Hi MickeyM! I feel as if I know exactly what you're going through as I had a lump and a 6cm día. invasive tumour surrounded by microcalcifications. I guarantee that this waiting period is the worst part because your mind will take you to a lot of places before they give you a treatment plan especially if you are the kind of person who prefers to face possibilities. 
 

I remember feeling anxious about the waits between biopsy / diagnosis / treatment but they assured me that the cancer was not going to run rampant during that timeframe and it would make very little if any difference. Part of the wait is because they run your diagnosis through a panel of specialist doctors who are looking at all the factors to make the best decision about your treatment plan.

After diagnosis I remember walking around in shock for weeks with the words 'I have cancer' in my head endlessly repeating. They decided on a mastectomy because of the margins of microcalcifications were too wide an area to treat by lumpectomy. While the thought of that would have terrified me before confirmation of my diagnosis, I was pleased to get rid of the core problem. I had a reconstruction at the same time and I love my new smaller boob and the other one was reduced in size a few months later to match. 

Here I am 6 years later with no evidence of disease. I am not saying that to say "lucky me" but six years ago it gave me a lot of comfort that other people had been through this and were living good lives. For me the crucial part was the biopsy of the sentinel axial lymph node and in my case I was lucky that no cancer cells were found there despite the large tumour. My tumour was also found to be highly hormone-fed so I'm on Tamoxifen for the next few years. I suppose the biggest problem was not being able to take HRT to treat the menopause, but my GP prescribed a low dose of Sertraline and it does the same sort of thing.

I wish you all the luck in the world and believe me, life will return to a place where it's not the only thing you can think about. Whatever treatment you're given, you will feel so much better just to be on that road to recovery. Take care! And best wishes for everything!

Hi MickeyM! I feel as if I know exactly what you're going through as I had a lump and a 6cm día. invasive tumour surrounded by microcalcifications. I guarantee that this waiting period is the worst part because your mind will take you to a lot of places before they give you a treatment plan especially if you are the kind of person who prefers to face possibilities. 
 

I remember feeling anxious about the waits between biopsy / diagnosis / treatment but they assured me that the cancer was not going to run rampant during that timeframe and it would make very little if any difference. Part of the wait is because they run your diagnosis through a panel of specialist doctors who are looking at all the factors to make the best decision about your treatment plan.

After diagnosis I remember walking around in shock for weeks with the words 'I have cancer' in my head endlessly repeating. They decided on a mastectomy because of the margins of microcalcifications were too wide an area to treat by lumpectomy. While the thought of that would have terrified me before confirmation of my diagnosis, I was pleased to get rid of the core problem. I had a reconstruction at the same time and I love my new smaller boob and the other one was reduced in size a few months later to match. 

Here I am 6 years later with no evidence of disease. I am not saying that to say "lucky me" but six years ago it gave me a lot of comfort that other people had been through this and were living good lives. For me the crucial part was the biopsy of the sentinel axial lymph node and in my case I was lucky that no cancer cells were found there despite the large tumour. My tumour was also found to be highly hormone-fed so I'm on Tamoxifen for the next few years. I suppose the biggest problem was not being able to take HRT to treat the menopause, but my GP prescribed a low dose of Sertraline and it does the same sort of thing.

I wish you all the luck in the world and believe me, life will return to a place where it's not the only thing you can think about. Whatever treatment you're given, you will feel so much better just to be on that road to recovery. Take care! And best wishes for everything!

Hi Pandastart, thank you so much for your honest and supportive reply.  Yes, I'm definitely the kind of person who prefers to be 'in the know' and facing all possibilities.  I found your response very helpful and supportive for me and so I'm truly grateful for that. 
 

I'm glad you're six years into recovery and I was pleased to hear you managed to get your other breast reduction (thank heavens) x 

Being told to come off the HRT immediately has been an additional struggle for me and so once again, thanks for telling me how you resolved that.  I will speak to my GP about that once I've had the next upright stereotactic biopsies done. 
 

Thank you so much for your positivity and kind words.  You can read my update in my response to Jolamine above, so I don't repeat it again (embarrassed face) xx 

I'll keep you posted xx take care xx