Hi lovely ladies, hope there are some words of wisdome to calm me down. I am 49, perimenopausal and found a line on my right breast back at the start of november. After some googling thought it to be Mandors disease (no connection to cancer) but went to my doctor the next day anyway. I have 34HH breasts and when I was showing her the line she was dumstruck a 1. the size of my breasts and 2. the line. She referred me for an emergency appointment to be seen within 2 weeks. Two weeks came and went so I called the hospital. I was advised that I would be seen that week…I wasnt. I now had 3 of these lines and my breast was starting to look like a naughts and crosses board. I called the following week to be told that I had been moved to another hospital so I called them and was passed to the breast clinic secretary. She was lovely and told me I had an appointment on 30the December almost 7 weeks after I had been to the GP. I was distraught so I started calling everyday looking for a cancellation. On Thursday 19th December I called at 9am and the secretary said there had been a cancellation for 940am, could I make it? YES!
Arrived with 3 minutes to spare.
I seen the consultant who examined me and said that she also thought from my records that it was Mandors disease and it looked like Mandors disease but she had never seen more than one line. Iwent towards xray with my notes, handed them over to a nurse and i heard ‘this lady needs all scans’, thats when I knew this wasnt going to be mandors. I had my mamogram, and wemnt for the ultrasound. Again, the doctor looked and said ‘looks like Mandors disease’ then I poin ted out the other 2 lines, her face changed. On the screen I could clearly see 2 round circles. At the end she advised that she belived I had cancer and needed to have biopsies in breast and armpit. In total I had 8 biopsies, 2 of which were in my armpit. She also inserted markers. I returned to the consultant who confirmed cancer and that I would need an MRI. She apologised that because of Christmas and New Year holidays I will have to wait for the MRI appointment. I have received a date for the suregeon of 3rd January.
I have no knowledge of grades, types or anything and feel I am wishing my time away to get to next Friday for answers that I am not sure the surgeon will have…will the biopsies be turned around in 2 weeks when 3 of those working days are bank holidays? I always work Christmas and New Year but sods law I am off until the 3rd Jan. How to I fill my time for another week when I dont have the distraction of work?
My husband and kids (17, 19 & 21) are the only ones who know and are great but they dont know the answer either and they are equally scared. Any advise for me this early on?
Hi @fimac1 welcome to the forum, which is a friendly and supportive place even though no-one really wants to be here. Firstly, it is very common these days to be told at biopsy stage that it is cancer, although they won’t know what sort. The equipment they use for scanning is so sophisticated theses days, combined with the radiologists expertise in recognising tumours (as opposed to the many other things a lump could be), means that they can be honest with you, which in a way is easier to deal with. I was called back from a routine mammogram in June 2022 for a biopsy, was told as I was lying there that it was cancer, although they didn’t know what type, but also told that they were going to fix it - which, to date, they have. I’ve just looked back and the lag between the biopsy and the results appointment was just under three weeks but this was in Central London so lots of cases AND they were clearing up the post-Covid backlog, therefore two weeks may be enough. I had quite a wait before seeing the actual surgeon, however I had been told my likely treatment plan at the biopsy results appointment and once you have the action plan, you feel more in control of the situation. Absolutely everyone on this forum will tell you that the wait for results is THE worst thing, but you’ve only got one more week to wait. I know it feels like time is moving at a glacial pace but keep telling yourself, every day is one more day closer to resolution. If they confirm it is cancer, which seems most likely, please be reassured that your multi-disciplinary team (MDT) will know exactly what you need. This does not mean that you can’t ask questions and understand as much as possible their rationale for offering your treatment plan - you have to sign consent forms at every stage so, if you are the type of person who needs to give informed consent, please get the answers that will enable you to do that. There are so many types of breast cancer, and with stage and grade thrown in, it is difficult to generalise however survival rates are very high and new treatments are coming on stream all of the time. Breast cancer tends not to be the Big C these days so plenty of reason for optimism, it’s just that the only way out is through.
Thanks for your response. I feel like I would have had more contact if it hadnt been Christmas. I had a call today to say my appointment on 3rd Jan was being moved to a hospital nearer me which is great. Nurse told me that there was no real notes available yet and nothing to say I would have an MRI yet the Dr definitely did say I would have an MRI in teh next couple of weeks. I guess I just have to be patient. I just want this alien growth out of my body asap so that I can start healing…even though I’m not sick. A strange juxtaposition that we are all in