Hi. So sorry to hear your diagnosis. I too was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29 in March 2015. I had chemotherapy then a left breast mastectomy and then radiotherapy. Mine was hormone positive. Yours sounds very similar. You can do this hun. Stay strong xx

thank you, I won’t let this beat me! it’s just a lot to take in at the moment, how was chemotherapy? If you don’t mind me asking, I’m very nervous x

I was very positive through it all which I think helped massively. Everyone around me were worse than me. I honestly don’t mind answering any worries you have. But as I have found out, everyone takes it differently. I read that a few people have few side affects and that it isn’t that bad, unfortunately that was not the case for me. I found it horrendous. My first 3 doses, I was constantly sick and weak. The second 3 which were different, made me have shaky/jumpy legs constantly. Wasn’t the best feeling but it saves us, so cant complain. Xx

thank you for your reply, I’m staying positive, sometimes I’m emotional, I think my family has taken the news hard, so I’m staying strong for them and for me, you’ve given me faith and hope so thank you so much xx

Hi, really sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

The early days are hard because there are so many unknowns ahead of you.  Try your best to stay strong, surround yourself with family and friends for support.  With regards to chemo, although there are lots of treatments out there, they are in a sense all experimental because there are no guarantees that they will work on any given patient, we're all different!  So, based on that you must be in control of your treatment plan and always question every decision that your consultant makes for you. They are obliged to explain their decisions and must always explain to you the risks against the benefits.  Never be afraid to question or challenge their decisions.

They often tell us not to read up about cancer online, but I went against that advice when my wife was diagnosed. Once I knew what type of cancer she had I wanted to educate myself about that strain of cancer so that I could understand it better in order to look after her properly, and also so that I could understand some of the medical language that the consultants come out with.  It's your life so you really do need to be in control and understand what they're doing to you,  also ask what other treatments are available other than Chemo,  see if you are eligible for clinical trials or immunotherapy?

I notice that you're only 29, which brings me onto a question I raised recently about the age which ladies are eligible for breast screening.  I have noticed that there seem to be a huge number being diagnosed with BC under the screening age of 50.  My wife was only 44 when diagnosed and I'm convinced that she would still be here today had she been screened earlier. It's early days, but I'm in discussion with my local MP to explore the possibility if raising my concerns with the NHS.  The thread I started is here... www.cancerresearchuk.org/.../breast-screening-age-is-it-right

I wish you all the best on your journey.

James x

thanks for your reply, I’m so sorry about your wife, it is very scary, I wouldn’t of even known I had it if the lump hadn’t of shown, I’ve been ill the last couple of months tired sick etc, kept going to doctors, had blood tests which showed nothing. I got told for ages it’s viral infections, it has only been the last week with the lump being visible that they took notice, done mammograms biopsy’s etc, they didn’t want to do a mammogram but because of my family history, they did. If only they would lower the age for screening, sorry again about your wife xx

Hi Ellie, the first week after diagnosis is probably one of the hardest I would say.. shock...can't believe it's happened to you...why me?...

I'm 31 with 2 children.

I was diagnosed on the 6th of December, about 3 weeks first after finding a lump. I had a single mastectomy on the 19th December with full lymph node clearance as we knew it was already present in at least one lymph node. I'm back at the hospital today for the results from surgery and will be starting chemotherapy at some point this month followed by radiotherapy later on in the year.  

It's really odd but I feel like I've accepted the diagnosis and I just need to crack on with whatever needs doing. I'm certain you will get to that point too.  This is probably going to be the toughest year of both our lives but we can do it! Lots of love x

sorry to hear that, and thank you for your reply, it is very hard. Although we’re all in bad situations, it’s comforting to know I’m not alone, we can do this! hopefully 2020 will be a better year! Lots of love x

good luck with your results xxx

Hi Ellie,

Sorry about your diagnosis.  I am also a breast cancer person.

Others have said some really helpful stuff so I won't repeat those things.  Just wanted to mention that in terms of coping with the initial diagnosis sometimes taking control of the things you can control helps with coping.  Like you I had to start chemo straight away so I got on with drinking lots of water, saw my dentist regarding any work I might need done soon-ish, increased my dental hygiene, and started moisturising twice a day.  It helped me to get on with doing things that would be helpful while undergoing chemo.

The early days are hard because of the waits and your desire to get on and get the cancer cut out or tackled, but then you blink and chemo is over, despite how slow it all seems at first.

In terms of chemotherapy I found my first chemo drug really easy.  The second one was tough for me but involved lots of weird, sometimes quite amusing, symptoms.  They discussed changing it each time they saw me but it was shrinking the tumour and I only had to go through it three times in total so I just buckled down and stuck with it.  2 months on from finishing it and it was all just a bad memory.

Best of luck with it all.

LJx