30th of October - Results

My Husband and I are sat in the waiting room waiting to see my consultant/surgeon. I'm looking over to the lady opposite and surmise that she is wearing a wig (What the **** is happening to me?).

I've become obsessed with hair and taking plenty of photographs of mine whilst I have it. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital have run trials in the past on using the cold cap and no longer offer this as an option to their patients.

Through this link you can search for scalp cooling in the UK. Enter your postcode to find your nearest hospital http://www.paxman-coolers.co.uk/campaigns

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chemotherapy/Pages/Side-effects.aspx

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Livingwithandaftercancer/Symptomssideeffects/Hairloss/Scalpcooling.aspx

Another woman across the waiting room said " I have followed you around appointment after appointment and I half expected you to be on the ward on my day of surgery".

We exchanged the fact that her surgery had been on the Tuesday and mine was on the Thursday. I had obviously been in such a daze not to have notice her, although she was so friendly and familiar. She said I had stood out to her whilst we waited outside x-ray  for the mammogram as she said I was much younger than anyone else there. I explained that I had a lumpectomy and the next course of action was chemotherapy and that I was gutted to be losing my hair, followed by radiotherapy. She said that she had come for her first mammogram (as I think that cancer screening is offered at the age of 50 in the UK) and it was only then that they had detected an anomaly, whisked into surgery and would now need radiotherapy (no chemo involved).

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Testsscreening/Breastscreening/Breastscreeningunder50.aspx

We initially went in to see my Breast Cancer Care Nurse Specialist and a nursing student in her second year at Staffordshire University and they checked the wound site and then called in my Consultant to have a gander at his handy work, which my husband and I are exceptionally pleased with.

The incision across my right boob is 3.5 inches in length
The incision made for the sentinel lymph node biopsy just below my right armpit is 3 inches in length

He explained that it was Grade 3 invasive breast cancer. He had removed the margins of the tumour site and they were clear and that the Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy was also clear.

Staging and grading of Breast Cancer
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertypes/Breast/Symptomsdiagnosis/Stagingandgrading.aspx

I tested Negative for ER status and Negative for HER2 Status. I am still awaiting the results to whether I am PR Negative status. This determines whether I take Tamoxifen for 5 years post chemotherapy and radiotherapy or whether I am Triple Negative, which is found in about 1 in 5 with breast cancer (15-20%).

Tamoxifen
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertypes/Breast/Treatingbreastcancer/Hormonaltherapies/Tamoxifen.aspx

Triple Negative Breast Cancer
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertypes/Breast/Aboutbreastcancer/Typesandrelatedconditions/Triplenegativebreastcancer.aspx

I am now waiting for an appointment at the Lingen Davies Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to discuss the side effects of chemotherapy and the chemotherapy treatment I will be having. All appointments from here on in will be in Shrewsbury - Hurrah.

All I can think at the moment is FEC off ......

FEC Chemotherapy 
http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertreatment/Treatmenttypes/Chemotherapy/Combinationregimen/FEC.aspx