Hi Shaz,

I am so sorry to hear that your biopsy has come back positive. It is normal for any of us who get a cancer diagnosis to imagine that every little ache and pain is the disease spreading. Fortunately, most of this is just in our imagination and doesn't usually come to anything.

I know that a diagnosis of any cancer knocks you for six. It can also affect your emotions - lots of crying, sleeplessness, worry, fear, loss of apetite, etc - you name it, you've probably already experienced it.  It may not seem so at the moment, but it sounds as if you have caught this at an early stage and it hasn't spread to the lymph nodes. This is all good news, as your cancer is eminently treatable.

The decision about radiotherapy versus or with chemo, is something usually decided by your MDT(multidisciplinary team).  Before you were given your results, your consultant will have discussed your case with all the other health care workers involved in your care. Between them they will have decided on the best way forward for you. Chemo tends to be for the more aggressive forms of cancer, wheras radiotherapy is for the slower growing cancers.

The best thing to do with your questions is to write them all down, so you don't forget to ask something important when you are speaking with your consultant. You will probably find that you need to review them before every appointment.

I know how scary all this is. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer. The first was 10 years ago and the second was just a year later. I have also had a few false alarms. Fear of the unknown is the most frightening thing. Now that you know what you are dealing with, you will find that it gradually gets easier to deal with, as you start to treat it.

One piece of advice I would give you is to stay away from Google. A lot of the information there is out of date, poorly researched, inaccurate and aimed at the spectacular. If you have to research this, stick to well respected sites like Cancer Research.

Have you been told what type of breast cancer you have and, what grade it is yet? I am not a doctor and, cannot answer your question about the duration of your operation. I suppose that this will vary from one person to another. I wouldn't expect your operation to take long at all - possibly ½ an hour to an hour. Some people come around from a general anaesthetic very quickly, whereas it can take others a little longer and, they may feel a bit groggy afterwards. There can be problems yes, but these are very few, when you consider the number of operations carried out on a daily basis.

Have you got a date for your local excision yet? The wire is just a guide to where the cancer is. This ensures that the tissue removed is from the correct area.

I am sure that you will sail through this procedure. Do please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx