Hi Autumn1, 

It must have been a bit of a shock for you to be told that the lump above your breast is likely to be cancerous when initially they thought it was just a cyst. Poor you being there alone I can imagine it was really hard then to focus on what they were telling you and it's normal that you feel it was all a bit of a blur and it must be so frustrating for you to have to go through all this waiting at the moment before you get clarity and proper answers as to what your treatment plan will be. It's reassuring news that they haven't found anything in the lymph nodes under your armpit and I hope that you won't have to wait too long for your MRI scan and for the biopsy results. Three weeks sounds like a  long time to have to wait for your breast biopsy and while you are waiting, I thought I would share with you our helpful tips on how to cope while waiting for important news. I also hope that you will hear from other members of our community who have been through something similar before and that they will come and share their story with you.

It might be helpful while you are waiting to find out all the details and confirmation of a diagnosis to read our page on breast cancer which has a useful section on treatment for breast cancer including on surgery for breast cancer. We also have a nurse helpline you can call Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on this free number 0808 800 4040 and where you can discuss your particular case and ask any other questions you might have for example on your worries about spread while you are waiting for answers. Hopefully things will move quickly from now on and you are in the best possible hands and it won't be long now until you get the full picture of what is going on and a treatment plan. 

It can be hard to know what to say to children and what words to use and I wanted to share with you our page on talking to children about cancer which has some very good tips targeted too to children and teenagers of different ages. I hope the information in there will be helpful and as nothing quite beats hearing from personal experiences, I would also encourage other members of our community to come and share with you their experience of how they broached the subject with their own children. 

We're all here for you anytime you need to talk - please keep us updated if you get a chance when you find out more. I hope you won't have to wait long now and that you get all the details very soon. 

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator