Newly diagnosed
posted by Gercar
08 April 2020

Breast Cancer

Last reply: 13 April 2020 10:18

Hi Everybody, I hope you are all keeping well at this difficult time. I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Stage 1, HR Positive and Her2 Neg last week. The multidisciplinary team have decided that the best treatment for me at the moment due to Covid 19 is hormone therapy for 3 months followed by surgery and radiotherapy. I am concerned as I know that the surgery is normally done first in this diagnosis but it is too risky at the moment. I also will not start the therapy for 2-3 weeks and I am wondering two things, (1) Is the 2-3 week wait normal and (2) Has anybody else had the hormone treatment first and what was the outcome.

1 comment

Comments

commented by Cancer Nurse
13 April 2020

13 April 2020 10:18

Hi Gercar,                                                                          

I’m sorry to read of your recent diagnosis of breast cancer, this must have been an awful shock for you.  I hope you are keeping well otherwise.  It is understandable that you are concerned, the outbreak of COVID 19 in Ireland has caused huge stress and worry for those affected by cancer especially those who have had their treatment affected.  Doctors are now assessing on a case by case basis the risk of modifying treatments versus the risk of exposure to COVID 19 and what the impact would be on your expected outcome from treatment, with safety as the priority.   

There are different treatment schedules for breast cancer, some women may have surgery first followed by chemotherapy and radiation and other women may have chemotherapy before surgery to help shrink the tumour, this is all individual and based on your biopsy and scan results. As your breast cancer is hormone positive, it should respond to the hormone treatment and shrink the tumour .  It is normal to wait two to three weeks to commence treatment generally cancer is slow growing and the doctors will know from your biopsy results how quickly your tumour can grow.

Our cancer Nurseline is available on 1800 200 700, we are open from 9am – 8pm Monday to Thursday and from 9am to 5pm Friday to Sunday if you would like to speak with a cancer nurse for any support or advice.  We also have services available free of charge that you may be interested in such as our remote counselling service or to speak with our peer support volunteers.

Kind Regards,

Cancer Nurse

 

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