Surgery decided!!
Surgery decided!! Hello to all. Been to see the doc this morning and I’ve decided to take his advice & have a mastectomy to play safe. I’m not really that bothered about the surgery but I’m worrying now in case the sentinel node biopsy goes pear shaped. I don’t know, it’s just one thing after the other.
Seeing as the guess is that I’ve had this cancer (maybe starting off as pre-cancer?) for a couple of years I would urge all ladies over 40 to invest in a yearly mammogram if they can afford it like they do in the USA. Wish I would’ve done but I don’t suppose the outcome would’ve been any different given the location of the tumour.
Have a great weekend and sending good vibes to you all.
glad you know whats happening now .I wonder how long my caancer had been there-was 45 when l found it-suppose every age they begin testing always some of us fall by the wayside.Thinking of you and wishing you well love sharonx
I agree entirely with RedVixen - regular early mammograms should be done for anyone who can afford them until they become eligible for the free ones.
My tumour was found only following a routine 2-yearly mammogram as part of the free New Zealand breast sreening programme. I had no symptoms at all. The eligible age in NZ was lowered from 50 to 47 when I was 47 so I signed up then, I am now 49 (until next week). NZ has since lowered the age of eligibility again to 45 which is fantastic.
It’ll never be low enough for some women but it could be a lot worse. Had it still been at 50 I would still be blissfully unaware of the tumour in my breast.
I have become a great advocate for early and regular breast screening among my friends! I wouldn’t wish what we’re all going through on anyone!!!
Oh, and I meant to say that my surgeon says that in most cases, by the time a tumour is detected it has been there a matter of years not months.
Yeah!
Whilst I am all for earlier screening, we should be aware that mammos are not foolproof, especially for younger women and even older ladies like myself, who have very dense breast tissue.
The only sign I had bc at all, was a painless slightly enlarged lymph node deep in my underarm (it was a miracle I noticed it at all), and nothing had ever showed up on mammograms or ultrasounds.
I think I read recently about screening equipment currently being developed that will be better than mammograms for detecting early tumours in dense breast tissue, hopefully that is the next step forward for detection in younger women.
Dee
x