Good morning,
Ok…i have been told i have to have a partial mx…so basically the surgeon is removing the bottom of my breast ge said i will need a bra for bottom part…why is that not called a lumpectomy? also i have been told my treatment plan already…so im having rads and chemo…what im confused about is that some people have been told what grade or type of cancer is yet havent been told a treatment date…where as i have been told that it is bc but im going ahead with my treatment. Can they tell a lot by the ultra sound scan,mammograms and biopsies? and the bcn said it was localised…once again that word is confusing me?
I am reading so many peoples new diagnosis and im getting all confused…
Karen x
Hi hun…why dont you call your bcn…all I got told when I saw dr was that he thought it had been there 6 months, and he was planning a lumpectamy but wanted the mri to see if it had spread to the lymph nodes under the armpit, as he didnt want to do 2 ops, i was confused, and never knew anything, i called bcn on monday and she told me it was invasive ductal, and grade 3, i was totally confused and kept asking her loads of questions, i had an even more bizarre one when i got back on sunday eve i had a letter from the surgeons secretary saying i didnt have to got to the clinic, you can imagine what i was like, thinking they had made a mistake, obviously, but she said that shouldnt have been sent…i wasnt happy.
I would call your bcn as soon as you can hun and find out wht they plan to do, …xxx
hi karen,confusing innit! not sure why they said partial mx rather than lumpectomy. how big is your lump? i found out the type of cancer from my biopsy(invasive ductal)but didnt find out grade and stage till after my surgery.did they give you any idea of when you start treatment? your bcn is the best person to ask but i guess you cant get hold of her till tues. the helpline here is great,please give them a call(think open till 2pm) sorry if ive not been much help, but hugs cos i know how scary and frustrating it is at the stage you are at. love alex xx
I think partial mastectomy is what some surgeons call a lumpectomy. And my sympathies. The beginning of this rollercoaster is horrid, isn’t it. Try to take it a day at a time if you can.
hiya guys, many thanks for all your comments.
I think my lumps is about 3 cms.
Ive just got the letter for my pre op today…so its all getting closer…god its all happening init? My surgary date is 19th April and then they said rads and chemo and mentioned drugs i will be taking.I guess they do rads more or less after the op then chemo…
I am not having a good day today tbh. im still in bed…i guess i will have up and down days.
It really as got to be the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life…life its a bloody shitter at times…lol…xx
hi,karen, you will have op first, then chemo approx a month after op if all healed ok, then radiotherapy xx
Hiya,
Im sure he said rads then chemo…i must have got that wrong.All i have done is read things up. I know its crazy…ive looked things up about anethetic and all sorts of silly things…i cant help myself from doing it. it isnt really helping is it? lol…my mind keeps running away with me…x
sorry you are feeling crappy today. prob a shock like you say as you have had the letter. you can and will do this! keep posting hun, we all know how you feel and will support you any way we can. alex xx
i did that too!i like to know everything but you can get facts a bit around your neck!! dont google!!! lots of out of date info out there. stick to this or macmilllan site. i was convinced i wouldnt wake up from the op but guess what, i did!!!xx
its all so silly isnt it? what a mountain of stress.but like some ladies keep telling me it does get better…hard to believe now but im sure it will do…i feel more sorry for the women who are just about to find out whether or not they have got it…i guess we have got past that dreaded day and can move fwd again then move fwd again and so on…xx
Hi Karen.
A lumpectomy is removal of the tumour plus some normal surrounding tissue whereas a partial mastectomy is removal of more of the surrounding tissue. They can tell quite a bit from the biopsy such as what grade it is likely to be ( grade 1 is least aggressive and grade 3 is most aggressive) and whether it is hormone receptive or not. However, until they remove it all they are not 100% sure of the exact grade etc so maybe waiting until after it is all out to give you all the info. For example my ultrasound suggested my tumour was 1.7cm and the biopsy result was a grade 1 but when they removed it it turned out to be a grade 2 and 3cm.
Hope this helps
Take care
Sam xxx
Hi KB
I thought you might find our Resource Pack useful to order as it contains really useful information to help you understand your diagnosis, test results and the various treatments available.
Here’s the link to the page where it can be ordered:
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/diagnosed-breast-cancer/resource-pack-primary-early-breast-cancer-bcc145
Hope you find this helpful.
Best wishes
Louise
Facilitator
Hi Sam, so it goes on what they discover after it’s been removed then? but what i cant get my head around is if they are not 100% certain then why have they given me a treatment plan? lol…OMG its all so bloody confusing…mind you at the end if the day they also can tell a lot by the tests they have done before hand which is usually pretty accurate too. I was also told it was localised so i guess in some ways thats a good sign…xxx
karen,they have given u a treatment plan as the biopsy confirmed it as cancer. they usually dont give u definate type, grade ,stage and size til they have know what they are looking at after they have removed it. u will then get ur pathology report which will give u all the info. dont worry, they tend to drip feed u info so ur brain doesnt explode!!
I see…Well i guess im getting it taken away so that’s one good thing.
Do you know what they mean by localised though? xx
i think contained as a lump.(invasive ductal) not dcis which can be"scattered" around th breast xx
Hi KB, Sorry you are at this horrible stage. In a strange way I found it easier once I was actually having treatment and knew that the cancer as gone and the rest was just to stop it ever coming back.
It may be further down the line but just to say, I lost a fair chunk at the bottom of one breast and a padded bra and “chicken fillet” disguises it fine, but I am just about to have it “fixed” cosmetically with lipofill which sucks some fat out (extra plus lipo on NHS) of thighs or stomach and put in to repair the dent. I don’t know if the cosmetic side is something that bothers you. It does me but I know plenty of people who have said they aren’t interested in any more surgery, but in case it is something worrying you, once the bc is treated, lipofill is just a day surgery and some bruising xx
Yes thats what i thought it meant. so that might be why they dont take the full breast off.xxx
Hiya Mary Grace,
i am a little worried about the cosmetic side of it but if it needs to be cut out then thats more important to how it looks…I think like you i will also think about having cosmetic surgery eventually down the line.
The surgeon did say they will cut out the bottom of some of gthe breast so at least i will still have my top part.
I am single too so i wont ever be able to have a relationship… xx