I am 62 waiting for tests - surely they will be positive?
I am 62 waiting for tests - surely they will be positive? Am I like everyone else - searching the internet looking for answers and driving yourself crazy. But - I did find this site.
I had a mamogram last March - called back as they saw two white areas. Did re-check mammogram, ultra sound, etc and gave me all clear.
Since October last year I helped nurse step father with terminal cancer at home. We ended up with two funerals in same week - it just seems death is all around me.
Now I find this thickening, lumplike - tender ‘thing’ and I went to GP last Tuesday. I am now off to One Stop Shop on Wednesday and the waiting is hell.
The GP is non-commital and in fact on my web trawling I read they are having to be so careful as to what they say in case they are ‘sued’ for giving wrong information.
I am convinced that because of the odds at my age I have Cancer. I am also sure that because it seems to have come quite quickly either they missed it last year or it is speading very fast.
I feel sick in my stomach and really after everything that has been happening, much more I have not listed, I do not even think I have the strength to fight it if I had it.
Has anyone my age had a false alarm - I think I would feel better if it felt like a cysyt wouldn’t I?
Hi Mrs Gilly
Im so sorry you have had to find yourself here…im sorry i cant give you any reassurance from being in the same age category…but if its any help i had a thickening for 18 months which the medical profession dismissed…despite that length of time and the fact that it was ductal carcinoma it hadnt spread anywhere and was still contained…
I just wanted to send you a big hug and if your scans are clear again push for a biopsy…
Lots of luck at the one stop shop
Love Anna xx
Hi MrsGilly,
I’m glad you found us!!
Waiting is always the very worst thing - the mind goes completely out of control. Once you know what you’re dealing with, it seems more manageable - good or bad.
I can understand your GP being non-commital. I work in a veterinary centre and our staff have to be very careful about ‘guessing’ a diagnosis. This is to protect themselves, of course, and also to prevent more worry for the owner.
I found out that I had cancer at my first mammogram appt. I was, of course, devastated. But everyone at the hospital was wonderful and things moved very quickly.
When my mum was diagnosed with bladder cancer 18 mos ago, it was very hard to deal with. I found my own cancer much easier for some reason. It’s hard to see those you care about suffer.
I am 45. I guess any age is hard when you hear those dreaded words. BUT, I hope things go well with you. Please keep in touch. Everyone is so supportive on this site, and it’s great to be around people who totally understand what it’s like to go through this.
Best of luck for Wednesday!!
love,
Jacki xx
Hi Mrs Gilly
I am only 43 so, statistically, I shouldn’t have developed breast cancer.
Stastically the little 16-year-old high school student I know shouldn’t have developed it either. But we both did.
My mum and most of her friends are in their sixties and none of them has had breast cancer or knows anyone in their age group who has had it. All the breast cancer survivors we know are under 45.
So, what I’m saying is, ignore the statistics. In the real world they are meaningless.
I would say it is highly unlikely they will have missed anything last March. It does happen - occasionally - but the tests are pretty accurate and they tested you twice, so I would be confident they got it right.
Although age is one risk factor for developing breast cancer (indeed most cancers) there is still a 9 in 10 chance that what you have is benign. Your GP is simply following the guidelines by referring you. There is no way he or she can tell from physical examination alone whether your lump is benign or malignant.
I know it’s horrible waiting for your appointment ( I was an internet trawler, too, and read some pretty scary stuff) but at least if it turns out to be breast cancer they will have caught it early which bodes very well prognostically.
Being post-menopausal, which I assume you are, also means you have a higher chance of having a low-grade tumour. The high-grade ones tend to favour us pre-menopausal women thanks to all that oestrogen!
The fact that the area is tender is also a promising sign as breast lumps tend to be hard, fixed and painless.
I’m not trying to play down your fears - just hoping to alert you to the positives I can see in the limited information you have at the moment.
I wish you the very best of luck with your appointment on Wednesday. I’ll be thinking about you. Please let us know how you get on.
Love
Lola xx
Thank you all for being so supportive.
I think the pain is worse the more I think about it.
The waiting is hell isn’t it even though, once I get through today, it is only two full days and then it will be Wednesday.
I keep thinking this time next week I will know what is happening.
Gilly
Good luck for weds Hi Mrs gilly,
just read your post and wanted to wish you well for your appt this weds. I expect that the appt hasn’t been too far from your mind this weekend. I was 34 when diagnosed in March and I was fortunate enough to be seen at a one-stop shop. I wasn’t overly concerned about my lump as I was thinking it was too large and I was too young for it to be anything other than a cyst. The good thing about a ‘one-stop shop’ is that I found out my results just an hour after having all the tests. There are many ladies on this site who have to wait weeks for follow-up appts and the stress and worry must be unbearable.
I am glad you have found this site, I have found the support amazing! Do try not to get too bogged down looking on here though cause sometimes you can read too much, if you know what I mean? I really do hope the news for you on weds is good, and please do let us know asap. I am also at the hospital on weds, for my 3rd chemo session, so I will be thinking of you. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but if the news is not so good, I’m sure you WILL have the strength to fight it. I think we are all a lot stronger than we sometimes realise.
Take care and hope to hear from you soon,
Kelly
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Hello Mrs Gilly.
I had regular mammograms, no problems, then just before two years after the last mammogram, one Sunday, three weeks before last Christmas I found a tender lump, went to the doctors on the Monday, who thought as it was painful it probably was a cyst, she got me an appointment at the hospital on the following Thursday had a biopsy and scan, and it did turn out to be breast cancer, I was offered an op to remove the lump the week before Christmas, not wanting to mess the Grandchildren’s Christmas up I had it the week after, followed by radiotherapy, then put on Tomoxifen for five years…Once I got the results I was fine, I am doing really well now touchwood, and I don’t think of it every minute of the day, it does get easier as time goes on…The Oncologist told me that my prognosis was very good, so am keeping positive although not always easy.
Good luck with your appointment, please keep us posted on how you get on.
Hugs Val.
i’m 62 waiting for tests Its wed as I write this so hope you will know more by now.I am 58 and going for tests next monday so i recognise the utter gut wrenching fear!.I am thinking about all the women who are going through this-there are so many of us!!!This puts other worries into perspective doesnt it? Stay strong
love
whirlygigg-----what a stupid name to choose!!!.
My aunt had her cancer dx 7 years ago aged 65 she had a partial mast then, had chemo but only tolerated a couple of times,had 15 rads, then was put on Tamoxafen for five years and is now on Arimadex and has been told last week that in 2009 she will be completely discharged…it has been hard but she has coped extreamly well and has had hardly any effects off the drugs…
Hello whirlygigg…love the name reminds me of children’s TV back in the 50s.
I am so sorry to read that you are having tests on Monday…I do hope they prove to be negative.
It’s the waiting that is so difficult, once you know the worry is almost taken out of your hands by the wonderful caring Doctors and nurses.
Will be thinking of you, please keep us posted on how you are doing.
Hugs Val.
Hello Jax1961
That is wonderful news about your Aunt, and it gives us all hope.
I hope your Aunt continues to keep well.
Hugs Val. XXXX.
How did you get on? Hi Mrs Gilly,
was wondering how you got on yesterday at the one-stop shop? I went to a one-stop shop and although the news for me was not so good I was very glad that I found out immediately so that I could crack on with treatment asap,
I really hope you are ok, whatever the news. I’m sure we are all thinking of you,
Please let us know how you got on as and when you can,
Take care,
Kelly
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