Hello everyone, just reaching out for support. September was a rollercoaster for me. On the 2nd I was called for a follow-up mammogram + ultrasound which picked up a small lesion in my right breast...a biopsy was done the same day, a week later the result was an invasive ductal cancer. Things moved very quickly for me after that... the result being I was operated on last Friday, wide local excision & sentinel node biopsy; I should get the result of the biopsy by the end of this week.
I'm just shellshocked by it all but I'm glad I was operated on so quickly.
I've been told I will have to take an Estrogen suppressing drug but at the moment don't have the energy or headspace to take that on board & research.
I'm 68, I have a low tolerance to drugs and apart from b12 deficiency treated with injections I don't suffer any other illness so am not on any medication.
I have mild osteoarthritis in both hips & my recent pelvic x-ray (in July) showed I have a touch of osteopenia. I imagine Estrogen suppressing drugs are not good for bones.
I have a follow up appointment with the surgeon & breast nurse on Thursday.
I have a lot to learn.
Hugs to you all x
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Choox
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Hello Choox. You’re in the right place for virtual hugs.
I was you seven years ago (though I had a mastectomy). Here I am seven years later well and happy.
Your oncologist will discuss with you fully the pros and cons of therapies based on your own particular circumstances.
I imagine you’ll have Dexa scans to see how your bones are at the beginning of any therapy (for a baseline), then you would be offered more scans a bit later to see what the drugs are doing to your bones. You might have heparin injections every three weeks for six months - again, you get heart scans while you’re on this therapy.
If things in your part of the world are anything like here, your treatment and the way you are treated personally will be first class - just be careful about all the admin around it. If you have someone you can trust, get them to go with you to appointments and CHECK every appointment date given to you, and that they are the right ones (your brain might get a little soggy for a while).
Thank you, I appreciate your support. Delighted for you that you are well & happy.I am in Scotland & can't fault my treatment so far... especially given everything that's going on with Covid!
I will keep in mind what you've said, thanks again 🤗
It can all be a lot to take in to begin with.
However as others have said you are in the right place for help and there are lots of things you can do to help with your healing journey
I would recommend a book by Sophie Sabbage I don’t find it until a bit later on in my diagnosis but it has really helped me ~ it’s called Cancer Whisperer
Be kind to yourself and take each day at a time and reach out for help ~ lots of us have done research we can share you are not alone
Hi Choox, I would be very optimistic if in your shoes. Being 68 and hormone positive with local wide excision (not mastectomy) indicates very good prognosis. Check my first post you will find out my case is a lot worse than yours. Tears in your eyes should be joy and relief for this early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
Hi there Choox.When this happens it is totally and utterly overwhelming for us all. I had a double mastectomy 5 years ago after being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. I am currently well and getting on with life.
It does take some getting used to. Prior to it being discovered that the cancer was Triple Negative, at first there was the minutest trace of Estrogen, so I was put on Aromasin. I will give you a heads up here, it can cause your bones to ache. As someone who also suffers arthritis this was initially difficult to put up with, however I persevered. I was taken off it three weeks ago, much to my own delight.
Make sure you talk to your oncologists, nurses and anyone else who is treating you, take a bit of time to write down your questions, concerns and fears. Talk to people. I am the sort of person who likes everything open, direct, upfront and honest. I don't like being tiptoe'd around for fear of upsetting me. Sometimes doctors need to be told this too. If you find that you need to know what is going on and want all the detail let them know, likewise, if you prefer not to know the whole process and want them to just get on with what needs to be done, let them know that too.
You will now be put forward for a number of scans. For me it was CT, MRI, Ultrasound, RNI and eventually a DEXA Scan. Once they had all this information (three weeks for all of the results to come in) I was called in for them to then give me an outline of what the treatment options were. I had an amazingly supportive team. I hope that you are just as lucky.
I found that trying to focus on my interests and meditation helped me to relax and get my head around the whole situation.
I wish you well. It is not an easy road that you are about to embark on, but it is doable. I wish you a full recovery and a future free of ill health.
Thank you Elaine, I very much appreciate what you've written.
The shock and the speed of it all just overwhelmed me all of a sudden.
I have b12 deficiency which affects me quite badly both physically & neurologically in stressful times..I need to go slowly to process things and avoid a relapse.
I feel calmer today. Due to past trauma in my life I have learned to pace myself & try to stay in the day. Today I have meditated, slept, gone for a walk in my favourite place & my husband is now making dinner.
I am so glad to read you are doing well, you have had quite a time of it.
Hi hope that you have had your results back and your lymph nodes are clear, Glad that you got sorted so quickly. It does leave you feeling shell shocked and not knowing what to say so I am glad this site was available for you. I remember when I was told I had cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes and that it was a 9, which means the most aggressive type of cancer, I completely blanked out. I hope that you get good news. Taking estrogen suppressing drugs is not too bad at all, I've taken them for 10 years and they have just taken them off me now. Take care
Hi chop. Sorry you've just gone through all this. Hugs to you too.
I'm 58.5 young but retired on ill health grounds for 2.5yrs now due to multiple comorbidities making it impossible to work. I've just been through quite a lot too with recurrent invasive and had large mastectomy with reopening within 4 days due to booked drain and massive heamatoma.
I can say I have widespread inflammatory arthritis with lupus and sjogrens and am about to have a DEXA scan pre starting Letrozole... I'm not happy about going on it but I have to try with 8/8 oestrogen fed ca. I tried Tamoxifen 2.4yrs ago with first ca lumps when had lumpectomy. I couldn't manage it as my autoimmune neutropenia made my neutrophils plummet even further. I felt even worse than usual. But... I am going to try Letrozole... They have said if it makes things worse, and if my quality of life plummets from my not great base line, then, well, I'll just stop it. We just need to try, right? Let's see how it goes for you... I'm on high iron of 700mg post haemoglobin transfusion when in hospital post internal bleed, as have ben anaemic for ages anyway (they say due to my methotrexate meds) but really bad after the bleed. I'm allergic to morphine, penicillin, tamoxifen and Hydroxychloroquine. But I'll give it a go... I already take 2000iu of D3 and calcium/magnesium/zinc for decades. What will be will be... but hope you can bear it. You're have a DEXA scan too first? To understand your base line? And then every 2yrs (as is the plan for me apparently).
More hugs, I know it's such a difficult time.... Everyone is hear for you... let it out... best thing you can do... and speak to your most empathic friends and family.. although that can be so very hard for them, if they've not gone through it, of course.
Hugs Choox.. let us know how you get on.. I'll certainly be interested and let you know how I get on too if you like!
You have certainly had a lot to contend with and I'm sending the warmest hugs back at you 🤗
I hope that Letrozole will be helpful for you. Please let me know how you get on.
I got my results today & my lymph nodes are clear & my cancer excised.
I have further consultations re possibly but not necessarily having radiotherapy + a 5 yr course of Letrozole but these decisions are for another day... right now I'm beyond relieved, exhausted & emotional.
Thank you for reaching out & sharing your journey ♥️
That's fantastic news. So very very pleased for you. I chose not to have radiotherapy due to my comorbidities (would have been right over my dodgy heart and I have two connective tissue diseases... so not good..) but hmmm, maybe I should have. Anyway... take your time to think about it and talk to everyone you can about it that knows.. My oncologist said "I'm not going to chase you down the corridor to have it but..." and then said stuff to really encourage me to have it. There is a lot of research out there which might be good for you to get some more insight... as you really need to know all you can about the pros and cons... but in the end even my rheumatologist said "have it"... but I just had already had too much going on prior to the lumpectomy (AWFUL bilateral foot surgery - so the worst 6-8 weeks of my life so far at that time) and couldn't face it. It's a tough one... but you can only listen to them, do your research, and think about it... as it's up to you in the end. Keep us updated if you feel able. All the VERY best in your journey. Everyone here for you... certainly me. Hugs and strength to you Aileana. xx
I’ve been following your posts, Choox. So glad the results were good. Just a quick word of warning - when you are researching stuff it seems that Google, Facebook and whatever track your activities, and then you may get bombarded with “information” about “treatments”. Be very careful with these.
When I was diagnosed I decided to rely totally on oncologist, NICE, an American oncology site (don’t remember it!] recommended by oncologist and the various cancer charities, and to ignore anything else.
Thanks Happyrosie...I haven't googled...I'm with you on that. I have joined the UK Cancer Charity. I will take on board what my care team say & I also have a consult with my medical herbalist tomorrow. When I get all the info I need to get my ducks in a row (so to speak) I'll take the next step.
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