Not sure where to start really. My sister was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma last year and has been through chemo & had a double mastectomy shortly after.
The cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes, but the spread was minimal apparently. During the surgery they removed a few and we’ve just found out that the results of what they biopsied isn’t good. 100% of the lymph nodes contained cancer cells and it seems like there was another breast lump we weren’t aware of.
She’s still not been given a stage, and we THINK the next steps are a full body CT scan and some further treatment.
Everyone is really confused at the moment and we really don’t know what’s happening. Can anyone help me wrap my head around this and understand what might be next? I’m guessing it won’t be chemo again as it appears that the cancer was still spreading while she was undergoing treatment.
Hi @sister_rose I’m sorry but I have had a different diagnosis and treatment plan to your sister therefore there’s nothing meaningful I can tell you personally BUT I urge you to have a conversation with one of our nurses. Unfortunately they will not be available now until Monday but if you call them between 9.00-16.00 you will be able to talk through your questions and concerns without being rushed. The number you need is 0808 800 6000. Yes, I had breast cancer but prior to that I cared for two family members who had health challenges so I understand how hard, upsetting, frustrating and bewildering it can be. I hope that you get the information you need to support your sister and I especially hope that she gets the treatment she needs to get through this successfully.
Hiya. I echo that your sister’s breast nurse needs to be talking to you. She is the lynchpin in this and needs to co-ordinate between all the departments. Hopefully you will get some solid answers to your questions next week. It’s hard and unfair for you all to be left suspended in mid air like this, much as I hate to sound critical about the NHS. Wishing you and her well.
Thank you, I’ll give them a call tomorrow. I really hope it’s better news than I’m expecting it to be; I’m very aware that I catastrophise and think everything will be the worst outcome, but I’d rather be pleasantly surprised by good news than the other way around.
Thank you, I’ll see if I can get hold of the nurse, I hope she’s at the appointment tomorrow. My family isn’t good at expressing emotions or communicating so it’s been especially hard to try to understand how everyone’s feeling or to get a good understanding of what’s happening. I don’t live close to my sister so apart from initial appointments I went with her to, I’ve not really been on the front line of receiving info, which I’ve found really hard as someone who likes to have control of situations and find solutions.