Hi Suemum

So sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but it sounds like you've caught it early, even if it's Stage 2.  I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2023 (Stage 2, Grade 3) and had a lumpectomy last year (after 6 months of chemo/immunotherapy treatment) followed by a short course of radiotherapy.  I had my first follow-up mammogram last month which has come back clear.  I was a bit like you when I found the lump.  I was seeing my GP regularly for other reasons and when she asked if there was anything else, I mentioned it really just as a "it's probably nothing".  She did an examination in the surgery and referred me to the hospital for further investigation.  It is very hard not to worry, and that period of not knowing I think is the hardest.  I too had a couple of sentinal nodes removed whilst undergoing the lumpectomy so they could do a biopsy but thankfully they came back clear.  The operation itself is very straightforward.  My surgeon did an amazing job and unless you look extremely closely, you wouldn't even know anything had been done.  They will take excellent care of you and from experience they are very considerate of the aesthetics post surgery. 

I know it must feel like an interminable amount of time between diagnosis and surgery date, but (easier said that done, I know), try not to worry.  It's ok to feel scared and it's ok to feel angry and upset too.  But just try to keep yourself occupied and try to keep positive (though at times I wanted to shoot anyone who told me to think positive all the time!).  I can empathise with how you're feeling.  Take some deep, calming breaths and if you can, try to find some online, short meditation audio clips.  That always helped me and settled my mind when it started to run away with itself. 

We are here if you need to rant and shout and get things off your chest. 

Keep us posted with how the surgery goes.  All the best.

Carol 

Thank you Carol for your kind words.

You are all telling me your journey through cancer and as scary as it is, im feeling a bit more relaxed.

I have a lovely family,two girls and a boy, all in their 40s and a lovely husband of 47yrs.  I am the strong one of the family that keeps us all together, so I need to not fall apart. 

I will keep everyone updated. 

Kind regards

Sue xx

Just an update as to whats happening. To say I'm  scared is an understatement. The hospital phoned today and said my HER2 is positive and high. My estrogen and prostrogen is also high and they are all feeders for the cancer. I now have to go in on Monday to discuss my treatment. It does look like I will start chemo followed by the op and radiotherapy.. Theses are all things the Cancer nurse told me but it could change. I think she was preparing me for whats to come but I'm  scared. I will update on Monday    

Hi Sue,

Thank you for the update. You wouldn't be human if you weren't scared! We all are at this stage. It is reassuring to finally have these results back and they should help your care team to now draw up a treatment path. I am glad to see that you only have to wait until Monday for your appointment. If you have any questions, write them down and take the list with you. You probably won't have many until you have spoken to the consultant, but you will find that you will have more questions for further consultations. Can you bring someone with you on Monday? It is always useful to have a second pair of ears, as we all forget about 85% of what is said, before we leave the hospital grounds.

I look forward to your next update on Monday.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Sue,

Thank you for the update. You wouldn't be human if you weren't scared! We all are at this stage. It is reassuring to finally have these results back and they should help your care team to now draw up a treatment path. I am glad to see that you only have to wait until Monday for your appointment. If you have any questions, write them down and take the list with you. You probably won't have many until you have spoken to the consultant, but you will find that you will have more questions for further consultations. Can you bring someone with you on Monday? It is always useful to have a second pair of ears, as we all forget about 85% of what is said, before we leave the hospital grounds.

I look forward to your next update on Monday.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx