Just diagnosed-feeling a little overwhelmed

Orlmagic,

Welcome and good luck. Know that you're not alone.

You have lots of tough decisions ahead but if you're comfortable with a decision you've made; then it's the right decision for you.

After careful consideration and talking with friends about their Mom's decision to take the holistic approach, and failed, I have scheduled my mastectomy for November 19. My family cancer history is very extensive. I am at peace with my decision.

Thank you all for your input, very much appreciated. Good luck to all here.

I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis, but you are going to get through this! This is a time to take care of yourself, allow others to show their love. I had Invasive DCIS, stage 2, estrogen +. I am coming up on my 5 year cancer free on Dec 30th. I had a lumpectomy with planned targeted radiation. Pathology found a tumor outside the ducts so I had a mastectomy on my right side and a lift on my left. I was offered, and accepted nipple sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. It was a 6 month process. I took anti estrogen therapy for as long as I could tolerate and then, with my oncologist's hesitant agreement, stopped it.

It really helped me to use this chat room. The support and care of women who have or are going through the same thing is very powerful. I also found that guided meditation helped immensely in slowing down the constant chatter in my brain, and the fear of the unknown. Meditation and music in nature saved me. I would walk for as long as I could in the woods letting the music fill me, lift me, allow my mind to become unfocused....always bringing it back to my breath or the music.

As a woman and a mother, I already know you are a warrior woman. You will rise to this challenge. You will have days when you crumble and your loved ones hold you up, then you will find your strength again.

Your surgical team will likely include a survivalist that will have free access to the guided meditation I mentioned, but there are lots of free ones online. I am holding space for you in my heart, surrounding you with healing light, asking your guardians to protect and heal you. Blessings of love and light...

I am so sorry about your diagnosis, but you & your family will get through this. Waiting for test results was very hard for me. There are other tests for HER2 so hang in there, & you will know more after your surgery. My lumpectomy & Sentinel node surgery went very well. I felt better when I had a plan. Just 1 step at a time. Prayers for you and your family

So I had an MRI on Tuesday to see if the rest of my breasts are clear of suspicious lumps, etc. Today I got the report that I need additional imaging due to a nodule in the lower outer area of my right breast...I will be going in for an ultrasound on it tomorrow morning. If the nodule is any kind of cancer, my surgeon says I might lose my right breast to mastectomy. The area where my DCIS is located is directly across on the upper inner part of the same breast... The surgeon told me it's medically irresponsible to have two lumpectomies on opposite sides of the same breast performed at the same time. She has to go back in to take a larger margin where she did my first lumpectomy, and then she'd have to open me up on the opposite side for the other one, so it'll be like doing both at once. Now I've had to push out my surgery scheduling and my radiology oncology consult for yet another week.....sigh....

At what point do I tell my adult kids? Any pointers?

Hi Emily4me,

I'm so sorry to hear you had such a "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day."

And while the doc told you it "looked like cancer," and I hope she wouldn't have said that if she didn't think she was right, it won't be definitive until you have the biopsies. Consider starting your own thread here.

Did you get a copy of the imaging reports? There will be separate ones for each test you had. From what you say, at least two of them (the Diagnostic Mammogram and the Ultrasound), but there may be more. You want a copy of each of them. You should be able to get copies. When you do, put them in order (from the first test to the last), then read them through. Don't get caught up on them the first read through. Some of them will say things like "more studies in order (ultrasound or biopsies)." Look for BIRAD scores.

Note that you won't find a BIRADs score of "6" (cancer confirmed by biopsy) because you haven't had a biopsy. Cancer has not yet been confirmed!!! There is still a chance that it won't be. Even BIRAD scores of "5" can turn out (once there's a biopsy) not to have been cancer.

Hang in there!

LisaAlissa

Thank you guys for taking the time to address my concerns.I am a little more calm today and LisaAlissa your'r right,I haven't been diagnosed yet.So I am going to try to enjoy not knowing this week before I find out for sure because if my life changes forever after a positive diagnosis I will miss out on this time of ignorant bliss and if it turns out to be negative then I would have been freaking out for nothing.I tend to not want to know the bad things in life for self preservation..lol.

Smurfette26 I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis.Thank you for sharing your experience with me

 Citrinetiff ....It was a no-brainer for me because I was diagnosed twice, once in 2004 and then 2013.

In 2004 it was on my left side...have never had any heart issues since that time. I was worried though.

I'm only a couple of months into my breast cancer journey but can help with at least one of your questions orlmagic.

HER2 positive breast cancer is more aggressive so hoping you are negative.

Hormone receptive cancers respond better to hormone therapy I believe. The more receptive the better the response.

I don't know much about staging but I'm sure there is information on here. From what I understand staging takes in the tumour size and node involvement among other things.

I know cancers are graded from 1 to 3. One being low grade, three being the most aggressive.

Have a list of questions written to ask your Oncologist.

Is your cancer ductal or lobular?

Good luck with it all. Hugs Donna.

Has anyone heard from cjafarm, she was scheduled for surgery last week?

Good luck Smurfette26 hope your chemotherapy goes smoothly for you

Thank you tikkasmom...I am so scared of it spreading before I get to surgery.. .I appreciate your kind words...still can't believe this is my lifs now...ow do you know what stage you have?

I'm scared too orlmagic but being brave for my family. Be glad when this is behind me. Good luck to all the brave sisters here...