Hi all, new member to the community and newly diagnosed...

Hi Robbie,

I understand wanting answers quickly. I was diagnosed March 24th after going in for a routine mammo on the 20th and going back on the 23rd for a follow up, then an ultrasound, then the biopsy. I am only 45 years old. I felt nothing. It was a shocker. That weekend I was chaperoning middle school kids on their trip to Disneyland for a music festival. Bad timing? It was actually the best timing because it took my mind off of things quite a bit.

I have DCIS stage 1. I had surgery May 1st and am now waiting on genetic test results and some other test results to determine the next step in my treatment here. They should have told you how large the mass is and what stage it's in and also whether or not it appears to have spread. If they haven't, then call them and find out! Mine was not spreading quickly so I knew I had a bit of time to make my decision. One week later I went to the breast cancer care clinic held at Kaiser and got my questions answered. So first thing I would suggest is that you find out how fast it's growing. If it was at a late stage and it was growing rapidly they would move quickly on it. My cancer is gone now. Margins clear, lymph nodes negative. I am very lucky. And rest assured the shock is normal. The worrying is normal. I advise you to take it one step at a time. That's how I am dealing with it.

Lorrie

I would ask your Primary Care Doc for the pathology report. And request/keep copies of ALL reports form here on out. I can't tell you how many times I had to help docs/surgeons, etc remember my own specific diagnosis! They see so many patients and it can be easy for them to forget whether you are premenopausal/post, etc. I learned SO much info on this site and was able to ask intelligent questions of the various docs I had to go through.

Also, although there is "standard of care" , there are many options that are your choice to make...not the doctor's. From reconstruction (lumpectomy, nipple sparing, skin sparing, implants, tram flap, etc) to post surgery treatment (diff types/methods of radiation, chemo, oncotype tests, mammoprint tests etc), So educate yourself and ask questions!!

Also, regarding the wait. Yes it's hard. But please remember that your cancer has probably been growing for quite awhile. My tumor was originally grade 3 and considered on the aggressive side and I was "young" (43), but I still waited two months between diagnosis and surgery (mainly waiting for the breast surgeon and plastic surgeon's schedules to match up as I wanted them to work together). I actually ended up not cancelling a planned trip to Phoenix to visit a friend during that waiting time. I think it also gave me a chance to "wrap my head around" the whole cancer diagnosis and do tons of research. It can be such a surreal experience, especially when it feels like you are being thrown on the "cancer train" and it's going 100mph before you can blink an eye and there is no way to get off! So my advice would be to embrace this horrible waiting game and use it to research and let it all soak in a bit before you start making some very tough decisions.

p.s. I'm almost 5 years out and doing great!

I, too, get my care at/through VA.

I have somewhere I have to get to now so no time to write much but will tonight. If you want to read about my experiences with VA, I posted in the Not Diagnosed But Worried forum a day or 2 ago in the 'Could it an Infection? Veteran who needs help!!!" thread. It's been a day or 2 so you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it if you want to.