Diagnosis this morning

santabarbarian

sin28, I am on Obamacare (CA) and have been very well treated. I am even getting proton radiation, out of state, and they worked with my insurance and reduced my copay a lot. I do have the"gold" plan because I had some paranoia about an upcoming colonoscopy when I had to choose, and it was only about ~1500 more for the year with lower copays. (That was a stroke of luck because though colonoscopy was fine, 6 months later I discovered I had BC!)

Re 2nd opinions: I had TNBC. I had my chemo *prior* to surgery. I notice others on the site who did not. My MO and my BS both insisted this order was better, since it was already present in a node, and when you do chemo first, you can see whether or not the tumor is responding to the chemo, and can switch chemos if it is not working. My MO also gave me a less-typical chemo than what most others on this site get... In both these choices, he was right. I was very lucky but I had great care, too.

santabarbarian

sin28, I am on Obamacare (CA) and have been very well treated. I am even getting proton radiation, out of state, and they worked with my insurance and reduced my copay a lot. I do have the"gold" plan because I had some paranoia about an upcoming colonoscopy when I had to choose, and it was only about ~1500 more for the year with lower copays. (That was a stroke of luck because though colonoscopy was fine, 6 months later I discovered I had BC!)

Re 2nd opinions: I had TNBC. I had my chemo *prior* to surgery. I notice others on the site who did not. My MO and my BS both insisted this order was better, since it was already present in a node, and when you do chemo first, you can see whether or not the tumor is responding to the chemo, and can switch chemos if it is not working. My MO also gave me a less-typical chemo than what most others on this site get... In both these choices, he was right. I was very lucky but I had great care, too.

Elderberry

I had my core biopsy on March 6, got the diagnosis on March 8 and saw the surgeon today (March 15) It is Stage III and I was too afraid to ask how big, because the lump feels huge. I am HER2-positive and a good candidate for neoadjuvant therapy. I will see the oncologist in the next week or so. The waiting was the worse. I am anxious to just get on with it and be out the other side. I have had much love and support from friends. Lean on your friends. There are so many survivors out there. You'll be one

maybish

Finally saw the oncologist yesterday. I'm pretty terrified honestly. He wants to start chemo next Wednesday. Gotta work on getting a port put in and my heart tested. He said my cancer is at stage 2a. Originally we thought stage 1. Said theres 2 lymph nodes involved. One with a mass that's 2.2cm the other is 3.1cm. The rest of my CT scan I had was clear. I'll be having chemo with 2 different meds first. They start with A and C. He said 4 rounds of that then 12 weeks once a week of Taxol. Then surgery. Now I gotta see what work can do for me after 12 weeks of fmla. Because I'm going to need lots more time off!

santabarbarian

2a is still a very early stage. I am so glad you are getting rapidly into treatment. I hope it kills those tumors and they melt away! Good luck!!

CherylFl

Yes 2nd opinions on pathology are a good idea. If you go on Johns Hopkins or MD Andersons web sites they 

talk about the cases that they review of persons who's pathology report incorrectly diagnosed them.

One pathologist her father from Wisconsin was diagnosed with lung cancer about to have surgery and it was actually just a fungal infection!!!!!

You may see a picture where at Johns Hopkins they have double headed microscopes so you are getting the review of 2 pathologist not just one which is often the case at local labs. 

msphil

hello sweetie cry take a breath it s ok to do this after diagnosis like we all here have been thru. But you can get thru this once treatment plan in effect things will ease up a little. You have come to the right place for help for an ear we are here for you we know what its like. But I'm here to encourage you with Hope sweetie this yr I am Praise God a 25yr Survivor. Hope and PosItive thinking got me thru. Hang in there. Come here and read the postings of us. msphil idc stage2 0/3 nodes 3mo chemo before and after Lmast then got married was planning at diagnosis our 2nd then 7wks rads and 5yrs on Tamoxifen.

lola12

Maybish, I had the exact same diagnosis as you and yesterday I had my 9th year mammogram and I am fine. This is overwhelming right now and it indeed is the hardest part after knowing it is cancer. The wait is hard, I am not going to sugar coat it. But, from my experience and from your post, I can tell you three things.

1) Repeat the doctors words and believe them- Its small, it's early and it's treatable. You got this.

2) Wait for the results -at this point your know it is small and it is treatable- you just need to know specifics about it to treat it the best way.

3) Please don't make my mistake-stay off the internet. On the day I was diagnosed, my doctor told me to stay off the internet because treatment statistics and protocols are much much much improved over an article from even a few years ago. She also said that most women have fought their cancer and are back to work and living life, some posts on discussion boards are those that have extreme cases, unusual cases, etc. We are needy when first diagnosed but please understand that while this board is wonderful, it can also be intimidating.

I dont know if this helps, but it is how I handled it the best I could. I am here if you want to chat- truly same diagnosis- 9 years later.

You got this.

Lola

beep7bop

Hi, how are things going? I am back at the waiting game another biopsy. Had ultrasound this morning I have a new mass. Scared but still kicking.