My 56year old sister was diagnosed with locally advanced Grade 2 Ductal breast cancer 5 weeks ago. She has extensive lymph node involvement and a 7cm tumour which has come through to the skin of her breast. She starts neoadjuvant chemo on Friday and will then need a full mastectomy followed by radiotherapy. Its is HER2 Positive, ER and PO neg. She will receive Carboplatin, Docetaxel, Pertuzumab, Trastuzumab and Zoledronic Acid. So she has a long battle ahead, also waiting on MRI results of a sclerotic area on her hip bone which we are all praying is an old injury. Her biggist issue is currently terrible anxiety and panic attacks which makes eating and sleeping dreadfully difficult. She is taking diazepam [low dose] and zopiclone to sleep but is there anything anyone can suggest to help her cope any better? Breaking my heart seeing her and my elderly parents trying to deal with all of this and I live 300 miles away from them…
what side effects can she expect after her first round of chemo? ,she does have a great wig organised as she knows she will lose her hair
Sorry to hear what your sister is going through, inevitably anxiety will be there, we all experience it when going through this to varying degrees.
Just a thought, has your sister accessed any counselling support to help her cope? Her team will know who to refer to. Quite a lot of us here have accessed counselling support when going through this, alternatively give the helpline here a ring or Macmillan can help.
Do have a look at chemotherapy in the ‘going through treatment’ part of the forum. Family members do often post here & we are happy to help.
I am a nurse with 30 + years experience and even I am struggling to suggest anything else to help her cope. Her anxiety about her diagnosis is about as bad as I have ever seen. I have tried to encourage her to maintain some sort of normality in her life and talked to her about her imminent treatment as much as I can but up until now she can barely even talk about it. I wondered if a low dose anti depressant such as citalopram would help to lift her mood. Because she is currently living with my parents it is taking a toll on them too seeing her in such a state. They are fit but both in their 80’s!
Maybe some counselling would help, I will suggest it to her and see what she thinks
Hi KazB65, sorry to hear of your sisters diagnosis and I’m glad you came to us for help. It really is a very anxious time. Your sister’s diagnosis sounds similar to mine. In March 2017 I had a 90mm tumour and 9/12 nodes involved as well as symptoms of IBC (skin involvement). You didn’t mention whether your sister’s skin was actually broken or whether there was a red “rash” area. Has she had a diagnosis of IBC? The treatment she has been prescribed is the same as IBC protocol anyhow. If your sister would like to read my personal blog she may find it of some comfort: lifeafterlola.com/ It is a very scary time and I think the anxiety is something you just have to work through. It takes time to sink in and grasp the enormity of what you are faced with. I’ve listed lots of ways I coped but just the fact that I have survived a similar diagnosis may be of comfort. Please send my best regards to your sister. xxx