Good evening all,
This is my first time on here, am a bit of a way through my treatment and thought I was nearly at the end but now have to have 6 months chemotherapy
I found a lump back in Sept 22 and was diagnosed in Oct with Invasive ductal carcinoma, oestrogen receptive , at the time it was 18 mm , was advised to take anastrazole in order to shrink the tumour before a lumpectomy at a later stage , by Jan 23 it was discovered the anastrazole hadn’t worked and the tumour was now at least 50mm and had spread to my lymph nodes , my consultant was and still is confused as to why the treatment didn’t work .
I had breast conserving surgery on the 31st Jan with a licap flap reconstruction and 4 lymph nodes removed. Results from the op were not good , the tumour was over 60mm and the margins were not clear , more surgery on 23rd March, margins were clear this time thankfully and I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel, a weeks course of radiotherapy and some hormone tablets and all can go back to normal I thought .
Had my first oncology appointment this week expecting to arrange a short course of radiotherapy only to find out I now need to have 6 months chemotherapy, this has totally floored me and my partner , we thought the worst was behind us not ahead of us . I do consider myself fortunate that I am having this treatment to stop the cancer returning rather than treating a cancer that I already have, there are a lot more people in a lot worse situations than myself.
I have been off work for 3 months and have now been signed off for the next 6 months , the nature of my work as a support worker for adults with autism is not going to be possible throughout the chemo.
So much to think about my head hurts , finances , how am I going to feel , will I lose my hair.
I am not one to wish time away but just want to forward the clock six months right now
Welcome to the forum Clare , sounds like quite a rollercoaster you’ve been on . Im so sorry you are now having to deal with chemo too . There are monthly chemotherapy starters threads where people going through chemo help and support each other through the process and others further head pop in and give tips and suggestions hopefully that will be helpful to , I will post you the link . Best of luck with your treatment ,Jill .
Hello Clare-w,
I am new here too. Thank you for sharing your journey so far, I feel for you having that big change in treatment with 6 months chemotherapy and discovering the tumour had grown, that must have been very difficult. For me it feels like the ground is always moving and changing. My journey has some similarities. I was diagnosed in October, same type and ER+ initially it was thought to be 30mm early stage with no chemo required. But after many biopsies tests and scans the cancer was shown to have spread to the lymph nodes below the breast bone - which can’t be removed. So after a lumpectomy 23rd January again margins weren’t clear - so re-excision in March I am due to begin chemo in May. ** 4 months. I imagine your work as a support worker would be difficult to do when you’re the one needing the support right now. I am freelance and have had to pull out of a lot of work over recent months, as I often have to work to deadlines - but I am fortunate to have some work now that I will be able to do around chemo, if my head allows. I have found some useful free resources eg. Access to headspace meditation app via Penny Broyn charity. Headwrappers workshops for hair loss… and lots of others… each little bit of support helps to feel just a bit more resilient for what’s to come. Take care and if you’d like more details of any resources I’ve come across do let me know 
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This should not worry you at all, Claire, since you had no control over it but at 18mm they recommended you start hormone treatment first??? That’s a T1 tumor, the smallest category of tumor and I have no idea why you would not have been taken into surgery immediately. They didn’t need to shrink it to get it out successfully. Were you given an explanation as to why they felt they should? The only reason I am mentioning this by the way is for anyone else who is ever told to start hormone therapy first. Make sure it’s actually a proper protocol and not a way to free up time for surgeons. Not saying that happened in your case but again, 18 mm is NOT a big tumor.
As far as chemo goes though, it’s doable. I went through it and it wasn’t a good time but the drugs they have now to control side effects are fantastic. There are so many conversations that have happened on this site that will give you directions on what you need to do to prepare. But anyway know it can be done successfully and that you can fully recover even to be better than what you were before the big C happened. I am so sorry you find yourself here and that treatment is longer than you anticipated but there is an end date. Just remember this as it gets overwhelming.