Newly diagnosed

I have been diagnosed with ductal bc. the biospy l had shows cancer in the gland. This has really freaked me out. Is there anyone out there that has the same and how are you doing. I am due to have a lumpectomy in mid March, which seems such a long way away.
I have good days and bad, which l suppose should be expected
love sandra x

Hi Sandra
I had ductal cancer diagnosed in dec and had an mx 4 weeks ago. I suffered the most terrible feelings of despair as I so didn’t want to lose my breast. After the mx, the pathology revealed it was invasive but luckily the lymph nodes were unaffected. At least I hope so, as they are still rechecking the pathology and I’ll know for sure on Thurs. The waiting for the op was a dire time, although I continued to work which helped me focus my thoughts for a short periods of time during the long 7 weeks of waiting. Anyway, despite my worries and sadness hearing that the cancer had been invasive made me more accepting about having the mx.
It is natural for you to worry and to be sad. The waiting time is always the worst but once you have started your treatment or even know what the treatment plan is you will start to feel more in control of your illness.
You will get lots of support from the ladies on this site, they are full of advice and offer loads of support. I found chatting on here an invaluable release of emotion, as everyone here knows what you are experiencing at the moment. Make good use of it as it will really help you. Take care.
Annys xx

Sandra, I am also ‘recently’ diagnosed… I thought it might be helpful to see my timelines…
12 Jan went to doctors after feeling lump/itch/inverted nipple
25 Jan breast clinic; mammogram, ultrasound, needle biopsy
1st Feb diagnosed Grade 2 IDC
3rd Feb Bone scan
4th Feb Cat scan
5th Feb met with breast surgeon
8th Feb met with plastic surgeon
18th Feb met again with plastic surgeon
20th Feb surgery
23rd Feb out of hospital
26th Feb follow up with breast surgeon and pathology results…

I am scheduled to meet for a follow up with plastic surgeon on the 4th of March and the Oncologist on the 5th… and only at that point will I get a treatment plan

The reality is that there was almost three weeks between diagnosis and surgery, but please be assured that once you are diagnosed everything happens quickly

Sorry that you have to join us
Marguerite

Hi Sandra and welcome to the BCC forums.

I have posted a link below to our new resource pack which you may find helpful, it has been designed for those newly diagnosed, just click on the link to access the order form. You can also order more information publications on the same page by clicking on the links on the same page under the ‘quick order list’.

breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/82/

If you would like to speak to someone in confidence please do call our helpline on 0808 800 6000, the line is open weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2, our team of specialist nurses and trained helpliners can offer you further support and information. Hope this helps.

Best wishes
Lucy

Thank you Annys and Marguerite for your support, l have a wonderful family who are full of support. But only when you have been diagnosed with such a dreadful disease can you know what we are going through. At the moment l feel as though my world has crashed. But l will get stronger and be more positive, just shock and fear at the moment
Love to you
Sandra xxx

Hi sandra, sorry to hear your new on the forum, but we welcome you !!

The worst is what your going through at the moment is the waiting, in my opinion, once properly DX they will give you a plan and then you can start moving forward…

All treatments however horrid they sound are doable, and you like all of us will get through this.

Just keep in touch and we will help you all the way.

Take care, Love Teresa xxx

Thank you Teresa, l will keep in touch, this site has been such a help to me already, a few tears, but a lot of good advice.
Onwards and Upwards to you all
With Love
Sandra xxx

I know how you are feeling i thought the longer the wait the worse it would be Im 34 found lump on the 10th of oct 09 got dx with breast cancer 3rd oct 09 had lumpectomy xmas eve everyone says ahhh when I have told them but I can honestly say I found op less bother than biopsy I never slept the night after biopsy due to pain the night after op i was fine I had no pain what so ever maybe I was lucky but other ladies on this site have been the same as me I have radiotherapy after my op which I finished yesterday I am tired but have been lucky with hardly any skin reaction just look like one side has been on holiday on its own hopefully you will be the same wish you all the best lorraine xxx

Hi Sandra sorry you had to join us. I echo what other ladies have said to you the waiting is awful you imagine al sorts. I am recently dx and have just got my treatment plan from onc. I am starting treatment next week. I had a lumpectomy and agree with Lori it was less painful than the biopsy. Your world has crashed down around you at the moment but it does get easier. There are lots of ladies on this site who will cheer you up with there funny stories as well as the invaluable advice you will receive. Stay strong and keep in touch. x

Hi Sandra

I was diagnosed with IDC in sept last year. I have had lumpectomy and lymph node removal (it was in one) and am now ‘looking forward’ to my last chemo next week. Then its rads. It is an awful thing to go through but, as the others have said, it is doable. I consider myself extremely lucky as I didn’t have to have mastectomy.

Julia xx

Hello Sandra,

you will find a lot of support here, the waiting in between is hard but looking back now over the last month myself, it all happened very quickly. From going to the GP on the 11th Jan10, Meeting with Breast Surgeon 20th Jan, Mammogramm, FNA, Ultrasound, Core Biospy, Diagnosis with Invasive Lobular Cancer 28th Jan, Mastectomy and LD flap reconstruction 15th Feb + level one lymph node clearance, back home 21st Feb, Results 25th Feb and Chemo starting next month. I think my head has not caught up yet still it feels surreal.
The worst bit was telling my family and friends, seeing them so upset on my behalf was awful but everyone wants to support and help us with childcare etc.
I truly hope you find these forum a safe place to be yourself.
Take Care of yourself. xxxxx

Thank you for all your support, another hurdle over today! managed to tell my dear 90 year old Mum, that was so hard! and although she is in shock, l know she will give me all the support she can. I was going to leave it another week, as my lumpectomy and gland removal isn’t until the 15th March, but the tears came and l blurted it all out! she said she knew there was something wrong with me!! Mum’s what would we do without them!!!
Once again, Thank you all, you have kept me going this week
Love to All
Sandra xxx

Hi Sandra
Telling your mum must have been hard for you and her. I told mine an hour after my dx, simply because she lived very close to the screening centre and telling her at home seemed less exhausting for me than having to shout it over the phone. She didn’t understand why I needed an mx when my cancer was less invasive and earlier than her own, She had a lumpectomy 3 years ago at the age of 76.She rpeated over and over again you must get a second opinion, until in the end I had to leave. To this day she doesn’t understand how her more serious cancer resulted in less tarumatic surgery than mine. Her surgeon was also a lot nicer than mine too. That’s life!
Hope you’re feeling better today.
Annys x

Hi Sandra, think im in the same place as you! I got dx on feb 11th and having mastectomy and full recon on march 19th. Dont think there has been a day thats passed by that I havent blubbered at some stage. I seem to wake up all positive and as the day goes by, the worries creep in. Everybody says about taking one day at a time and its something im trying to concentrate on. I have sooo many questions about chemo and rads - not sure which one you get and why but off to see the surgeon on wed so hopefully a few more questions answered. I wish you tons of luck and will be thinking of you.
deed xx

Hi Sandra,

Sorry about your diagnosis. I cannot offer any guidance on timelines as mine seemed to drag on due to being referred to a bigger hospital and needed heart tests for existing heart condition. Diagnosed 8th Dec, surgery bilateral mx and snb on 3rd Feb, so nearly 2 months!

Good luck with your surgery and treatment and I hope it all goes ok with telling your mum.

Paula xxxxxxx

Telling your family is so hard to do, I felt the last few weeks like I was leaving a trail of devastation behind me, constantly trying to keep things going as much as normal. I think the waiting is so hard to do, but the information comes in stages and like a puzzle many pieces have to fit together to get the right treatment just for you. Test results are most often double or triple checked and there are case conferences before you get told, too. I read as much as I could, and re-read, as I found it difficult to retain the information in my *brainfog" state but its important as you may have to make decisions about your treatment when you have options. I think for me it’s always the worry about the unknown and the fear about how you’ll feel and react. Everyone is very different and sometimes support comes from the unlikeliest places. Take Carexxxx

Thank you all so very much for all your support…Not any help to you, as at the moment l am no help to myself…But my Love and Cuddles go to you all. The last two days l have been without a computer (crashed) and l missed reading your comments and the support all your messages give to each other.
Love
Sandra
xxx

Hi Sandra, sorry you have had to join us. You will find this forum a lifeline. Its great for airing your fears because we all know what you are going through. The women that use it are wonderful and there is always someone who will try and answer questions. I was dx ductal in Dec 08 had lumpectomy, rads and now on tamoxifen for 5 yrs.

The early days and waiting for results is the hardest. Its natural to feel scared. I remember the sleepless nights. Try not to read too much about your dx (hard I know)or too far ahead about treatment plans, as you just end up scaring yourself to death and a lot of it wont apply to you. try and take things one step at a time. I know two weeks wait for op, can seem like an eternity when you have cancer but it shouldn’t make any differance at all. A lot of women dx have had the bc for 2 yrs before its found anyway.

When I had my lumpectomy, I was only down for an hour and had very little pain. Just needed paracetamol for the first day.

The treatment can seem scary when first told about it all but it is doable. Take all the help offered by friends and family because it can be tiring. And if you want to ask me anything please feel free to PM me and I will try to help, as so many fantastic ladies did me 12 months ago when first dx.

Take care xx

Hello everyone…

How hard is this but feel I need to write it all down… one to get advice from all you guys out there who ar going through the same thing and to get it off my chest…

Went to my GP 22nd Feb with lump on left breast
she said is was a cyst and woulnt put me through for the 2 week turnaround as she felt it wasnt the ‘C’ word…

I decided to use my medical insurance and so so bloody glad I did…
saw surgeon on Tuesday 23rd, core biopsy done as not only a cyst
Thursday 25th results…yep I have Cancer… all those thoughts… why me, what have I done, Ive got kids, how do I tell them, Ive got a new partner (2 years)who I adore and in the process of selling our houses to buy one together…
pants and more pants

Icotope, ultrasound, chest xray all on monday
Lumpectomy monday 1st ~March…
results tomorrow of whether the lymph nodes are affected,…
an the plan of action…

One good thing all this on private which I am so grateful my boss had paid for over the paid few years for me…I have alot to thank her for…

If I hadnt made that move to do this I would still be waiting and my 19mm tumour would be bigger…

I have lots of emotions…Im angry, sad, cross that I didnt find it sooner… or why me… was it the wine I drank…a glass a night…did I eat the wrong things…

I feel so bad Im letting people who care about me down… they dont know what to say at the moment… and Im fed up with listening to being positive phase…I just wanna scream one minute and then get on with it the next…

Am I normal?

Hi Van

Welcome to the BCC forums.

I have posted a link below to our new resource pack which you may find helpful, it has been designed for those newly diagnosed, just click on the link to access the order form. You can also order more information publications on the same page by clicking on the links on the same page under the ‘quick order list’.

breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/82/

Please be reassured that the way you are feeling is completely normal and if you would like to speak to someone in confidence please do call our helpline on 0808 800 6000, the line is open weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2, our team of specialist nurses and trained helpliners can offer you further support and information. Hope this helps.

We have published a booklet about talking to your children about breast cancer which you may find helpful too, here’s the link:

breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/quick-order-list/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/21/

Best wishes
Lucy