Surgery in 1 week...,nervous to say the least!!

nicci1980

I am 34 years old with no history of breast cancer in my family.  I was diagnosed with IDC about a month ago.  I was in complete shock and still am trying to get a grip on the fact that I have cancer.  I am very glad however that there was about a month's time from when I was diagnosed to surgery.  I've been able to grasp the idea the best I can, review all my options, read and research, and be confident about my decisions.  I have estrogen positive grade 2 tumors in my left breast with at least one positive lymph node.  The one tumor is 1.4 cm and the other is 1.3.  Because there are two in the same breast, the doctor recommended mastectomy and I've decided to get both removed.  He gave me the statistics on getting cancer in the other breast and although it is a low occurence, the posibility of someone my age getting cancer is less than 1% , so there always has to be someone in that small percentage. I'd rather be safe than sorry and have to deal with this all again.  They biopsied one of my lymph nodes and it was positive so I am also having an axillary node dissection as well.  I am very nervous about the surgery and am also worried that it has spread to other areas of my body.  The doctor said they usually don't do any further testing unless I would have a cough that came on all of a sudden or headache, or bone pain.  I have to get chemo after the surgery.  If the cancer has spread elsewhere, will the chemo kill it all?  I'm just wondering if anyone else has dealt with a similar situation?

SunnyGirlsMom

When I was first diagnosed, my oncologist immediately sent me for a PET scan to make sure the cancer was not showing up anywhere else - and I had that before my first chemo.  You know you have a positive lymph node, so there's a chance it could have spread beyond there.  It is going to be better to know where the cancer is, all of the places, and the full story before you start chemo - and get peace of mind.

clmtootie

If you haven't already met with the MO that doctor will probably order CT or PET scan to make sure there isn't cancer somewhere else.  If your MO doesn't automatically order a scan, request one for peace of mind.

Good luck to you in your surgery.