By Verity Lester
On June 26, 2024 I woke at 3:00 in the morning with pains in my left breast. I squeezed my breast to stop it from hurting and discovered a small lump next to my areola. I woke my husband three hours later, and he confirmed he could feel the lump. As it was a public holiday, I waited until the following Tuesday to get a GP appointment.
My doctor referred me to St George’s Hospital Tooting, to the two-week wait (2WW) scheme. I phoned them on the Friday of the same week I saw my doctor, querying I had heard nothing. They said that unfortunately it would be much longer than two weeks’ wait, and I wouldn’t be seen before July 4 at the earliest.
I went private and saw a breast specialist at Parkside Hospital Wimbledon; he promptly sent me for an ultrasound. The radiologist said that the ultrasound showed an irregular shape with a diameter of 15 mm, which should be biopsied. On June 4, I had a core biopsy, which was very painful despite the numbing injection. It left a horrific bruise across my breast for weeks. On June 12 I was referred back to the NHS at St George’s. I was diagnosed with stage 2, grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. My cancer was ER positive and HER2 equivocal, so I would have to wait another week for results.
I was advised to go on our 29th wedding anniversary trip to Rhodes and the breast consultant would contact me the following Wednesday to tell me if I was HER2 positive or negative. In the meantime, he scheduled me for a lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy on July 4, unless my cancer was HER2 positive – then he would cancel the biopsy and start with chemotherapy to shrink it. The surgery would be exactly 3 weeks from my breast cancer diagnosis.
On June 19 I found out I was HER2 negative, so the lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy went ahead on July 4. So here I am with my M&S post-op bra on, two surgical bandages on my left breast from the lumpectomy and node removal/biopsy.
I had a bad reaction to the anesthetic and was dizzy and sick, but each day I’m feeling a bit stronger. Lying on my back to sleep is hard, and I have sharp pains where the surgery was. I had my follow-up on July 17 to find out what the lump size is, if it has spread to my auxiliary node and surrounding tissue, and what treatment is in store for me next. I learned that I have an Oncotype DX score of 30, and I will have 8 rounds of chemotherapy starting on August 21.
I’m mostly strong and optimistic, but I have bouts of depressing thoughts. I find meditation and deep breathing a great help.
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Michelle Sandlin, Living Her Best Life with BRCA 1
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