Scared out of my mind

Charliesweet,  Do you have a significant other, spouse, friend, neighbor, work or church group for support?  You are going to need emotional and physical support to get through this.  When I called the America Cancer Society to find out where I could get a wig, they asked if I would like to talk with a survivor for emotional support.  When I called ACS to schedule a "look good, feel better" class, they asked if I needed a ride.  Now is the time to reach out.

I am retired and spend much of my time on a computer.  This website has been a god send--first for information that has been cleared through experts--those pages before you get to the boards and chat rooms.  My Surgeon explained my pathology using a Breastcancer.org phamplet. 

But more important is what I have learned from the brave, smart, knowledgeable women who write the discussion boards.  Those sisters, who, like me start Chemo in September are like a support network.  Those who started in August, July and even last year left a path of knowledge so very helpful.  None of us wanted into this club, but now that we are here, we are on a team to get us all through.  Hugs, hugs, hugs.  C.

{{{Charliestweetie}}}, so sorry you have joined us.  We all know how scary it is to get that damned call. 

You'll probably hear this advice a lot:  

First, breathe.  In through the mouth, out through the nose.   It's crazy, but the stress is intense (as you know) and it's so easy to forget to just breeeeeeaaaaathe .....

Write down your questions, and bring somebody with you to doctor appts.   You're going to be flooded with information and it's very hard to absorb it all.

YOU are in charge of who you tell, and when.   This is a time to care for yourself first, and then worry about others. 

Don't let yourself be rushed into any decisions.  Sometimes doctors have a way of making us feel pressured to choose a course of action immediately.  You will need time to process everything that's going on.

Of course, this site is a wealth of information.  But it's also good to take a break from it, to let yourself absorb what's going on.

I found chemo, rads and now the hormonal therapy all to be much easier than I expected.  Your health care team will work hard to make you comfortable.  If they don't, fire them! :-) 

Same thing happened to me. I was supposed to be stage 2 with no nodes and turned out to be stage 3C with tons of nodes not picked up on MRI or Ultrasound. I cried nearly every day for about six months. But now I'm about nine months out and feeling great. Chemo is hard, I won't lie. But it is totally doable! Read the thread started by Many called Long Term Survival with Positive Nodes. You will see that many women do fine. My oncs have told me I have a better than 50% chance of being cured, even with all my positive nodes. And my nodes were busting open with cancer. I can't promise you everything will be okay. But you gotta believe it will be!

Here are just some ideas:

Do chemo. Consider fasting during chemo. (Google it.)

Do radiation.

Do hormonal drugs.

Take baby aspirin.

Take metformin.

Take simvastatin.

Eat lots of broccoli and cauliflower.

Exercise every day.

Drink green tea. 

Start reading about clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov. If there is a clinical trial you are interested in, contact the nearest trial site to you and make an appointment. If you're onc doesn't offer it, it doesn't matter. You can join a trial at a different hospital.

Where are you located? 

You can do this!

TS 

Charlie...sending you a big hug! Yes, ask for some Xanax or Ativan to help you through these uncertain days! It is very overwhelming. Write down all your questions before you see each Dr. Ask for copies of all reports, pathology, lab. I always ask for disk of all pet, ct or MRI scans plus the written report. Take someone with you if you can...you won't be able to remember it all!

You are going to find out that you are stronger than you ever realized! You can do this, and we will all be here to help whenever you need us.

(((((Charlie)))))