think i have breast cancer

[swallowedAfly]

i will no doubt regret reeling off a thread so soon but...

i had breast reduction surgery a couple of weeks ago and went in for my consultation with my surgeon today and he dropped a bombshell about my lab results. apparently they send off removed tissue for analysis and in mine apart from fribroid disease (probably got the name wrong but surgeon said there were loads of fibroids and cysts and some were so hard you couldn't cut through them etc) they found DCIS and some other stuff that went over my head.

basically from what i can gather they know there's cancer in my ducts and it may be that it is contained to there but they need more tests to be sure.

i'm just... reeling?? i had to go from the appointment to work and meetings and only after that did i really start spinning. looked up dcis and put in context more of what he said and am freaking out a bit.

i'm a single mother of a 6yo. after meetings and stuff i started spinning and went and got a drink and managed to get hold of a friend who has picked ds up from school and taken him home for tea with her little boy but he'll be home fairly soon.

trying not to be a drama lama but it all seems quite serious.

Okay try to keep calm. I didn't understand all of your post but just looked up dcis on Macmillan website and it says although it needs to be treated it is not life threatening! Neither are cysts or fibrowatsits. So although I have limited knowledge and I know it is scarey it doesn't seem toooo awful. When you are feeling calmer ring the consultants office to ask what happens next. It's probably very lucky you had the reduction otherwise it wouldn't have been found! Good luck.

What a shock for you
Thank goodness you had the breast reduction though as it sounds like they've caught it early
I was dx with breast cancer a couple of months ago and had brilliant support from the ladies on the tamoxifen thread if you come over there everyone will help you through
Did they say what's going to happen next, more biopsies ?
Thinking of you x

DCIS is sometimes not thought of as cancer. It isn't usually life threatening but docs do like to remove it just in case. My MIL had it a few years ago, the only treatment was removal, which was very straightforward, and she has had no recurrence or problems from it.

i think from what he said they can't tell if it is just dcis as it's random tissue they tested on rather than deliberately looking itms. what's next is trying to get me into this breast surgeon he wants me to see who is the expert. he couldn't get hold of him today and was still trying and said i'd hear from him tomorrow.

i know i should feel lucky to be caught early and no messing around with testing etc but i can't help panicking. YES carcinoma that is only in your ducts is better than carcinoma that has spread but it's still carcinoma you know?

all a bit fuckety fuckety fuck at the minute because ????? so NOT what i was expecting today. was expecting a wound check and potentially a bit of an argument about the fact that one of my nipples has ended up bigger than the other which suddenly seems very trivial compared to bloody cancer that could deprive my son of a mother.

Its the "in Situ" bit that's important. It means it stays put, rather than spreading about the body .

I second Malt re the Tamoxifen thread - one of the best things on Mumsnet. I only lurk on behalf of a relative, but it's so informative and the tone is very comforting.

could someone give me a link? struggling to see how tamoxifen and breast cancer are linked but could be being thick

Sorry, I'm IT inept. But it's top in the list of General Health topics at the mo, just above yours.

Tamoxifen is given to bc patients whose tumours are oestrogen sensitive, but there are loads of people on the thread with different sorts of bc, some even waiting to be diagnosed.