Dear Jo, I am sorry to hear your news.

I have breast cancer too.   The lump is small and  I have been told I have a very good prognosis.  I have still had chemo prior to surgery so I’m not sure there is always a link between concerning disease and neoadjuvant chemo.  I am triple negative though so this may have influenced the decision.

i have just had an MRI scan after 11 sessions of chemo and it showed “no evidence of active disease” ie no cancer currently showing up so chemo seems to have done a very good job.  So it might well do in your case too. (I still have to have some more chemo, surgery etc though)

Hope this helps

I’m sorry to hear that you also have cancer. Mine is positive for all three tests so it just threw me that chemo before surgery as I’d never heard of it done that way. I’m thrilled to hear that you have no active cancer and I truly hope your treatment keeps it that way. How did you find chemo, what side effects did you experience? I’m so full of questions so sorry. Please keep in touch if you would like. 

I had no sickness at all during chemo - they give you lots of meds to counteract sickness. I feel tired but in a manageable way..  I've had hair thinning but no actual hair loss (cold cap seems to have largely worked). So overall chemo has been much easier than I thought 

However I'm going on to a new chemo regime next week and I've been warned it's likely to be tougher.  They have medication to deal with most side effects so I'm not over concerned at the moment.

Hope that helps

Hi there Jo and thanks for the post

I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and appreciate you having some questions about needing to have neo-adjuvant ( before surgery) chemotherapy. Times like this can feel overwhelming and I hope you can get some more information to put your mind at ease soon.

Every patient and cancer is different and because of this the recommended treatments will vary depending on the type, stage ( size and extent) as well as grade and the individual patients fitness levels.

Although neo adjuvant chemo is commonly given to triple negative type breast cancer patients. It can also be given to reduce the size of a tumour to be able to perform breast conserving surgery in early stage breast cancers.

As no one here is involved directly in your care we can't answer the reason why this is being recommended for you.

I would suggest speaking with the breast care nurses at your hospital who may be in a position to best answer your questions more precisely and hopefully reassure you. In the meantime remember that your team will be wanting to give you treatment for the best possible outcome.

Hopefully you will see the oncology team soon. They will be able to explain the aim of your treatment plan, the chemotherapy drugs they are planning on giving you and what to expect from these.

It is often the waiting and not knowing that is a tricky path to tread with so many things running through the mind. Try not to let your thoughts run away with themselves until you have all the facts.

Looking after yourself as best you can whilst you wait can help. Eating as balanced and healthy diet, getting regular exercise ( even if that is a walk around the block) and restful sleep can all help in the lead up to any cancer treatment.

I hope you also have the support of friends and family at this time to help you through.

All the best

Naomi