Newly diagnosed and full of questions

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  • KLJ
    KLJ Member Posts: 284
    edited January 2014

    Hello Vwatts. We are just about in the same place. You are about one week ahead of me. I have my first appt. with a surgeon one week from today. Other than knowing that my biopsies came back as positive for IDC and DCIS I know nothing more. I was living in FL when I was diagnosed on Dec. 12 and am now living in CA. My husbands work transferred us so I have had to start all over and could not get an appt. until the 22nd. I have the same fears of the unknown and wonder if the pain in my shoulder has something to do with all of this. I think your plan of seeing a counselor is a great one. I may look for one myself. I wish you all the best tomorrow and please keep us posted. We all need encouragement and this is the perfect place to find it!

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  • edwards750
    edwards750 Member Posts: 3,761
    edited January 2014

    vwatts - of course you are scared - we can all relate to that. No matter what stage or grade you are we are all still branded with the C word. Having said that the DX and treatment plans for BC have improved dramatically and it is no longer the death sentence. Blood in your urine could be a result of multiple causes and ditto with what you are feeling in your throat. Its normal once you get THE news you start thinking every ache and pain is cancer related. You are in a place where you simply don't know enough...yet and that is scary in and of itself. We all definitely feel your pain emotionally and physically. There are no quick fixes for dealing with the waiting period - it is the hardest time - except try and keep as busy as you can so you don't dwell on the unknown. I too believe it is in God's hands so keep the prayers going; we will too. Its very difficult to keep your game face on for your family so lots of women come hear to seek advice and vent. It is a virtual lifeline. I am 3 years out from my DX which was Stage 2, Grade 1. I didn't have chemo but I had 33 RADS treatments and currently on Tamoxifen. It seems like light years ago since I got THE call but I got through it as have the ladies on this website and you will too. So keep the faith and keep us posted. Diane

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  • GrinAndBearIt
    GrinAndBearIt Member Posts: 33
    edited January 2014

    Dear Phillygurl44,

    I had the same exact diagnosis as you 6.5 years ago.  I went to Dr. Susan Domcheck at the University of Pennsylvania, Rena Rowan Breast Cancer Center.  Thank God I did, she saved my life.  She is very knowledgeable about triple negative breast cancer.

    I chose a double mastectomy with an immediate reconstruction using the fat from my belly.  The breasts look beautiful today.  I am 55-years-old. I am also BRCA1 positive (Gene type).

    Triple negative means that you do not have receptors on your cancer cells.  This limits the type of chemotherapies they will use on you.  Don't worry, there are many more.  The stage means the size of your tumor.  You statistically have an 85 percent chance of survival at this point. (Everybody is different in real life). They can increase that to 95 percent with surgery and chemo/radiation.  I am now up to a 95 percent chance of survival!  Good odds.

    Get your treatment as quickly as you can.  There is a small window of opportunity to fix this and then the window closes.

    Best wishes to you and get aggressive with your cancer.  Remember: this too shall pass and you will be on the other side of this disease faster than you think!~

    Much love,
    GABI

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  • redlessi
    redlessi Member Posts: 27
    edited January 2014

    Philly, hang in there. I am learning so much in this forum. 

    midnight1327

    Wow you are the first post I saw with similar dx as mine that did not have chemo. I am having a hard time with feeling guilty because I dont want chemo. My MO could not give a definitive recommendation, she said its totally up to me as my oncotype was in the grey area. How easy was it for you to make the decision?

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