I have had lots of benign cysts and had what the doctor called “lumpy breasts” so it was a bit of a shock when I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 55 in 2002. It was an aggressive grade 3 tumour, Oestrogen and Progesterone negative but HER2 positive.
I chose to have a mastectomy without reconstruction, and all my lymph nodes removed. Although the cancer hadn’t reached them my oncologist said they could see signs of changes which showed it was on its way to the first one.
Following that I had 8 sessions of chemotherapy as I was taking part in a drug trial for Docetaxel, and then 4 weeks of radiotherapy. I was also invited to take part in the trial for Herceptin as I was HER2 positive and I had that for 12 months.
After 3 years I had a bit of a scare with an enlarged lymph node and actually considered having the other breast removed but my consultant suggested I tried Anastrozole even though my original tumour was not oestrogen fed, so I took that for 8 years.
Although I am now over 70 and am no longer called for a mammogram, I always make an appointment when the van is in my area.
I have been a volunteer in the Someone Like Me Service since 2007 and have seen how much talking to someone who has been through a similar situation can help, so hopefully I can keep helping others.