Just been diagnosed with early breast cancer and I will be having chemo, surgery and radiotherapy. So scared right now

Hi there first time posting here my name is Maureen I'm 56 and just been diagnosed with early breast cancer which is not the hormone one I'm waiting for an MRI then oncologist will tell me when treatment will start .I will have chemo , surgery, chemo then radiotherapy I'm so scared right now was wondering if anyone has had this and how bad the chemo will be going forward .

  • Welcome to the forum Maureentesco although I'm sorry to hear you've been diagnosed with breast cancer.

    I hope this information we have about treatment for breast cancer will ease your mind about what's to come but if it would help to talk things through with someone, then do give our team of cancer nurses a call. They're available on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m and they will do all they can to answer your questions and address any other worries or concerns you may have at this time.

    We know how scary this must be Maureentesco but we are for you and sending all our strength and support your way.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Thank you so much Steph really appreciate it and I will use the service if and when I feel I need some more information.

  • I had triple negative breast cancer, caught early and treatment has been v successful.  I had chemo, then surgery, then radiotherapy, interspersed with immunotherapy.  Everyone's experience is different but chemo wasn't nearly as bad as I feared.  I was particularly pleased that I had no sickness!  Only symptoms were that I was very tired at times but that was quite liveable with . I had the cld cap and I did lose a significant amount of hair I didn't go bald.  Cold cap also means your hair grows back faster afterwards.  Some people find the cold cap difficult to tolerate but they can give you meds to help with the discomfort.

    I had a lumpectomy and I was extremely nervous about surgery but it really was a breeze.  

    It was overall a very stressful experience but talking about it really helped  - to professionals and family.  And it's made me take double the pleasure in the simple things of life now 

    Waiting for results was one of the worst part of the experience for me but that doesn't last for ever and distraction helped to some extent.

    Good luck!

  • Hi just told today mines is also triple negative do you know what the difference is to the positive one should I be more worried now although your post has gave me some encouragement Thank you xx

  • I think triple negative can be harder to treat as it can be more resistant to chemo.  However, this was not the case with me and it responded extremely well to the chemo.  With the positive cancer it seems you're often put on Tamoxifen after the main treatment has finished.  However this will not be the case with me.

    It might be worth sending a not to the Ask The Nurses section so you can get a medical response to your question, as well as my layman's response!

    Good luck with everything!

  • Thank you I will do that and good luck to you 

  • Hi, last week I was told I had stage 2 invasive breast carcinoma estrogen 8/8 and still waiting for Her2 results. They said surgery, chemo and radiotherapy, I have no idea how the her2 results will effect my outcome,  its very scary x