New to this and terrified
I am 39 years old, married with two babies - 5 months and 22months. Last week I was told that I had breast cancer. I found a lump in my left boob 5 weeks ago now. About a week after finding it I went to my GP who referred me for further tests in Beaumount. In the last two weeks I have had mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy of the lump and sadly the results have confirmed my worst fears.
It seems that I have two tumours – one about 19mm in size which can be felt. The other, right beside it, is about 9mm and cannot be felt but can be seen via ultrasound and mammogram.
Current options for me at this point are
(a) Have the two tumours removed ie a lumpectomy
(b) Have a full mastectomy – having more than one tumour usually dictates a mastectomy! However cos they are right beside one another it may be possible to just have a lumpectomy but I need to have an MRI scan on my boob to make sure there are no other growths there.
The good news is that it does not appear to have gone into my lymph nodes as yet according to what can be seen via ultrasound however I will shortly have a biopsy of those nodes to test for sure whether the cancer has spread to there.
I am still in shock with the diagnosis. Too shocked to actually tell friends tho I have told immediate family. I just keep bawling my eyes out anytime I think of what lies ahead.
Anyone else been through this and come out smiling??
Comments
Hi Mollyb
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I would love to chat / email off board. Am not sure whether I can send you my email privately on this site - do you know if I can? If I cannot sent it privately, I will just post it up on this thread.
Am glad to hear you have come out the other side. I think if I know what to expect it might be easier to handle.
Am having a breast MRI scan on Friday to determine whether there are any other tumours lurking around my left boob and also to determine how close the two existing tumours are. The results of that will dictate whether I can have a lumpectomy or will have to have full mastectomy.
Looking forward to chatting to you off line.
LindyLu
Lindy
Im trying to figure out how to post private information here. I'll get back to you once Ive worked it out
Lindy
I think if you click on 'User control panel' at the top of the page go into 'profile' and check that you are set up to receive private messages, I can then send you my info or vice versa
Hi Mollyb
Apologies - only getting to check the user control panel now. I am set up to receive a private message now so if you can figure out how to send me a message with your email I can send you a message directly from my gmail account.
Many thanks
Lindy
Lindy,
You can contact me at mollyb1971@gmail.com.
Good luck with the MRI, try not to worry too much (easier said than done, I know), they are so sensitive that they show up everything, even things that are harmless.
This is the worst bit I think, all that waiting and not knowing. Once this is done with and you know what stage you are you can formulate a plan and start beating this.
Hi Mollyb
Have just sent you a mail.
Chat to you over the next few days.
Linda
Hi Linda,
I am really sorry to hear of your diagnosis.
I also had two tumours within a large area of DCIS, hence I had a mastectomy as there was just no way the breast could be saved. Thankfully, I didn't mind losing my breast too much. I had very little pain after surgery - more discomfort if anything but it was all very doable.
It must be hard, what with having two young ones and my heart goes out to you. Best of luck with it all, and the mri on friday.
Take care, x
Hi LindyLu,
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis. I too am 39. I was diagnosed with BC in 2006 when I was 37 with a (then) 20 month old.
Hope you are doing ok.
Flo.
Hi Flo
Tks for your post.
It has been few weeks since my initial post and much has happened.
I had a lumpectomy on 9th Jan and a 4.5cm tumour was removed. I also had a sentinal node biospy and two nodes were found to be positive. The surgeons were not happy with the lump margin so recommended a full mastectomy which I had on 4th Feb (a whole 3 days before my big 4-0!) and all nodes removed. Thankfully no more BC was found in the breast tissue and no further nodes were positive.
I am moving on to the next stage of treatment soon, the dreaded chemo...I have an apt with the oncologist in 2 weeks time and understand he will start me quite soon after.
I developed an infection after my initial lump op (cellulitis - I see from another post that you had it too:( This got worse after the mastectomy - I had been on antibiotics but was taken off them as things looked like they were getting better. Am on a mega antibiotic does now and it is definately improving tho my wound has taken a bit of a battering thanks to the infection.
It was recommended that I delay reconstruction till after all my treatments so am a one boobed woman at the moment. It is not as bad as I thought it would be before I had the op. I guess you just get on with the process of getting better and beating this thing.
LindyLu
hay there
i am not sure what to tell you. i was diagnoised with colon cancer in september, compleatlly out of the blue, i am twenty seven and did not know how i should feel or anything, to say the least it has been a crazy few months. i don't know if it helps but a few thing have helped me.
1. just take it one day at a time, feel as good as you can today. don't worry about next month or next year
2. i think people panic a bit at the word CANCER if your condition was called sonthing else, people might feel different, cancer is not somthing you necessearily have to carry for ever
3. the cures they have now are so far ahead of what they had thirty or twenty or ten years ago
4. it can always be worse
i really really don't mean to be patronizing or to tell you how to feel or anything just hope you doing good
all the very very best
andi
Hi LindyLu,
Have you started your chemo yet? If you want to talk, I can be contacted at ...
flohoward at eircom dot net
Remove the spaces in that address and put in @ for 'at' and . for 'dot'
I found it helped to talk to others who had been there.
Regards,
Flo.
Hi Lindylu
Sorry you find yourself here. I was diagnosed in Nov last year aged 36 and I also had my treatment in Beaumont. I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. I've come out the other side and it's all doable ...but tough going. We can chat/email off the board if you would like.