Hello
I’ve been reading for a while and decided to join earlier in the week. I live in New Orleans , Louisiana. I, fortunately, already had a breast doctor to whom I was referred by a NP friend of mine because I have fibrocystic and dense breast. I’ve been a patient of his for almost seven years. In the beginning, I would get a mammogram and then about six months later, an ultrasound. About two years ago, I was getting annual 3-D mammograms. Results were almost always identical. All good. In early September of this year, my husband said he felt a lump in my breast. I said, it’s fine, I have lumpy breast - haha. Two days later on Saturday , September 6, 2025, while showering, I felt a huge lump on the very top of my left breast. I told my husband, I felt a lump and I’m scared. I had to wait until Monday and I called my breast doctor (who is actually a surgical oncologist - I never paid attention to that). His office had me come in immediately which was Tuesday, September 9. He is affiliated with Tulane University and he teaches medical students. I was first ushered into the mammogram room and had a very thorough mammogram. After the mammogram, I went into another room and had an ultrasound. My physician always asks if it’s okay to have students present and I’m fine with that as we have child who is an MD. As the technician was performing the ultrasound, doctor was speaking with the students, no so much so that I’d be too concerned, but I was hypersensitive to every single thing that was happening. First, the technician was going over and over the same area and taking so many pictures that I knew something was amiss. I was scared. I got dressed and my doctor had me come to his office. His demeanor was not his usual jovial self. He told me I needed to have a biopsy. He said about 95% of tumors turn out to be benign and I was scheduled for the biopsy on September 15. I went back to his office and went back to the ultrasound room and he, the technician and a student began performing the biopsy. He spoke to me about what to expect, what they were doing, punch noise, placing a clip in ancillary node and breast tumor, etc. He told me he’d be send a prescription for pain medication to CVS just in case I needed it. I got dressed and returned to his office. Again, he was somber. He’d be a lousy poker player. He told me it would take about a week or so to get the results. I looked at him and said, “you’ve been doing this for 40+ years so I know you know even without the results.” He looked down and then looked straight at me and said he was 95% sure it was a malignancy. I burst into tears and he got up and gave me a hug. I left and began the longest 10 days of my life awaiting the results. During this time, I cried a lot and tried to continue to study and complete my certifications, etc.
I am a healthcare insurance agent and Annual Enrollment Period would begin on October 15. I am licensed in eight states and chose this year to add a couple other plans to my portfolio to be able to offer my clients more options (this was before I knew about the struggle I’d be going through). I remember one morning dropping to the floor screaming and crying and I needed to get my $hit together because I had an in person training to attend that morning. My husband would be at work when I had these bad breakdowns, but I also had a lot of crying spells in front of him, too. I did get dressed and took care of business.
My husband and I went to see doctor on September 24, and I received my official diagnosis. I had IDC. It was HR-, but HER2 was pending.
I have to run, but will continue this later,
Thanks y’all!
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Hi @teeberry and welcome to our community!
We're so very sorry for the reasons that bring you here, but we're really glad you've found us. You're sure to find our amazing community a wonderful source of advice, information, encouragement and support as you navigate your care — we're all here for you!
From what we can see in your profile data, it looks like you're on or will be starting TCHP — this is a very common chemotherapy/targeted therapy regimen for the type of cancer you've been diagnosed with (HR-, HER2+), and we're sure you'll find others here who can help walk you through what to expect, how to manage side effects, and prepare for recovery. You can also join our November 2025 chemo thread to talk with others currently undergoing chemo.
We also offer Virtual Support Groups for those going through treatment and beyond, if connecting in real-time sounds like something you could be interested in. You can see the schedule of our free, weekly groups and register here.
Let us know how else we can help you and we look forward to hearing more of your story and supporting you!
—The Community Navigators
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Thank you moderators. Should I cut and paste my story here into another thread? No one but you have responded so perhaps this isn’t the right place.
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Hi @teeberry, Welcome even though I’m sorry you had to join us. When you get your HER2 status you will be able to find a thread relevant to your type of breast cancer (HER2+ or triple negative.) When I was diagnosed I didn’t realize that there were different types of breast cancer with different treatments. There are a variety of threads for people undergoing surgery (most everyone), radiation and chemo where you can exchange experiences and support each other. My cancer was HR+ so much of my experience wouldn’t be helpful for you. When you have your receptor results you can use the search bar at the top of the page to find groups with a similar diagnosis. As the mods said there is virtual support group for those in active treatment. With a HR- diagnosis you will be having chemo so reading the current threads on that would be helpful. Depending on the size and location of your tumor you may have to decide on the type of surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy with/without reconstruction) so those are topics you can look at in advance. All the best going forward with your treatment.
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Hi @teeberry! You can continue your story here, or also share it in threads relevant to chemo or your type of breast cancer once your HER2 status is confirmed. Take a look at the following topics:
Please keep posting and let us know how you’re doing. We’re all here to support you.
The Mods
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