A good news story for October.
We are a group of 18 ladies who met on the forums in 2010, as we embarked on our new lives with bc. Some of us had lumpectomies (sometimes 2 or 3) some had mastectomies, some of us are triple negative and some of us are on hormone treatment, all of us had chemo or rads or both. It was a bumpy ride for us all. We have now met up with each other and continue to support each other, and wanted to let people know that there is usually light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of people more on from the forums once their treatment is over, (I think most of us have) so this is to gives newbies hope. We have someone in our group who got engaged, another who got married, someone who has met a new man, as well as people who have had new grandkids, or seen their child start school, university, or go to work abroad. We have people who have been on holidays overseas, one who have done a university diploma, some who have returned to work or retired. A couple of us have moved house. And all since bc. Some have had reconstructions, others live breast free.
We still get scared when we are waiting for test results, and we don’t always get the results we want, but we are all still here 2 years on.
Please comment or bump up my post during the month of October to keep it near the top so newbies can see a positive message during the bc month. I am promising to donate £1 for every comment during the month of October.
I am also just two years down the line just has my 2nd mammogram and my two year check. Just booked my first abroad holiday after my mx I think I am now ready to have a abroad holiday again. I haven,t had a reconstruction so I am a bit anxious about wear a bikini again will see how it goes this might make my decision about reconstruction. I would like to hear from anyone who has been on holiday after mx and how they managed and what type of pros they used for swimming I heard that some are better than others. Just finally I like two say there is hope and life after BC.
I just wanted to echo what Maria has said as I am one of the class of 2010 ‘embarking ladies’. When I was diagnosed in 2010 I really thought the ‘worst’, I couldn’t stop crying and I really felt I wouldn’t be able to get through it all. We all have had different experiences with our diagnosis but we do have the one thing in common that we have breast cancer and have had (and are still having) extensive treatment but have been able to get on with our lives. The worry that breast cancer may return may always be at the back of your mind but it is at the ‘back’ and no longer the first thing I think about in the morning or the last thing I think about before going to bed. I have met some fantastic ladies through this site and shared sadness, good news, good results and sometimes less positive results. it is reassuring to know that whatever happens in the future I will always have the support of the others, wise words, thoughts and kindness that comes through. Thanks to Maria for starting our ‘thread’ and thanks to all the class of 2010. x
Hi Maria I found you, I am one of the ladies in group of 2010 and I can vouch for everything Maria as said. Maria started our thread 2 years ago and 18 scared ladies who didn’t know what was happening to them joined the thread. We have been through ups and downs but were all still here. I have found through having breast cancer I have met 17 ladies who I am proud to call my friends, so there are some positives if you look for them.So yes breast cancer is a terrible thing to happen but were here to say you can get through with a little help from your friends.
Thank you Maria for our fantastic thread.
Heather xxxxxxxx
I have just come back to the forum after finding a lump, last time I was here I was dx-ed with Duct Ectasia and needed no further treatment. It’s a different story this time with having a lump and my appt at the breast clinic is next thurs.
Thank you so much for posting this as it gives me hope that if it is something serious then it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.
Well done to all of you for achieving so much and for being so brave.
Hi Suzie, I had went on holiday abroad twice prior to my reconstruction. I was apprehensive about swimming etc both in the sea and in the pool as I was sure that everyone would notice my prothesis or it may slip out etc etc. I bought two swimming constumes from Nicola Jane that were flattering and held my prothesis very securely and you couldn’t see it it at all even when I lent forward. I bought a spongy prothesis with a weight in for the pool/sea and it was fine and sat nicely in my cozzy - I was able to paddle, swim and do everything I did before. I kept my best prothesis for evening and wore that whilst I washed out my spongy one and let it dry overnight. You are right though you need to live your life and carry on as normally as you can see how you get on it it will help you decide whether you feel you need to go for a reconstruction in the future. x
What a lovely post Marial. I’m a 2010 person too… did not join the forums until 2011 when I ended active treatment and was looking for people who ‘got’ my world. In real life I meet up with a group in Glasgow who are between newly diagnosed and a little over five years since. We experience life in all its fullness too. As many know, via the Dark Dark Woods and Benchland threads, I climbed Ben Nevis for BCC to mark my two years since daignosis - and have raised more than £1600 for this great cause. This time two years ago I was scared, bald and bloated as I went through neoadjuvant chemo; now I am happy, have luscious wavy hair and, if a little more overweight, generally in good health with a recent clear mammo and NED status.
Hi Maria, I am one of the 2010, and in 2010 I was scared and didn’t know what was happening to me but with the help of a group of ladies I am getting through it. We have had some tears but plenty of laughs and through one of the worst things that have happened to me in my life a fantastic thing happened I met 17 fantastic ladies I am proud to call my friends. We are still going through treatment and checks, and like Saffron said we are all scared it will return, but if it does I know I will have the support of 17 wonderful ladies.
I know if ever I need any of these ladies they will be there for me, so thankyou Maria for starting our wonderful embarking thread.
Heather xxxxxx
Another 2010 person. I was 2/3 way through my PGCE when I was diagnosed in May of that year. I got back to it again once I’d finished Herceptin in March this year and have just started my last teaching practice. For such a long time, cancer was all I thought about and I found it hard to imagine getting past that. But I have, and am living life to the full again.
Lilac x
Hello, I’m another one of the 18 ladies who have been together now for the last 2 years, since my dx of breast cancer. These people have become very special friends to me and have helped me through to where I am today. I have had big changes since we all got together and I speak to all of my special friends on a daily basis, we support eachother in a way that noone else can. We all know what we have been through and we have often shared problems with eachother in a way that we could not share even with our nearest and dearest. We have met up now on several occasions, the last of which was the best hen party I could ever have wished for!!! I recently got married as Maria mentioned, this is something I could never have imagined when I and my husband had the news of my bc 2years ago, how much life has moved on since that day. I am so pleased that I replied to Maria’s first post, she is such a lovely friend along with all of my other special friends, they will always be so special to me xxx
Thank you for posting such a lovely, positive thread. Its great that you ladies have stayed in touch and continue to be involved in each other’s lives. I belong to the ‘Chemo in March 2012’ thread. Most of us have finished active treatment, except 2 or 3 who are still having rads. We are all meeting up in November for a weekend in Birmingham, there will be about 20 of us. Its a really positive thing to come out of bc, I count it as a blessing to have met and formed friendships with the other ladies on our thread.
Lovely post Maria,i was diagnosed in 2010 too,have had double mx and later this month will have nipple tattooing,After that im discharged and will have yearly checkups.Yes we will all have fears of a return but we will get on with our lives the best we can and enjoy life all the more because of what we have been through.I will continue to use this site as an inspiration.There are some wonderful ladies on here,and some sadly not with us any more,and some still going through treatments.Good luck and best wishes to all,
Di.x
What a lovely post Maria, like Joan, I too am from the March 2012 chemo thread and have made friends for life on this forum. I am very anxious about the future and fear the “what ifs” as we all do but your post is inspirational x
Oh Maria, you and your wonderful friends have made me cry. What a lovely story.
I’m like RevCat in that I didn’t start posting much till after treatment, when I needed to talk to people who got that I can’t just “move on”. But this forum has been a lifeline since day one–the best thing Google ever brought me! There is so much awful about this cr*p disease. I’m one year on–and on a bad day still scared witless. But twelve months ago I never (literally) thought I would be able to make it; the friendship and solidarity of the woman on this site really have made a difference in my life.
Thanks for your £1 per message donation–what a nice idea (and so much easier, RevCat, then climbing a MOUNTAIN!!!). I’ll match you.
x
Maria, what a lovely post, I like chascat and Joan am from the March 2012 chemo thread, through that I have met some amazing people who will be friends for life, am looking forward to our meet up in Nov. X
Hello ladies . I´m also one of Maria´s "Embarking " ladies . We all went through so much together that first year , despair , worry , fright , insecurities …you name it , we all suffered it . Yet we all received so much love and support to push us and pull us out of dreaded depths .Always we had each others support and the invaluable support of the BCC nurses , there on the other end of the telephone .I live in Spain and at times felt very vunerable but I knew I could count on Maria and the other girls to drag me back kicking and screaming into normality . Or as "normal " as I´ll ever be .
We have formed friendships that will never end and to meet the ladies you have "spoken " to most days for a couple of years was such a highlight of this year for me , and I loved them all as much in "real life " as I thought I did in our vitual world . It definately was a meeting of friends , and to join in Izzy´s wedding celebrations ie hen party was a joy . I don´t think the S&L will ever be the same again !! I think they might have expected a sedate group of ladies …that is definately not what they got .
Good luck to all going through treatment now , and to Patchit and your group have a wonderful time when you meet up in November .xx
Saffronseed, Heather, Izzypal and Jackwagstaff, Thanks for coming on to support my thread, weird going back to your forum names We have come a long way since those difficult times.
Suziex, I also got a swim suit form Nicola jane, but usualy use my favorite swim suit into which i sewed a couple of pockets and use sponge boobs. Have a great holiday
Catsmother, good luck on Thursday
Revcat, Ben Nevis, wow, well done. I’m a bit too lazy for that.
Lilac, I’m glad you are back on track
Patchit, Chascat, Marie67, I did notice that your thread had a lot of posts, a lot more than we had on ours I think. During one of our meet-ups, we must have been having a lot of fun and making a lot of noise, cos one lady who noticed us, said “Wow what ever you lot are on, I’ll have some of that” Ha ha, if only she knew…
Quail, there are always dark days, but they usualy become less and less
Katytc & Cackles, you don’t say where you are on your journey, but all the best.
If this post has given just a little bit of hope to someone, then that’s great. Take care of yourselves.
£19 so far, Maria
Thanks for tge post Maria it was a real tonic. I am on the April chemo thread & we are meeting up at the end of this month. I don’t know how I would have got through my chemo without the support of my fellow April bunnies. I’m sure the meet up will be a joyous & emotional event!
Suzie I have just returned from a holiday abroad after my mx in April so I have road tested successfully a couple of bikinis, a swimsuit & two types of swim prothesis. So here goes:
A sea folly goddess bikini from All about the girl was fabulous for sunbathing as the top was quite narrow & unclipped at the back. Just because I’ve had a mx doesn’t mean I want strap marks! I also got a swim beanie with it, which was really light and gave me good shape. I actually swam it in with no pockets & was absolutely fine.
A custom made bikini from Womenzone was fabulous for swimming I swam in the sea, pool & even jumped off the side of a boat and it never moved. I used an ABC swim prothesis with it which is clear silicon with a hollow back and it was great. Women zone was great & i also bought a swimming costume from them, I am tall so they had long costumes which was fab. They need 28 days notice to custom make but you can also buy off the peg.
I am a c cup & my clever surgeon has left me a little cleavage so don’t know if that helps, but I never felt any different in my bikinis or swimsuit to before my mx and it helped reinforce my view that I am not going to bother with a reconstruction.
We have someone in our group who got engaged, another who got married, someone who has met a new man, as well as people who have had new grandkids, or seen their child start school, university, or go to work abroad. We have people who have been on holidays overseas, one who have done a university diploma, some who have returned to work or retired. A couple of us have moved house. And all since bc. Some have had reconstructions, others live breast free.