I’ve had 6 long months of 3 operations culminating in a mastectomy to be told last week they have found 2 grade 2 invasive tumours one 18mm and one 0.7 mm in the removed tissue. It started off as mastitis and DCIS low grade which went to high grade as I went through the operations and more tissue was removed. I’m due to start radiotherapy shortly and have started hormone therapy, oestrogen and progesterone positive receptors. Didn’t get to my sentinel lymph nodes which I’m really grateful for.
I am very lucky to have an amazing family and friends but I can’t stop crying and I’m completely panicked at the thought of recurrence. My lovely mum in law died just before my mastectomy of recurrent breast cancer, same side.
I’ve always cooked in the main from scratch and I’m now wondering if I can have any red meat, dairy, alcohol, sugar or if that will just increase my chances of it coming back.
Sorry for the long post, from being in a busy job and lots to look forward to I really feel in despair.
Hi @Dexy , so sorry to hear your story, but I’m sure you will find lots of support on here. Remember to check out the radiotherapy and hormone treatment bits on 'going through cancer treatment '.
What a long haul you have had with the surgery. But it’s good news that your sentinel node was clear. I had a mastectomy last October, grade 3 tumour 35mm I think. I’m soon finishing chemo and on Herceptin til Christmas (as I’m Her2 positive), and some kind of hormone meds (I’m triple positive). It’s all such a shock and 3 ops must have taken its toll on you? So sorry to hear about your mother in law too. Awful timing for you (I’ll say that as you may feel you shouldn’t). Have you spoken with your oncologist about their expectations for your recovery? I remember how reassuring it was when the surgeon looked at me and said that they were planning to cure me! And I’ve just kept that thought in my head…
I can’t advise you of course, but I would try to talk with a breast care nurse about your fears. If you don’t have access I think you can call the BC Now ones? The fear won’t help, as you know, so it is definitely something to address. I really believe that stress and anxiety put huge strains on our bodies as well as our minds… there are loads of advice and good ideas on this site, have a browse around. And be kind to yourself, this is an awful time for us all, and we will have dark days, but also good ones.
I’ve no idea about the diet stuff, you can read all sorts of articles with differing opinions! But for now, concentrate on recovering from surgery, then dealing with radiotherapy. And accept support from your lovely friends and family.
Hello Dexy, very nice to speak to you on here, but I know we would rather be in a tea-shop talking about other things! Have you watched the Victoria Derbyshire video diaries on cancer treatment? She is straight-talking and goes through the highs and lows, like we all do. One of the things that she said that resonated with me is, “ok, it is cancer, it is what it is”. For some reason, I just thought, yeah, it is what it is. I am a “get-the-bad-news-go-right-to-the-end-of-the-story-kind-of-gal.” Maybe most people are, maybe not, so the first hint of trouble brought on the tears, tears, tears etc. I am a 4 months down the line now and having chemo, like most and feel very differently now. I watched, on another documentary, that this disease teaches you to become more sanguine about it all and I have felt that it does. None of us really KNOW ANY eventual outcome, so there comes a point when you feel, ‘yep, ok here we are.’ I hope I am trying to help you; everyone’s story is different and everyone has different outcomes, but the mental side of cancer CAN be overcome with positive thinking. When I eventually reached that space, I said to my Son in Law - “loads of people get this disease, unfortunately, it is now my turn!” It is how it is.
I hope this helps you come to terms with how you are feeling. You said you had a good day in the garden, please garden on and on and yes! Spring is here so that is uplifting too. As many others have said, be kind to yourself, why not? Indeed, why not? I found this hard to do, and here is another thing, ladies don’t usually be kind to themselves - I don’t want to get into a whole, societal or cultural debate, but generally, we don’t. Now is the time. I hope I have not droned on and I hope this helps you. Good luck, Gal. Go x