Cancer is such a terrifying word, I’m telling myself it’s the Cool Club instead where everyone is special, really supportive & understanding & we all come out the other side!
I am 48 & was diagnosed on Thursday with Stage One Primary BC, invasive & strongly oestrogen positive (sorry, there’s probably a fancy name for it). I am having an MRI next week just to be certain that it’s just the 1.5cm lump that they saw on U/S - my breasts are dense & it hadn’t shown up on the MRI. Assuming it’s as expected, I’m due to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy & then Tamoxifen.
I was very calm for two days, I think the great weather helped, also I’d already read The Cancer Whisperer, started reading AntiCancer - A New Way of Life & started a vegan diet with no sugar 2.5 weeks ago, so I felt reasonably prepared. Today though is different. Today the tears have peeked out periodically. My daughter is coming to stay today and she’s moving into her first purchased house next week & getting married in December and I just don’t want to burden her because the C word strikes dread into people and yet I had been feeling quite positive after reading through The Cancer Whisperer. She’s so happy I don’t want to spoil it and yet we are so close … I’ve lost weight as a result of the diet and feeling really good so it’s even harder to comprehend the reality. I’m really hoping I can get through the weekend and be my usual cheery positive self - could do with a drink, ha! It feels very strange to be walking around the town looking perfectly fit and well (and slimmer!) and yet have this awful feeling about me, that I’m different to everyone else, that they are normal and I’m not, that this is a normal Saturday to everyone else and yet for me, it’s my first knowing my true situation and today it feels pretty stinky. It’s anything but a normal Saturday. It’s raw Saturday. Normally I would have had a croissant and capuccino by now… I’m going to really try to create an alkaline environment within my body - it’s a whole mind shift just doing that …
Anyway, that’s me, I look forward to chatting with you all and learning from you. One question I do have is what effect radiation may have had on you? Did you get hit with fatigue? I’m trying to think how my summer is likely to pan out and this will have an impact on what I do/don’t decide to take on - just don’t know how I’ll be feeling and what to expect?
Havie had my nose in a book pretty much the whole time since being DX I am so shocked at how much the environment plays a part in cancer. Sorry for the long ramble, guess I just needed to offload …
I would really welcome and advice that you have, whether you are following a restricted diet, what books you’ve read, whether you’ve looked at integrating your medical treatment with natural treatments etc… I’m trying not to feel fear as I’ve read that the cancer cells feed off that too … it’s been a massive learning curve already.
Hi Zeen, welcome to the club that no-one wants to be a part of. I was 49 when diagnosed last year after finding a small lump in my breast. It was confirmed by ultrasound as I also have dense breast tissue and it didn’t show up on a mammogram. I had an mri just to check for anything else and it was clear. My bc was also strongly hormone positive and my lymph nodes were clear. I had a lumpectomy, then a re-excision due to unclear margins, radiotherapy (15 normal sessions plus 5 boosters to the tumour bed) and I have been taking Tamoxifen for just over a year. I was mostly positive throughout it all, but did have wobbly days and hit a low point whilst waiting for the results which would determine whether I was to have chemo or not. Thankfully it was decided that the risks of chemo would outweigh any benefit.
In terms of fatigue, I did not really suffer at all and I found it very easy to cope with. I do live close to the hospital so it would probably be more tiring for someone who has to do a long daily travel for treatment. My breast was very sore by the end of radiotherapy and it peaked a week or so later, it felt like I had sunburn on top of sunburn! But I made sure I kept moisturising and I still do. Tamoxifen can have side effects which seem to vary dramatically from person to person, and I’ve had a few - achy joints, night sweats - but nothing thats caused me too much trouble.
Since diagnosis I have made some changes to my lifestyle. I have cut down on my alcohol intake - I had no idea how much alcohol increases your risk of breast cancer and where my husband and I used to share a bottle of wine several times a week, I no longer drink during the week and somtimes just have a glass or 2 at the weekend. I’ve increased my level of exercise and use a running machine and exercise bike every day. I’ve changed my shampoo/conditioner/shower gel/sunscreen to paraben free ones. It has been suggested that parabens contain oestrogen and where my tumour was is where my long hair used to rest when covered in condtioner which could be just a coincidence, but who knows? I also keep the top of my chest covered when in the sun so as not to damage the skin where I had radiotherapy.
I was diagnosed on Feb 11th last year and my last radiotherapy was 9th June - 4 months later. I went on holiday to Italy six weeks later and felt great. I had my first clear check up in Feb this year (mammogram and ultrasound) and life is pretty much back to normal.
Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have however trivial they may seem, we have all been there and we all understand what you are going through. Michelle xx
Well, welcome to the club! As you’ve seen there’s loads of support from us all here, whether at your stage or further down the line, as well as out the other side.
It does get to you & we all can have bad days, so that’s quite normal, but it does pass.
It’s good it’s been diagnosed early & that it can now be dealt with. Treatment is excellent now & there’s no reason not to be positive. Most of us go onto to make a full recovery.
I had the same treatment plan proposed for you. I didn’t find rads a problem, tbh, so hopefully if you’re otherwise fit & well, it should be all ok, but as ever when going through this, always be kind to yourself.
I haven’t moderated my diet, as we eat quite healthily anyway & I am sceptical about some of the claims made for diets, but if you feel it helps by feeling a bit more in control, then fine.
I did have a bit of a ‘wine o’clock’ habit & have moderated this, so I no longer have that daily glass in the evening which I was in a habit of doing.
I’ve also increased my activity levels & now feel fitter than before diagnosis, so overall, I feel lucky my bc was picked up when it was & grateful to be where I am now.
Hi Zeen - I too was 49 at diagnosis of invasive ductal 17mm last November. Following MRI due to dense breast tissue they found more albeit tiny areas but this meant my planned lumpectomy changed into a mastectomy. Due to this I did not need any radiotherapy and no chemo as nodes were clear. I’m back at work now 6 months on and life is pretty much back to normal. Diet wise I have never had a problem with my weight - never really put weight on but at the same time never really lost any - but since taking Tamoxiden I have noticed weight gain. This prompted me to join Slimming World and lost 5lb in my first week and now half a stone lost. The fact this is a healthy eating plan rather than a diet makes it even better (no sugar etc). Good luck and give it a few months you’ll be relaying your success story to newbies x
Hi Zeen
I was diagnosed this time last year. I have been through surgery chemotherapy raidio herceptin and tamoxifen. So at last out the other side.
Afew months ago I went on a moving forward course (run by bcc) I highly recommend booking yourself on after you have finished active treatment.
What I have been told that actually has stats to back it up is – vitamin D , not to be overweight , even losing afew pounds can make a difference and limiting alcohol to within guidelines.
Take care
Vx
Thank you so much you lovely lot - thank you for replying, I really appreciate it.
It sounds as though I should prepare myself for things to change. I’ve been telling myself that it’s stage one but I hadn’t appreciated that path tests might say something different.
Perhaps I should prepare for it being in my lymph nodes and also that they may say I need chemo - argh I hate the thought of that. It seems that joining this club just brings shock after shock.
Ah well in the meantime I must continue to think positive. Thanks for the head’s up though - I may be in for a challenging 3-4 months in which case I won’t have the litter - better to focus on rest and restored health I think.
I also joined Slimming World this year - I wasn’t too great at sticking to it but I do like the diet plan. I was still eating too much sugar on it though (muller light yogurts and those lovely little bars of theirs) and I still fitted in wine o’clock ? Needless to say weight loss was slow because I’m a naughty girl and cheated a. It too much. However since eating this way the weight is dropping off and I do feel better for it. Another half a stone and I will be a weight I haven’t been for a decade ? So that’s a big positive right there and I didn’t appreciate just how strong willed I CAN be so that’s a great revelation.
You are all so positive and open and I don’t feel so lonely as a result - thank you
How did you cope with telling your family and children? I don’t think I’m going to get through this without telling them but I’m worried they will just think the worst. I don’t want them to be sad and panic. My consultant said that this is a hiccup in my life and my life will be continue as. It also afterwards - it comforted me so I guess that’s the approach I will have to take.
Hi Zeen,
Well, it’s good that they are saying stage one, so chemo most likely wont be needed, but as Annie says, it’s good to be prepared for all eventualities. Whatever happens, it will be the best treatment plan to get it dealt with for good.
With family, I found it helpful to wait until I was clear about the facts, so that I could be as calm & positive as possible. I had an early diagnosis following screening, so it was straightforward. Telling my elderly parents was the worst part of it, but once over the shock, they coped well.
We dont have young children, but there is info on this site about this & other ladies will offer their own experiences
It’s so good to see you are being so positive about it all, you will be fine.
Mine was found by early screening as my sister was diagnosed last year. She knew when I went for the first mamogramme and I kept her updated throughout. My other half and a couple of friends also knew (we went skiing with friends mid testing so they got told). I didn’t tell the parents until the diagnosis, I was hoping all would be ok so they wouldn’t need to be worried. I thought telling my mum would be awful, in the last 18 months she has lost her mum, my sister was diagnosed and my step father died suddenly (it will be a year tomorrow :smileysad:), and I knew she took my sisters diagnosis hard. My mum was fab and after the initial shock just said “you have to be positive and you will be fine like your sister”. My dad was a different kettle of fish and took it really badly, I thought it would be far easier telling him. My friends have been amazing, hugs a plenty but letting me be ‘normal’ and not asking about treatments etc unless I bring up the subject, which I find nice, its not then all about the cancer.
Thanks again ladies for sharing your stories.
I got through the weekend with my daughter who is absolutely over the moon about my new way of life - we toasted with our ginger **bleep**s and she said ‘here’s to a healthy life’ at which point I just had to smile and quickly look away. She is just so happy at the moment. I am going on holiday with her and my son who is almost 28 next month - every year we have a holibobs just the three of us, I’m very lucky. Altrhkugh it will probably make it their worst holiday ever, I think this will be a good opportunity to explain to them what’s happening. ‘It’s not about fear of death, it’s about joy of living’. Hopefully they will be encouraged by my positive outlook and hangs sof lifestyle and we can have a cry and a hug and appreciate that every day is a blessing in this world - who ever knows what the future holds.
I’m hoping the surgery will be as soon as I get back.
My affected breast is quite sore and this worries me a bit - anyone else experience this? It’s like an aching sensation at times. At first I thought it was biopsy bruising but that was 2.5 weeks ago now.
I’m going to really try to create an alkaline environment within my body - it’s a whole mind shift just doing that …