Hello .I was diagnosed on friday 25th september,I was recommended to join this site as it helped someone else.I dont really know how i’m feeling at the moment,but its 2;50am and i’m on the computer not being able to sleep.so that probably tells you something.
I have been told i am to have an operation to have the lump and surrounding tissue removed and to explore the lymph nodes under my arm.To be followed up by radio therapy…depending on what they find in the nodes determines if i have to have chemo.I know that lots of women are in the same boat as me but it doesn’t seem to help somehow.everyone one says the treatments are so much better than they were and lots of women come though it.but when its you its different as most of you know.everything is happening so fast i havent had a chance to get my head round it.
Hi Cinders66
Firstly may I welcome you to our Forums, I am sure you will find them a great source of help and support.
Whilst you are awaiting responses from our other users, I thought you may be interested in our Resource Pack for newly diagnosed patients. Here is the link to the page where this can be ordered:
breastcancercare.org.uk/server/show/nav.681/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/82
I do hope you find this useful.
Kind regards
Louise
Facilitator
Cinders
So sorry that you have had to join us here. It is of course bewildering, frightening, not part of life plans…
I am 20 months post diog. WLE, SNB, rads and now Arimidex… None of which I knew anything about before diog. really steep learning curve, still learning really. Awake in the middle of the night, I am afraid is part of the course.
There are lots of people on here who will do their best to give you support, inform etc. Say it, ask it, scream it, whatever when you need.
Wishing you all the best, kind regards Alice
Hi Cinders66,
So sorry you’ve had to join this club!! There will so much information for you to digest at the moment and it can all seem really bewildering. We can all remember the time following a diagnosis and it’s a raw time, take comfort that You will get through this and over the next few weeks and months every thing “breast cancer” will become so much clearer…At the moment it is very important to take each step as it comes and try not to look too far ahead… I found that there are lots of little stages of treatment to go through and dealing with each one at a time is less stress on the nerves!!
Have you been given a date for your op yet? That is certainally the first hurdle you will face, so concentrating on preparing for that and keeping yourself focused… There is so much they can’t tell you until they have the lump and nodes away and can take a few weeks after removal to have all that information in front of them. Then they can tell you exactly the best couse of treatment for your cancer.
This is a great site for helping you through all different stages of your treatment and the girls on here are great, there is a vast array of experiences and advice on a whole range of treatments. We’ve all been where you are at the moment so never feel alone… even in the middle of the night!!
I was diagnosed in Feb and have completed chemo and radiotherapy and will be having herceptin till May and Tamoxifen for 5 years… it sounds a lot but it is all do-able so Please come on and keep us posted how you’re doing…
Lots of hugs
Fiona xxx
Hi Cinders
I was where you are in July and like you say it is not a very good place to be - so sorry you have had to join the rest of us here. This is you and you are scared - hope you have some close support around you and you will gradually get to know more about what is happening to you. The waiting for tests - results - operations etc can be so daunting. Ring the helpline on this site they can really help talk through things with you. The operation is really not too bad (the fear is worse) and at least then you feel like something has been done. Fi is right - try to focus on each step and be prepared that sometimes things change and knock you down but you will always get up again - we are all her to support you. Lyn x
Snap Cinders!
I was diagnosed on Friday with a Grade 2 cancer. I’m 35 years old. Like you, I’ve not slept since!
I’m feeling positive at the moment (I’m sure that I will have my bad times to come). I’m pleased I know it’s there, because that means I CAN do something about it and it is treatable.
My plan is to take it one step at a time.
I’ve got an appointment at the hospital today to go through my treatment options. This is just the first step of many!
Good luck on your journey
Panga x
Thank you all for your messages,I went for my preop assessment yesterday,I meet my surgeon on the 12th oct,and I’m scheduled for surgery on the 27th.Pointless me telling you how i feel as you have all been there,or still there.I have a wonderfully supportive husband and family and I know they are still trying to get their heads around it.I have gone through my 66 years of life with good health except for arthritis in the knees .i had a knee replacement 8 weeks ago and didn’t really expect to have surgery again so soon.I have to say that the medical staff I have encountered so far are marvellous ,although at the moment I can’t take in everything I have been told.I’m reading the literature I was given at the hospital and hopefully it will sink in eventually.
Good Luck to you too Panga and everyone else who is going through it.
I had a message from a
lady i hardly know and she said after I asked if it got better …
I can relate to those dark times and long nights before I had my op.
My mind used to work overtime and I found myself contemplating my funeral as well as rewriting my will in my head a dozen times. My fella was a great comfort, my sons and also the three or four friends that I told, but when they were not around my mind would start whirling again.
I don’t know what made me stop all that after the first couple of weeks, but something pulled me up sharp.
I am usually an optimistic sort of person. I prefer to look on the bright side and try to find some good in difficult situations so I had a quiet word with myself.
I told myself that no matter how much I fretted, this was something that I had no control over. It was out of my hands and in the lap of the Gods and the hands of the medics now. I could drive myself bonkers fruitlessly worrying about this thing, or I could run with it…take each day as it comes and be thankful that I was in this situation rather than the alternative. After all, without that routine mammogram which found a lump so small that I couldn’t feel it, I would have been playing host to the cancer for a lot longer. Long enough perhaps for it to become so big that it reduced my chances of a good recovery. I started to feel lucky and I gave myself to the predicament I was in instead of fighting it.
That in itself brought me some peace. Yes, I was still scared but I had accepted that what will be will be and the whole thing became a little easier.
We all have to find our own ways of coping with what life throws at us and I’m sure that as the days go by Cindy, you will find yours. It does get easier after the op, when you realise that you are still alive and feeling good. Also the visits to hospital for check ups and any other treatment keep you busy and they made me feel as if I was actually doing something to help.
If you want to ask me anything about my op and treatment please go ahead. I didn’t want to bombard you with it all but I’m happy to talk about it.
It all seems such a long time ago now. I had my first annual follow-up mammogram early this year and all was well, so I have to say yet again that it definitely does get better.
You will be ok, I’m sure of that. You will find reserves of strength and courage that you wouldn’t believe and they will see you through.
Take good care of yourself to the point of pampering… you deserve it.
I hope that tonight you will sleep a little better.
Thinking of you and sending healing thoughts.
I have taken what she said on board and I will try my hardest to be as positive as I can …not just for me but for my family and friends because they are going through it too