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lizzie28

I was please to find this forum.  I had a FNB on a small lump in November.   December 3 I was told it was cancer and a mammogram showed two other spots of suspicious calcifications.   December 30 I had a core needle biopsy of the small lump and a mammogram guided biopsy of the other spots.  I am now waiting for results before I proceed to the surgery phase.  I have been reading up as much as I can on breast cancer and I have found it very helpful to read the experiences of people on here.   I live in a small city, so will probably have to travel for surgery. 

I feel very fortunate that all my children are grown up and I am in a position to concentrate on myself.  Of course, my emotions have been all over the place this past month, although the more I read, the more I feel optimistic. 

MsPharoah

Hello Lizzie28 and big hugs to you! Glad you found BCO. The support and caring from the members is so helpful. All the best to you in handling the emotional ups and downs that you will experience. It does get easier, I promise. You are so right that having your children grown puts us in a position to concentrate on our health. I am like you, grown children who, like my husband, have been so supportive.

I was also diagnosed just before the holidays, so I know how the medical office closings and vacations can delay things. Waiting for all the test results, appts, surgical planning, etc. was very, very hard. I didn't realize what a long road it was but looking back, I was in active treatment for about 10 months!!!

Advice? Educate yourself, get a second opinion when needed, keep written copies of all your test results so you can refer back to them as needed and lastly, always assume you WON'T have side effects or complications. Most people don't!

Love, MsP

tgtg

Hi, Lizzie--I second what MsP says. Like the two of you, I had grown sons and 3 granddaughters at diagnosis, which came 4 days before Christmas, and had a lumpectomy first thing in the new year (but was in active treatment only from early Jan. to early May).

Becoming educated about your situation is very helpful, provided you use the right sources--juried sites like BCO and medical journal articles--and not just "any old thing" you find on the Web. You want to be an active and informed participant in your treatment planning and implementation. And it can help you evaluate potential members of your medical team, as it did for me, when I dumped the first radiation oncologist I saw, who struck me and my husband as a wet-behind-the-ears schoolboy who "answered" my questions by ignoring them and blathering on about something else that I hadn't asked about.

I especially want to underscore what MsP suggests about positive thinking--your optimistic attitude is your best ally. Go into this thinking positively and ignore the horror stories that you can find on the Web! Once the shock of my diagnosis wore off, I told myself that my chances for full recovery were really good and I held fast to that idea. Going thru rads with a positive attitude also helps--I told myself that I would not have skin problems and didn't (just followed the rad onc's recommendations for avoiding them), and that I would not experience fatigue and didn't, And 7 weeks really do go by quickly--it's not an eternity!

I'll also add that going into this journey in good physical condition also helps. Keep up your fitness regimen (or start one--even just walking briskly every day) before surgery. Your body will be stronger, and you will be able to sleep without help from drugs. I resumed my M-W-F fitness regimen two days after surgery, with the surgeon's blessing, and kept it up all thru rads. Being fit made rads a breeze--it prevented fatigue, even though I went directly from rads to the gym 3 days a week!

While this diagnosis is earth-shaking and can upset your center of gravity for a while, it is not the end of the world. Lots of women have survived the diagnosis and the disease and are thriving. I feel as good as before--indeed even better than before most days--ready to take on new adventures and fully enjoy the pleasures of retirement. .Best. TG

lizzie28

Thanks to both of you for the replies.  I am feeling so much better as I read of so many women going through this and coming out fine.  I am a fairly fit person, I run, x-ski, and do fitness classes and I've been told that this will help me to recover more quickly from surgery.  I am glad to hear that you started fitness quite quickly after because I have read that people have been told to do nothing for weeks after and I think I'd go crazy, and I don't think it would be very good for me emotionally. 

It was hard finding out right before Christmas and then it has been very slow to get in for more testing.  It was decided by me and my surgeon not to do a excisional biopsy of the lump because of the mammogram showing a couple more suspicious spots and my surgeon thought that sending me to a cancer center to have a core biopsy and the other spots biopsied would make more sense.  I was under the impression that it would happen in weeks, but turned out to be a month and I am still waiting for results.  I was upset about the wait, but after doing more reading I realize that it all takes time and also that I am fairly low risk. 

It is good in some ways that I have had more time to think and research.  I've sure learned a lot in these weeks.  I still feel uncertain about my next steps.  I am from a smaller city and it is possible to have my surgery here, but I think I'd be more comfortable having a breast surgeon rather than a general small-town surgeon operating on me (plus I've not heard great things about the local hospital).  My dilemma is that in order to go to a cancer center (Canada) I have to wait my turn.  My other option is paying myself and going out of Canada, but the thought of being so far away is for this is a little daunting.  I do have an appointment at Mayo clinic for consultation, but I may have to cancel that if my results from my biopsies are not in.  It doesn't seem to make much sense to talk to a surgeon before I know about the second area of my breast. 

lizzie28

I just got back some preliminary results from by biopsies.  The secondary spots are cancer, too.  Grade 2 & 3.  I have an appointment Monday to talk with surgeon.  I am feeling quite nervous about surgery, but want to get it over with.

tgtg

Lizzie--Sorry you didn't get better news from the biopsies, but now you can look forward to the surgeon's getting those suckers out of there! You are now on your way to healing!

I, too, was nervous about the lumpectomy, my first surgery ever, but I simultaneously looked forward to it as the way to be rid of the troublemaker. As a bonus, as soon as the surgery was over, I returned to sleeping like a log! Relax. Breathe--and hopefully you aren't in the most frigid part of Canada and having to breathe too much of that icy Canadian arctic air that has crossed the border into the U.S and is wreaking havoc here too! TG

lizzie28

Today is totally overwhelming.  I am trying to catch up all my work and having much difficulty concentrating.  My husband and I leave tomorrow for Mayo Clinic in Arizona.   We have an appointment with a surgeon on Monday morning.  I am scared.