I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and have since been in for a WLE and had 5 lymph nodes removed. Got results last Tuesday and found out 1 lymph node was affected, also hormone + and herceptin +. I will be starting chemo in a few weeks time with radio after and also need Herceptin for a year (as well as Tamoxifen). Is anyone at the same stage - could really do with knowing that I am not alone.
I have been reading the posts over the past few weeks and it seems you are a fab bunch of girls out there (although a few of the posts have scared me!) My family/friends have been great and we are just about holding it together but I am really scared about what the future might hold.
Any advice greatfully received!! (Also is anyone from the Central Scotland area?) xxx
I finished herceprin a couple of months ago. It’s not a problem.It’s a scary business for sure but do-able. You’ll hear that and hate it but will say it because it is.
A great resourse is Maggie’s Centre. There is one on Glasgow, one in Wishaw too. Good luck pet. And you WILL get through this.
I am not from Scotland and I have recently finished my Chemo and radiotherapy so am a bit further down the line thsn you. However I wanted to say hello and to wish you all thd best. Stick to threads which look like they contain the kind of stuff uou can cope with at the moment. I scared my self silly Reading stuff that may never even be relevant to me. I love your name by the way, lovely choice. There is a group of ladies from near Edinburgh I think on a thread so I am sure they will message you when they next log on. And sadly there sre new Chemo threads most months so I would jump on one of them maybe to buddy up with people at your stage. All the very best
Hi Bonnielass - another one here who’s further down the line - finished active treatment in May, now on tamoxifen. I’m in Lanarkshire - very happy to chat if i can help in any way - although i totally “get” that it helps when someone is at the same stage, its a relational thing.
Good luck - and please don’t hesitate to speak - don’t feel alone.
I had a right breast mastectomy and 2 lymph nodes affected so axillary node clearance operation followed in July this year.
I have just had my 3rd cycle of 8 chemotherapy which will then be followed by radiotherapy, a year of herceptin and tamoxifen so my treatment plan sounds very ,much like yours though I am obviously perhaps a month or two further down the road.
Happy to chat anytime and shar experiences or discuss concerns. Best wishes, Take care, Gill xx
im from Edinburgh and finished chemo (epi-cmf) last year and radiotherapy treatment at the beginning of the year… i didnt have herceptin though.
a crowd of us meet up in edinburgh once a month… next time its 31st october if your interested in coming along, some people who come are still having treatment.
Sorry to hijack this forum, but I couldn’t find a forum for partners of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. My partner and I are based in Edinburgh having just moved from West-Lothian to Mid Lothian. Have just completed our wedding plans for next month and the upheaval of moving house she discovered a small lump. To cut a long story short, she went to get the results by herself last wednesday (at her insistance) as she thought it would just be a cyst. I feel terrible I wasn’t there when she received the dreaded news. She is my rock and to see her in this state is gut wrenching. X-rays and ultrasound seem to show no signs that it has got to the lymph nodes and the size of the mass is less than 2cm, which I take to be good news all things considered. The trouble is that she cannot remember much of the information given to her as she was in shock at the time.
Until we have the meeting with the doctor this wednesday we will not know for sure what the plan will be, but she is insistent that the wedding still goes ahead, which is a typical sign of her stubborness. I want this to happen too but my main priority is to get the best treatment started as soon as possible. I want that little bad boy out and her to get going with recovery. She is also very worried about being able to conceive after treatment.
I am sorry for the diatribe but I am really at a loss of what to do and how to deal with this and I want to be able to be be a solid support for her. I love her so much and I want to do everything possible to help her through it. Any help would be appreciated, particularly from anyone who has had the same type/size of stage 1 cancer.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care Discussion Forums. While you’re waiting for replies to your post I thought it might be helpful to post links to a couple of BCC’s publications, ‘In it together’ specifically aimed at partners of someone diagnosed with breast cancer and also ‘breast cancer and you’:
with regards to some body with the same diagnosis you probably will know a little bit more on wednesday as to the grade and if its hormone sensitive and these will give you a better idea of treatment options.
i have had breast cancer twice at 37 and 40 both tumours were under 2cm one was a grade 1 which is the least aggressive type and the other was a grade 3 which is the most aggressive type.
you get the information a little bit at a time, so you can digest the information at each stage however this means it may leave you with many questions unanswered till the next appointment.
Not at the same stage as you, have actually nearly finished treatment still on herceptin and femara. Has mx exactly 1 year ago and did not think I would be here today but after surgery, chemo and rads I am still here. If you want someone to talk to I am alway available I live in Lanarkshore so am close at hand.
Thank you for responding so quickly. Your advice and help is great particularly knowing that there are many others in the same boat.I know there are many permutations of treatments depending on the actual results so I guess we will just have to have patience.
I wish you all the best and thank you again for helping us out with what is quite a surreal experience.
I’ve not been on the site for a little while so apologies for no messages. Had a busy week with all the doctors/hosp appts. Thanks for the other offers of ‘an ear’, hope things are going alright for you all? Will probably be in touch in due course!
Lulu, thanks for letting me know about the meetings in Edinburgh. I will keep it in mind but it will probably be next year before I will make it through. I am started chemo in a weeks time on Tuesday so don’t know how I am going to be with that. I had a meeting with the onc nurse last week and she talked me through all of the side effects, scary stuff! But keep reminding myself that everyone’s different so won’t really know what I will get until it happens. But the big thing that is scaring me is losing my hair, which is so stupid as its not important in the bigger picture. Will be trying the cold cap but don’t think I will be able to stand it for too long!
Richard, so sorry to hear your news. Yes, you will find out more this coming week. It is a scary time, only just had all that the past month but it is amazing what you can deal with. She will probably find out if it is hormone sensitive and have a rough idea of treatment needed. (You find out a bit more ie. herceptin receptive after the operation). If your partner wants to chat anytime, she can get in touch with me. Not sure if she is a similar age to myself (33) but sometimes that helps. I was diagnosed with stage 2 and my lump was orginally 8mm but only 5mm after the operation.
But it must be hard for you too. Try not to read too much about it as you will find out all you need to know in time. And if there are things you both want to know, write them down and ask the professionals when you see them. (They must laugh at me with my lists!) You sound like you are doing just fine though but as for knowing what to do - just be there for her and give her lots of hugs/kisses. You sound like you are being very supportive so far (wish I had a partner like you! - my boyfriend broke up with me after 11 years, the week before diagnosis, nothing to do with c, just couldn’t commit). And of course this has added to my worries (marriage/children) and I am having to put off going back on the dating scene for now which is v v annoying, and at least until my hair grows back!
Sorry to ramble, hope this has been a little help. Take care of yourself and all the best for this week.
Thank you for your upbeat positive response. My better half is 35 years old and has been told that she is stage 2 although no signs in the lymphs, although I understood that the size of the mass(less than 20mm) and with no signs in the lymphs was Stage 1, but you are right to tell me not to read too much incase I misinterpret something. She was told that surgery could be performed after our wedding(happening at the end of November) with Estrogen tablets to control the size. Obviously on Wenesday we find out what the best course of action is. We are both desperate to have kids and now we are scared about the affect on that too, although my priority is to see her beat this. So much to worry/think about.
As an aside, we (I keep saying we, although it is her, as we are firmly in this together)are being treated at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, although the specialist splits his time between there and the Western. Are you able to give any advice about where is the better of the two to go to???
Thank you for your help it is more than appreciated.
I will be encouraging her to come onto this forum, as she is fairly shy, but it would be great for her to speak to someone about this who is both in the local area and also of a similar age.
That is good news that she is able to put off surgery until your wedding is over. Hopefully she is able to put it to the back of her mind a little bit and get back to being the ‘blushing bride’. As far as the kids thing, I know, it is just not fair is it. But she/you will find out all the options available. I was told that they were unable to freeze eggs unless they were fertilised which obviously is now a problem for me (unless I went down the donor route which I didn’t fancy). But that would probably be something for you both to think about.
As far as where best to go, not too sure. I’m being treated at the nes Royal Larbert Hospital near Falkirk so don’t really know what these two hospitals are like. I have a friend who lives in Edinburgh though and she once told me that the hospital in Edinburgh was ‘a centre of excellence’ for breast problems. But don’t know how much of that is true so don’t quote me on it. And if you would be getting the same consultant at both hospitals it possibly wouldn’t matter. I would suggest the best one would be the one that is easier to travel to, for follow up appointments and everything that goes with this horrible thing.
And yes, sure, tell her to get in touch anytime (I think you are able to email straight on the profile page???) And it would be nice to chat with someone of a similar age and who possibly has similar worries to myself. Just tell her to be careful what she reads on here, it can be very scary!
it doesnt really make a difference where you get treated generally speaking its easier to go to the local unit… she would most likely be under the same surgeon whether she was there or at the WGH but if SJH is closer then its maybe easier for transport and visitors… a doctor from the WGH covers st jonhs, borders and dunfermline so its the same centre of excellence surgeons doing the op regardless of which hosp you are in.
if she is having any plastic surgery then the PSs are actually based in SJH as there is no plastic surgery dept in Edin.
SJH also have their own chemo dept and they do aromatherapy too which you dont get in edin.
bonnielass ill send you a message when we meet up and if your feeling up to it any time pop along… next meet is 3rd dec for our xmas night out… richard your OH is welcome to join us too.
Lulu xx
she will have radiotherapy at the western if she is getting that but its normally a few weeks after the last chemo, but it it is daily mon-fri for about 5 weeks.
Thanks again for all the advice and help. Your kindness restores my faith in people.
We are heading to St John’s this morning for discussions about the treatment plan and this is definitely worse than any nerves I have felt before. Can’t wait to hear what the next few months hold for us whilst at the same time not wanting to go, in case it is not what we want to hear.
Lulu - thanks for the invite for Alison to the Xmas do. I have recommended that she gets locally involved, as I can only go so far with providing the support she needs. She is also keen to meet women of similar age to her (35).
Good luck - I am overseas but my home is in Livingston so would have been treated in Saint John’s if I was there. I’m not sure when I will be in Scotland but would be keen to link with the group in Edinburgh if possible.
Still trying to get my other half to join in on the forums but she has to do it for herself, but she is still quite shy/coming to terms with the issues.
We found out that she has unspecified Grade 2, Stage 1 breast cancer with the lump being 16mm. She is HER-2 Negative, so it looks as though she will be only needing radiotherapy, however, we are cautious to be too optimistic as she goes in for a lumpectomy on the 3rd Dec (6 days after our wedding) and they will take a couple of lymph nodes to see if there is anything in there. She is currently on tamoxifen but comes off them in a few days before the wedding and the Op. Trouble is she is getting an itchy rash and is worried that this is what she’ll have to contend with for the next 2-5 years. Hopefully it is just a stress related thing which should hopefully calm down.
During the course of her Radiotherapy I will be taking her to the WGH but hear that the Maggie centre is open to both patients and partners. Can anyone give me a pointer as to how the Maggie centre works from their own experience?