Hi,
I am fairly new to this site; this rollercoaster ride started for me two weeks ago.
I have been diagnosed with a Grade 2 tumor which is 6cm and the plan is to do the chemo first (starting next week or maybe the week after) and then have a mastectomy. It seems a lot more common to have the surgery first so I am a little anxious that they are approaching it this way around but my tumor is large so I understand that’s why. I guess it would make more sense to me if they were trying to avoid a mastectomy but I have been told this is not the case as the location of the tumor means a mastectomy is unavoidable.
I would really appreciate any words of wisdom/encouragement you could offer me? Especially if you have received your treatments in this order with a similar experience. Also what can I be doing beforehand to get me in the best possible shape possible for the Chemo? Thanks
Hi there
There is a great article that was in the mail this week about neo adjuvant chemotherapy - There is a copy on this site. ~ If you go to media centre it is there and worth a read. Basically you are lucky to be offered this. I had surgery first and wasnt given a choice although this might not have been right for me anyway as i had three site of cancer in the one breast.
There is also a thread top tips for chemotherapy which will give you lots of guidance. You should consult yr onc as to what to do before as some but not all ban supplements and certain foods dependent on whether your cancer is oestrogen positive. Biggest tip i can give you is drink loads of water day before, day of chemo and day after. That flushes out toxins and helps you recover quicker.
I am sure there are others who will offer you great advice too.
Linda
Thanks for that Linda,
That is really reassuring and helpful. I will have a good read. I hope your road to recovery is going well?
I know I am oestrogen positive so I will wait and see what the oncologist says then. I will make sure I keep the fluid levels up though as this never hurts anyway.
Thanks again Linda.
Tam
Hi Tam
I am pretty much on a par with you currently. In the last 14 days have gone from clear mammogram to a 6cm tumour in one breast and a 4cm tumour in the other, following biopsys and MRI scan.
I will also begin chemo next week prior to a double mastectomy later on. It was explained to me that the chemo needs to happen first to shrink down the tumours as much as possible before surgery. This way they will be able to remove the tumours more safely in terms of getting as much as they can.
I also followed Linda’s advice and read the article - I have to say I am very surprised by the different regimes followed around the country. I believe I have been very lucky with my care so far - a suspicion/concern from my radiographer led to approx. 8 days of tests/scans etc. to where I am now (terrified but keen to get things rolling)
As we are starting out at the same time, perhaps we can compare notes.
Good luck
Y.
Hi
I had chemo first and was told that another advantage of this was that you can actually tell how effective the chemo is by the response of the tumour, and if one type isn’t working as well as they hope then my onc said they would change chemo.Hope all goes well with your treatments
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