Possible breast cancer - what to expect, how quickly will treatment start?

[MerchedBeca]

I've been supporting my DM while she's been having tests at the local hospital. The scans found a suspicious lump in her breast and under her arm. They took a biopsy this week just gone and she's been asked in to discuss the results and what next, this week.

She's coping with it by not talking about it or thinking things through, which I can totally understand.

A friend is going to look after my two DC for a night so I can travel to her town to be there for the appointment.

What do you think the likelyhood is of them taking her in for treatment there and then? Or the next day? I have currently childcare sorted so I can attend the appointment with her, stay the night but at the moment I would need to leave the following morning. Is this realistic? Should I be trying to get my kids looked after for a few days in case she has to go in?

Am I right in thinking that if the cancer has spread (which is a possibility as the scan showed there might be something in her armpit and she hasn't had a mammogram in years) then they may want to treat her ASAP?

Hopefully the results will come back clear and all will be fine. But I have to think through logistics of the DC if she's taken in straight away.

DP is away for work until the end of next week, I have no family locally I can call on for help. From next week it will be easier as DP will be back home.

Hopeful bump...

It’s really hard to say. It depends so much on the type of cancer, the spread. Sometimes teams will want to do surgery first, sometimes chemo then surgery. It’s not super likely that she will be in the same/next day for treatment.

as it’s your DM I’m guessing she’s post-menopausal which can sometimes be good news. It means that it’s not likely to be one of the aggressive hormone-fed cancers that affect younger women.

not super helpful, and I’m sorry you’re going through this. All you can do is see what they say.

My mum had breast cancer pre pandemic. She started radiotherapy treatment as an outpatient very quickly (if I remember correctly within a week) but she wasn’t kept in hospital at all. Treatments vary depending on the individual so I can’t be any more helpful I’m afraid. I sincerely hope that it turns out all clear.

You wont know anything until you get the results. I had a M4 result from the breast clinic after mamogram, ultrasound etc and had several biopsies, they said it was 50/50 and it all came back clear.

I worked out sick leave entitlement, finances, thought about preparing ds starting uni this year etc etc before the all clear result so know exactly how you are feeling about trying to prepare while waiting, but this is a rollercoaster you have little control over. Hope you get good news next week and can get off the ride.

Thanks for the replies.

If they want her in to discuss results on Wednesday, and if she does need urgent treatment, do you think it's possible they might want her in hospital immediately - e.g. Thursday or Friday?

Thank goodness for your clear results. I hope my mum gets the same.

I really hope the news isn’t bad, it’s horrible waiting x

My mum had this earlier this year - at the appointment to discuss results (when they confirmed it was cancer) it was then 3 weeks until surgery. She had to have a CT scan and some other tests as an outpatient first. Then a month after surgery when fully recovered a course of radiotherapy.

I live a few hours away so tried to go as much as I could - the time she needed help the most was post surgery, the incision to remove her lymph nodes under her arm caused a fair bit of discomfort so needed help with hair washing and getting dressed for a few days.

If cancer is confirmed chances of being admitted same week are verging on zero (I would say zero really). They may also want another scan before finalising treatment. The only reason to be in overnight would be surgery (and often that is not over night - I was in overnight as surgery was later in the day) and typically there is wait of at least a week - maybe even a month. Chemo is in a day unit (typically every 3 weeks - could be weekly, depending), radiotherapy is usually a set of daily visits.

Depending on the exact diagnosis (there are a few subtype options for breast cancer) they may not do surgery first (I had chemo first for example).

You might want to hold your availability for when your DM needs it most, e.g. collecting from surgery, and if taking/fetching from first chemo.

There is a lot of waiting around involved in this process I'm afraid - waiting for tests, waiting for appointments. If it is cancer though, it helps, emotionally, to get the actual plan.

Thanks everyone this is useful info.