ANXIETY!

I’ve just recently been initially diagnosed with DCIS but this will possibly be upgraded to invasive, they are doing further testing on the biopsy. And my anxiety is through the roof, I have so many physical symptoms - heart palpitations, tight chest, pains all over, difficulty breathing, can’t eat and not sleeping well. All these symptoms are making me think that cancer has spread everywhere. What can I do? I have 2 young kids and can’t function. Does anyone have any coping strategies? 

Parents
  • I am feeling the same. Please feel free to message me back xx

  • Hi, how’s everyone doing? I’m still no further forward finding out if it’s DCIS or invasive, waiting for a phone call now which I think is even worse as it could happen at any time, I really hoped it would be before the weekend but looks like that ship has sailed :( xx

  • Hi everyone, how are you all now? Yorkshiremum - hope your hysterectomy went ahead and you’re recovering well? Gail how’s things with you? Have you started treatment? 
    I’m I had my surgery a few weeks ago and it went well,  margins were clear and lymph nodes thank god clear. But I did get upgraded from grade 2 to grade 3 which means chemo, I have first oncologist meeting on Wednesday.

    xx

  • Hi Em24ma! Glad your surgery went well and I hope your treatment has you on the road to recovery and isn't too draining.

    I had my hysterectomy on Monday. Just need to wait for histology to come back to decide if I need chemo or if that's it. Going to be a long wait. Surgery went well though buy boy am I tired!! Xx

  • Hi, Glad your surgery also went well, hope you are taking it easy and recovering well. Fingers crossed you don’t need anything further that would be an amazing outcome. 
    I have my chemo plan just waiting for a start date which should be in the next few weeks.

    xx

  • Hi Em,

    I'm glad to hear that your surgery is behind you and that your margins were clear. I'm sure that you were gutted to get upgraded from a 2 to a 3 and thus needing chemo. I hope that your oncology appointment on Wednesday went well and that you now have a better idea of your treatment plan. You should find things much easier to cope with, now that you know what is happening and can start to move forward with treatment.

    Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on with it all.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Hello jolamine, thanks for your message. I am a bit gutted about the chemo but to be honest more shocked by the hormone therapy he recommended. He wants to do zoladex to completely shut down my ovaries and letrazole for 10 years. This seems so severe and aggressive for a small stage 1 cancer, I was only expecting tamoxifen. I feel very upset about the prospect of full menopause at 35 and concerned about the implications of having no estrogen on bones etc. The whole treatment plan just sounds like such a lot for what I was initially told was a very good prognosis cancer xx

  • Hi Em,

    I can understand how you feel about the hormone therapy. They will normally treat your bones at the same time to stop them from deteriorating. It does sound like a lot, but put your trust in your care team. They know what they’re doing.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Jolamine do you know if it’s normal that the doctors say I’m stage 1 no spread purely based on the lymph nodes under my arm being clear? I haven’t had any other scans on the rest of my body and I just can’t shake some of the symptoms I have had since I was first diagnosed, mainly the tight chest. I know it probably is just anxiety like everyone is telling me but I don’t understand how can they be sure it hasn’t spread? 
    xx

  • Hi Em,

    I am not a doctor, but as I understand it, the scan that you had will have shown your cancer and the lymph nodes under your arm. If the cancer had spread, it would have spread via these lymph nodes, so if nothing is showing there, you are likely to be clear. It is 14 years ago since I was diagnosed with my first bout of breast cancer. At that time, I had all of the symptoms that you mention, but they all disappeared, as soon as I had surgery. Most of us imagine all sorts of additional symptoms at this stage, but they usually settle with time. When you had surgery, any breast tissue removed was sent to pathology, to check that there was no sign of spread, so you should be able to rest, assured that there is nothing else there.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Thanks Jolamine, the doctors and nurses have all told me the same that if the lymph nodes are clear it hasn’t spread. I know I’m being silly, I am just having a hard time believing it for some reason. Maybe my anxiety will settle when I start chemo xx

  • Hi Em,

    You're not being silly at all. I expect that your anxiety will settle once you start chemo, but if not, they will do a test after you've had some chemo, to see how well it is working. This will take another look at your lymph nodes and should reassure you that there has been no spread.

    Kind regards,

     Jolamine xx

Reply
  • Hi Em,

    You're not being silly at all. I expect that your anxiety will settle once you start chemo, but if not, they will do a test after you've had some chemo, to see how well it is working. This will take another look at your lymph nodes and should reassure you that there has been no spread.

    Kind regards,

     Jolamine xx

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