Hi - so sorry to hear you are going through this. I hope my experience helps you not to feel so alone in what you are experiencing. One thing that sticks out from your post is what your consultant has said, hopefully you will have been allocated a breast care nurse to talk to.

I had exactly the same thing happen to me apart from finding the lump bit, I was referred to the breast clinic at the beginning of December 2020 because I had blood come out of my left nipple, the Dr examined me and couldn't feel anything (I'm 53 by the way) but because of this and the fact that I went through the menopause 7 years ago she put me on the 2 week fast track to the breast clinic. Anyway because of Covid and Christmas I didn't get seen until 9th January. Again the consultant checked me over and looked at my last breast screening from 2 years ago. I had a mammogram and then they did the ultrasound the Consultant there told me they had found a shadow very deep in my breast that hadn't been there before so they were going to check it out but it was probably nothing. The next thing he said he was very sorry but he was going to tell me there and then that I def had cancer, I asked him how he knew and he said it was the shape it was spiky. He showed me on the screen and it was about 2cm across but very deep and he told me I was incredibly lucky because I would never have felt it until such a time it had grown so much I would be able to feel it and then the outcome would be very different, or it would have been picked up when I had my next routine screening in a years time. They took 2 biopsies and I saw the consultant  5 days later they told me it was stage 2 and oestrogen receptive, they would do a lumpectomy and take the sentinel nodes to check, depending on the outcome I would either have radiotherapy or chemo and radio. I would also go on medication afterwards to block the oestrogen. They also took a sample of the blood that was coming from my nipple.  So I had my surgery the following week and then 10 days after that I was told that there was no cancer found in the lymph nodes or the blood sample from the nipple (apparently it was just purely a fluke that some blood came out of my nipple and it was not related at all to the cancer - but as a precaution they took all the milk ducts from that breast). My surgeon decided to remove the lump and lymph nodes from the same excision so I have a 4 inch scar just below my armpit on the side and another incision around my nipple. I haven't had to have any reconstructive surgery because the cancer was deep in the breast its all internal but what I would say is I have probably lost about a third of my breast capacity - its a bit noticable because I have quite big breasts so I def look very  lopsided but its a small price to pay and I will just adjust what I wear accordingly. I finished my radiotherapy 3 weeks ago and I am on astrozole for 5 years. The tablets have given me hot flushes again and apart from just dealing with the after effects of the radiotherapy its ok. The radiotherapy I had was done in 5 days of up to 30 minute sessions, buy yourself some soft crop top type bras, big pots of E45 .  The actual session is fine just takes them a while to make sure you are in the right position, you will have a planning session first and they will give you 3 little dot tattoos so that they can line the machine up correctly when you have your treatment, I think what suprised me was the fact that my arms had to be above my head on arm rests - that was the most uncomfortable bit, also it was a bit chilly in the radiotherapy suite . I started to feel really tired after my 2nd session and sore like bad sunburn. Definitely get your Dr to sign you off, if you work, I'm 3 weeks post radiotherapy and I have just started back on a phased return I was so tired I just slept loads, its getting easier every day and everyone is different my sister in law had radiotherapy for breast cancer and was fine, she carried on working all the way through. I would say that I'm quite a strong person and like being busy but emotionally and physically this has knocked me for 6 I think it was just the shock of it all and I'm not going to lie even though I know I am incredibly lucky that the cancer was found I do wake up at 3 in the morning panicking and I do feel scared. So, what I would say to you is talk about how you are feeling, I hope you have a supportive family and lovely friends to help you through this. Hopefully you will be allocated a breast nurse (mine was amazing, so kind and patient and sat with me many a time when I was in tears) write down any questions you have because I spent most of my consultation in tears because of the shock of it all, be kind to yourself and make sure you have plenty of help and support afterwards. It is all such a shock and it takes a while comprehend what is happening and it is a frightening time but they can do amazing things now, my nurse gave me lots of leaflets that were useful and said don't look online especially at the american sites because they can scare you even more.  I was lucky to have my surgery so quickly because at that time the hospital weren't doing any cancer surgery because of covid, fortunately the private hospital opened up some slots hence I had my surgery within 2 weeks of diagnosis but at the time of diagnosis I was told that it could be some months because of the backlog of cases and if my cancer was hormone receptive the good thing was they could give me medication to stop it developing further so def ask how long till surgery. If you are in the slightest bit unsure of anything ask and keep asking otherwise it will just play on your mind and there is probably enough going on in there as it is.

Take care and hope it helps - I'm very aware I've rambled on but I didn't have a clue what was involved and every case is different - and I'm one of life's spill your guts and get it all out there type of person. Good luck hope all goes well for you xxxxxxxxxx

Hi JoJo

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. This has really helped me today. Sarah xx 

Hi JoJo

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. This has really helped me today. Sarah xx