Newly diagnosed with breast cancer, terrified!

[Cobysgram]

Just looking for support. Interested in any info on support groups in the PA, Montgomery County area. My journey is just beginning looking for new friends to help navigate it.

[PJBinMI]

I wish I could tell you about bc support groups near you, but I can t. (cat damaged key board last night while we were sleeping, so I ll have more typos than usual) I sure think you are wise to be looking for others . I m a long timer--diagnosed with metastatic lobular breast cancer 18 and a half years ago and I remember how stressful the first months were! One of my first stops after getting this diagnosis was Barnes and Noble wheere I went to the health aisle and scanned the table of contents, index and a middle page of every book they had about bc, lol. I left with the 3 books that resonated the most with me. One was Dr, Susan Love s book about BC. Learning all I could was helpful. Getting a good report 3 months after beginning treatment was great too, and then meeting others living with bc and mbc was probably the best! I don t know where Montgomery Co is, but the best cancer centers in the US are those designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. The National Cancer Institute lists them on their website and I m pretty sure there are CCCs in Philadelphia and Pittsburg. It s worth a trip to go to one of them for a second opinion from an oncologist who specializes in bc. If you havent already done it, you could try calling the local health department, cancer society and the place you are being treated. I m now 76, was just 57 when diagnosed and one of the things I have learned is that being older, and post menopausal, is better than being younger. We tend to have less aggressive cancer. Don t pay too much attention to what anybody tells you about survival statistics! Those apply to groups of 10,000 people and not to individuals, but alot of people, even doctors (!) don t really understand statistics. People with very aggressive cancers, cancers that have already progressed alot, and people without the resources to get information, see good specialists and follow the treatment plan all pull the stats down! I m convinced that those of us who find information on line, like this, ask alot of questions and make good choices about treatment, and about living, do much better than average. Share has a telephone helpline. My memory isn t the best anymore and I dont remember that phone number. I hope you can find a group that is helpful to you, and that you do well with treatment! (Now Im going to look up Montgomery Co PA to see where it is. Some oof my ancestors lives northeast of Philadelphia for at leasst two or three generations)

[anrean]

I can be your friend and support you - I have done that before. The good news is that breast cancer treatment is fantastically different than it was even 10 years ago! Do you know what type of bc you have; what stage? I had bc in 2004 and 2009 - the differences between those 5 years was enormous! They are now thinking of calling bc a disease - one that is very treatable!

You are wise to look for support - it makes the journey oh so much easier! If you want to talk to me you can message me directly...please ask if you don't know how.

[Nicu18 in reply to anrean]

i can also be your friend here. Feel free to contact me whenever you want

[Warrio]

big hugs. Iam not in or near your area. But you are not alone!!!! You can message me. Talk to your navigator, social worker and doctor. Ask about support groups. Research support groups. This is a big and scary chapter. I'm sorry your having to deal with this. Big hugs

[ROCgal]

I’m not familiar with your area, but I believe the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester takes out-of-town members. I had my surgeries and treatments in Rochester, but live in NYC and am still able to participate in a ton of their programs since they do so many virtually. bccr.org/

They have been a great resource for me. Sorry you are going through it, but you are not alone in the journey!

[Editor2023]

Healing Strong is a wonderful online support group!