her) the list of things you’d like to know …my great discovery was the consultant’s secretary is a fabulous ally!
bw Nicola