Please help me wrap my head around that

You will work through it but it will take time. It's normal to feel overwhelmed and sad, and worried. Allow yourself the grace to process what's going on. It's ok to be upset and I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with being upset in front of family. It will sap more of your energy to pretend that you are strong and ok. It's cancer, it's ok to not be ok.

Eventually you will be on the other side looking back on this, though it's hard to believe. You will probably have a rough year, but you will get through it. Chances are pretty good that you won't be gone in two years like you are imagining!!!

I was 38 at diagnosis (39 now) and my daughter had just turned 4. I also work full time. I didn't think I would get through the last year but I did. Life has a way of moving forward. You will go back to the way it was in many ways probably but will also be very changed in other ways. If anything you don't worry as much about the small stuff.

Take a deep breath, cry, and hug that little one tight. It's going to be ok.

Oh I am so sorry. Yes, all of us go through the same feelings; a breast cancer diagnosis is so surprising and scary. You will work through this, you will be sad and emotional at times, but you won't die. As GB wrote, soon you will be looking at this in the rear view mirror although that may seem impossible now.

No nodal involvement is great, being ER + and PR + means Tamoxifen or an AI drug will do a lot for you. When you are feeling stronger, let us know what your next step is and meanwhile I like your doctor's attitude. Hugs and best wishes to you.

Facing this diagnosis, has a way of making you take a hard look at your lifestyle and choices. If anything, I am living a better life, taking in every moment and not just going through motions. I feel emotions on a deeper level and have a greater appreciation for the life I have.

I searched for long-term survivor stories from as many post BC'ers as I could on this website, especially those who had a worse dx than what I thought I had. I remembered that Dr. Google isn't much of a doctor, and that the best research is going to come from .gov, .org and other non-profit sites, and that there's a wealth of credible information and research links here. If you do run across scary stats, think of this: many of them are from a small sample of women and or are many years old. Since I'm an academic, I couldn't not research my dx, but I did remember how long it takes for real research to be completed, the results analyzed, the stats published. I looked for the most current, credible research, and when necessary printed out the article and took it to my oncologist.

In the meantime I knew I could keep taking care of myself by choosing actions I knew would help me, which were mainly lifestyle choices-diet, exercise, some supplements that seem to help protect us. I looked at my excisional biopsy as getting all of the cancer out of me, and that chemo was just an extra sweep. There are millions of women who have had a b.c. dx and are living years, decades, after that dx. Many of them aren't even visiting these boards anymore because they are well, and have moved on with their lives.

I was able to work through 5 months of chemo because of my schedule. It wasn't that bad although I was scared just like you at first. Just try to get through each appt, chemo or otherwise, take someone with you who can take notes, ask the doctors to speak slowly to you and to remember you aren't a medical person. And remember you have hired all of your medical team to take care of you. They are working for you, not the other way around. Don't ever let them rush you or if your intuition tells you that you need something answered, then ask them--push if necessary.

I feel most of where our fears come from are because of complete loss of control over our bodies and our lives (that's how we feel). Doing the above helped me take back a lot of my power.

Hugs

Claire in AZ