just diagnosised

jeanie71

I just got diagnosised with invasive ductual carcinoma, not in the lymph nodes, thank goodness. what is next? any ideas?

DiO

welcome, Jeanie, to the group no one wants to join! You'll find lots of help and support here from some wonderful ladies. You'll probably first be seeing a surgeon to discuss options, i.e. lumpectomy and radiation or mastectomy depending on your history, circumstances, etc. Then will follow with a radiation oncologist if you need radiation treatments and a medical oncologist to discuss whether chemo is needed/appropriate for you. Some bigger centers may do this all at once, or in smaller towns or other areas you may see different docs at different times as I did. Usually they work closely together in any case.

You can get lots of good info from some reliable websites to help you know what to expect. I found it very helpful to read up ahead of time so what the docs were saying made a lot more sense than hearing it for the first time! Also be sure to take someone with you to your dr appts for an extra set of ears, as it's hard to digest it all at once and even harder to remember what they said! One of the sites I found very helpful at first in addition to this ACS site was mayoclinic.com. They explain things in very easy to understand terms, and go through all the different options and when they are typically used.

Good luck with forming your treatment plan and getting started. I know this is a very scary time for you--been there, done that--but what kept me going was the knowledge that there was an excellent chance I would get my normal life back again, and after the 6 months or so of treatment I am (now at 1 1/2 years out) back to my usual full time work and enjoying every day one day at a time!!

God bless, Di

clmoonie

I just wanted to wish you luck, you can do whatever needs to be done. I just finished my chemotherapy and have radiation to go. Take care. Sincerely, a future breast cancer survivor.

hummingbyrd

clmoonie said:

I just wanted to wish you luck, you can do whatever needs to be done. I just finished my chemotherapy and have radiation to go. Take care. Sincerely, a future breast cancer survivor.

I have a website you are welcome to visit...
www.urcctc.com
and I wrote a book called
Cancer And Beyond
The things you want to know about cancer...but nobody will tell you.
It's at amazon.com
Best wishes and as someone said,
"Welcome to the club no one wants to join."
(I dare say no one wants to leave it either!) LOL
hummingbyrd

pammycake

Jeanie,

Hi!! My name is Pam. I found out June 21 that I too had the same type of cancer. I had a lumpectomy June 29 and have seen the radiation dr and saw the chemo dr today. I was told today that I had a very aggressive cancer and that any oncologist that I saw in the US would say that I needed to have chemo (I was unsure why I had to do chemo and radiation. I am going to participate in a clinical trial.

My best advice for you is to try and stay as positive as you can. Talk to the surgeon, the radiation dr and the chemo dr. Get all your questions answered! This site is the best thing that has happened to me.

I do wish you well. And go into the chat rooms, they are great. There are a lot of great people in there.

Pam

jcbeenthere

hiand so sorry for your health problems. I am a 3x survivor of 3 primary cancers. I listened to each md treatment plan and then went toan uninterested party (MD as UCLA who was not going to treat me) for a second opinion. Each tinme the 2nd opinion offered important info and suggestions. He helped me make very hard decisions about treatment choices. This is a "business" and your health is not always the key issue. Keep records of phone calls, appts, conversations. It will become a little "crazy" later. Follow up on things that should be as MD's often do not follow up. Be in charge of your medical care. This website will offer things your medical professionals will fail to tell you. Keep a strong attitude and faith in healing. God bless you. jeanne

mc2001

Jeanie71,
How are you doing today? You are probably scared and have sooo many questions! I know when I got diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia I was scared and had many questions. I recommend a Comprehensive Cancer Center of the National Cancer Institute. I have a listing of the CCC's in the country on my website. Also, keep in mind... there are many treatment methods and should the treatment cause side effects like pain and nausea, there are good medications out there to resolve or minimize these effects. Support groups are so important. this is a great site to meet many wonderful women that have been in your situation. I will say a prayer for you. God bless.
Michael (leukemia survivor)
Leukemia website: http://www.geocities.com/leukemia_lymphoma