new, just diagnosed today

Survivor73

Hi All...new here, just diagnosed today...was on the board under Thyroid cancer...had my thyroid removed, found another nodule and am waiting to see what's next...had enought to worry about...now a routine mamogram found an enlarged lymph node...an ultrasound showed a tumor, biopsy shows invasive mucinous carcinoma.
I can't do this again...I'm surprised as I'm feeling ok, just want to constantly talk about it...but it's hard to do since my kids are here and I don't want to tell them yet. I still haven't told my daughter that I had thyroid cancer last year as she's only 9.
Haven't got an action plan, nor do I have all the details, waiting to see specialist...
have an appt on Dec 20th-plan on calling for something sooner tomorrow...
What questions should I ask?
What kind of time frame can I expect?
What am I going to do....
Any advise is welcome.
Thx

cahjah75

Survivor
sorry you had to seek us out. I don't have any answers for you but there are some who could help on this board. After you see your specialist you'll have more info to give you some of the answers and your dr will make suggestions. I had bilateral mastectomy in June and just finished chemo today. We are all different so it depends on what your dx turns out to be. I had no lymph node involvement but had Lobular carcinoma. I'm the 5th in my family w/bc and I'm 61. Post often and I'm sure you'll hear from others here.
{{hugs}} Char

New Flower

Sorry, please stay positive
Sorry that you are having another cancer, you are probably young and beautiful. I hope you are going to see a BREAST SURgeon who will give you assessment of your conditions. Lymph node involvement is not fun, but you will be ok.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer board, family of sisters in pink.
Hugs

missrenee

New Flower said:

Sorry, please stay positive
Sorry that you are having another cancer, you are probably young and beautiful. I hope you are going to see a BREAST SURgeon who will give you assessment of your conditions. Lymph node involvement is not fun, but you will be ok.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer board, family of sisters in pink.
Hugs

Survivor73
So sorry to hear your story. Having confidence in your surgeon/oncologist is key. I was diagnosed with invasive ductal ca (Stage 3, grade 3) with 10 out of 23 positive lymph nodes in Nov. '09. It's been quite a journey, but I've gotten through 2 surgeries, 6 rounds of TAC chemo and 33 rads. Not easy by a long shot, but I did it. And, you will too--whatever it is. Stay focused, positive and determined.

This board has been a major comfort and wealth of information for me and I hope it is for you too.

Good luck and blessing on your journey.

Hugs, Renee

Heatherbelle

im so sorry you were just
im so sorry you were just diagnosed. It's such a scary time & everything happens so FAST, and it seems like you're expected to make a million decisions in such a short amount of time.
I can't give you all the answers about what to ask, but one thing I would do is ask for a copy of your pathology report. There are a few good web sites that can help you "translate" it & learn more about the type of breast cancer that you have. If you are unsure about what kind of breast surgery to have, it may be helpful for you to talk with a plastic surgeon before you make your surgical decision. I met with mine before I decided what kind of surgery I wanted. It really helped me make the most informed decision.
I also have a 9 yr old daughter, as well as a 2 year old daughter, and she has handled my diagnosis & treatment like a real trooper. My mom was diagnosed with BC 2 months after I was - after that my daughter did start asking questions like "will Lia & I get breast cancer when we grow up now?", and I did take her for couple of counseling sessions at my cancer center that helped. There are some good books for kids dealing with a parent's cancer diagnosis at the library. I actually have alot of literature on how to talk to your child about your diagnosis, helping them cope, etc - if you'd like I would be more than happy to stick them in the mail for you. I know how it is with wanting to protect your child from being scared for you. My cancer was different than yours - invasive ductal carcinoma. I was diagnosed June 15th, I had a bi-lateral mastectomy with tissue expanders put in for reconstruction in July, started 6 rounds of chemo on August 4th (or 8th, I can't remember now lol). I had chemo every 2 weeks. I finished my chemo 6 weeks ago, and 2 weeks ago I had my surgery to remove the tissue expanders and get my permanent implants put in. Today I had my chemo port removed. The only thing I have left to do is have my plastic surgeon make some new nipples for me, and I have an appt with him tomorrow to find out when I'm having that done! I will be on Tamoxifen, an anti-cancer drug, for 5 years also. All in all, it's been about 6-7 months for me. For some it's longer, for example if you have to have radiation, which I did not. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, I'm here for you, as are the rest of our sisters on here.
You can private message me your address if you'd like me to send you the information I mentioned! It's really no problem
*hugs*
Heather

DianeBC

New Flower said:

Sorry, please stay positive
Sorry that you are having another cancer, you are probably young and beautiful. I hope you are going to see a BREAST SURgeon who will give you assessment of your conditions. Lymph node involvement is not fun, but you will be ok.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer board, family of sisters in pink.
Hugs

Hi and welcome to the club
Hi and welcome to the club no one wants to join. But, you have found a great deal of support and encouragement here.

Sending hugs,


Diane

Angie2U

New Flower said:

Sorry, please stay positive
Sorry that you are having another cancer, you are probably young and beautiful. I hope you are going to see a BREAST SURgeon who will give you assessment of your conditions. Lymph node involvement is not fun, but you will be ok.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer board, family of sisters in pink.
Hugs

I am so sorry that you found
I am so sorry that you found us as a result of a recurrence. Please stay positive and fight the beast with everything inside of you. You can and will win.


Post whenever you want to, someone is always here.


Good luck, Angie

Boppy_of_6

Heatherbelle said:

im so sorry you were just
im so sorry you were just diagnosed. It's such a scary time & everything happens so FAST, and it seems like you're expected to make a million decisions in such a short amount of time.
I can't give you all the answers about what to ask, but one thing I would do is ask for a copy of your pathology report. There are a few good web sites that can help you "translate" it & learn more about the type of breast cancer that you have. If you are unsure about what kind of breast surgery to have, it may be helpful for you to talk with a plastic surgeon before you make your surgical decision. I met with mine before I decided what kind of surgery I wanted. It really helped me make the most informed decision.
I also have a 9 yr old daughter, as well as a 2 year old daughter, and she has handled my diagnosis & treatment like a real trooper. My mom was diagnosed with BC 2 months after I was - after that my daughter did start asking questions like "will Lia & I get breast cancer when we grow up now?", and I did take her for couple of counseling sessions at my cancer center that helped. There are some good books for kids dealing with a parent's cancer diagnosis at the library. I actually have alot of literature on how to talk to your child about your diagnosis, helping them cope, etc - if you'd like I would be more than happy to stick them in the mail for you. I know how it is with wanting to protect your child from being scared for you. My cancer was different than yours - invasive ductal carcinoma. I was diagnosed June 15th, I had a bi-lateral mastectomy with tissue expanders put in for reconstruction in July, started 6 rounds of chemo on August 4th (or 8th, I can't remember now lol). I had chemo every 2 weeks. I finished my chemo 6 weeks ago, and 2 weeks ago I had my surgery to remove the tissue expanders and get my permanent implants put in. Today I had my chemo port removed. The only thing I have left to do is have my plastic surgeon make some new nipples for me, and I have an appt with him tomorrow to find out when I'm having that done! I will be on Tamoxifen, an anti-cancer drug, for 5 years also. All in all, it's been about 6-7 months for me. For some it's longer, for example if you have to have radiation, which I did not. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, I'm here for you, as are the rest of our sisters on here.
You can private message me your address if you'd like me to send you the information I mentioned! It's really no problem
*hugs*
Heather

So sorry that you need to be
So sorry that you need to be here but you will receive so much support from wonderful sisters. Ask anything someone will be able to help you. Prayers and God Bless
(((Hugs))) Janice

CypressCynthia

It is so very hard to
It is so very hard to predict a time frame. Back in 1987 with Stage 3A, my docs were pessimistic. I have now been 23 years with this disease (Stage 4 for 1 1/2 yrs now). Talk with your doctors and plan for the very worst (wills, living will, insurance, ect.) and then live your life as if you will be here 100 yrs. That is my advice!

jnl

Boppy_of_6 said:

So sorry that you need to be
So sorry that you need to be here but you will receive so much support from wonderful sisters. Ask anything someone will be able to help you. Prayers and God Bless
(((Hugs))) Janice

I always hate to see a new
I always hate to see a new sister join the board, as, it means another woman has a bc diagnosis. But, please know how welcome you are and post whenever you want.


Wishing you good luck and sending prayers,


Leeza

DebbyM

New Flower said:

Sorry, please stay positive
Sorry that you are having another cancer, you are probably young and beautiful. I hope you are going to see a BREAST SURgeon who will give you assessment of your conditions. Lymph node involvement is not fun, but you will be ok.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer board, family of sisters in pink.
Hugs

This is so awful that you
This is so awful that you have cancer again. This just is not fair. We all know it can happen, but, pray it doesn't.

I am glad you found this board. You will be surrounded with caring and loving sisters that will help you.

Stay strong, keep fighting,


Debby

Survivor73

CypressCynthia said:

It is so very hard to
It is so very hard to predict a time frame. Back in 1987 with Stage 3A, my docs were pessimistic. I have now been 23 years with this disease (Stage 4 for 1 1/2 yrs now). Talk with your doctors and plan for the very worst (wills, living will, insurance, ect.) and then live your life as if you will be here 100 yrs. That is my advice!

Thanks for the info
Thanks to all for the support...I'm still in shock, not sure what to feel...still waiting for more info, should get it Monday...
I will definatley look into books to help with telling my kids...that's a great idea. I think I need to have more info prior to telling them anything.

I have looked into the type cancer, and although I don't know if it has spread yet...it's supposedly the best one to have...like there is such a thing.

I recall when I had thyroid cancer, everyone said it's the best cancer to have since it can be cured easily, etc...I didn't think it was so great...

Now, I have what is called Mucinous carcinoma, and it's really rare...but shows a 90% survival after 10 yrs...I guess I'm wondering about the other 10%...it's getting hard to look at the bright side...if I hear one more person say don't worry, I'll scream.

Thanks to all...I'll update once I know more...it's nice to see the responce from all of you.

Wishing you all good health.

Texasgirl10

Survivor73 said:

Thanks for the info
Thanks to all for the support...I'm still in shock, not sure what to feel...still waiting for more info, should get it Monday...
I will definatley look into books to help with telling my kids...that's a great idea. I think I need to have more info prior to telling them anything.

I have looked into the type cancer, and although I don't know if it has spread yet...it's supposedly the best one to have...like there is such a thing.

I recall when I had thyroid cancer, everyone said it's the best cancer to have since it can be cured easily, etc...I didn't think it was so great...

Now, I have what is called Mucinous carcinoma, and it's really rare...but shows a 90% survival after 10 yrs...I guess I'm wondering about the other 10%...it's getting hard to look at the bright side...if I hear one more person say don't worry, I'll scream.

Thanks to all...I'll update once I know more...it's nice to see the responce from all of you.

Wishing you all good health.

So sorry
I'm so sorry that you have to be here, but this is an awesome board with very awesome people. I am newly diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer on 11/23/10. I have been so scared, but our pink sisters have held me through this and we will hold you too. I know from experience in the past 2 weeks that someone is always on the board so if you can't sleep and need to talk just log on and you will find one our beautiful sisters willing to talk to you. Good luck with this journey. You will beat this.
God Bless You

Noel

Survivor73 said:

Thanks for the info
Thanks to all for the support...I'm still in shock, not sure what to feel...still waiting for more info, should get it Monday...
I will definatley look into books to help with telling my kids...that's a great idea. I think I need to have more info prior to telling them anything.

I have looked into the type cancer, and although I don't know if it has spread yet...it's supposedly the best one to have...like there is such a thing.

I recall when I had thyroid cancer, everyone said it's the best cancer to have since it can be cured easily, etc...I didn't think it was so great...

Now, I have what is called Mucinous carcinoma, and it's really rare...but shows a 90% survival after 10 yrs...I guess I'm wondering about the other 10%...it's getting hard to look at the bright side...if I hear one more person say don't worry, I'll scream.

Thanks to all...I'll update once I know more...it's nice to see the responce from all of you.

Wishing you all good health.

Sorry that I am late in
Sorry that I am late in welcoming you to this great site Survivor! Being in shock is very common. I think we all were when first diagnosed. But, then you have to kick in the " I am going to beat this and win" attitude and you fight! Fight with all that you can.

I don't know anything about mucinous carcinoma, but, I wish I did, so, I could help you with some information.


Trust your doctors and fight the beast!


Wishing you the best of luck and sending prayers.

Survivor73

Noel said:

Sorry that I am late in
Sorry that I am late in welcoming you to this great site Survivor! Being in shock is very common. I think we all were when first diagnosed. But, then you have to kick in the " I am going to beat this and win" attitude and you fight! Fight with all that you can.

I don't know anything about mucinous carcinoma, but, I wish I did, so, I could help you with some information.


Trust your doctors and fight the beast!


Wishing you the best of luck and sending prayers.

surgery is planned
Met the Surgeon today...they are only doing a lumpectomy...and then they will check what the pathology report shows, then they will go from there...
I also have to have an MRI to make sure there is no other spots...apparently mucinous is very dificult to pick up by mammo and ultrasound...
I'm claustrophobic, so this is a concern, but they have given me some drugs, and according to my sister I won't care where I am...lol.

Anyway, looks like surgery will be in about 4-5 weeks (thanks to xmas, etc)

they said it would be day surgery...so I'm not so stressed yet...depending on the outcome.

Anyway...thanks for letting me ramble...

pbrndm5

Texasgirl10 said:

So sorry
I'm so sorry that you have to be here, but this is an awesome board with very awesome people. I am newly diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer on 11/23/10. I have been so scared, but our pink sisters have held me through this and we will hold you too. I know from experience in the past 2 weeks that someone is always on the board so if you can't sleep and need to talk just log on and you will find one our beautiful sisters willing to talk to you. Good luck with this journey. You will beat this.
God Bless You

Hi Texas
I was just diagnosed on November 3 with inflammatory also.I'm having a lumpectomy followed by radiation on Jan. 4(Happy New Year)..I agree this is an awesome place to sound off and talk with other sisters in pink who are willin go give support and suggestions. Good luck to you

pbrndm5

Survivor73 said:

surgery is planned
Met the Surgeon today...they are only doing a lumpectomy...and then they will check what the pathology report shows, then they will go from there...
I also have to have an MRI to make sure there is no other spots...apparently mucinous is very dificult to pick up by mammo and ultrasound...
I'm claustrophobic, so this is a concern, but they have given me some drugs, and according to my sister I won't care where I am...lol.

Anyway, looks like surgery will be in about 4-5 weeks (thanks to xmas, etc)

they said it would be day surgery...so I'm not so stressed yet...depending on the outcome.

Anyway...thanks for letting me ramble...

GOOD LUCK
I can identify--my surgery is on Jan.4(lumpectomy)..Had so many tests already MRI, bone scan,ct and pet scans. It seems like hurry up, have tests then wait for results.

Everyone says surgery isn't so bad...we will go thru it together

Keep rambling if you need to. This board is awesome and I have been in touch with so many great women fighting the same fight in one way or another

Good luck to you!