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Calcification of my left breast

lainey1boob
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Good Morning

I went to Grimsby hospital breast clinic on the 23rd January just for a check up; how little did I know it would change my life!!

At 11:15 am I was told after my mammogram I had calcification on my left breast and this was cancer! once you hear that word your World explodes inwards, it did for me, the next 1 hour was shell shock, I had my boyfriend with me so he was able to ask questions and be there to give me support, I was told I needed an ultrasound which lead to me having 3 needle biopsies.

After seeing the consultant for the second time I was informed I would have to go back next Wednesday for the results and options but when asked about what he recommended it was a full mastectomy.

The most scary part is although the nurses were there to offer comfort at no time did anyone tell me where I could go to get help? it is fine having all these leaflets in the waiting room but to be honest the last thing on my mind was money or other things, I just wanted someone to explain in simple words exactly what i had? yet no one did this I was just told you have cancer now go home and come back next week?


Am i wrong here? do i expect to much from our goverment and NHS? I just go home and what carry on as if nothing as happened and thing well it is just like having a cold it will go away soon?


I am still in shock and I cry myself to sleep every night, although I did try to read the information from the Dim witted people (DWP) but hey that is one big minefield and I do not have a degree in jargon!!!


So please can anyone help me with what is it I have? and what do I do now?


Regards


Elaine



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    Hi Elaine,

    Just sending you a hug. I can only imagine your shock when you heard the news and how now your mind must be swirling with questions. As per another poster, hospitals and doctors tend not to launch into massive amounts of information when there are too many variables. If you think of it being like one of those old 'pick a path' books, your cancer will determine the path you follow and until your doctors read each page, they don't know which options are available. Although they can use their experience to predict the outcomes of each option, they really don't know for sure. Sometimes it seems like they are just throwing treatment after treatment and hoping like hell that this one will work.

    That is something else to bear in mind, that there are always other options. Full mastectomy is one option, but there may be others and it is worth asking each time a treatment is offered "What are the alternatives? What are possible outcomes for those alternatives? What if we do nothing or what if we wait? Why a full mastectomy and not a lumpectomy (ie is the cancer widespread or a rapidly growing type?)" Unfortunately, unlike the pick a path books, no one can skip ahead to read the outcomes of decisions and use that to back track to make the best decisions right now.

    I can understand your anger as well. It is fecking unfair that anyone should have this disease.

    Sending you some strength and thinking of you,

    xwaterbabe

    edit: spelling mistake

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    Hello to all.

    I (in the last month) had my mammogram which showed calcifications...and I had a call back to radiology to retake some pics..then a doctor came and talked to me and told me that I would have to have a core biopsy.  I had that done about 10 days ago and had to wait for the results to come back. It came back with atypical hyperplasia.  I was scheduled to see a econogist surgeon...well that in itself is scary.  It's the waiting from one appt to another that is really stressful.  Well I saw my surgeon yesterday and he seemed very positive. He told me that 85% of these calcifications are nothing to be concerned about.  I told him I didn't want to sound negative..but what happens to the other 15% should I fall into that category.  He said my case was very eary...from the 15%, there is a 99% cure rate.  So I felt good.  I have surgery scheduled in about 1 week..some kind of hookwire surgery where he will remove the calcifications and send the tissue to the pathologist.  I'm so happy to have have my yearly mammograms so they can find something early.  I lost a father to colon cancer, a brother to pancreatic cancer, and another brother to lung cancer.  My mother just died recently and my sister from COPD..I lost 4 family members in the last 3 years...it's been rough.  Thank you all for sharing your stories..

    Wishing you all the best.  

    Katarina

     

  • Offline in reply to gardenlady

    hi garden  lady I HAVE FOUND OUT I WILL NEED A MASECTOMY YES TERRIFIED  PLEASE TELL ME DID YOU HAVE A RECONSTRUCTION AND IS IT ALL A PAINFUL PROCEDURE I HAD BREAST CANCER TWO YEARS AGO  SMALL LUMP REMOVED FOUND I WAS HER 2 POSATIVE AND WAS ON HERCEPTIN FOR A YEAR BUT IT HAS COME BACK

  • Offline in reply to bashfull

    Hi Baseful,  So sorry your cancer has returned after only 2 years - at least it has been picked up, hopefully in good time,  I assume during follow-up.

    Can't tell you about reconstruction, only about the reasons I did not go ahead.

    The reconstruction is realy a second operation- even when carried out at the same time as a masectomy.

    The masectomy take about 1 hour under general - reconstruction take up the three depending on which form of reconstrution is chosen.

    Mastectomy takes about a month to recover from and reconstruction about three months.  I wanted to get back into my garden as soon as possible.

    In order to make up my mind I went along, with others facing the same choices, to meet a group of very helpful ladies who barred all.

    I concluded that unless I remained the same weight in the future implants were not for me. Very pert, suitable for young, I would also have needed a second op to reduce my 'good' boob so as to match. Several 60ml round trips to hosp for expandtion, tatoos etc.etc.

    The op, I believe called a skin flap looked most natural after scarring was healed. This involed the long op mentioned above.

    On conclusion I'm glad I decided not  go ahead.  I did feel pressured to make a decision about reconstuction with a new cancer diagnosises to deal with at the same time.   I felt the voluntary group of ladies were the only real support  I got.  The surgeons  just need to know who and how long a theatre slot to book.  The cancer nurse told me that only about 35% go for reconstruction, that's 65% coping without.

    I happily wear a softie or a light prosesis in a mascetomy bra or a M&S Vest with support.  I'm comfy wearing low tops. I never had a silicone prosesis made as everybody I spoke to said they were heavy and dragged on the bra strap and remained in their box! Such a waste of NHS money.

    Cancer returning is what we are fear to most -  it seems so unfair to go through treatment, to overcome the emotional  barrier of excepting the new you and the effort it takes to get back to normal, whatever normal is!  A very difficult thing to deal with.

    Hang in there, ask away, I sure others who have had reconstruation can give you more info - if no replys try a new thread with breast reconstuction in the title.

    take care, gardenlady.

     

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    I'm going through the same agony as you. I've had all the biopsys and now I'm having a breast MRI before they decide what to do with me. I knew something was up as they have that breast nurse sitting behind the doctor with that look on her face. Then I went to a room with her what she gave me loads of leaflets.  I had so many , i thought in a minute shes going to give me a  co op funeral form. I threw them all away. I can only say that I'm coping by going to work and hopefully we'll have surgery to get rid of it . I feel light headed with a sick feeling  .but we must be as normal as possible . They can't be too reassuring in case that are wrong and can be sued. If you ask too many questions you'll just scare yourself.  Lets just do what they say  and get on with it.x

  • Offline in reply to kimalison1959

    Hi ladies, I had left mascetomy last Monday, 2 lumps in there, also had axillary node clearance. No reconstruction planned, just want to get back to normal. Feeling great right now, and positive for the future. I just wanted to get rid of it ASAP. The clinic will be seeing me next week and discussing the chemotherapy treatment that I'm not too sure about. Any advice about that would be welcome,. My concerns are about lymph nodes, of they are cleared, how will chemo affect me and further infection???

  • Offline in reply to elaine365

    Hi i have just completed all my 6 cycles of chemotherapy and i am coming to the end of my radiotherapy.  I just want to say you need to be strong no matter how you are feeling.  You may not have any bad side effects.  Well i hope you won't. Keep a diary and  look for a patterns to side effects and monitor sickness or nausea feelings. I will help you to get through the chemo.  you will know which days after each cycle you begin to feel bad.  you will know how many days it will last and which days you will feel well after the cycles.  I got through my using this diary.  I knew three days after chemo i will feell bad then a week later i know im  going to start feeling better.  when you understand how your body is reacting, it will made it easier to get through eachcycles

  • Offline
    I just found this about removing calcium from soft tissue with increased magnesium intake. That is what it says. We do get a lot of dairy in the UK.............. ""CT and PTH regulate skeletal turnover of calcium and availability of cytoplasmic calcium. The major skeletal effect of PTH is to increase bone resorption by stimulating osteoclasts, thereby increasing mobilization of calcium from bone. PTH also favors cellular uptake of calcium by soft tissues and phosphate excretion by the kidney. CT has the opposite effect, that is, it increases deposition of calcium in the bone matrix and blocks cellular uptake of calcium by soft tissues. Magnesium suppresses PTH and stimulates CT secretion, therefore favoring deposition of calcium in the bone and removal of calcium from soft tissues. Furthermore magnesium enhances calcium absorption and retention, whereas increasing calcium intake suppresses magnesium absorption. ""
  • Offline in reply to Dissatisfied Customer

    It says Calcium intake, makes PTH, and that makes your bones dissolve and the calcium goes into your fluids and soft tissues. Calcification of breast tissue is exactly that.
    On the other hand magnesium intake, makes CT, which makes calcium come out of soft tissues and be deposited back in the bones.

     

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