Hi Caroline, sadly there’s no way of knowing how it will turn out - depends on the size of the area, the position of it and your size, plus the surgeon. Mine was above the nipple and I ended up with a neat 3" scar and a smaller breast by about 1/3. I didn’t get clearance and ended up with mx. The main point is that the cancer will be removed. Once the surgery and tx is done, things take ages to settle anyway so I’m afraid it’s wait and see. Lots of luck with it, Lynne xx
I’m having an MRI (just of my breasts) tomorrow, so at last things are starting to move. I’ve had a sore hip/upper thigh recently, which is really worrying me. I keep imagining I have some huge bone metastasis developing down there. I know that’s unlikely, so I would feel a bit silly mentioning this to the consultant (& I don’t want to mention it in front of my husband either in case it worries him). I was hoping the MRI would be whole body & at least give me some reassurance that there was nothing obvious in my bones - but the appointment says it’s just breast. What should I do?
Caroline, do mention it. We all have worries and while we’re at the stage of not knowing what’s going on we see demons everywhere. Mention to your husband before you speak to the onc so it doesn’t come as a shock to him, so you can concentrate on what the onc says.
For the MRI, I suggest you bring some nice warm trousers and socks with NO metal bits to keep you warm. They have to keep the room the machine is in very cool and the last thing you want to do is be shivering for half an hour while trying to stay still. It’s not painful (well mine wasn’t anyhow) though it’s a bit odd lying there with your boobs in a couple of holes! Relax and try to “zone out” while it’s going on. You lie on your front so there’s nothing to look at so just shut your eyes, and they give you a buzzer to hold that you can press if you get nervous, and that’s also very reassuring. I just imagined I was waiting for the masseur to turn up and give me a back rub but sadly he never arrived…
Well now I’m a few weeks further on & a lot has happened. Had my WLE & SLNB 2 weeks ago, had a big haematoma after surgery which meant going back into theatre the next day, & a lot longer recovery time than we’d thought. My scars are doing well, but the main sore/painful area is the dent in my boob where the tissue feels to be contracting & pulling all the time. I think this is normal though. The worst shock has been the results of my SLNB - both are positive, so I’m now scheduled for an axillary clearance in 10 days, and then it will be chemo. I’m also having a bone scan & a CAT scan to check for any further spread. I’m so scared & upset, and now I’m in for an even longer wait before I know the full picture - this is going to be worse than the first week of waiting for the biopsy results. We’re trying to act normal for the sake of our son (who we haven’t told yet until he finishes his exams this week), but I’m finding it very difficult to be positive.