Back to England we all go...

It is with sad news that I write this, but I recently found out that I have Stage 3, Grade 3 Breast Cancer! It came as a bit of a shock, but I have already begun treatment and will make a full recovery at the end of it!

About 9 or 10 months ago, I found a lump in my right boobie. I went to the doctors & was told it was a cyst & to just keep an eye on it. But over the next 9 months or so, that simple cyst decided to turn into cancer and spread! And on 11th November I found a second lump!

I told some close friends about the new lump & they called to say they were praying for me… it really helped to keep me calm but it also alerted me to the fact that it was probably going to be serious! I tried not to think about it too much over the next few days.

I went to the doctors for a check up & was sent for a ‘routine mammogram’. The Mammogram turned into ‘need more photos’, which turned into ‘Urgent Ultrasound needed’, which turned into ‘Biopsy needed to confirm cancer’.

It’s true what they say in the movies, ‘when you hear the word Cancer, you don’t hear anything else the doctor says afterwards’. My Radiologist told me that she was sure it was cancer but that I needed a biopsy to confirm it. She talked a bit more after that, but I didn’t hear any of it… all I knew was that I needed to call Jason.

Jason came right over to the hospital. Sitting waiting for him to arrive seemed to take forever… but when he arrived, his hug seemed to make everything better. We talked to the doctor more & with that came the decision to get me a flight back to the UK straight away.

The next few hours seemed to fly by at a 101 mph… it was filled with phone calls, emails, visits & plans! But, the following morning I was on a flight to London!

My GP agreed that things seemed urgent & referred me to Charring Cross Hospital in London. The next 2 weeks were filled with lots of appointments, tests, poking & prodding. A specialist who told me I needed a Core Biopsy of the 2 lumps & a Fine Needle Biopsy of my lymph nodes. Finally, Jason & Kayle arrived just in time for the results of the testing & biopsies. We were told on the 2nd December that I had Grade 3 breast cancer. I didn’t think I would be as upset as I was because I knew it was going to be bad news, but when you hear it officially, it all becomes real.

We had to sit & wait for the results of the CT scan, the test that would tell us if the cancer had spread to the rest of my body, so as you can imagine, it was a very long day. We still didn’t know what Stage it was either because the biopsy from my lymph nodes came back inconclusive. So, we had to continue to wait…

We received a call at 3.55pm, which was the best call I have ever received. The CT scan showed that the cancer had NOT spread & that meant that it was ‘curable’.

And so, I started Chemotherapy on Thursday 16th Decemeber and will have 6 sessions of Chemo, each 3 weeks apart. My course will last 18 weeks. At the end of the 18 weeks, I will have to have surgery to remove the lumps and lymph nodes affected.

But, for now, I am just focusing on making it through each day, as the side effects of the Chemo are taking their toll on me.