Absolutely bricking it biopsy!

[PaperbackWrighter]

Absolutely terrified about getting breast biopsy results tomorrow at consultant appt! Told by radiologist it looked ominous at ultrasound. Just need my hand held! 🥺

@bewilderedhedgehog The surgical stockings in the past few days' heat sound awful! Do the hospital supply these or do we need to buy these along with new bras (I am going to struggle wearing one in bed too and off to get some Sloggis tomorrow!)

Thank you @ArnieCh for your good wishes and great to hear how well you are doing - it's so heartening and inspiring to hear from folks who've been there, done that and never done it again!

@dancingwhilstfacingthemusic oh help exercises! I'm bad enough at doing basic physio ones. But I will need to do these after my op (next Wednesday) too.

@Edenvale I'm sorry things have been really tough, though glad you have such lovely radiotherapy staff. Thanks for the recommendation for Linking Lobular Ladies - found some really helpful stuff there.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekends xxx

@PaperbackWrighter
The stockings are awful in the heat. I can't think of anything positive to say except that I know I must wear them so am just looking forward to Tuesday when I can stop!! They gave me 2 pairs in the hospital so I have one on and one off. I googled and you can get nicer ones on line, but as it's only for 10 days I decided not to spend the money!

@ArnieCh
Thank you for your positive story - as you say it must have been full on. Can I ask what monitoring you have had over the years please? Am interested to understand how frequently they are likely to monitor, and how that part has been for you?

@Edenvale
Hope you have had a better day today after a really difficult week, and are able to relax tomorrow before your next week of radiotherapy

@dancingwhilstfacingthemusic
I start the advanced exercises tomorrow! So far I think I have good movement in my arm and shoulder which is a relief. I do keep prodding my left breast though which has become a bad habit - I think it's to protect it from further hurt but I have to stop before I go back to work on Tuesday. Did they say how long before we can wear underwired bras again? I forgot to ask as I was focused on the surgery not the after surgery period....

It is six weeks for the non wired bras I think. I’ll go and get fitted with one once everything is settled down from surgery, just in case my size has slightly altered. I already have one and brought a bra extender from bravissimo to make it comfy. I bought my surgery bra from bravissimo and the style I have they discounted the vat as it counted as a medical item.

you can claim free prescriptions - ask your gp surgery or breast nurse to complete the form for you.

Hope the lead up to work is going well. I start back on Tuesday although have quite a quiet job, where I see a couple of clients per week and otherwise work in my office. I would find it hard being in a busier job and on my feet - pretty tired at present.

@bewilderedhedgehog, I had a fair few appointments but mostly reconstructive due opting to have an implant, but that takes a couple of ops until you reach full silicon (!). A year after treatment the surgeon offered an uplift on the remaining breast to even them up (think perky implant v mid-40's normal sag..). I persuaded her into an elective mastectomy - partly pragmatic (they'd match!), but also to do whatever I could to reduce the risk of recurrence. I loved my surgeon though and found it reassuring every time I saw her, so all the reconstructive appointments were reassuring. Apart from that I had a post treatment CT to check for any spread. Then 5 years of Tamoxifen turned into 10. Six monthly checks slowly faded to annual check ups. I'm now fully discharged and not on any drugs other than vitamin D (chemo pushed me into a chemically induced menopause at 44, so vit D to protect my bones).

Just thinking back, it surprised me but I found the post treatment treadmill tricky. While you're in the system it's a slog but you're doing something. Once the treatment's done it feels a bit lonely. Paranoia can kick in and every ache made me worry it was recurrence. That's got a lot easier over the years, but I still worry sometimes. I think most women find that tricky though. Definitely it takes a woman who've been through it really understand. Try and make links with others as you go. It really did help me. Ask me anything you want to, but good luck!

Reading back over threads I’m on and hoping everyone else on them is buggering on ok.

I’m facing a mastectomy and probably reconstruction followed by chemo. I have to decide whether to go flat or have an implant.

@ArnieCh can you tell me more about what you mean by taking a couple of ops until full silicon? Did you have the reconstruction and then a double mastectomy later?

dancingwhilstfacingthemusic, waving hello! I'm sorry you're going through all of this. I thought about going flat too, but in my case the surgeon thought the implant stretching the skin might help with radiation (my cancer was very close to the skin surface). She put the saline implant in during the mastectomy op, so I woke up with it in. Obviously that's curious as you have the shape of a breast still. I quite liked that though, as it was a bit less of a shock. The implant includes a port (placed under the skin, but I could feel it if I touched the skin). Post op they then use the port to slowly fill the implant with more saline until it's the right shape (that takes place in increments over a few weeks post mastectomy). I went onto chemo, then radiation and kept the saline through treatment/ rads, etc, but then down the line had another op to replace it with the more permanent silicone one (no port with that, so that gets taken out at that point too). You have to factor in that silicone ones don't last forever. Having said that I still have both of mine 14 years on. I'm going to get them checked soon though as I think one's beginning to fail.

It is undeniably a sod to need another op. In my case it was more than one as I had my mastectomies a year apart (second one elective). The implant ops are relatively routine though and I found them easy to recover from. Day case surgery and I was up and about working within a couple of days. I can't say implants are like having my old breasts as they're not, but I do like having the shape. My DH would have been fine if I'd gone flat chested, but he likes them too and says they're quite natural to touch. One major plus is that I don't wear a bra most of the time - no need to as my implants are so pert!

If you do go with implants, ask them about nipples. I still don't have any. Possibly they offer nipple reconstruction at the same time as implants now. I was told I could have nipples created, but it would have meant another op so I decided to do without. Feel free to ask me anything, but double check anything I say with your team - mine were 14 years ago now and things might have changed.

I'm new to this rodeo.

Had my mammogram and ultrasound two weeks ago where it was confirmed likely cancer.

Had my consultants appointment on Tuesday which confirmed it.

At that point was told it's likely I'd have a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy, pending outstanding results.
I left the hospital as high as a kite thinking I've got this!

Had my debrief with my cancer nurse this morning who went into what was outstanding.
Still waiting for Her2 (?) results that might change everything.

Luckily I have my MRI tomorrow and my follow up consultant's appointment on the 3rd so not too long a wait.

So now I'm left thinking it could be something or nothing 😢

Just want this rollercoaster to stop so I can get off this shitty ride!

@drivinmecrazy I wondered how things were going for you. This really is the ride noone wants to be on. I hope your news is more straightforward than mine, although I do feel forewarned and forearmed to some extent with these threads. I think I see you on the general cancer support thread? If not, it's a good one to join. My head is all over the place today!

@ArnieCh that is the information I needed to read. Thank you. We'll see what's updated with that treatment once I see my surgeon next week to discuss options... I realised that they fail after a while and am cautious about any further ops down the line. However, they're only taking off one side and I understand that the weight on the other can be problematic for musculature and I do actually like to have a cleavage! Good to hear also about up and about down the line. This is the gift that keeps on giving. I'm currently working on the basis that I'll have to close my business for a year due to everything and any opportunities to start up sooner/ change course will be a bonus.

dancingwhilstfacingthemusic good luck with your surgeon consult. I've remembered something else, but my implant/ new breast was radically different to my remaining breast, so round and pert in contrast to my still good, but 40-something post breast feeding, etc, remaining breast. So.. it's worth asking your surgeon how they'd approach that. Mine offered to do a breast lift on my remaining breast to even them up. She said she'd do that at the same time as she swapped the saline for a silicon implant. In the end, I pushed for an elective mastectomy so ended up with another implant. (NB: I decided on an elective mastectomy as in my case it gave better odds of no recurrence. That's not the same for everyone though.) I know non of this is at all amusing - especially for you in the midst of it all, but I did have a bit of a laugh when I realised that basically I was getting cosmetic surgery on the NHS.

@ArnieCh thankyou. This is incredibly helpful. Messaging keeps changing as they find out more but currently they’re not advising bilateral mastectomy work altho have said that a lift of one down the line to match is possible. They’re currently named Pinky and Perky after good work from the lumpectomy.

like you, I had a wry laugh that one of the options is basically a tummy tuck to take fat from the stomach to use instead of an implant. As a 10-hour much more major op, that’s a no. I don’t know how people do it but respect their right to choose.

dancingwhilstfacingthemusic, I felt similarly about reconstruction. Too big an op for me after the madness of cancer. Obviously lots do it though and get good results. Good luck for all that's ahead. None of it's easy, but just keep going. The other side awaits! x

I was exactly where you are a couple of weeks ago. I was so convinced I had breast cancer I was looking at wigs online! I had had skin cancer two years ago and it felt like the same scenario. About an hour before I was leaving the house the hospital rang me and told me it was benign. I’m not saying that they will necessarily phone you, all hospitals are different. But if I had been using the bus I would already have been on it!

Oops this post was on active threads so I thought it was new! Sorry you didn’t have the same outcome, as I mentioned I had a melanoma two years ago on my hand (make sure you reapply Factor 50 after washing your hands folks). I had a wide excision and skin graft and it wasn’t pleasant but saved my life. I wish you all the best.

Just catching up with this thread after a last hurrah weekend away to celebrate my birthday before the shit hits the fan . I go to get my treatment plan today but already know I’m facing mastectomy as I have multifocal and the tests have come back ER/PR- and HER2+ so chemo is on the cards .
I’ve already decided that I don’t want a reconstruction because it’s major, hours long surgery and for me it’s too risky as I have a raft of health problems including a recently diagnosed major heart problem which will require OH surgery at some point , so I feel for me a missing boob is the least of my worries ..
it’s a hard decision to make .. but don’t feel rushed into anything .. the option if a later reconstruction is always there too I believe at some point

@Rockschooldropout glad you got away and sorry you’re facing such a pile of poo.
Hope the meeting goes well. Mine is tomorrow. Like you, I’m facing mastectomy and chemo altho in the opposite as + for hormones and her-

I’m hoping to get away before my op and am working like the clappers to get a couple of jobs in before I have to close my business.

It’s so shit isn’t it 😭 I’m self employed too so I’ll work until I start treatment but as I know I’m her2 now I think it will be soon , I was determined I was going to have my birthday weekend away !
Gutted though that I’d bought tickets to see Kasabian in Nov , was taking my teen daughter but I’ll get another family member to go with her .. 😞
it feels like cancer just sweeps along and fucks everything up doesn’t it .. we can only take each chunk at a time and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel

This is one of the things I'm struggling with (among many!) is not being able to plan with any certainty 😢

Totally get this and waiting on dates tomorrow to see if we can finally book a short UK family holiday. I'm also wondering how many "last clients" I can fit in but can't plan until I know.

I had to go for my second surgery (unexpectedly) the weekend before I was due to take DS2 to a London show. In the end, his best mate went with him (they're adults) and they had a great time. I have tickets for something overseas for him for his 25th birthday next spring and am hoping to be able to take him with perhaps a planned break in treatment. Otherwise DH will be drafted in.

You're absolutely right. One of the biggest impacts is the effects on others. We lost dad a few weeks ago and I would so like to be taking mum away, or even just visiting her more, rather than an elderly widow having to worry about her only daughter going through this.

Rollercoaster. Hugs all round and we will, I hope, celebrate small steps taken and hopefully good news after all of this crap. Absolutely one step at a time. The big picture is overwhelming.