frustrated and tierd of waiting

TulsaMomof3
TulsaMomof3 Member Posts: 105
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I feel so unimportant right now, Its been a week since my doctor told me I would have a masectomy (I opted for both with reconstruction) My breast started discharging blood in December so this BC had been a problem for me since then and its still inside me! I wonder if it were thier mother or daughter,would they let this monster just stay inside them for this long. I have waited a week now to be scheduled an appointment with a plastice surgen. Then I still have to get the PS to coordinate with my Doctor for the surgery. And since they are doing the sentinial node biopsy at the same time it will be about another week before I even know my staging and additional treatment. I know they say this is the toughest part. - I LOVE MY DOCTOR she is supposedly the best. But we also have a Cancer Treatment Center of America in my town and I have heard they handle things more aggressivly. I don't know if its just my nature to be impatient or if seeing her is not worth the wait? Sorry just venting. It just feels like things are moving so slowly

Comments

  • aisling8
    aisling8 Member Posts: 1,627 Member
    #2
    I hear you
    I, too, got frustrated and tired of waiting. Everything took a week. A week from "there's something that needs to be biopsied" to seeing the surgeon, another week for approval to have a biopsy, three weeks from "yes, it's cancer" to surgery. It was almost three months from that second mammogram to surgery. And now I'm waiting on results of the OncDx test to find out about chemo or not.

    Meantime, it's hard to stay positive because you feel like everything's spreading and why oh why isn't anybody getting this out of me.

    It's scary. I can't say anything that particularly helps you, but I can certainly validate your frustration cause, Sister, I've been there.

    Good Luck,
    Victoria
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #3
    The Waiting...........
    You are not alone, I promise! My "journey" with BC started one year ago this month....Found it myself last March, less than 3 months after a mammo and ultrasound... Found in March and I had a lumpectomy on May 20......so you can see the time span there.....from there I went onto Chemo middle of June, finished end of August.....started radiation in September finished first of Nov......THE WAITING WAS HELL..........it's wait to get this scheduled, then wait for the results, then wait to get a scan scheduled, then an MRI..... then wait for the results, have blood work done, wait for the results......on an on and on......I wish I had kept a log of just EXACTLY how much of this past year I have spent "WAITING!" But at the same time, some things I didn't have to wait on, due to my physicians and surgeon.....The day of my biopsy, I was told right there on the table that it was BC....Everything was scheduled for me, I didn't have to do a thing...When I had my lumpectomy, my surgeon had pathology do all the testing while I was still on the operating table....he told us that way, if the margins weren't clean and clear, he could just continue until they were, rather than having to undergo yet another surgical procedure........same with the sentinel nodes pathology......he took three, they were tested immediately, they were clean, so again, no need for another procedure down the road to remove more......This, no doubt, is how they do things here, every place is different.....I was so thankful and grateful to wake up and find that I had good, clean, clear margins and no lymph node involvement.......I was blessed....

    Also, during all this waiting, I asked for and received Valium, lowest dose, to help deal with all the emotions and WAITING! It helped so much.........really took the edge off....Perhaps something like that would help you, too....After a while I started taking the "waiting" in stride.......it's just part of this awful process, sadly.....

    Now that I am 4 months out from all treatment, waiting is still a part of my life.......blood work every three months, wait one week for results....... my first post mammo next month.......and blood work........so the waiting continues.....

    I wish you all the best as you start this "journey"
    Peace be with you
  • cindycflynn
    cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
    #4
    I feel your pain!
    I have been singing that Tom Petty song "The Waiting is the Hardest Part" for the longest time now.

    My inital diagnosis was on 9/2/09, and I had my surgery on 10/12/19, which doesn't seem too bad, but it seemd like forever at the time, and just when I thought I was ready to get something scheduled, they wanted to run another test, etc. I had a lumpectomy, and I know that if I had opted for a mastectomy, I would have had to wait longer to have the surgery because of the coordination with the PS. That was one of the factors in my decision to go with the lumpectomy. Of course, now that I'm going through the radiation that I would have been able to skip if I'd had the mastectomy, I have a few moments of second-guessing.

    I remember thinking when i first got my diagnosis "Well, I should be able to get all of my treatments done by the end of this year, and start 2010 fresh" Of course, it takes much longer than any of us would like, so although I've made a lot of progress, and I'm actually one of the "lucky" ones who had a relatively short chemo regimen, I still won't be done with my treatment until the end of next month.

    Know that you are not alone in feeling frustrated with the waiting, but from what I read most cancers grow very slowly so in actuality the waiting isn't endagering you. It's just very tough mentally, and almost everyone on these boards can relate to that frustration. Eventually, the waiting WILL be over, and usually the waiting is for a good reason - making sure they have all of the information they need to treat you in the most effective way.

    I've had all of my treatments at a cancer center, and there's STILL a lot of waiting involved. if you feel comfortable with your doctor, I wouldn't change just because of the waiting, it may not be any better at the cancer center that it is now, although it never hurts to get a second opinion if it would make you feel more comfortable.

    Take care,
    Cindy
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #5
    The "need for speed" is
    The "need for speed" is different with different types of cancer. Some are much more aggressive than others. If you feel you're not getting the care you need have a talk with your Dr and let her explain why the wait OR get a second opinion.

    In my case, 'things' went pretty fast but then Inflammatory BC is very aggressive so must be treated aggressively. 'It' had roughly doubled the size of my breast in about 4 weeks. I got the biopsy results on Aug 8, 09, the day after it was done. Saw the surgeon on Mon. was told had to do chemo before there was any chance at surgery, saw the Medical and Radiological Oncologists, had lots of tests run, port in Aug 25 and started A/C Aug 26 (4 doses 2 weeks apart). 2 weeks after last A/C I had a mod. rad. mastectomy, 3 weeks after surgery started 12 weekly Taxol and the week after the last Taxol started 25 daily rads which finished March 10. (Still have bad burns though.)

    We're all different - talk to your DR about your concerns. and thoughts and prayers!

    Susan
  • TulsaMomof3
    TulsaMomof3 Member Posts: 105
    #6
    Rague said:

    The "need for speed" is
    The "need for speed" is different with different types of cancer. Some are much more aggressive than others. If you feel you're not getting the care you need have a talk with your Dr and let her explain why the wait OR get a second opinion.

    In my case, 'things' went pretty fast but then Inflammatory BC is very aggressive so must be treated aggressively. 'It' had roughly doubled the size of my breast in about 4 weeks. I got the biopsy results on Aug 8, 09, the day after it was done. Saw the surgeon on Mon. was told had to do chemo before there was any chance at surgery, saw the Medical and Radiological Oncologists, had lots of tests run, port in Aug 25 and started A/C Aug 26 (4 doses 2 weeks apart). 2 weeks after last A/C I had a mod. rad. mastectomy, 3 weeks after surgery started 12 weekly Taxol and the week after the last Taxol started 25 daily rads which finished March 10. (Still have bad burns though.)

    We're all different - talk to your DR about your concerns. and thoughts and prayers!

    Susan

    Thanks for letting me vent.
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #7
    TulsaMomof3 said:

    Thanks for letting me vent.

    Brac........
    JUST FYI..........the results of that take about 3 weeks.......
    Peace

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