Hi Beetee,

A very warm welcome to our forum, although I'm so sorry to hear about your experience in getting diagnosed. I can fully understand your anger and your sadness. I believe that some cancers are easier to detect than others. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer within a year. I was recalled after one mammogram, a few years before my first diagnosis, but nothing was detected on my return visit. Nothing was picked up on subsequent mammograms either.

I eventually found a lump in one breast myself and had a lumpectomy. Six months later, I was diagnosed with a pre-cancerous lump in the other breast, which I found myself. Less than a year after the initial surgery, I discovered a second lump in the original breast. I then had a double mastectomy. I have been left with some legacies as a result of treatment, but am fortunate, in that I am still here 14 years on.

I am glad that your Senior Nurse Practitioner was on the ball and referred you to the breast clinic, but getting a diagnosis like this must feel so frustrating. Is there no treatment at all that might help to delay things for you - have you discussed chemo or immunotherapy to slow the process?

Please keep in touch and let us know how you're getting on and remember, that we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine

YesI am taking Letrazole abd Ribociclib in tablet form and Danusomab injections which I give myself.

I have had a blast of Radiotherapy, for the pain in my spine, which was good, but bad that yge cancer is in my Spinal Column......

I just feel unsettled by it all happening so fast I did have an inverted nipple and the Surgeon says it was the lump that pulled the nipple in....Just sad , no one sent me to the clinic- as advised....

. I'm just getting my head a bit clearer now, as my husband finishes 24 days of Radiotherapy last week.  We have had go both retire, which is a strange thing. ....

I'm sorry for your suffering  also .It takes a huge toll on your body.  My Sister has had the same as uou- Lumpectomy followed by Mastectomy.

She has slso had Oesophageal cancer, as my Husband has had , also. So many of us now?? 1 in 2.!

Hi Beetee,

I am so sorry to hear that your husband is also riding this cancer journey, in tandem with you. I am sure that you'll both be glad that your husband has finished his radiotherapy. It is so tiring having to attend daily for so long.

It sounds as if you are no stranger to the devastation that this disease can cause and I suspect that you have travelled the road before with your sister. I can only imagine that this diagnosis must have hit you like a ton of bricks. It is difficult to take it all in, especially when everything has happened so fast. It is hard enough to accept this diagnosis when it is a friend or relative, but a different matter altogether, when you are the person involved.

I lost my mum to secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her liver, lungs, brain and bone and know how trying it all was. I am glad to hear that you have both decided to retire and I hope that you manage to make the most of the time that you have together.

I am glad to hear that radiotherapy has helped the pain in your back and that you are taking Letrazole and Ribociclib in tablet form and having Danusomab injections. How are you coping with this regime and with injecting yourself?

Please keep in touch and don't forget that we are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Beetee,

What a pity that your son lives so far away - I am sure that you are looking forward to seeing him tomorrow, along with your grandsons, even if only for a flying visit. Have you discussed the possibility of your husband taking a mild anti-depressant. Many people with a cancer diagnosis, get depressed and taking these tablets can make a big difference to his mood. It will be hard for you, trying to cope with his low mood all of the time, so, in the long run, this should help both of you.

My story? - I had 2 bouts of breast cancer within a year of one another. These were not picked up on routine mammograms, but fortunately, I found both myself, when they were still at an early stage. I had a lumpectomy first time around, followed by Tamoxifen. Second time around, I had a double mastectomy, followed by Letrozole for 6½ years. I still have some unwelcome legacies from treatment, but I would do it all again, as I have been lucky enough to have had 14 years since diagnosis.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy the long weekend with your family and, as I've said before, please keep in touch.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx