Hi Anna, so sorry that you have had to join us, but there are lots of us here at varying stages that will offer you as much support and info that you want. I had masectomy(mx) and full node clearance (anc) after 2 biopsies, 2 lumpectomies (wle) and sentinel node biopsey (snb). They wanted to preserve the breast but each time the margins were comproised. The staged diagnosis was given to me 10 days after the wle and snb but hospitals differ, maybe yours will be quicker. I am happy that they tried twice to preserve but had I been more informed I would have gone straight for mx as there is bc in family. I have decided to have good one mx at time of reconstruction to try and eliminate anything in that one as mine is estrogen receptive (er positive). The ops are a walk in the park
nd no really painful afterwards, more uncomfortable, so dont go worrying about them. The one thing I woud suggest is to ask for lindacane in your sentinel node biopsy injection as I find that rather unpleasant and was told after the event I coukd have had it if i had asked for it,they offer a deadening spray but it does nothing really. There is no reason for you to be unduly uncomfortable with pain throughout anything in this process. Don,t be afraid to ask for what you need whether it is information or support or pain relief, you have to put yourself first. I am currently on my 3rd cycle out of 6 of chemo and after that i will then have radiotherapy and tamoxifen mediction for 5 years plus another mx and recon somewhere inbetween but being informed and talking to others is a must because you will need support and ther will be theodd day where you feel overwhelmed and tearful, but we are all in this journey together and ready to help eachother. I have found this site especially important and would not be without it.BC diagnosis is not the end of the world, we will probably be talking 20/30 years down the line trying to give another newbie support. Just concentrate on one step at a time and try not to overload yourself with too much info, put yourself number 1 and try to be positive. The helpline on here is great if you need to speak with a person rather than posting.
I do apologise if I have ranted on, I know what I felt like at your stage and wanted to give you as much as I could. Here endeth the lesson. LOL. Great Big Hugs. xxxx
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