I’m waiting for my biopsy results and feel like I’m going out of my mind. The consultant strongly believes is bc, but the 2 week result for the tests is literally bringing me to my knees. I already have anxiety disorder so it’s making it even harder. I’m beginning to think every ache and pain is it growing. I’m just not coping. Please can anyone give me some words of hope that I can get thru this horrible time and get thru the treatment plan. Thank you x
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Hello @stafford22
The waiting and worry is awful but reading another of your posts you only have another couple of days. So hang in there.
If cancer is confirmed, many of us find some of the anxiety dissipates, because you focus on the solution and fix. It’s not instant, and even thou you have been told it’s most likely, it will still hit you hard.
Now’s the time to be a bit selfish and look after yourself. Buy some treats, or have lazy days - whatever works for you.
They have some great treatments for BC and even better support. Some treatments are not pleasant, but they try to make it as comfortable as possible to get a good outcome. So not all doom and gloom.
Thinking of you x
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Thank you for replying. It really helps talking to someone. My appointment is on Thursday. How soon do you think it’ll be before things get moving like surgery and treatment? Will this be delayed if I need a breast mri? Thanks x
I’ve not had an MRI so I can’t help with that sorry. The next step depends on the type of cancer, size, location etc. Some have Chemo first, some like me go to surgery. My op was about 6 weeks after diagnosis.
You will probably get booked in, but expect in will be January before the next step. If that’s the case you can use the time to process and prepare. The BC nurses and forums like this are great support. And you will no doubt have more questions as you process it all.
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Hi @stafford22
The feeling of having aches and twinges and thinking that something is growing is a common one - I remember feeling like this and those twinges miraculously disappeared after surgery . @sal1 is correct that for most of us the waiting is the hardest part because everything is out of your control and you’re stuck in limbo waiting for a stranger to tell you what to do next - awful . We have all been there .
Try to take it a day at a time and do something that makes you happy and gets you out of your head every day - if you can have just a few minutes without thinking about it you will feel better . If you drink a lot of coffee or fizzy drinks it might help to cut those right down as too much caffeine makes it worse. I stuck to having just tea and less than normal as I felt very edgy if I had coffee . If there’s a good friend that you can talk to who won’t tell everyone else that will help and though it’s a busy time of year if you can do something nice / have a treat then do it .
If you need to contact your GP and get something extra for your anxiety then do it - plenty of people do. I do a lot of Yoga and mindfulness and sea swimming - that helped me when I was at the stage you were at. It was particularly important to me to swim because I knew I wouldn’t be able to after surgery then had to stop again because of radiotherapy so I tried to make the most of that - so if there’s some activity that you like that you know you wouldn’t be able to afterwards then I would do it.
Following 1 failed procedure a lumpectomy and radiotherapy I was able to get back to my normal activity levels again within a few months . I swim with 2 other ladies who have both had breast cancer , one of them well over 20 years ago and they are both very fit active and well .
Hope that helps a little . Sending love xx
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Hi stafford22
This is the worst part and I really feel for you. Things that helped me during the time up until treatment were using a daily journal to get all my thoughts and worries out onto paper and, although I didn’t always feel like it, getting some exercise to clear my head.
Although it’s hard you do need to be prepared that things may, but also may not, happen as quickly as you would like. I was booked in for surgery within a couple of weeks of diagnosis but this got postponed twice due to things coming up on MRI which needed testing and other things. Try to be reassured that if that happens your team are gathering all the information they need to decide on the best treatment plan for you.
Best of luck with everything. x
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Hi stafford22
I agree, it is a very anxious time. As someone already said, have me time and look after yourself. You dont have long to wait now for your results. Are you able to have someone with you. I went on my own and it was one big blur. Things will no doubt move quicky. I had my diagnoses on the 8th Feb last year, mri the following week. I saw my surgeon the week after. I then had surgery on 3rd of April. So, from diagnosis to treatment was 2 months. I had lumpectomy, radiotherapy and now on tamoxifen. Currently on annual check ups.
Any treatment you need is a lot more advanced and effective these days.
You will get a lot of support on this from and your treatment team.
Let us know how Thursday goes.
Best wishes x
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@stafford22 it’s an absolutely awful time and trust me we have all been in that dark place you are in right now. Yes every twitch, itch or pain sends off alarm bells and trying not to think about it all is simply impossible. There isn’t an easy solution to your anxious wait, but everybody here has been through it, we all understand exactly how your mind is working, there’s not a single thing you can’t say or share here. It’s all been done/said by so many of us. The only thing I found to help was my journal - every night before I tried to sleep I wrote down all my darkest thoughts and worries, anything that is bothering you. It helps to get it out of your head.
We are all here for you, hoping for good results for you. Sending you a big hug xx
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At the biopsy meeting, does the plan give dates or will I come home with no clear plan? I appreciate things can change and everyone’s different
At the appointment I was told by the doctor (it wasn’t clear if he was a surgeon or oncologist) what they thought the tumour was in size and histology, then told this meant I would have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy and endocrine treatment. I was then shown the door and had half an hour with the BC nurse specialist who took me through everything in much more detail, ringing the relevant pages in the MacMillan BC guide to treatment. In truth, the only way to know what the actual size and histology are, is to get it out in surgery and subject it to rigorous testing, so treatment plans can change a bit at that point ( for example I was found to have a low grade DCIS in the same place as the IDC so that increased the size of the tissue taken out). I second the idea to take someone with you as it is a lot to take in.
I was then sent to a different hospital in a different health authority for the surgery as they were working together to clear up the COVID backlog in 2022, so I had surgery six weeks after diagnosis. Mine was er+ HER2- (the most common kind of BC) and it was slow growing. If you can, try not to worry too much about it running riot in your body before surgery - we all imagine that but it is highly unlikely to happen. I do understand that it is difficult though.
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Thanks for replying. It makes it clearer on what happens at the meeting on Thursday. I’ll write down my questions. I know the medical team need to get all piece of the jigsaw but it feels so long waiting.
My first meeting after the biopsy was where I’d had the mammogram in the first place and just to tell it was Breast Cancer. I was then seen by their BC nurse who explained everything fully and said I was being referred to my local hospitals bc unit and I would hear from them within 2 weeks. I actually had a telephone call from them an hour later offering me an appointment with the bc surgeon three days later. So things did move pretty quickly for me. At that appointment with my extremely kind and helpful surgeon (he’s so good I wish you all could have him) at which he examined me, explained exactly what they had found and what my treatment plan was. I was offered surgery four weeks later in fact that was exactly one year ago today. However as it was so small I asked if it could be delayed until after Christmas and it was booked for January 3rd this year. Unfortunately the young doctors strike cancelled that and I ended up having my surgery on January 31st. I bitterly regretted my decision to delay surgery as I only caused myself more waiting so I don’t advise anyone to delay things, if they offer you a date grab it with two hands. Surgery was straightforward and easy followed by five sessions of radiotherapy which again was straightforward and easy and now five years of aromatase inhibitors - which I admit I really struggled with for six months but which have settled now. I’ve just had my first year follow up mammogram and appointment- all clear thankfully.
Please if you do have Bc then make sure you place yourself as number 1 - you need to take care of yourself, spoil yourself, don’t do what you don’t want to or feel up to, accept any help offered and do only what you want to do. Wishing you either a nothing of concern result or if not then wishing you a straightforward and easy treatment plane and we are always here for you - ALWAYS. xx
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So I first found a lump in my breast late July. I saw my GP the same day. He said it didn’t look good. It was 10 days before I saw a hospital consultant who also said it didn’t look good. At that appointment I had a mammogram of both breasts, an ultrasound and then biopsies including of lymph nodes in my armpit. It was about 2 weeks late that I got the results er+. As I’m 70 I was put straight onto letrozole which inhibits oestrogen. Late September I had the lump removed (grade 2) as well as 11 lymph nodes from my armpit 7 of which had tumour cells. The surgeon took a good margin which was clear of any abnormal cells. I was signed off work for 6 weeks which I really needed! Began radiotherapy on 21st November. Had 15 sessions. Because I made sure that I drank plenty, used some decent moisturiser on my breast as well as a place next to my neck ( there’s a cluster of lymph nodes above the clavical bone) I’ve had no side effects from the radiotherapy apart from the nipple on the affected breast is now browner.
I also did some googling to find out what things help my liver. Your liver cleans up all the rubbish and dead cells from radiotherapy and other treatments. The 3 things I’ve been using are beetroot juice (sold at Sainsburys) milk thistle tablets and dandelion tea (both from a health food shop but could probably get online. If you go online search for ‘British Supplements’).
At first everything can be really scary but you get so much help and information from the macmillan nurses. Apparently it can take quite a long time to grow these tumours so if you have to wait a few weeks before surgery it won’t make a lot of difference. Initially I didn’t want to tell anyone especially as I didn’t want to upset my family but talking to friends who’ve already been on this journey it’s much better to share. I’ve had so much love and support from my work colleagues as well as other friends and neighbours. I’ll be taking this letrozole tablet for the next 5 years and will have a yearly mammogram for 5 years. I was given the option of having my healthy breast reduced but I declined. Didn’t want another surgery besides I don’t really notice a big difference. It is a journey that you’re on but always reach out for help and you’ll end up being able to encourage others.
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Hi @stafford22
I was in a similar situation so really feel for you. Not much helped me, just had to stick out the wait, but small things were- I got some beta blockers from my GP which helped with anxiety. I got free counselling sessions through Macmillan (further down the line after diagnosis). I wrote stuff out in a journal; every day I set myself some ‘non worry time’ where I watched some of my old favourite programmes! Which gave me a bit of a break. I talked it all through with friends as that helped. I also had aches and pains, was convinced it had spread to my bones but it hadn’t, just be mindful that extreme stress can cause lots of aches and pains.
It does get a lot easier once you have a treatment plan.
Hi Stafford22
I hope you are doing okay today. I was absolutely frozen with fear waiting for my results…at one point I questioned whether I was physically able to leave the waiting room when my name was called. No one can even begin to imagine how this fear consumes you, unless they have actually been through it themselves. Your feelings of complete and utter terror, are absolutely normal.
During my ultrasound and biopsy I was told it was very likely BC and I would need an MRI to size the tumour. When I met with my surgeon for the first time a week later, she confirmed it was cancer but wouldn’t give me a date for surgery until the MRI was done; she estimated I would get a date within two weeks. I called the MRI department the next day and was offered a cancellation for 3 days later, so that is definitely worth doing if you find yourself in the same situation.
What I would stress, is do not delay surgery under ANY circumstances. I had a trip to New York booked a few weeks later (which my teenage daughter had, apparently, been looking forward to, ‘her whole life’!)…I was told my cancer was early, slow growing, and delaying surgery to go on holiday would make no difference at all. This didn’t sit right with me though, so with a heavy heart (and a devastated daughter) I cancelled the holiday and had surgery two weeks later. My surgeon was ‘very surprised’ to find it had already travelled to one lymph node with extra capsular spread…even though several examinations, an ultra sound an MRI had indicated no lymph node involvement. If I had gone to NY I would have been convinced the spread had occurred then, and would have forever blamed myself for worsening my prognosis. The big lesson here, is that regardless of knowledge, expertise and experience, MDTs just don’t know what will happen. They can predict, sure, but they just don’t know for certain.
I really, really, hope you will have good news on Thursday. I will be thinking of you. Taking a notebook with you or asking to record the conversation on your phone is helpful. Do let us know how you get on. You will get through this. Sending you a massive hug xxxx
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Thank you it is terrifying and I don’t know how I’ve managed tk get thru the last 2 weeks but tomorrow will soon be here. Thanks for the tips for mri. I’m prepared it’s bc but feel the 2 week wait has been torture. I’ve got some beta blockers and hope things now start to move quickly. I’m scared, v scared and I want this nasty disease out of me and treatment to begin
Being prepared is good. My GP prescribed Sertraline for the anxiety and HRT withdrawal, which was a big help. Honestly, the waiting is the worst bit…you will get through this like we all have xxx
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Hi I hope this helps. I am 59, I was formally diagnosed in late October, although given indication of BC mid October. had lumpectomy and sentinel node removal 29 Nov (it was brought forward from original date of 20 Dec). Today I had my follow up clear margins and clear lymph nodes. I recovered way more quickly from surgery than I could ever have hoped. Scars healed well, I was careful for a couple of weeks, I did my exercises daily and my arm is fine too. I am awaiting oncology meeting for Radiotherapy and hormone therapy but I guess I just wanted to say It can be that straightforward, I have everything crossed you will be the same, stay strong girl xx
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Thank you for sharing. Tomorrow I’ll know more. I’m so scared I’m going to die and not see my sons grow up. There should be more support during this time. I was told highly probable of bc then got to wait 2 weeks. I feel like I’ve been going out of my mind. I know everyone feels like this, I’m hoping he’ll get easier.
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@stafford22
Been thinking of you today. Hope all went well and we are all here if you need any support.
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