Breast Cancer Now Forum

Vivi · ‎26-10-2021

@Jaybro I am post menopausal, 66 and E/P +, HER2- BC so maybe Letrozole, living in Costa Rica so who knows what they will start me on. Tumor was 7mm x 5mm, margins and 2 nodes clear. Surgery Oct. 5th. Very few pink sisters in the US seem to have had 5 day radiation and the radiologist said this was new in the last 2 years, developed in UK and Canada and just starting to be used in Costa Rica. (Am I a guinea pig? LOL) And only for early stage BC. I go for radiomapping at noon today. Hope it doesn't hurt. Boob is still kind of achy sore off and on.

Vivi · ‎25-10-2021

After my 5 days of radiation, I am told that I will need hormone therapy. I see all different types of drugs and am assuming tamoxifen. Is that the standard one or will it be different because it is 5 days of radiation not 20 to 30?

Vivi · ‎23-10-2021

Good Morning, I see you're probably done your 5 day plan. Apparently, I go for radio mapping on the 26th and start the 5 day plan on November 1st. Practicing holding my expanded breath for 30 second intervals. Other than that I know very little. How did it go? Any tips or an idea of what to expect? Thanks! Vivian

Vivi · ‎07-10-2021

Good morning to all you kind ladies! Day 2 post-surgery, I am glad the surgery is behind me! I opted to spend the night after surgery in a hotel with my husband not even thinking about the fact that all the sheets, towels, etc. are "WHITE"! 😱 Also did not realize that I did not have any gauze bandaging over my wounds, just Nexcare mole tape so was a mildly bleeding mess who wore her shirt to bed with attached drain tube and pressure stockings on both legs. An attractive figure I am sure! 🤣 I might add that it did not stop me from order a chicken caesar salad and 2 fruit juice drinks at 8:30 at night and yes, I ate it all. 😁 Lesion was removed as well as 2 sentinal nodes but no auxiliary dissection so I think that's good but not sure. Surprisingly little pain and more discomfort but I do have pain and inflammation meds. Follow up check up with the surgeon tomorrow afternoon. Final pathology report may or may not be ready by then. He seemed pretty certain that there would be radiotherapy though. Normal?? I asked him about exercises and he said do nothing until I see him in November (?). I am realizing most of you gals are in the UK? Is treatment that much different country to country?

Vivi · ‎03-10-2021

Taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm and positive. Diagnosed birads 5 on September 7th, confirmed cancerous on September 14th and told fairly immediately surgery will be October 5th....OMG!! That is in 2 days!! I didn't have a whole lot of time to wrap my head around the idea of cancer and I will be operated on in 2 days. We live an hour and a half drive away from the hospital so we'd planned on a hotel room for 2 nights (the night before surgery and the night after). The doctor tells me it is a very small lesion, don't worry, it will be fine but I notice on my Consent form it says Auxiliary Dissection if necessary. What??? 🙄😖 If they find more cancer, the surgery is longer and they take out more, more complicated??? Little things flit through my mind as I pack in preparation. Do I bring deodorant as I might not be able to lift my arms? Shampoo??? I can't shower soooo.....Who cares and who will see me anyways except my husband of 20 years who won't care. Button up blouses...bought 4 second hand. I intend to burn those suckers when this is all over! What are the chances I can walk out of the hospital the same day??? Trying to be positive but panicking somewhat! 😱😥 Also retired to a Spanish speaking country and have discovered that although I can do general conversation quite well, my medical Spanish is at ground 0. When panicked and nervous even general conversational words escape me. I went for a 72 hour covid test and didn't even understand when they called my name! 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Vivi · ‎01-10-2021

Hi Emma! I don't have big breasts but average I guess 36B. My sonologist (specializes in breasts, who knew???) suggested oncoplastic surgery but then as far as is known, the lesion is small, HER-2 negative and only Ki-67 so fairly non aggressive. He tells me they will do this at the time of removal of the lesion (right breast only) and hopefully only 2-3 sentinal nodes 🙏🙏. I agreed to do this over a lumpectomy as it will all be done at the same time and I needed to decide prior to the surgery. My doctor seems to believe that our breasts are important to a woman's self image. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing as I had never looked at it in that way and am 65 so less so in my opinion. I just wanted the girls to fit in a bra😁. I have not had chemo but regardless of the outcome, I will be having radiotherapy also when recovered from the surgery. I do not know if any of this helps you but just to let you know you are not alone in trying to decide. My surgery is October 5th.

Vivi · ‎19-09-2021

@Evie-S and @SarahDinosaur I got my biopsy and immuno? results on Friday! Almost too fast and difficult to adjust to as I feel fine but super stressed off and on as I tell myself it's going to be OK. My husband and I retired to Central America and of course, my medical Spanish is non-existent. So more stress trying to navigate the medical stuff and reports in a different language. Yes, lesion is small but BIRADS 5 positive, HER-2 negative and Ki67 at 10% so not aggressive from what I read. So....sounding positive so far I think. How do I know what stage or grade my cancer is? So weird to say MY cancer 😫and so many medical terms to understand. Scared spitless one moment and the next, confident I will beat it without a problem. I have never been a good sleeper so this isn't helping that either. I am a good eater so doing lots of that 🙄! On to the next stage with surgery set for October 5th and I am told a whole bunch of pre-op testing! OMG! 😥

Vivi · ‎15-09-2021

Thank you both for your kind and reassuring comments. After all the fretting and anxiety, the biopsy was not as traumatic as I feared. The radiologist was very helpful in answering all my questions which allowed me to know more about my lesion. It is 5 mm X 7 mm and she showed me the samples she had taken. I was welcome to look at the screen to see the samples being taken but after a brief look, decided I didn't need to watch it happening.😥 I alternate between being confident that "I can do this" to the worst case scenario. Awake early this morning as sleeping on my back does not make for a good sleep for me and am feeling a little nauseated. The doctor asked if the results were positive, did I want a immunohistochemistry done. I said yes. It's a whole new world and vocabulary, isn't it? And now the waiting.

Vivi · ‎12-09-2021

Thank you for welcoming me into this Forum. My third edit as I have now read a number of posts and came to the conclusion that I am a whiner and read Dr. Google excessively. My apologies, some of you have been through so much and waited for lengthy periods of time for a diagnosis. Last Tuesday, I finally had a check up and my mammogram showed a small lesion that they took a closer look at with an ultrasound and decided that it was a bi-rad 5 and wanted to do a biopsy so I have one scheduled in 2 days. I was fortunate to manage to see a breast cancer specialist between surgeries who agreed to see me. He told me not to worry that the lesion was very very small and he was 95% certain that it was cancerous and would require surgery. So I should know in 10 days or so. He did a physical exam for swollen lymph nodes and a lump but there was nothing. He scheduled a surgery for October 5th if it is positive and discussed with me the options going forward. Scared of the whole process and in shock.😓

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