Please bear with me if I have done this wrong I am using the mobile version for the first time . I posted last Saturday saying I had heavy chest although at the time I wasn’t overly concerned. However by Sunday morning I was in agony like someone was stood on me. Ended up going to hospital and after 3 days of tests it turns out I have pneumonia , pleurisy and fluid round the heart. The docs say it isn’t related to my lumpectomy the week before, it was just incredibly bad luck and probably because my immunity was still low. In my head, after the op I was fine and normal again , just goes to show! I’ll be here at least till Monday . Thanks for your advice to get it seen I just wish I’d done it a little bit sooner xx
Hi Spudgirl,
You managed to post using mobile okay. Sorry to hear you are in hospital but hopefully you are getting some good treatment to make you better as quickly as possible. Hope you get out Monday and home to rest! I’m pleased you sought help on Sunday as it sounds like you certainly needed it! 
Kate
X
Well done Amber, dance away 
Spudgirl - Sorry that you’re in hospital hope they let you out soon.
Angie - I would query your lack of appointments as i have a meeting with the rads consultant on Monday and today I received an outpatients appointment with my original onc for November.
Moira - looking forward to meeting up in the morning
Kim x
Hi angels
Spudgirl-so sorry to hear you’re in clink. Hope you’re Released soon. Sending hugs.
Philomena- congrats! You’ve Made it- do you feel good or abit flat?
Angie- I would question your lack of appts too. In fact even if its Not their policy if you want an appt you should be able to have one.
Sandy- what a hard decision you have to make. I had no choice- wle and sentinel node biopsy.They did get clear margins the first time so only one op. For me the wle left me with a more mutilated boob than I was expecting. Altbough I have aboob it does have abig hole in it,and there is a definite difference in size and I’m Hoping for some sort of reconstruction when the treatment is all over. Only you can decide, but why don’t you phone the help line and talk it through?
Judy-glad you’re doing ok and have finally had a bath!
I can’t Remember who asked but the disgusting mouth is a chemo se not from rads-as far as I know anyway.
Have avery sore nipple now, but 9 days down 8 to go.
Love to you all
Mel Xxx
Afternoon ladies,
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and advice. I have decided to go for MX. I think your all right, OH agrees, and in the words of my lovely 80+ mum in law, “better to be safe than sorry”. Also the last Docetaxol was harsh so I don’t think I could stand two surgeries if they don’t get clear margins first time. You have all been so helpful and I can’t believe that by the time we all got together in April on here most of you had already had your surgeries without the added love and support of all us Angels. I can only tip my hat off to you. (Defo can’t see to type now)!!! (Off to get tissue)xxxxxxxxxxxxx. Back now…
Spudgirl - Get yourself well and out of hospital sweetie.
Angie - Get yourself back in and demand a follow up appointment. How dare they after what you’ve been through. It’s just not fair on you. You need regular checkups. I already have a follow up appointment to see my oncologist in Dec. Give me their number im just in the mood. LOL. In fact…
Philomena - I’ll have your angiosuite number too. Two birds eh.
Mel - You have the horrid mouth too. It’s truly awful isn’t it. And why is it the only thing I can taste is chocolate especially if it’s been melted in the micro wave until it’s runny. I’m convinced Cadbury and Co are in with Cancer Research etc in formulating the chemo drugs.
Rozz - I talk to the BC nurses on Wed so I am getting a long list of questions ready. Thank you for your OH spin on it.
Mel A- Poor student nurse. Obviously trying to help but not thought about how best to phrase the reply.
Judy - Thank you for your thoughts too. I know how hard it is now to get your head around the MX thing not just cosmetically but how my OH will take it if anything goes wrong and they can’t reconstruct straight away. The surgeon was a little vague at that point but I am going to press for more info on weds. I’m dreading the drain thing and how the anethetist is going to find a vein but at least it’s all that’s behind you now. How long before Rads. Do you know.
Moira and Kim - Hope meeting up went ok. x
Lynn - How are you doing with those Rad appointments. Explain to them about your holiday or ask them to shuffle appointments to fit you in. Hope all goes well.
Amber - Yaaaaayyyy. Congratulaions another at the station.
Hope everyone else ive missed is taking it easy. Have a good weekend. Sandy. x
Just a quickie. Angie I was told today that I will have a follow up appointment about 6 weeks after my rads to check everything is ok. It might be worth asking for a follow up and explaining your concerns.
Sandy I didn’t have a drain with my mx so you never know, not that there was loads to take from my A cup -lol. Seriously though I think you are making the best decision to give yourself the best chance going forward xx
Roz - good on you for buying your holiday cottage. If this cr*p haw shown us anything it’s that life is for living. xx
Good Evening Angels,
Kim, it was really good to meet up with you today. I felt like we’d known each other for ages and I came away feeling elated. This forum has done a wonderful job putting us all together.
I’m sure that you are appreciating the support on here right now, Angie. You go girl (as Sharon Osbourne would say), let them know that just shrugging their shoulders and closing the door on you at the end of medical treatment isn’t going to help your physical or mental wellbeing - and it’s not just you, it’s all the others in the far North of Scotland. Why are there not national protocols that are adhered to? I know that down here in Yorkshire I’ll be seeing one oncologist just before the end of rads, followed by an appointment with a nurse at the radiography dept then in a few weeks time I see my main oncolgist for the final what to look out for session. While I’ve been doing rads I’ve had a phone call from my breast care nurse to see how I was getting on. I’m more than happy with the care and attention I’m getting and I believe that all of this should be available to everyone who goes through this sh*t journey. Physically we’re mostly going to get over all that bc has dealt us but I think the mental scars, the worry about every little pain, the anxiety when the annual mammogram comes round and the knowing what we’ll have to go through if it returns, these are the issues that now need to be addressed. They need to let go of us gently not just say go away and get on with it. Rant over.
Judy, I’m crossing my fingers and toes foryou and hoping the CT scan finds absolutely zilch.
Sandie - you’ve made the right decision. By that I mean that any decision you made would be right for you. You now know that you’ve done everything possible to beat the blasted bc.
Well done for still feeling like dancing Amber. I’ll be joining you and Philomena on Tuesday afternoon. I’ll bring my handbag to put in the middle of the floor!
Moira xxx
Good afternoon ladies
Moira - I t was lovely meeting up and, like you, I feel like we have known each other for ages and I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the rest of the angels
Angie - you stick to your guns and let them know that the lack of contact with the oncology department is unacceptable. I assume that the reason for the differences could have something to do with the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland having a separate governing body from the NHS in England, although there is inconsistencies across the treatment and care within England as well.
Sandy - I’m so glad you have come to a decision that is right for you.
I’m looking forward to joining the growing group of angels finishing rads on Wednesday.
We are going to book a week away in Portugal so that we can relax and recharge our batteries , to be honest I’m not that bothered about going away but I think the my OH really needs the break . I have found a comparison site which covers per-existing medical conditions including breast cancer , which takes the leg work out of contacting individual companies the link is www.payingtoomuch.com
Hope everyone is having a good weekend
Kim x
Hi philomena my boob went like that some weeks after surgery. It looked fine for afew weeks then I started to leak fluid from scar and had to have it drained off. After boob just shrivelled and hole developed where tumor had been.Maybe rads has got rid of any remaining fluid? I suppose we’re just going to keep changing for a while.
Sandy- glad you’ve been able to make a descision and I’m sure you’redoing the right thing.
Angie- so sorry they’ve made you feel so bad. You are perfectly entitled to ask for an appt stick to your guns, we,re all behind you. I see my rads onc every week and chemo onc before every chemo. Not sure yet what happens at the end.I signed up for a breast cancer care course about moving on, which covers what to look for amongst other things. They wrote to me and offered it. Perhaps there’s one in your area? Has anyone else done one of these?
Sending love to you all. Debra- are you ok?
Love mel xxx
Hi Angie,
One of the hair dyes that I believe you are allowed to use is the 8 wash Nice n Easy. I read this somewhere on this forum a while ago. You can only get it in Superdrug or Sainsburys. It has to be the 8 wash version, not the 24 wash. I’ve got the light ash brown ready and waiting for when I have enough bum-fluff to dye.
Philomena, I’ve got 2 rads sessions to go and my boob is looking pink and no longer as swollen as it was a few days ago. I’ll let you know how it goes on in the next few days after I’ve finished.
Moira xxx
Hi, Re hair dye - have just found iameclectica.blogspot. Search it through google. Well worth a look Moira x
Debra you must have been well hacked off, after gearing yourself up for it. Are they giving you somethingg to boost your cell count? hope its up soon anyway and you can carry on. Is this your last cycle? Sending you wbc boosting vibes.
Angie last week of rads for you. Glad you got some answers from bcc- Thanks Jo.
Pauline I’m So impressed you’re losing weight, wish I could get my head round it- I’ve Always been crap at dieting and nothing seems to have changed in that dept.
Love to everyone else ,
love Mel xxx
Afternoon Angels
Hope you are all having a better day than me, I’ve just spent 2 hours in the rads dept for my first appt, they were supposedly running 30 mins late when I arrived and it just kept going up and up! I just hope its not that bad every day or I’ll be very frustrated by the end of 3 weeks!
Angie, good to hear you have had some success with the follow ups today. I just hope they realise they need to follow through on all their commitments to you. Have you got lots of hair already to be thinking of dyeing it?
Pauline, well done on the weight and inch loss. Are you doing exercises on the power plate or just standing on it? My OH has looked at them before but had not heard of anyone using one so I may have to send him out shopping!
Lynn, how often can we get a prescription for a new wig? I am hoping my hair starts growing really quickly over the next 3 weeks so I can go ‘naked up top’ when I go back to work but I’m not so sure so maybe a short wig might be an option.
Debra, hope you get your final chemo very soon. I ate lots of liver during chemo as was told that would help with the blood count, if you can bear it might be worth trying it.
Hope everyone else is okay,
Kate
X
Hi Kate don’t know if it is different in Scotland but I was told at the start I was entitled to two wigs on prescription. I saw the oncologist nurse today at The Beetson before my rads appt she wanted to do my bloods again as they could not get a vein properly the last time I was at stobhill. I just asked her for another prescription, she said no problem and gave it to me. Must admit she has been very good throughout my Treatment. I have an appt at the wig shop Parrucche on Wednesday.
Angie well done you for sticking to your guns , We should tell them when they upset us or treat us badly .lynn x
Hi Angels
I can’t remember if I told you about a charity bag that came through the door for ‘breast cancer partnership.’ I hadn’t hears of them before so I looked them up on the internet. They are all about the recovery process and how we can help ourselves in addition to the treatment given in hospitals. The charity have recieved a grant which enables them to send out a ‘breast cancer survivor pack’ free of charge. Mine came today and it has some really useful information as well as a book by Greg Anderson ‘Breast Cancer-50 essential things you can do’ and a little notebook to make notes in. It’s well worth a look.
I’ve got 2 more rads to go then I’m alighting the train with Kim on Wednesday - woohoo! We’ve got the same celebration song too haven’t we Kim? - ‘paid my dues’ by Anastacia.
I’m glad your rads went ahead as planned Lynn.
Angie - what a star! You’ve got to look after yourself and get yourself the best support possible. I must say I’ve been very lucky with the support I’ve had.
Debbie - what a shame your chemo was postponed after gearing yourself up for it. Don’t worry though we’re all here on the platform still waiting for you and Mel to arrive. Has everyone else finished chemo now?
Pauline well done on the weight loss
Amber I think mini meltdowns are on the cards a bit now treatment has finished, but you can’t beat family as a pick me up. I’ve had a couple of moments today, but fortunately they didn’t last long as my OH was there as always to put me back on track.
Have a nice evening ladies.
Mel xx
Testing if this works
It did fecinora welcome back how are you doing? Going for a short cut probably still blond as I have been for years told the woman in the wig shop short and funky not an old woman cut, watch this space.
Kate what an awful time for you to wait, hope it is better tomorrow. Sleep fairies to you all. X
Amber ps where did you get aloe Vera is it a special one. Nurse told me not to put anything on other than aqueous only to cool skin but only if required.
Wow, that was quick!!
Havnt been on for ages, so here’s an update.
In for surgery this morning to go back into WLE done 19th August for ‘scrapings’ because margins were not wide enough.
Now told that two tumours, (not one as previously thought) were removed, one 3cm, one 1cm.
(I thought an MRI would have shown separate tumours, especially as they had about 2cm between them…???)
Anyway, today, exactly 4 weeks after WLE, was earliest date available, so that means rads wont start till November. But apparently thats OK, ‘It wont make any difference’. I thought you had rads to ‘mop up’ any stray cells, so the earlier the better surely?
Last chemo was 23rd July. I’m beginning to wonder if I should have gone for mx at the start instead of chemo first for chance of WLE.
Cant wait for winter Death Race 2000 daily trips to the Beatson. Can you get winter tyres on the NHS? Had been hoping to be warm enough to go on bike to cut the queues and car park parades.
Big toenail fell off this morning as I rushed to put my socks on.
Thats 4 toenails and 5 fingernails so far, the rest are progressing in they’re own time.
Toes and soles still numb, and quite sore by the end of the day.
Still get dizzy on exertion, also brain malfunctions and hot/cold flushes.
Random electrified brown hairs of varying length sprouting between the white fluff.
I wonder if the two wigs policy goes by health board. I will ask.
Good wishes to everyone whichever train you’re on, even if its not HS2 xxx
Just put this on to see if it works, explanation to follow
ebay.co.uk/itm/331018854632?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649