Hi Sazza, 

im new to this too and find it difficult what and how to write it. I too had a lump in the side of my breast had the usual GP appt but had my hospital appt Mon 18th May and had the same experience and was basically told I had breast cancer. I'm now waiting to hear on Friday what the next plan of action will be. I was told I will be having a lumpectomy and radiotherapy but depending on what they find from the biopsy is whether I have chemo or not. I know that this isn't an answer to your question but just thought I would reply to your post and wish you the best of luck of which is a terrifying journey x

Morning Sazza, so hopefully Friday we will be hearing positive news.  I'm finding it extremely difficult to keep it from my 7yr old daughter who is too bright for her own good. Their are do many questions I want to ask but scared of the answers. I've had a lump before in exactly the same place a few years ago and was told it was just fatty tissue, didn't have a mammogram or an ultra sound which makes me think was that IT the lump that turned cancerous!!! Anyway that's my morning vent over lol. Hope you have a good day. And good luck for tomorrow xx

Following my lumpectomy about two years ago, I too had an infection.  Once the antibitics kicked in, I think it took a week or two before I felt well.  I had a grade two Lobular cancer with one lymp node involved.  I remember when I saw the consultant, and I had my treatment plan, I felt a lot better.  I had chemo, radioterapy and Tamoxifen.  The journey was not bump free, but very doable.

I am now back at work and feeling fine, two and a half years on.   It is a very emotional time, and I remember feeling very scared at times, and very down, but you do come through this.

If there is anything you want to know or just to rant, please post.  I had not used this forum or any other forum before, but I think it helps,  I did not know forums like this existed when I was having my treatment, I wished I had!!, and if I can help anyone from my experience, I will.

Take care, keep in touch.

xxxx

Hi Dottie,

Sorry for only just getting back to you. Ended up back in the hospital yesterday due to this pesky infection. They have now given me until next Tuesday for it to start getting better or they are admitting me. Anyhow, they told me yesterday that my results have not come back yet and they will ring me and tell me over the phone if they receive them today, if not I have to wait until after the BH to get them ARGGGGG!!!!!! >:)

So here I am waiting......again.

I cant believe that last time they did not give you a mammogram at the very least, just to make sure that your lump was only fatty tissue. There are times when it makes you wonder if we are not just seen as cattle by a minority of health workers. The only reason I say this is because I have had a lump before as well but not in the same place and my experience back then (11 years ago) was not the best either. Our journey is going to be a tough one as it is so be kind to yourself and please try not to let it prey on your mind.

I found it hard keeping it from the kids. Telling them was something I put of doing in the first couple of weeks. I wanted some answers first myself to make it easier to explain to them. In the end the answers I had been given were not passed on as they didn't need to know that I have the most aggressive form of cancer or that they think its gone into the lymp nodes. So we kept it as simple as possible and told them I had found a lump and been told it was cancer but they were going to operate and take it away and give me chemo to make sure and we left it as that. It was still the hardest thing I have ever done and there were lots of tears and yes it broke my heart but now 3 weeks on Im so glad we told them as there is no more whispering in the kitchen and they are dealing with it very matter of factly and Im very proud of them. It may help you to speak to your breast care nurse or give the helpline on here a call and get some advice from very caring people who are very experienced with this sort of thing.

Hopefully today you will be given either a plan of action and maybe dates when things are going to start happening. Let me know, lots of luck xx

Hi Puddles,

Thankyou for your reply, it is very comforting to hear what you went through and that your now OK and have your life back on track.

I only found this site because after the initial shock of diagnosis, I realised I knew nothing about breast cancer or what even chemo or radiotherapy entailed other than it was used if you had cancer. I wanted to know as much as possible so i understood what the doctors were telling me.

I know that everyone is different but for me its the unknown and not knowing that is really scary like waiting for results for example. Once I am told something and I have got my head round whatever it is, I can then start to deal with it. The lastest one is waiting for the results of my op to come back so I know if its gone into my lymph nodes and if so, what next. They have already told me that 2 of them are showing up as abnormal on different scans and they are viewing them as 'highly suspicious' but now I just want to know if this is the case, then how far has it spread. Once I know I can 'deal' with it but the waiting has those little demons whispering in my ear getting me to think all sorts of things.

They have already said I will be having chemo. How did you find going through it and how long did it last for? xxx

I felt the same as you, I like to be in control.  Chemo, for me was O.K. There are normally 6 lots of chemo , three weeks apart.  There are ups and downs, but lots of help along the way.  I imagined I would be bed bound and with my head in a bowl, feeling very ill.  This was not the case, I went out and about, in fact when I did go back to work, I missed my lunches/days out with friends!!  I had lots of advice, for example, you can have your chemo delivered through a PEC line, which is kept in through the whole treatment, but as my veins are good, I decided to have mine through a vein each time.  I did not like the fact that I would have the line in all through treatment, and this was fine for me.  My husband's job involves travelling through Devon and Cornwall, and during treatment I travelled with him.

I did read a few stories of breast cancer and chemo on line, but this was a mistake, as people went into great details and frightend me, and I was not the same.  Yes, there were bad times, but I dealt with themas they came.  There are lots of support out there, I attended Look good Feel Good session, showing you how to put your make up on during chemo, and skin treatment, they gave you a goodie bag with all sorts of things in it worth approx. £300, and I enjoyed meeting people in the same situation and having a good laugh.  My cancer centre offered massages, councelling and lots more.  If you have chemo, you will deal with it as it comes.  I do have lots of tips and advice for you, and will help you, if you want, but please do not get bogged down with negative stories.

I think I am lucky, that I actually feel better now than I did before cancer.  I have lost weight, more exercise, and better diet.  I think it has changed me, I now live in the here and now, and certainly enjoy life.  

Take care and keep in touch

Diane xxx

Thankyou so much Diane, what an uplifting reply.

I have gotten my results now. Got a phone call late this afternoon and the good news is that there is no cancer found in my lymph nodes but the tests showed vascular invasion? When I asked what an earth that meant, I was told that even though it hasnt spread into my lymph nodes, cells have been found going into my blood vessels. Talk about going from an upper to a downer in the space of seconds......

I have an appointment next week to see how my infection is getting along, quite nicely at the moment and totally ignoring all the antibiotics I'm taking....and then apparently there is an appointment with the oncologist on its way, to discuss chemo and radiotherapy with. I next see my consultant 4th June when hopefully my infection will be a thing of the past and I will get to find out when the next stage of treatment will begin.

Hopefully once my infection is gone, I will go back to my daily runs and start building my fitness ready for whatever this dreadfull little disease has to throw at me.

Thanks again for uplifting my mood. xxx

Hi Sazza, sorry to hear you have had an infection but hope you are much better now.

ive had my results, it's grade 3 which I was obviously not wanting to hear. But I still have no dates as yet. They don't think it's spread to my lymph nodes but can't tell until the do the op.

i still haven't told my daughter and want to tell her as near to the op date as possible so she doesn't stew over it. 

One minute I'm optimistic and the next panic stricken and then it's all a dream. I'm sure I will get there,

hope you've had a good bank holiday weekend xx

Hi Dottie, sorry for the delay but alot has been happening and i have not had chance to get the laptop out.

The infection has now gone, phew.... they had given me a couple of different strong antibiotics to get rid of it and my body didn't agree with them but at least they did the trick.

My results came back and my cancer has not spread to my lymph nodes :D but the results showed a 'vascular invasion' which i had never heard of before. It was explained to me that cancer cells had gone into nearby blood vessels which is not what i was expecting and i admit to allowing that feeling of dread that lives in the pit of your stomach, to creep out and run amok in my imagination. They said that even though it wasnt in my lymph nodes and because it was a grade 3 cancer whose cells had been found outside the tumor, they would have to do more tests......

They then sent off my tissue samples to America which meant yet more waiting. In the meantime I went to see my oncology Doc and had a long in-depth conversation with him over the full results of what they had removed during surgery. It turns out that even though my tumour was only small, 2cm, it was still a grade 3 and it was not hormone receptive which he said made it was more aggessive and the vascular invasion meant it was already starting to spread so i am to have chemo followed by radiotherapy  and then 5 years of an anti cancer drug. He said he was expecting the results from America to come back confirming the need for chemo. That test was looking at the cancer itself on a cellular level to find out its ability to spread and re-grow. It would come back with one of 3 outcomes, high risk, intermediate or low risk. The next day (yesterday) the results came back as high risk, so Doc was right....Funnily enough I have just accepted this without a single tear, dont know if I used them all up in those first shell shocked weeks or if i've just become numb to the ongoing bad news, I dont know. Anyway I booked an appointment at my haidressers yesterday and today I have been and had my hair, that i have been growing for years, cut off. Dont know if it was seeing my long locks lying all over the floor or sitting there trying to imagine myself without any hair at all but I did shed a quiet tear before kicking myself and telling myself to get a grip.

Thats my journey so far, how is yours coming along. Have they given you a date for surgery and do you know what type of surgery your having. Have you been able to tell your daughter, if so how is she coping with the news.

Here's willing you strength for whatever lies ahead xxx