Likely breast cancer after ultrasound - thread 4

[spartanrunnergirl]

Hi all!

Thought I’d start thread 4. I’ll put links to the previous threads below.

Welcome.

The original thread was started after I had a mammogram recall and was told at the ultrasound that it was likely I had breast cancer - before biopsies were taken, and before I was ready to hear that (if you are ever ready to hear that).

Three full threads later we are still sharing support, experiences, and advice. We’ve celebrated breast cancer wins and thrown virtual hugs around those who’ve needed it. (We’ve all needed it 💗)

This is a hugely kind and caring bit of Mumsnet - where we’ve all felt that awful fear waiting for scans, tests, results, or with an early and uncertain breast cancer diagnosis.

You are not alone.

This is the awful club - full of awesome women💗

ER and PR scores are oestrogen and progesterone positive, so they are the hormones driving the cancer.

This is a good thing as it’s easier to treat hormone positive cancers with hormone blockers. Grade 2 isn’t as aggressive as grade 3.

I had grade 2, stage 2 ER/PR positive and HER2 positive cancer. HER2 positive is more aggressive so (15 years ago) Herceptin was added to the treatment (a different version of Herceptin is offered now which is more effective). I’m here and healthy 15 years later.

Any recommendations for non wired bras? I've not had my surgery yet but bought a couple of different ones and they keep bulging at the sides without the wires to support them.

Ìt might be a wise idea to locate a specialist bra shop that stocks a range of masectomy bra and post surgical bra makes as they tend to be the ones with the real in depth knowledge of breast cancer, impacts various treatments and what you support you really need in a bra.

I travelled for an hour and a half by motorway to embrace in Worcester in sheer dispair. It is an independent lingerie shop, after I discovered what I had thought was just posh lingerie in the window was in fact posh looking and carefully designed bras to support woman dealing with breast cancer. Being able to take my time, be assisted by a lady who knewwhatit would need and being able to try on a range of different makes led to me walking out with a very comfy and very supportive bra. Showed my BCNs and they were very impressed with the design as it meets my needs (uber sensitive skin, allergy to latex and exposed elasticine made much worse by chemo plus I needed a good supportive post surgical bra for single flat masectomy plus auxillary node clearance hence issues with standard shop available post surgery bras)

there are cheaper makes out there but if they are not working for you or you need something to help with a specific issue try looking for independents near you who specialise in stocking masectomy AND post surgical bras. They are the ones who can arrange a face to face fitting of a range of makes. You can also check out the main manufacturers stockists lists, look for the ones who stock a range of makes as well as the named brand.

Hi all! Had my recall appointment today and they have found a small area of calcification. I had the biopsy today and get results next Wednesday. It sounds as if it will be caught very early if it’s bad news so hopefully won’t be too awful. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed 🤞

Good luck @DoctorMartin and try to keep away from google if you can, waiting is horrendous but everything crossed for you.

Last radiotherapy today. Not sure how to feel about it. The boob is fine but the rest of me is exhausted.

@cancerycaramelbear

Hope it goes well.

I had my last chemo a month ago, whilst its nice not to have so many appointments, I did at least feel like 'something was being done'. Taking daily medication doesnt quite feel the same.
I have a scan on Sunday so will know in a few weeks if chemo has worked. But I've found this post treatment phase quite discombobulating.
I feel like my body and mind are totally wrecked but you are left to stumble your way through it.

Some of my side effects are receding, my hair is growing, but the fatigue is something else.
I read something interesting this week that unlike most other cancers, breast cancers can have no obvious symptoms, unless you are checking yourself and find a lump or a rash. So you can feel perfectly healthy when you get a diagnosis. I certainly felt fine until I started chemo. Which is also quite discombobulating.
In fact the whole thing is totally discombobulating.

@cancerycaramelbear good luck. I’m on day 4 and they gave me flamigel yesterday because the scar is really sore. boob actually feels numb though. Absolutely wiped out today, crohns symptoms have flared up to add to the fun.

Just sorting a doc note for work at the moment, have been doing 9-1 for the last few weeks, but I’m so overtired I’ve had to stop myself from telling colleagues to F off for the last few days!

Thank you. I feel so odd about it. I am already taking letrozole and will start ribociclib later in the year. So, I don’t feel ‘done’. Like you @Ted27, I feel my body and mind are wrecked. The NHS is great at treating the cancer, but then you feel left to pick up the pieces on your own. I’m also dealing with hideous fatigue, I feel so exhausted, a lot of that is due to my autoimmune condition. I still have a degree of cording, my chronic pain issue (which was previously managed ok) is in full flare. I’m not sleeping well, so hoping to tackle that first with an online CBT programme called Sleepwise. I’m off work for a while yet, so now I have to fight the pressure to feel ‘ready’ to go back. However, today does mark an ending of some kind, so I should reflect on getting through the horrible chemo phase and being able to have more control over my life.

@cancerycaramelbear

The fatigue is something else isn't it. I can feel ok ish , and then its like someone takes my batteries out and I can barely move.

On the positive side, in my darkest moments there were 5 things I was aiming for, birthday lunch with my son in Worcester
( done), London Diamond League Athletics meeting (done ) my son's birthday ( today),
holiday to my happy place (next week) son's graduation (9 Sept)
I think its important to have things to focus on

I'm also on Letrezole which brings added worries for me because of family history of osteoporosis.

I hope you dont feel pressured to going back to work before you are ready.

No pressure, probably only from myself. You’ve made me think I need a list like that. We do have a holiday planned, but part of it is seeing family who live abroad. we plan to go somewhere else during the October half term. I’m hoping that my fatigue gets better, I have plans to go to the gym because apparently the best treatment for fatigue is exercise.

@cancerycaramelbear

I do think keeping active helps.
I live alone most of the time and have an allotment so have been forced into some minimum levels of activity. Ive also kept my gym membership.
Walking to the allotment and then to the gym has given some structure to my day. But you do need to pace yourself. I don't break sweat even in this weather at the gym as I have a very sedate pedal on the bikes.
I have this week though met with one of the trainers who has given me a strength programme on the weights machines as I am very concerned about osteoporosis.
Ive also found a yoga centre which does a range of different yoga and meditation classes which I hope will help with my mental health which is a bit iffy at the moment

That all sounds really positive @Ted27! I used to do a lot of yoga but have let it slide and want to get back to it. I have kept up walking and always walked to the hospital which is close to home.

Day 3 after EC chemo is really wiping me out, I feel really sick and absolutely exhausted. I felt really well before starting treatment so it’s a shock to the system.
Temperature is fine, no vomiting, so I guess this is normal. Trying my best to push through, I find walking up the stairs exhausting.
It’s a small price to pay to get rid of it, but I feel rough! I was warned it was nasty.
i hope everyone else is fairing better, I always knew i would find chemo really challenging.

Days 3-5 were the worst for me. By day 6 I was usually feeling a bit better. Sorry you are feeling so rough x

@Imtiredthisyear

Day 3 was my worst day. I think you need to get a balance between the pushing through thing and allowing yourself to rest.
I just wrote Saturdays (my day 3 ) off, stayed in bed, drank copious amounts of tea, ate toast and ginger biscuits. Slept if I wanted to.
Your body is taking a battering, let it rest when its telling you to

Take it steady @Imtiredthisyear keep
on top of the anti sickness meds and drink plenty of water. Days 4-6 were also my worst days - lots of rest and a little pottering about when I could. It’s marvellous when it lifts a few days later. Just keep going a day at a time.

Days 5 to 7 seem to be the worst for me, I have now had 3 cycles of chemo and the last one wiped me out for a week. Terrible brain fog, tiredness, taste buds completely wrecked. Not looking forward to the next one as am only now feeling vaguely human again. I recall at the end of May I felt so well and recovered from the surgery. Sigh.

Thank you all, It’s wild because the day before chemo I was decorating and working out, the contrast is quite extreme.

The whole thing is quite surreal to be honest, getting the chemo was like an out of body experience.

I always felt like chemo would be the most difficult part of the process for me, I know lots of others have said the same thing.

Did anyone else just feel sick, pretty much constantly? I’m not sure my anti sickness is doing much!

Im trying to drink plenty but it’s a struggle as everything tastes vile.

It’s day 3/4 so hopefully this settles a bit 😔.

@Imtiredthisyear if the initial drugs given to you are not helping contact your hospitals cancer care 24/7 helpline. there are other drugs that can be prescribed for you that may well help you a lot more.
Feeling a bit sick for a couple of days is one thing. feeling horribly sick for more than 48 hours is another and yes the hospital cancer care helpline aka red card can help with that.

I thought I would cope better with it to be honest, but I just feel really unwell. I didn’t expect to feel great, I knew I would be tired and my appetite would be affected, but I can’t be in the same room as food, my stomach aches and so do my legs. It feels like a really nasty flu, mixed with intense morning sickness.

Hi all I hope you are all well as well as you can be. @Imtiredthisyear , so sorry to hear you are having a bad time after your first infusion. Did you follow the meds instructions as per . I’m sure you did but speaking to others , they often felt the nausea first and then took the meds . For me , I think I got off lightly with the nausea after my first one plus I drank water from the moment I left home and then throughout since which I think helps too . Getting out did me well although a lot more tired doing the usual dog walk which usually I zip around … funny thing is yesterday which would have been my day 18 I felt really tired all day , I have been trying not to nap in the day but did drop off for an hour yesterday. I’m fine today . I did cold cap too but since Weds lots of hair shed … my next one is this Thursday and just before I’m getting that pic line in …. After that 1 more ec then moving on to another one for 3 rounds with a new set of side effects! I have had a lot of low moods though but I’m wondering if this is putting me into early menopause as no period since my first chemo . Stay strong you will get through it x

Hi all, just thought I’d update as I’ve just heard from the hospital two days early and it’s good news. The calcification was benign so there’s no further action required and I can just go back to three yearly mammograms.

Obviously I was terrified when I saw the number flash up two days before my appointment, but very glad to know!

I thought it might be useful to post in case anyone else is in the same boat - it’s not always bad news, even though when you’re in the middle of it you can’t help but be anything but fearful!

I wish all you ladies so much love and luck for the future. This thread is absolutely awesome and you have been amazing during my short stay. Who knows I may be back one day, but knowing how much support and knowledge is here is so comforting.

Thank you!

@DoctorMartin brilliant news! You must be so relieved! And yes, one positive of this experience is the wonderful women you meet along the way. I feel very strongly that I want to give back in return for all the advice and support I received.