Hi Ladies. I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductl Cancer Grade 1 which I have since found out is the best diagnosis although it didn’t feel that way when they told me!!
I have been through so many emotions since being diagnosed which includes a bit of guilt as my “good cancer” seems a walk in the park compared to some of the stories on here.
I go for my lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy tomorrow so fingers crossed there will be no lymph node involvement and I can just have radiotherapy and get rid of this nasty disease.
Has anyone else had a similar diagnosis and treatment and if so can you tell me what to expect so Im not in constant limbo!!
Hi Annamae
On biopsy I had a grade 1 IDC which was estrogen (ER+) and progesterone (PR+) positive. Did they warn you your final diagnosis may change once they have done the full histology examination on the tumour? My specialist said it can go up one grade, and in my case I did change to a grade 2 tumour. They can also get additional information like your HER status. Your treatment plan may change depending upon these final results.
Bear in mind that treatment plans are customised to the patient, so what one person had done may not apply to you. From the comments here, it appears hospitals can also follow their own protocols. I’m in New Zealand, so my treatment protocol may differ to standard NHS, and I also had medical insurance so went private.
A few hours prior to surgery I had the radioactive dye injection so they can locate your sentinel nodes. I was concerned it would be sore because of the recent biopsy, but it really didn’t hurt much at all. My lumpectomy was straight forward and the sentinel lymph node was clear.They did a frozen section on the lymph node during the surgery, so I was given an immediate preliminary all-clear as soon as I woke up. The final node result would be available a week later. I am not sure if this is standard practice. I stayed overnight at the hospital but I read here that many are done as a day-stay procedure.
I got the most discomfort from the axilla area as apparently he had to dig deep to get the node out! Apart from not driving for a week my post surgery recovering was straight forward. I spent more time ‘emotionally healing’ than physical healing.
I started my radiation therapy about 6 weeks after the surgery. I went daily for 6 weeks (30 sessions) which was OK. I got told to expect a mild sunburn appearance, but my skin went fire-engine red! This was not painful. Be very careful with your hygiene during this so your treated area remains clean and dry. Wash hands before applying any cream and don’t use your fingers to scoop out cream from the tub.
I am now one year post radiation treatment and you can’t even tell looking at my breast that I’ve had cancer. Due to the hormone status of the cancer, I am on tamoxifen for 5 years. The first few months on tamoxifen were a bit rough due to hot flushes, but this settled down pretty fast and it doesn’t even bother me now.
Don’t feel guilty. Be thankful you caught your cancer earlier and you have good treatment options. Keep in mind the emotional trauma you are currently going through will get better and before long you will be at the point of getting your life back to normal.
Good luck with your surgery and I hope my comments give you some comfort. 
Hi Annamae
Had my lumpectomy 2 weeks ago (grade 2) and lymph glands removed for testing. Results are that lymph nodes are clear but need further surgery next week to get a wider margin around where the lump was…so 10th May next op…same day as my eldest’s school prom so won’t be able to see him off…
Then onto radiotherapy and hormone treatment…
Still in a whirwind. Was only diagnosed a month ago.
Life and what it throws at you…!
Good luck with your results.
Thanks for your reply. To be honest I didn’t think my diagnosis would change at all but am now prepared for the worst so anything else will be good news!! I had my lumpectomy on Wednesday and I feel OK now. Bit tired and sore, like you said, especially where they took the nodes out. Trying to keep as normal as possible with a little help from my 13 year old daughter. She is being great, helping me with my six year old who doesn’t really understand why Mummy can’t lift her up any more bless.
Worst bit for me about the day of the op was when they put the wires through the tumours ewwww. I hadn’t googled that bit at all so was a bit of a shock when I looked down at my chest to see three wires protruding from my boob like something out of doctor who!! Didn’t hurt-just looked weird! I now have the wait for the results but Im confident I will only need the radiotherapy and Tamoxofin.
It is so lovely to have the support of people on the site. Really helps with the emotional side of things. I am waiting for melt down day. I haven’t cried once since they told me I had cancer but I am a naturally emotional person so it will come!! Probably when I get the all clear…
Hi Andie
Im glad your nodes were clear but bit rough having to have another op. I hope this one goes well for you. Its all a bit surreal isn’t it. These sites are great as people know what we are going through and offer some great advice. Good luck on 10th and your son will be so proud of you for beating this x
Hi Annamae and Andie. Just wanted to say that in late 2010 I was dx with a stage 1, grade 1 bc and had WLE (lumpectomy) and sentinel node biopsy. Similar to you Annamae, I had wires put in. They do that when the lump is difficult to feel because it is so small or deep-seated, so it may feel weird but it is actually a good sign that this really is something small. Like you Andie, I had to go back and have a second surgery because they didnt get clear margins the first time. They did the second time though, and I have a friend who even had a third surgery before they did, but eventually got clear margins.
This is just to say that, awful as it is at the time, and scary though it is having these procedures - this was also out of the blue for me and it seems so surreal now when I look back at it, almost as though it was actually happening to someone else - it will be over and you will move on with life. I am now two and half years after dx, I have a scar, which I am currently having fixed with fat transfer so cosmetically hardly any one could tell this ever happened. I didn’t need chemo, just radiotherapy, which was fine and hasn’t caused me any lasting effects that I can tell, and now I just take tamoxifen for 5 years (half way through) as my bc was hormone positive. I don’t come on here much any more, but just wanted to say take it a day at a time, and you will get through this. There are lots of us who were exactLy as you are now and are out there getting on with our lives, as you will do too. Hang on in, this feels like the end of the world as we know it, but it doesn’t have to be x
Hey there!
Thank you for the replies you all have posted. I had the wires put in too before my last op. Gearing myself up for round 2 of surgery in 2 days time.
I know my lump was hormone positive, so I will be on meds for 5 years too. And of corse the rads to look forward to too.
I haven’t cried yet either. Feel like I’m in dream and this isn’t really happening to me - surreal or what?!
Glad to have the support of this network.
Andie xx
Hi Andie ,Just popping in to see how your op went ? I had a second wle on Monday ,pretty sore this time ,think he had a dig with his garden spade lol.I hope someone took plenty of pictures of your son for you.I will keep my fingers crossed for clear margins for both of us. Take care meggy x