Today i had the biggest shock of my life. I had the results of my annual mammogram come back clear. I went to my follow up appt only for the consultant to say he was concerned about what i was told was a benign lump. He did two types of biopsy. Fluid and tissue. The fluid has come back as C4 which he says is not definite but probably malignant. I have to wait till next Wednesday to find out for certain.I don’t know what to do with myself, i keep crying, fearing the worst wondering how i am going to be brave in front of my daughter, think this can’t be happening, really trying to keep myself together but i am really struggling. What happens next. He talked about lmph nodes, what are they?? Any help would be really appreciated. Thank You
Hi ginless,
Welcome to the BCC Discussion Forums. I’m sure other forum users will be along soon to offer support but if it would help to talk to someone in confidence please do give the BCC Helpline a call, tel 0808 800 6000 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-2pm.
With best wishes,
Anna, BCC Facilitator
Hi Ginless, it’s so normal to be worried, your at the waiting stage which is an awful place to be. Your head is all over the place & your imagination will be running riot. Weds seems such a long way off right now but it’ll be here before u know it. Keep posting on here with any questions u have, don’t google as u’ll just scare yourself, a lot of stuff on there is out of date. The ladies on here have knowledge of just about everything or ring the helpline, they’re very good. The lymph nodes are under your arm, in your armpit, sometimes cancers can travel to them. Do u know what your consultant actually said about them? If the biopsy of the lump shows cancer then u will need treatment but the treatment now is excellent. Then again they may find nothing. I don’t know what C4 means but i’m sure someone else will come along who does, take care x
oh ginless, what a shock for you and what a mess your head must be in at the moment. You are right, C4 means probably cancer, but need more tests to find out. C5 would have been definitely cancer. So from what he saw on the scan did not look like cancer, but the fluid showed that it might be, and the need the results from the core biopsy to get a confirmation either way.
Lymph nodes are glands under your arm. There job is to stop infection going round your body. You have them in different parts of your body and they swell when they are fighting for you (you might have heard of swollen glands, especially the ones in your neck)
Cancer starts off in you breast ducts and if it is caught quick enough that where it has stayed. As it advances some of the cells get out of the ducts into you breast tissue. That is what is meant by invasive cancer, its at the stage where its on the move. They test your lymph nodes to see if it has got out of your breast and is trying to get round your body. So if your biopsy comes back possative the next stage for everybody is to to take another biopsy of the nodes. i was lucky–no nodal involvment so even though it was invasive cancer I had the lump out, a course of radiation and no chemo therapy.
As to what to tell your children, I dont know how old they are, but you are obviously in quite a state (as is everyone who get the news that they need to be tested for possible cancer) and I bet they will know something is wrong.
You could say you had some tests today and you have to go back to see the doctor next week and are worried because he might do more tests to find out how to make you better and you dont like the tests. But that you are glad he is doing more because then he will know the best way to make you better. Presumably your breast is sore too so you can tell them it is sore because of the tests he did.
There will be lots of people along here to give you suppport. Stop googling this minute. So much of it is out of date and not relevant to what we do in the uk. Ask your questions here or ring the helpline tomorrow. Come back and say how you are coping, everyone reacts differently.Come and get advise on how to tell friends and family or just come back to get a cyber hug
Ginless, we all know how you are feeling right now, and it completely sucks, doesn’t it.
There’s a few very good leaflets in the Publications section of this site, so take a look at those if you want to get a bit more information.
And give the Helpline a ring tomorrow when they’re open. They’re brilliant.
Get a notebook and write down any questions you might have. You can ask here, or your BCN (breast care nurse) or the Helpline, or your consultant, whichever place seems most appropriate.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SILLY QUESTION. None of us knew anything about this disease before we were diagnosed and only found the answers by asking the questions, even if it’s something about nail varnish it’s not a silly question.
And have a big cyber hug from me.
CM
x
Thank you all for your kind words of support. I called the helpline this morning and blubbed for a while. It was good to talk to someone who could give me, not so much answers as i have not been fully diagnosed yet, but told me what to expect etc. Today has been a little better, sometimes when i busy myself i can put it to the back of my mind. although it comes back with avengance a little later. I have made the decision not to tell my daughter just yet. Going to wait and see what the consultant says next week, then decide to what extent i tell her. Trying to remain positive and not let my mind take me to the dark places. Thanks all once again.