@Tilllly @Enigma52 I also really hate it when anyone says 'be positive' 'keep positive' 'positive mind set' or any words attached to the appallingly inappropriate 'positive' , given the horrific treatments, fear, suffering and everything else cancer brings with its evil self. It gives me the RAGE 😡 It is extremely patronising apart from minimising truly awful suffering and fear. When I was at Maggies, the psych there said they prefer to say "be kind to yourself". Yes, 100% better.
I'm not so bothered by being called 'strong' which I have often been called. At least it acknowledges that what I've been through / am going through is horrendous (unlike the "be positive" shit).
I dislike any warfare terminology too, such as fighting, warrior all that dreadful business. I am not a soldier or in any similar job in the army, navy or air force or even a spy. So that gives me the rage too 😂
Well exactly, @Tilllly it doesn't get said to people with other medical conditions does it. Although maybe it does to people with awful degenerative terminal disease like MND or Huntingdon's Chorea - I can imagine it being said to people with those diseases and in those situations it's just as warped and rage triggering as it is saying it to a cancer patient.
@MothralovesGojira
How stressful they keep changing what they'd agreed without actually saying they've changed it the accusing you of 'refusing' an appointment which is actually a very strong word.
It's wonderful news your CT scan is clear. I thought staging also included a bone scan though, in addition to CT (it did in my case anyway). Presumably because the bone scintigraphy is more sensitive to identifying bone issues than the CT is, whereas the CT is good for checking eg organs. Maybe they're just really confident your bones are clear; I am not medically trained at all, so I don't know these things and can only go on my own experience.
You asked if anyone had a full mastectomy. I did, plus full lymph node clearance all the nodes they could possibly reach. But I had this after months of chemo and was a wreck, which influenced my recovery a lot. I had no pain though, and was home the following day. No reconstruction.
About the surgery date, my hospital were good with that - it was within the timeframe advised post chemo and they let me choose which week. I think it's amazing they're offering you so soon; waiting for my initial appointment and to start chemo was the most stressful wait of my life and my cancer definitely progressed during all those weeks.
If removing your other breast is only because you have large breasts, then I find that weird reasoning. Maybe they think it's medically advisable? I am 34DD so is that middle sized breasts? Not small in any case and I wear a weighted silicone prothesis from the NHS to balance out. I bought the Amoena one for swimming as recommended by @Penguinsa because the NHS keeps telling us to swim but won't provide the necessary prothesis and I am not going swimming mono-boobed! The Amoena one is also more natural looking than the NHS one. I bought it with 30% off, they often do sales.
xxx