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Just diagnosed with DCIS 5.5 weeks postpartum
Breast Cancer | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (7)Comment receiving replies
Thank you for responding. I haven’t had a meeting yet with with surgeon or oncologist. That’s next week. I’m so depressed and scared. I did find out the cancer is grade 3 and er/pr+…I think? So hormone treatment afterwards seems likely. And if that’s the case I can’t breastfeed. So I’m wondering if I continue breastfeeding for the next couple of weeks and then begin to wean.
I just don’t even know where to begin or how to cope mentally. So thanks for offering help. I do have a wonderful husband who will be at appointments with me.
Replies to "Thank you for responding. I haven’t had a meeting yet with with surgeon or oncologist. That’s..."
Hi.. I was diagnosed with DCIS in January. It is extremely scary to hear those words: breast cancer. When you meet with your surgeon.. bring all your questions and someone with you to also hear all the information., it is overwhelming. But., your surgeon will answer all your questions and give you books to help. My surgeon was great about answering questions, which really helped. Recovery after surgery went well. I was back to doing my normal activities in a couple weeks. I had 3 weeks of radiation and that went very well. Everyone at the center was so nice and it really wasn’t bad at all. My skin got a little irritated .. they gave me cream and aloe which really helped. Hang in there and be sure to ask all your questions to your surgeon and oncologist. Take good care!
I can tell you in almost all of the hundreds of the women I have been a patient advocate for locally, this is the scariest time. You have a diagnosis and nothing else, except what you can find on line.
I know this is really hard, I am a 20 year survivor. Try to breathe, during times of extreme stress I like to take a deep breath and blow it out, a few of these breaths can induce focus and relax your diaphragm. Then I can remind myself that now is not my worry time, I save that for the 30 minutes that I set aside for it. This allows me to hack my brain and say I can only worry during that 30 minutes, allowing myself to refocus on what I was doing.
Once you have met with your doctor, they will advise you on when to think about weaning your baby, you have time! You can enjoy your new baby and let the breast cancer sit on the back burner until you see the doctor. DCIS is a kind of encapsulated pre cancer so it isn’t growing bigger by the hour. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it seriously, but you can take that panic feeling out of it.
Do you have ways to help you keep that stress down so you can cherish this time with your new baby?
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I'm so glad to hear you have support. I was diagnosed about three years ago with a rare breast cancer. The first two months or so felt very chaotic and scary. It has gotten easier to understand and handle as time has passed. I hope this is true for you too. I found te shock to be the worst.