Hello, Britbox. I thought I would reply to your thread as, like you, I had Stage 1 invasive Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Mine had also gone to three of my lymph nodes.
My treatment is now eighteen months behind me, but the terror of that initial diagnosis is something which will be always embedded in my memory. Waiting for the results of the various scans, to see if it had spread, was the worst trauma of the lot, and the dread that I had secondaries was a worry I went to sleep with, and awoke with each day. Family and friends can say the usual words of reassurance, but it hung over me like Damacles sword. The best advice of the lot at the time, was from my Consultant Surgeon, who told me not to look up anything on the Internet, but to ask him, or my BCN, if I had any questions.
Thankfully, the scans were all clear, so my next worry was then whether the full lymph node clearance would leave me with lymphoedema of the arm. However, like you, I am a size 8, and I was told that keeping a healthy weight, and scrupulously doing the exercises on the chart I was given [published by BCC], really reduces the chance of this happening
I think the fear is far worse than the reality, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well my arm was post surgery, and apart from the loss of feeling in the armpit, and pins and needles in the fingers [mainly at night, when I had been sleeping on that side], it all settled down after a few months, and fingers crossed, I have not so far had any lymphoedema. The lumpectomy, also was very straight forward, even though I had got myself very worked up about it, and after the surgery in November, 2011, I now only get occasional twinges along the site of the scar- the surgery really was so straight forward, and again, the fear of the unknown caused me much more trauma than the reality.
Chemotherapy, of course is no picnic, but I remained focused and determined throughout that I would be fine, and following the advice they gave me at the time, ensured that it was more bearable. I have to confess that during the last cycle of TAX, I was hankering after a McDonalds burger- the steroids I was on made me want to eat the wrong foods all the time. In fact, I put on over a stone in weight, as they made me want to kill for food if I did not get it very regularly, and in far larger amounts than I would normally dream of!!
Anyway, I am mentioning this fast food incident as a word of caution. They warn you not to have any takeaway food during chemo, and I certainly paid for not obeying the rules, by having the most dreadful stomach upset I have ever experienced, and which landed me in hospital for 48 hours. This bout of sickness and diarrea was far worse than any of the normal side effects the chemo caused, and was self-imposed!!
You do get through it, and I found by taking it in small stages, rather than looking too far ahead, it made the whole treatment thing more do-able. By the way, the Radio was a complete breeze compared to going through chemo, but although the whole treatment plan at the beginning seems like a mountain to climb, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you do get through it with focus and determination.
I also used the scalp cooler very sucessfully during chemo, and I could tell you something about my experience with it, if this is something you are considering.
Good luck on your treatment journey!
