Hello
I have had my appointment to discuss surgery (three weeks time) but forgot to ask about my estrogen positive and if I should be taking any estrogen blockers in the meantime. He has not mentioned anything but I don’t know how they stop the estrogen…any advice please? X
Hi Rosie
This is a scary time and you are probably more than alarmed by this new language of cancer - invasive sounds terrifying. I actually just switched off - I didn’t want to know! But it’s simply the language breast surgeons and oncologists use to distinguish between the many different types of cancer they treat. Basically, I’m saying don’t worry about it. Your team already has a clear idea of what’s required (surgery first, treatment after, like I had) and you now need to trust them to know what’s best for your kind of cancer. If there were any risk to you, they would be taking immediate action - invasive, like aggressive, doesn’t have the same meaning as it does to us lay people.
If your treatment is similar to mine, your hormone therapy (a tablet to inhibit oestrogen production) will start somewhere in the middle of radiotherapy, after chemotherapy (if you need it). It then lasts for 5 or 10 years. Some people will suggest you avoid anything that can stimulate oestrogen production, including parabens in all sorts of cosmetics, creams, shampoos, foods… You’d spend all day every day obsessing. Trust your team, follow their advice and you’ll be fine. Above all, please don’t start googling. That way lies disaster as it’s full of outdated advice, information way above our understanding and it doesn’t adapt to your specific type of cancer or your emotional wellbeing. Fear is a huge factor in cancer and you need to reduce what you can. If you have questions, you should have been assigned to a breast-care nurse, you can ask the nurses here or you can ring the nurses at the number above - they are very knowledgeable and reassuring.
Take good care of your emotional wellbeing for now, prepare yourself up for surgery (make sure you’ve front-buttoning pjs and plenty of loose shirts for the first week or so - and someone to do the cooking, cleaning etc) and remember, the surgery will remove the cancer. What follows is to make sure any rogue cells are destroyed and that it doesn’t come back.
Good luck,
Jan x
Had invasive lobular cancer diagnosis in December, just had the surgery - I think hormone therapy only ever takes place post-surgery. Good question - I had so many and I had to struggle to get answers.