It all felt like everything was happening around me and I just went with the flow. After surgery I needed to start chemotherapy and Herceptin, followed by radiotherapy, aromatase inhibitors and Zoledronic acid (bone infusions). So for me there was more to come. Some people have described it was being on a ferris wheel that you can’t get off. And yes it was like that for me.
For me I was ‘cancer free’ after successful surgery to remove all cancer and clear margins with no lymph node involvement but as I had a lot of treatment ahead of me, it didn’t feel like I was. It took until my first annual mammogram to feel I was cancer free but every ache and pain can drag me back to dark thoughts. It hasn’t been a linear journey for me, lots of ups and downs.
This forum has helped immensely.
Please speak to your breast care nurse if you have any questions or concerns before your surgery. You can also call BCN nurses on 0808 800 6000 9-4 Mon- Fri 9-1 Sat.
Make the most of the time you have before surgery, plan some nice things even if it just a walk in the park sunshine or rain (I really appreciate all weather now).
Thankyou so much naughty_boob for such an honest descriptionof your journey im guessing as im no expert that you had invasive cancer. You have been through such alot and so much treatment after surgery it makes me realise how lucky ive been with DCIS. I cany imagine the mental torment waiting for your first mamo and i know understand your need for psychological support. I do wonder how i will feel after, waking up in the morning with boobs and after 58 years or so going to bed that night with none its a very strange thought
Hi @claps please don’t compare your situation with anyone else’s and feel that you’re somehow “lucky” or you should be more stoical or whatever. I had an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma with some DCiS but it was removed by a lumpectomy. Facing a double mastectomy is far more life changing than anything I went through so nothing is straightforward and certainly not comparable. You’ll find the strength to get through it because we somehow do but you have every right to feel the feelings you have and this is the best place to express them. I wish you the best experience that you can have in the circumstances on and after 17th December.
Yes I had invasive ductal carcinoma in both naughty boobs. There were two separate cancers at the same time.
I don’t compare myself to others as everyone’s journey is different. I had a bilateral lumpectomy with two invasive cancers but you are having a bilateral mastectomy. Different diagnosis different treatment. We are all individuals and our teams do what is right for us based on evidence.
Awww thankyou Tigress I suppose in some way its easier to play it down, ya know like “just get ya boobs off” but really inside i saying “WTF taking my boobs off” i wanna stay calm about it because the left one is my choice asthetically and psychologically but theres no getting away from the fact that i wouldnt have to do this if i didnt have cancer, its just a very weird sureal time. Thankyou for your kind words and this chat space is great for that and everyones experience is so different but we all get the same degree of support its great
I was diagnosed with bowel cancer first in 2024 and I didn’t want people reacting to the word “cancer” because I knew that it was caught early. I didn’t want a pitying look of “ how ARE you?” Neither did I want my partner to have many people enquiring so I wrote a reassuring letter to my friends and family. I set up a Friends What’s App group and another for Family, where my partner could update everyone at once. It turned out that he liked people calling him! I had Stage 1 breast cancer in 2025 and had a mastectomy. I continued with the WhatsApp groups. Like you, as I am actually fine and it’s all behind me, I want people to be aware that cancer can be treated if found early and does not mean inevitable death, so I have put a few posts on Facebook and will continue to do so.
I think my oncologist made the stupidest comment I have heard so far. On the first consultation I had with him, he was talking about the surgeon. He looked at my partner and said, “You should see Mr X’s reconstructions - they’re amazing; just like car headlights!! Like you draw when you’re at school!!!” My partner just replied “speak for yourself”.
I’m not sure where he checked his brain out that day, but he took inappropriate to new lows. Funnily enough, a year later he was arrested, jumped bail and was never seen again. Fancy that.
I had exactly the same. My friend told me DCIS was not cancer. I am having therapeutic mammoplasty in two weeks - and another friend said “a boob job, lucky you”. I am trying to be positive but I am dreading it and not feeling lucky. It is reassuring to be a part of this forum - I have just joined
Welcome @bubbsie both to the forum and to the world of “stupid things people say”. Sometimes they say things because they think that they are being reassuring or encouraging but it can still be hurtful or just annoying. You’re amongst friends here so I hope you use the forum to get the support that may be lacking from the cancer muggles. Surgery can be daunting but the professionals who carry it out do it every day and know how to make us feel as relaxed as circumstances allow. I had mine three and a half years ago and was amazed at how kind everyone was. I wish you good luck with it and to take your mind of it, why don’t you think of some witty put downs to the people who say stupid things.
I had to shave my hair off last week and a friend called for a walk the following day and said it must be so much easier and quicker showering now and it was definitely meant like a bonus for me.
I wish I could get react in time but it’s after a while for me. It was just so unexpected. When I thought about it I wish I had told her sure let’s shave yours now as it’s so handy.
@feckingcancer I have said that to someone who said the same to me, I like you didn’t think of it the first time someone said it I was ready the second time
@dilly I’ve lost count of how many have said my hair looks better
I had Stage 1 breast cancer in 2025 and had a mastectomy. I continued with the WhatsApp groups. Like you, as I am actually fine and it’s all behind me, I want people to be aware that cancer can be treated if found early and does not mean inevitable death, so I have put a few posts on Facebook and will continue to do so.
and knowing the audience. 
. Such a comment would have cheered me up no end. But wasn’t for you.
