Just diagnosed March 19 2015

Rhiannon426

I got my diagnosis on Thursday. I have stage 2 ductal breast cancer. I have a very strong family history of breast cancer. Aunt, Mother, Sister. They tested positive for BRAC2 gene, I tested negative. Now I have a different type of breast cancer. I have chosen to have a bi-lateral mastectomy with sentinel lymph node dissection on both sides to double check if it has spread. My surgery is booked for April 16th. I am in a fog, one minute I am overwhelmed, the next I am ok with it. My mother did survive, but my sister passed.....how do I tell my mother?

Moderators

Welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're sorry you have to be here, but glad you found us! Sorry about your Dx on Thursday.

Besides sharing your experiences and learning from other members here at the boards, you may also want to take a look at the Breast Cancer 101section from the main site, which is designed to help you sort through all of the information on our site to find what is more relevant to you right now, and how best to break the news to your family. Your mother knows what it is all bout so probably best to tell her now rather than later.

Also it may be helpful to read from our main site: IDC - Invasive Ductal Carcinoma where you'll learn about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, etc.

Possibly of interest too is the Oncotype DX Test

We hope this helps!

The Mods

MelissaDallas

Mods, she says she is Stage 2so she needs referral to IDC section, not DCIS.

Rhiannon426

Thank you I will look at all the information. I appreciate your advice

Moderators

Our apologies, Rhiannon, for our oversight! Yes, Melissa is correct -- this is the page you'll want check out: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/idc

We will also edit our post to reflect this!

Thanks Melissa for your diligence!

Rhiannon426

I just got my appt for an MRI Tuesday march 31st. As well I have my first appt with the oncologist who specializes in genetics for April 7th. I do have claustrophobia so I'm not sure how well the MRI will go. The oncologist appt will hopefully give me more answers and give me a second opinion about what I should do. I guess I need to write a list of questions to take with me.

Melrosemelrose

Rhiannon426- You may want to ask your doctors for some anti-anxiety medication to help you stay calm during the MRI. Please do not think it is a sign of weakness to ask for some anti-anxiety meds; you have a lot happening and may need some calm. I know it may feel like everything is happening so fast and somewhat overwhelming. Hang in there..... the initial phase of fact finding and testing is not easy but keep pushing forward. I hope you have someone going with you to your appointments and tests. It is wonderful to have that emotional support with you plus an extra set of ears to hear what the doctors are saying to you. As i recall, I remember seeing the doctors move their lips and heard them say words but some of the things they were telling me I just couldn't comprehend. It was like they were speaking a different language. Sending (((HUGS))) and lots of peace and calm. Keep us posted. We are here for you.......

Trvler

I am sorry you have to join our club. But I have great tips to help you with the MRI. You will be face down and your head will be at the end of the machine. If you take xanax, take more than your usual dose. I sometimes take .25 to sleep but I took 3x that. They will give you earplugs to cancel out the noise. I HATE earphones. They make me more claustrophobic. I like 70's disco so I asked for music. They might try to rush you. Wait until YOU are ready to go in. Do not let them rush you. Test to see if you are completely comfortable and ready before going in. Fix whatever it is that you are no comfortable with. I could tell I was going to be hot so I asked them to take my socks off. Remember, the most important thing is YOUR comfort not their schedule. You can do it. THEY don't give you the drugs.You need to have your doctor prescribe them. Have someone drive you home.

Rhiannon426

Thank you Melrosemelrose and Trvler so much for the information. I will call my family doc tomorrow and get the anti anxiety meds asap. My husband is going with me to my appts and is very supportive. He is there to listen when I can't anymore. I'll have to find an uplifting cd to take for my MRI

Trvler

You might not be able to listen to your own CD. I wasn't allowed to use anything but THEIR headphones.

Melrosemelrose

Rhiannon426- While you having your MRI, you may want to try some visualization...... imagine yourself at the beach on a warm sunny day..... you are there with your husband under an umbrella.... watching the waves gently roll in..... you hear the water rush to the shore and kids laughing as they dance in the waves and sand......

You just have to think of that special place where you find comfort and calm and hang there while the testing is happening. It helped me.

msphil

sweetie, this is a great site for info and support, and we are here for u. msphil( idc,stage 2, o/3 nodes, L mast, chemo:adriamycin, cytoxin, and rads 5 days a wk, for 7 wks, and 5 yrs on tamoxifen) and sweetie, (Praise GOD) i am a 21 yr Survivor this yr)

Rhiannon426

You are all so helpful and such an inspiration. Thank you

Mommyathome

Rhianonn,

When they start to put u in the MRI close your eyes and use visualization techniques. I also counted slow and focused on each number. Also said the abcs and thought of words that begin with each letter. Putting ur focus on something else is important. The first time they started to put me in I panicked. Then I took a deep breath and did those things above.

shoppingchicken

Hi Rhiannon. Sorry about your diagnosis. I just had my MRI done past Friday and it was not an easy experience but I got through it. Heed the member's advice(all very good advice) above and if you have xanax or ativan, take more than you usually might need. I took 50mg xanax (was scared to take more since I had to drive later on) and thought it would be enough but I think it barely did the job.

They gave me the ear plugs but the machine is LOUD. You will still hear quite a bit of buzzing and beeping. I asked for a headphone which was a mistake. With your head down and no view other than the bed sheets an inch away from your face, having the bulky headphone made me more claustrophobic. It gave me the sensation of being smothered under the blanket. After they wheeled me in, I had to ask them to wheel me out and take the headphone off. At that point, I did think I was having a panic attack. What got me back in the machine was thinking that I would have come back and do this all over again. No way No how. I was get it done!

It does take about 1/2 hour just being in the machine. I was not allowed to wiggle at all during the entire time even when the machine stops and restarts intermittently. The nurse was very specific. She said if I move, we have to restart. The beeping-buzzing noise differs from time to time. I am assuming they're taking different types of imaging? I tried to visualize calming images but that didn't really work for me. What did work was just counting from 10 to 1 slowly over and over again and breathing along. Just concentrated on the numbers and nothing else. I just said to myself "count the numbers, count the numbers, count the numbers".... I get my results either on Monday or Tuesday. Good luck to you and best wishes.

Rhiannon426

did you have to drink anything before? Or get an IV put in

shoppingchicken

Right. I did have to get IV put in for the dye. That portion was 8 minutes long and was the last portion of the scan.

I know it's stressful but follow the tips posted above and you will be fine. Good luck tomorrow.

kristenmesser

Hello there! Xanax!!!!

I had my MRI about 3 weeks ago for newly diagnosed IDC. I call my FP an hour before my procedure and said either give me Xanax or I am going to start hitting the vodka bottle quite hard! (he prescribed the Xanax). I thought it would be much worse than it actually was. Like others said, you will be face down...so you don't get the sense you are enclosed! I likened it to being face down during a massage. Ok, maybe not quite the same...but that's what I thought about. They will give you a call button that you can press if you feel you are at panic level. They communicate with you through a speaker to check in, making sure you are ok.

you can DO THIS!

Rhiannon426

I got through it thanks to Ativan and the wonderful staff at the hospital. I did get an IV put in so they could inject a dye for the end part of the MRI. I think the laying facedown makes it easier due to your face not being up against anything other than a face pillow. The only strange thing they did was they taped vitamin E capsules onto my nipples an where the cancer is. Next step surgery. That is next Thursday. Thank you all for your helpful advice and suggestions