Hi Southpool
Thank for your response to swim wear I will go on the net and look for AllAbout the girl I think I have noticed this site before.
i am really pleased you had a good holiday it is nice to hear from someone you has had a mx and moved on. I am in the same mind set as you if I can manage on this holiday I think it will make my mind up not to have a mx. Where did you purchase your ABC prosthesis from?
Suziex
I’m one of the 18 too! And yes we have come a long way! It’s been a long and often bumpy road not without it’s tears I might add, but there’s been lots - in fact tons of laughter too!!
We did it by supporting each other, holding hands and sending lots of cyber hugs - Oh and must not forget the odd kick up the backside when needed!!!
I’ve had three holidays since finishing treatment (chemo, rads & mx), have returned to work and have hair again! Oh and met these ladies for real!
Gosh Maria that lady asking for a pint of what we were on!! We all burst out laughing shaking our heads saying “Nooooooo” didn’t we! And for the record all we were “on” was laughter with not a drop of alcohol in sight… <that time=“”> ;0)</that>
I had a tummy recon in March this year and I’m delighted with the results! I felt great on the beach this summer not having to worry about ‘that gap’ so anybody thinking about recon I would say yes! But as Maria has said we are all different so it is a very personal decision.
Suzie, try M&S for swimsuits, I got three from there and they were reasonably priced too. I could swim in my prosthesis, just had to make sure it was washed and rinsed properly afterwards. I still took my softie with me though ‘just in case’.
So thank you Maria for inviting us along… My journey would have been a lot more difficult without you all - and not forgetting BCC of course!
And I wish all you other ladies well, and for any ‘newbies’ out there I hope this thread will give you some hope for the days and months ahead…
“Nell” xxx
Maria, what a lovely post. It’s so necessary to get the reminder that so many of us DO get through it and out the other side. News of friends who don’t get through shocks us to the core, so hearing about a big group who are all still kicking and screaming and shocking the neighbours is a real boost. Thank you.
I was diagnosed late 2010 and have only recently finished Herceptin so still fresh to the whole cancer treatment thing, and still waiting for the day when cancer doesn’t come to my mind with every hot flush.
Suzie my swim Prothesis was from womanzone, same size as my normal one & was great. Just rinsed at end of the day.
Sx
Gosh another of the class of 2010 here!! Present and almost correct, Maria!
To be honest BCC brings back some terrible memories for me! But also it has brought some very special ladies into my life that will remain friends forever
Without them it would have made this breast cancer journey very hard to cope with.
When l was diagnosed bc it was in my head 24/7 when l spoke to ladies on bcc they kept telling me it would get easier, but never thought that was possible but it was!! And while l am aware of aches and pains, l enjoy life again! As well as meet these lovely ladies as much as we can!
Having been diagnosed with lots of positive nodes was a big worry! But now l know lots of ladies with positive nodes that are still enjoying their life 20+ years on.
BCC was a very big help, must have driven them mad with my questions! They also put me in touch with a lady that had similar diagnosis to myself and she was 20 years on! So that gave me hope!!
I had a diep done on the 1<sup>st</sup> August, absolutely thrilled with my new breast and cleavage! Cannot wait to get the uplift and nipple done, which should be Feb/March!
Suziex Hope you have a lovely holiday! I am sure lots of ladies will give you advice on whats best for mx and swimwear! I had to wait a year for my reconstruction, so if you are thinking about it, get your name down!! You can always take if off again!
Cats, Good Luck with your appointment next Thursday, just thinking back to those days brings back some horrid memories, but if you need to make this journey, l hope you find some good friends on BCC to help you along, we had many laughs along with the tears.
Hi Revcat, So pleased you are doing so well, glad l never got into your group! You might have made me climb Ben Nevis with you. At least Maria lets us enjoy days out in London…….
Brilliant that you have raised so much money.
Lilac, another 2010 lady! Good to hear you are living your life to the full, well done!
Joan, well done on finishing active treatment, now what has Birmingham done for you all to invade it!! We are also meeting in Birmingham in November!! German Market and Slug and Lettuce here we come………….
Di, Chascat, Maria67, Quail, Katytc, Southpool and Cackles, Good luck to you, and stay healthy!
Seriously hope this brings some hope to you newbies, we all know the fear and worry you are going through, and easy to say ‘you will get there’ when you are going through so much worry, Try and find a good ‘group’ of friends to share this awful time, it really does make the ‘journey’ so much easier!
xxx
Maria, hope you’ve got plenty of cash stashed! I’m another one of the infamous 18 embarking ladies. I may have lost a boob but I have gained 17 lovely friends who have always been there for me. I do sometimes have the odd scary thought but mostly BC is now firmly at the back of my mind. I will never regret my decision to join the BCC forums, there is always someone who can answer any questions. I swim regularly and have an Ameona swim prosthesis. I tried my stick on boob but it came unstuck!
Carol x
Thankyou Danjo and Sandra4 and Dee49, I wonder how many boobs we have between us, maybe we ought to count and sent a £ for each one (lol)
Southpool it sounds like you have the right attitude, no strap marks, yes you are right. I too live breast free ( mastecomies in 2003 and 2010) and have a little cleavage, I think it is due some having some fat around !!
Chocciemuffin, Nice to hear from. I still get hot flushes, they started in 2003 with tamoxyfen, but I just think, great not enough oestogen to start bc again !! You’ll see, you will think less about it soon, now your treatment has finshed.
£28, and counting
Maria xx
Wow ladies you are an inspiration!!!
Im only 8 wks diagnosed. had DCIS and IDC . Had mx on 25/9 awaiting reports this week, to find my next step in this journey.
Just reading all your comments made me smile and cry. I don’t think anyone realises how important words really can be and how many people a caring thought can touch.
ANNIE X
Hi, I’m another of maria’s class of 2010. I was 36 at dx so the youngest on the embarking thread, but I was very well looked after by all the ladies and they are my very special Facebook buddies now. I had two sons aged 4 and 2, they are now 5 and 7, and we are happy. X
Maria - thank you so much for the good luck wishes xx
Sandra - thank you so much for the good luck wishes and if I do have to make the journey, I feel like this is going to be a wonderful place for help and support and, hopefully, to make some friends along the way. xx
I’m also from the class of 2010 and it’s great to have the support and friendship of the whole group.Unfortunately,I have recurrence but my buddies are there to see me through it.I hesitated to post this on here but decided to anyway to support Maria
What a lovely thread. Whatever our individual journeys are with breast cancer, it is good to know that we don’t have to be alone.
Hi, Maria,
A great thread here, full of inspiration and hope, so congratulations. Like Southpool, I’m an April Bunny and am also looking forward to our meet in a few weeks;all thefriends on our thread have been wonderfully supportive throughout. It is lovely that you have continued to keep in touch and a life- affirming testament to the power of on line communities!
Love and best wishes to you all,
Sameelee3
So pleased you ladies are getting some ‘hope’ from Maria’s post!
Anne (Taxi73) yes one of our lovely ladies has had a recurrence. And we are all hoping with all our hearts that the treatment will stamp those cancer cells out!
Glad you posted Anne, l know you worry about bringing people down with your recurrence, be we are all so aware it can happen to any of us at any time.
xxx
I’ve been thinking about your post all day Taxi53, and I’m so glad you spoke up. I’ve been reading about secondary breast cancer awareness day, and also reading articles (like the recent one in the Guardian) about “life after breast cancer”, and I think that it is as important for us to hear from you as it is for us to hear about your friends who haven’t had a recurrence.
Part of the problem for so many of us is that the prevailing wisdom, the “story” if you will, is that you “move on” from breast cancer. You have the treatment, they cure you and hey, presto, you get on with things. The reality is so much different, and part of the reason we understand that is because we are hearing from our secondary sisters. Sometimes I feel as if a recurrence is seen in the world at large as some sort of failure. It is certainly an uncomfortable thought for our friends, family and acquaintances who want us to be “fine”. My sister gets angry if I express any sort of fear–she says she knows so many women who are fine now. And, I know it is also difficult for my husband whose life was so disrupted this past year, and who now wants to move on himself. But I remember SCACO and Potmaid, as well as Jenni Murray (!) and, for that matter, your BCC friends. I see Val playing word games in “Chit Chat”, and Lucy giving me great advice while I was struggling with chemo. The truth is really so much more complicated and, in some respects, more awesome and inspiring than prevailing story we are fed. As survivors, we are living with fear and with side effects, with tingling feet, hot flushes and radiotherapy-related arthritis, with unknown aches and pains and with depression, sometimes we are living with recurrance; but we are also climbing mountains, and eating chocolate and supporting our friends and families, we are living with cancer.
The best reason for us all to support the BCC secondary bc day is that an acceptance of the reality of secondary cancer may be the first step towards getting on with living with cancer as part of our lives.
I know I haven’t said this very well, but I hope that you at least understand that your post encouraged me as much as those of the others. How amazing that you’ve all forged such a lovely bond. It’s good to see. All the best to all of you.
Kathy
Quail - I think your post was beautifully said,and I would echo everything you’ve put.
I am a primary lady and my family will not allow me talk in any negative way but I am living with the fear of what if? My daughter too gets angry with me.
Your post says it all for me and much more eloquently that I could have done.
Well said Quail. Secondary breast cancer is a sad reality but it shouldn’t be treated as if it is a shameful reality. I prefer to see this disease as a journey rather than a ‘fight’ to be won or lost. It’s really not like that.
However, there is a difference between a local recurrence (which is still considered a primary cancer) and having secondary cancer - and I’m not sure many people realise that.
Shoot, Keyfeatures, I do know the difference, and was just being woolly-minded. I’m a reader, rather than a doer, so I poured over those dammed leaflets that the breast care nurses and macmillan people keep giving me. I must have read the healthy eating one a million times, and it still hasn’t made a BIT of difference, and despite the Lymphoedema booklet, I missed my lymphoedema till my arm ballooned like an elephant. But I’m aware that there is a considerable difference in prognosis between primary and secondary bc, so my apologies for being one of those people who babble on as if they know what they are talking about while those of you who are living the life are quietly grimacing or wincing.
Also, I am so in agreement about the militaristic vocabulary that is all to often used about cancer. Maybe my docs are “fighting” a battle here, but I certainly am not. And a pink battle at that. Yuk. Anyway, all too often I feel more like the battlefield than one of the combatants.
Ps no profile photo as can’t upload - one for the mods I think…
Edited: Tuesday 09/10/12 9:45pm
Now sorted… Thank you mods!
Hello there Ladies,
Awhhh, I’m a 2010 person as well, although mine was later that year too, like ChoccieMuffin. Came on here just now, as I have annual clinic check up tomorrow, and found this lovely thread! I’m doing fine, and really appreciated all the support I got on here. There were others from 2010 that haven’t posted on this thread yet, but I’m thinking of them - Deed, Welsh Girl… wish I could remember others as well. But, a special hello to Choccie Muffin, Saffronseed and Cackles - I shared many onine posts with you - hello to Welshgirl and Deed if they do come on this post.
Susiex, I use a wash scrunchie inside my swimwear - my remaining boob is only small (like it’s left sided friend who had bc), so I buy the small size ones - you know the net pom pom balls that you can wash yourself with in the shower/bath, well they’re what I’m meaning. They’re great to put inside your swimwear as a replacement boob, and cos they’re designed for using in water, the water automatically ccomes out of them as you get out of the pool/sea, unlike the foam ones which you have to surreptitiously squeeze a bit.
I have quite a few of them, n pop them inside each item of swimwear, then they’re ready to use, and I dont have to mess about taking them out of one garment into another. They’re really cheap, and you can easily cut them down to size if they’re too big.
Love to Everyone,
Shelley xxx