I guess it's true

nanatwo6

Since Labor Day weekend my life has been a whirlwind, today it all came to a screeching halt !! Even though I had the gut feeling my BS was going to say its cancer I was still shocked when she said it and when she wrote down the particulars and I saw MY name at the top of the page.My poor husband and two daughters had a hard time holding back the tears, this is something I never wanted to burden my family with. Now IT has a name, invasive ductal carcinoma, my ER is negative, PR is negative, and the HER2 is pending,the tumor size is 3cm(actually 5cm if you count the precancerous cells around it),and is at stage IIA. I understand that because I already have 2 negatives it doesn't matter what my Her2 comes back as, I will need chemo and possibly radiation too. Now I have to decide if I want a mastectomy or try to shrink the mass and then lumpectomy. Right now I think I just want it OUT and I want my life as I knew it back !

Beckers

Nanatwo6 - I am very sorry you got this news. This is a great place for support and to learn. I wish I had found it when I was first diagnosed. I can totally relate to your last statement about wanting it out and having your life back. It has a way of taking over doesn't it? I wish you the best as you make this difficult journey. ((hugs))

dlb823

nanatwo6, I'm really sorry about your diagnosis.  The thought you expressed about just wanting it out is one we all go through.  But if I'm not mistaken, chemo first might be the preferred way to do if your Her2 factor turns out to be negative, in which case you might want to be sure to seek out a medical team that has a lot of experience with TNBC, to guide you in making that choice.  Her2+ would mean you'll get Herceptin along with chemo, so that might also influence your decision.  So I guess what I'm saying is, I think you need to know that Her2 factor before you can make the chemo or surgery first decision.

Good luck, and it will get better once you have more information and a tx plan in place.  Also, no matter what your Her2 factor turns out to be, if your care to date hasn't been at an NCI-designated cancer center, at least getting a 2nd opinion at one is something I highly recommend for a lot of reasons.  Here's a list of them:  http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/map-cancer-centers2.html     (((Hugs))), and know that you will get through this!     Deanna