well it's getting closer 2 more days and i will have some answers..... i have been keeping very busy the last few days and its been a good distraction i feel the last few weeks has been a real roller coaster and even though im feeling ok i also am on edge if that makes scenic .....i have been reading the books that i got in my BC kit and it has a lot of really useful information in it mind you i find as i read through it some of it makes my stomach drop i find myself saying to myself ewww i don't think i want to do this it sounds yucky or i think ill have that one that looks easier to handle ..lol ... like i have a choice. i am amazed how i felt really affected when i saw the photo of the women with their breast was totally removed i didn't think it would bother me but it does.... if you know me i have had so many scars all over my body and i often say to people you can play dot to dot with them and make a picture... so whats another one....… and now come on it was a standing joke about how i was still in a training bra Robbo used to always say he had bigger boobs than me...… cheeky bugger lol....… but for some reason it makes my stomach turn at that thought...... oh well putting it all in prospective i suppose if getting rid of it saves my life i should be grateful ....( slap slap slap Sharon get a grip) ok lets just get to this appointment on monday and take it from there
2 days to go
Posted by sharon robertson on 08 Jan 2011, 05:30PM
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hi shazza well just got on site at last. Dont know what your surgery is or what you have decided. I thought would let you know my story. I had a lumpectomy in Jan 1990. Followed by chemo and raiotheraphy. I had no sickness no hair loss. Yes did burn a bit with radiotheraphy and when had any thing wrong 10 times worse but got off light. Asked my surgeon about mastectomy he said no need as treatment did same job. Well i was fine for 16 yrs got on with life just had my regular check ups. after 16 yrs with mutual agreement stopped my annual check ups. Following yr had a mammogram this came back with a SMUDGE had no lump so wouldnt have been found with annual check up.So went for ultrasound another mammogram and biopsy.This turned out to be a fast growing cancer same breast diff cancer. Mastectomy was only answer as had radiotheraphy before could not have it again. I was having reconstruction straight away as wasnot having chemo or radiotheraphy this time. Had not spread to lymph modes. 2 options flap taken from back or tummy tuck (taken from stomache) decided on back one. Well when i went for pre op visit surgeon mention a 3 rd alternitive an expander?implant. Put a bag thing in fill with flluid over time to stretch skin (painless) and that is it unless you want it taken out and silicon type put in. I was not offered it originally as i had radiotheraphy 1 st time and skin usually is in bad way but mine was good so opted for that. Thought it was easier option. Well when it was done not straight forward as skin was good but muscle was stiff so had to have 3 expanders put in over a yr till it was at its biggest .Then i had permanent one put in and other breast reduced at same time. When i go back for check ups Dr said should have had mastectomy first time then wouldnt have had to go thru all this, What was the chance i would have a different cancer in same breast. Looking back yes i think i would have or had gone ahead with my original plan of taking the muscle from back. I am so glad it was caught in time and i am still here. We are women though and i really think this is a personal thing i could not have had it off without a reconstruction. As i said dont know what you are having or when you are having your op but hope this helps with any decisions you make .I had no pain after ops. The first lot i had in 1990 never even lost a day of work. I was working part time so fitted my shifts round my treatment. So Shazza be positive be strong.xx
hope so
thanks viv thats great you got through all that i hope i have it that good ..... i find out on monday what all my options are all i know write now is i have breast cancer i havnt seen the specialist since the biopsy it was my local doctor that told me and that the specialist will fill me in on the rest when i get there im not making any decisions until i see him...... so after monday ill sit down and weigh it all up and take it from there
i do appreciate you coming here and sharing your story
speak soon huni
shazza
xxxxx
Hi Sharon and welcome to the site
I feel your pain. It is very daunting to be told you have BC. I was first diagnosed in Oct 2006 and have just on 20-12-10 been told that I have it back via a lymph node. I have had the lymph node removed and am waiting for my appointments in Brisbane to see the medical oncologist and the radiation oncologist. Back 4 years ago I had a lumpectomy, radiation and was put on Tamoxifen. This time I have been changed over to Arimidex, will have further radiation and most likely chemo as the tumour had escaped out of the lymph node. Yes it is scary reading all about the disease but I found first time around that I needed to know everything so that I had the choice of making my own decisions. You look like you have a loving family by your side - this is a great start!!!! My family is fantastic but they are still realling from this new diagnosis. Life goes on though. The best information I was given the first time around was = one day at a time. I enoy every minute of every day and will continue to do so. Since being re=diagnosed I have taken on the attitude that I will deal with what I have to deal with and get on with life. Sure our plans have been put on hold but only for a while until I am free of the treatment. Live life now and enjoy what you have. Your friends on this site are always there for you. Please feel free to make me a contact so that we can progress through this together. XLeonie
thank you so much for sharing your story with me it is a great help cause like you the more i know the better the chances of making the right decisions i have been quite un well over the past 10 years so i have to really decide if going through all of this treatment is going to be worth it for me it has put an enormous amount of pressure on my husband and kids so depending on the grade and weather it has spread will make a difference on my decisions any way i will be reporting everything on here as it happens
thanks again
sharon xx
Well hun finally got here. My message seems so inadequate to those previously sent to you. Have no experience of this but have loads of support and love to send to you. xxxxxxxx Beth xx
Aww Beth huni its friends like you that make it so much easier im so grateful to you for all your support (hugs)
Hi Sharon
Welcome to the club that no one wants to join, but know that you will find heaps of information and support here from others that have been where you are. Great that you are not getting to far ahead of yourself just yet.
I was diagnosed in 2007 at the age of 36. My children were 2 and 4 at the time, so it was a bit of a struggle to get through chemo with young children and a new business, but I am here happy, healthy and better than ever before.
I chose a mastecomy and just last year had my healthy breast off and reconstruction on both (just for peace of mind).
Cancer is just a word and not a sentence, no doubt about it, it is a bumpy road, but you will have lots of people around for love and support, dont be afraid to ask for help, sometimes it is the simple things you need a hand with (maybe a dinner for the kids, someone to get some milk), I had trouble asking anyone for help initially but I got quite good at it now. lol
And to see some images of younger women missing breasts check out the scar project on the web. (sorry I dont have the address), but it is very tastfully done and I like to think that I wish I had seen this rather than the ones I saw too. And just think down the track you can always get a new set if you want??? There are lots of choices now days.
good luck and feel free to ask questions.
@Battybeth, nothing about your offer of support and love is inadequate, lots of people bring different things to your life, so enough of that crazy talk. xx
Tanya
thanks tanya
and yes i agree with you about beth its friends like her that are just here for me for a shoulder are very important .....and i really don't want to make any decisions until i get the full diagnosis from the specialist tomorrow and more importantly find out if it has travelled that is the thing that is going to make the biggest impact on my decision on the course of treatment
thanks again
shaz
As I write this message you are getting ready for your appointment. Just to say I am thinking of you and send you all my love and support. Know that I am there for you hun and thinking of you. lubs ya xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
thinking of you
well what can be said that hasnt been said by these great ladies on here, hopefully you have got all the information you need for the next leg of your journey, and i am sure whatever it is, someone on here will have been down that same road with different experiences and others like beth who are always there for support, be it laugh, cry or shout, and that is why this site is so invaluable to us all, please let us know how things are going. thinking of you Regards Moira