Hi there - I am 38 and have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a WLE and lymph nodes taken 2 weeks ago (today) and have an appointment for the 7th sept for my results.
I feel so in the dark at the moment and the waiting is difficult! I tried to ask the nurse what the expected pathology was but she just said it was not possible to say until the results came back. So many people I have spoken to seem to have had more information by this point - I don’t know if it stage II or III or DCIS or whatever!
Anyway I am keeping a positive outlook and I know that I will be so much better once I know what I am dealing with and then can meet it head on. They have said most probably chemo and radio but I guess I will find out for sure next week.
One of the hardest things is I don’t have any children and we were just about to start trying - the uncertainty of that now is more difficult than anything else.
Anyway I shall look forward to getting t know folks on here.
Welcome to the forums, this is a very worrying time for you but you have come to the right place for support from our experienced users who I’m sure will be along to support you soon.
In the meantime maybe you would like to talk things through with a member of our helpline staff who are there to offer emotional support as well as practical information. The free phone number is 0808 800 600 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9.00 to 5.00 and Saturday 9.00 to 2.00.
Sorry you have had to join us here. The helpline is great for a chat it always helps to talk to someone.
It is a bit of a wait for your results although i had an mx 3 weeks ago today and got my full histology results last Tuesday so around the same time frame. It is really hard waiting and it will get easier once you know what your treatment plan is. Did they give you any results from any biopsies they took?
Was in the same position with kids, i don’t have any and we had been trying too. Have you been given any options for egg harvesting? There is a thread on here about getting pregnant after treatment that you might want to look at. I’ve been advised not to as i am er+ and although it makes me feel a bit sad it’s okay, i just want to be healthy and enjoy my life. It’s such a personal thing though and everybody feels differently.
Thank you for your comments. It sounds like we have a similar time frame. How did you get on with your results and what are the next stages of your treatment if you don’t mine me asking?
No I didn’t get any info on biopsy results - on the day of my diagnosis I asked the nurse if there was any info on ‘type’ - I was too shocked and did not have the knowledge to ask about grading or staging or anything? Although I understand now that they don’t give this information until after the operation it seems that some people I have spoken to received this information before the operation and had at least ‘some’ idea of what they were expecting. I guess I just have to learn some patience - perhaps this experience will give me that!
Anyway I suppose it is not long till next tues now - but the last 2 weeks have dragged by! I think perhaps I have been reading too much - at first I was determined not to read up on anything and just wait patienly for my appointment but the more time has gone on, the more I have been reading so that I feel I have some knowledge when I am told. I guess there is no right or wrong!
I have been reading the thread on pregnancy and it is scary - there is so much info out there that it is difficult to know what to base my choices on - we have been offered the possiblity of seeing a fertility specialist - again it is all just a matter of waiting. Something I need to get better at!
Hi Gillian, As 2 weeks have now passed why not phone your Breast Care Nurrse, or the secretary of your hospital doctor and ask if they can tell you anything or bring your appointment date forward. Once you know what you are dealing with it becomes easier. Let us know how you get on. Take care, love Val (PS Iwas 39 when I was first diagnosed and am 60 now).
Agree with Val it would be worth calling your BC nurse i think you have already been very patient, it won’t do any harm.
I had chemo first so my histology changed once i had had my op. I got my pathology a week after diagnosis and even though it’s changed a bit they used it as a guide to my treatment. I then had mx and now waiting for rads to start.
Once you have your treatment plan things will get easier, this is a hard part, waiting. And there is no right or wrong thigns to do, just what is good for you. There is so much info out there i have scared myself a few times. Try to keep to the good sites if looking for info, this one is great.
Be kind to yourself it’s such a big shock to be diagnosed and start treatment. I am going to come out the other side soon and even though everything is a lot less crazy than it was at the beginning i know i am not back to normal yet. it’s a bit of a rollercoaster but it is totally doable.
I know exactly what your saying i am at the same place as you, I was diagnosed 8 weeks ago had my op on 20/08/10 and the only thing i was told is that it is stage 2 and nothing else still waiting for results? but will hopefully find out this Friday? but like Jayne says i think thing will start to get easier when we have a treatment plan at least then we will be in the know and on the road to recovery if that is the right thing to say?
Luv & Best wishes for results day
Vicky x x
oh thank you all so much for the comments and good vibes! It took me ages to register for the forums and I am so glad I did - the support here is wonderful.
I will be patient - my appointment is next tues and I know my BC nurse in on annual leave till then so I guess it is not long now.
Scottishlass - I have heard so many stories similar to yours - ladies who have been through this a number of years ago and are fit and healthy - you are an inspiration and it certainly goes a long way to helping me stay positive hearing stories such as yours. we went through this with my future mum in law (she finished her last radio session the week before my diagnosis, she also had chemo) and she too is an inspiration and handled everthing so well throughout her treatment.
Jayne - that is interesting the development of your treatment and diagnosis. Have you had chemo too? there seems to be so many paths that they can take and I guess it is good that treatment is so different for everyone now - much more geared towards individuals. I am sure a couple of decades ago it was probably one treatment for all. How have you been throughout it? I know that for my partners mum radio was alot easier compared to chemo - going everyday for a period of weeks was tiring but she recovered so much quicker from it.
Vicky it sounds as if we are at similar stages - my diagnosis was 29/7 july and op on the 18/8 - results on the 7th. wishing you the best for getting your results tomorrow (?) - we are in a similar boat! and yep having a plan will make everything so much easier so that we can then move forward with our lives!
one thing she said to me was that when you have it all before you and are going through it, it seems like a lifetime but once it is behind you it is amazing how quickly all the treatment actually went.
I do have some good news! we were due to be getting married in october in scotland but unfortunatly had to cancel everything as the nurse thought I would be starting treatment around that date and as I know what a stress bunny I am we decided to cancel - but we are now getting married next friday! a small registry office and a wee tea party afterwards - so it is going to be a bit of a week with results and wedding but I am excited! I know that it is going to be good for me to have things to aim for - one thing at a time so that is something to look forward to after my results.
Hello again Glee, Congratulations on your wedding plans. I hope you have a wonderful day. I hope you will be able to get to Scotland eventually…perhaps a belated honeymoon trip. Good luck and let us know how you get on. It isn’t easy having treatment and waiting for results but you will get there. Go for it girl. Love Val ( from Edinburgh!)
good luck with your results Gillian and so sorry with you having to join our club who no one wants to be a member of . I had WLE in March and full node clearence because they looked suspicious ( up to layer 3) i was gutted after the elation of the surgery over then really down the next day when the surgeon told me that then i had a 2 week wait for path results and was sure they were going to say it had spread all over , but all my nodes came back negative and they thought they were swollen because they had been trying to fight the breast cancer as an infection ( which is what nodes do ) soo woopy doo it was like winning the lottery ive now just fininshed chemo 2 weeks ago ( another big milestone ) which was not bad ive been lucky to have been really well all the way through ,and now booked a holiday ( which had to be changed from june ) and loking forward to going away on thursday then come back and start radiotherapy 2 days after . I know waiting is the very worst your emotins and fears are all over the place , but when i got my plan and knew what i had to do i actually felt relieved that it was starting and on the road to getting better .so hope your news is good news and keep in touch and let us know how you doing , the ladies on here are a tower of strength and a mind of information to get you through ,its sometimes nice to come on here and have a chat and a moan to someone other than your family, because although we love them very much and mine have all been brilliant i know i try not to worry them and protact them from my fears and thoughts and on here you can just let rip ha ha . sending good vibes xxxxx Julie
Good luck with the results Gillian,sorry you had to join this club were no one wants to be but it as kept me sane these last few weeks, I go for my results this morning, I hade a mx on the 18th August and it is the waiting that gets to you,
Celia.x
Hi Glee,
I had my results back today and they couldn’t be better I have no cancer in lymphnodes taken, so it is just in the breast and that was all removed so will be starting my treatment in the next 5 weeks BCN said 20 sessions of Radio therapy and Tamoxifen I can live with that, hope your results are just as good:) keeping fingers crossed for you, and congratulations on your wedding have a wonderful day.
Luv and best wishes to you both
Good luck
Vicky
XXX
yes, best of luck with your results Gillian. Like everyone says, it gets easier when you have your treatment plan because you feel vaguely in control of your life again.
Waiting for results, waiting to know what the treatment will be and waiting for a wedding - that’s a lot of waiting!
Well done you for getting rid of one of the waits and moving your wedding forward! Many congratulations, have a lovely day.
Really great news for you vickie im sooooooo pleased good luck with your Radiotherapy i start mine the end of this month so nearly on there at last . hope everyone else is keeping well and strong .I have been distracted by retail therapy ready for my hols on thurs ( long awaited as postponed from june) but ive tried to get a few bits of summer things and there isnt a pair of shorts left in the shops looks like ive left it too late ,never mind ive got some new dresses and sorongs so just have to go with what ive got ,hubby says he wont be able to lift the case if i buy anymore ha ha ive tried all my bikinis and you cant see my scar at all ( im sure the surgeon had a bra in theatre and measured it cos its perfectly hidden behind my bra and tops ha ha ) good look for your results and the wedding glee xxxx take care all Julie
Thankyou so much for your support ladies will keep you posted on treatment and how things are going.
Gillian hope all your wedding preperations are going well, wishing you good luck for results day tomorrow and will be thinking of you with everything crossed.
Have a fantastic holiday Julie sounds like a nice place your going to? and good luck with the treatment when you return.
Best of luck for your results too. Finished chemo about 2 months ago, i found it wasn’t the easiest thing i have done but totally doable. Some people get through chemo with minimal side effects and they can always give you something to help. Always tell the team if you are not feeling good, they are there to help.
- my diagnosis was 29/7 july and op on the 18/8 - results on the 7th. wishing you the best for getting your results tomorrow (?) - we are in a similar boat! and yep having a plan will make everything so much easier so that we can then move forward with our lives!