Sandy, your toe nail, I read that could happen but I think your the first to experience it, poor you. The wedding sounds a blast, love the idea of all period costumes, that would be fab, it sounds like it was a giggle. Me and my hubby it married abroad 25 years ago, just the 2 of us went as it was fab, couldn’t afford to do iut now but it’s the only way we would have got married, neither of us wanted a church wedding. Hope the s/e lesson for you.
Hello Angels
Philomena - hope you are on the up now?
Loving the T-shirt idea - might have to look into that, would be hilarious. Thanks for all your lovely messages, am ok and friends have been great.
Spent all day at the hospital yesterday. Realised I had a sort of fatty swelling at the top of my spine which I swear i didn’t have before. That coupled with more days of hot and clod waves centred around head and neck area were enough for me to call the chemo unit and they asked me to go in for assessment. Immediately given antibiotics but bloods and immune system all turned out to be fine. Swelling was a mystery but to eliminate stuff was sent for an xray and an ultrasound so pleased they were so thorough. Seems the swelling is fatty tissue - and they think from the structure it is not ‘new’. Guy doing the ultrasound mentioned ‘camel’ rather too often - Charming !!! Common reason for such things is weight loss but as I am now heavier than I have ever been I tried to say this wasn’t the case for me. Anyway sent home which I was very pleased about, curious but not alarmed and pleased I got it checked out. Hot/cold thing probably down to hormones - great.
Carol x
Philomena it sounds like you’ve got your choice of extras 
Let’s hope its the thrush causing the problems, so it can be easily sorted. I hope everything goes ok today xx
Good luck today Angie -last one - woohoo! Can’t wait to join you all with Moira tomorrow.
Well done Moira for managing to return to work so soon. At the moment I can barely manage to keep on top of the house let alone work. Regarding chemo brain, I’m claiming long term damage. At least I’ve got an excuse now. Best of luck tomorrow xx
Debra it’s a shame you’ve had to delay your wedding, but it will be extra special when the day finally comes. Not long now until your treatment ends.
Xxx
Carol, sorry you’ve had a day in hospital, I’m sorry I had a giggle over the camel remarks, since I’ve put on so much weight, I was only saying the other day, i look like a camel as I seem to have at too much fat at the top of my back, and we were laughing that I was turning into a camel. It’s good that they’re so thoroutho when you ring the chemo unit, but it does make me a bit wary of ringing them, they’ll have us in at the drop of the hat!
Mel and Moira, hope the sleep fairys visit, you’ll be on the steroids from today won’t you? I don’t think I’ve slept right since starting on the docetaxol. Mels right Moira, you deserve a medal for working at the moment.
Right were dropping son off to swimming baths then taking my dad out to get him a new wheelchair, that’ll be fun.
Hi I’m due to start Chemo on 19th August and wondered if anyone from this group has been having TCH and how they had got on. Most people seem to be having FEC.
Also is anyone on the Herceptin PrefHer trial? I’ve just agreed to do be in on it, but wondered if anyone had any experience of it. Although maybe it’s a bit late to be asking!
Hi Daisymegan,
I was on TCH. I have recently had my last one. Just 12 more Herceptins to go! I wasn’t on any trials.
I have tolerated this regime very well. I have had no sickness or nausea, and not needed any anti-sickness medication (which is good because that causes other problems). After 6 cycles all I have taken in the way of meds are Paracetamol and Imodium, plus the steroids they give you. Nothing else at all. Yes, there are side effects, but I consider most of mine to have been irritations rather than problems. Fatigue is the worst, and that accumulates as you progress, but if you listen to your body, drink loads and rest loads, it is manageable. Oh and you need a good mouthwash because this regime can give you mouth ulcers that you need to keep infection free.
Feel free to contact me if you want any other details.
Good luck Linda xxx
Hi all,
Sitting around waiting for appointment date to see Onc/Rad team to sort out my treatment regime ! Am battling to cope, just turned 69, lost my husband to lung cancer three years ago and am on my own, having returned to the UK after growing up in South Africa. Married Daughter lives here, but she went through an awful time when her father died, I am trying to hide as much as I can from her. Had surgery mid July, nodes clear, grade 3, HER+, but mention was made of “aggressive” and this is really a huge worry for me. Does anyone out there have a similar diagnosis?
I am trying to force myself to do something during the day, but very lonely without my friends back in SA !
Need new ones 
Christine
hi angels
budge up pauline, kate and lori, any room for a little un (wi a large bottom) ?
ive done, pipes are out, bath is filling!!
Tastes gone already, not had much sleep, i dont really care though, just nice to get the last one out of the way.
Philomena - hope they dont detain you longer than they need to, get well soon. 
Sandy - surgery is no bother, really was ok. they make sure youre not in any pain at all, so if you just take it easy for a few weeks, you’ll be fine.
Judy - what have you got for eyes, baby girl was on for a day and a half, so just for you i’ll put her back on, she’s a bit cute says granny ange. You’ll be fine with the srgery, as it is at the moment my tum sticks out further than my belly anyway so no getting away from it even if i had 2 boobs! I find this works though, dont look in the mirror.
Mel-A - i agree, blame chemo for future senior moments
Carol - are you satisfied with what they told you? i find i worry about anything just lately, must be the general state of mind i’m in, hope youre feeling ok.
Moira - hope you had good bloods
so then, do we need another bench for moira, mel and judy, anyone else this week?
Ive got a new UGG hat, what a cool dude! Heads too massive for the wig, itslides upwards, dont want it pinging off, that would be startling for onlookers.
angie xx
hi christine
i had grade 2/3 and they said that they would treat it aggressive, they do whatever is needed to get the bad cells. i also had 12 of 15 nodes affected and they have since said that they will carryon to treat it aggressively, it just means that you get more doses or extra radiotherapy and suchlike. If the cancer is aggressive, they go for it and throw as much treatment as they can, which is good, although the wording is a bit scary.I had mastectomy, then 6 chemo, then rads to come then 5 years tamoxifen.
Are you having any chemotherapy? they also change the order of treatments and it all depends on the individual, we are all getting similar but different plans for similar but different stages and areas.
Youre more than welcome to chat, or moan, or ask questions etc we’re all in the same boat together. You will find friends on here, such a lovely group.
so feel free to ask away, we dont always talk treatment either so you can say what you want to us if you dont want to involve your daughter too much.
Youre very, very welcome.
Hugs to you,
angie xx
Hey Angie…nice to have you on the other side!!
Another photo and she just gets cuter…you are not wrong there, she’s gorgeous!!
angle, she is just adorable, and all that hair, I’m dead jealous! Glad you got through your last one, shuffle up a bit though, hope there’s room on that platform for Moira, mel and me… There’s no way my bottom would fit on any platform seat and the moment, so I will just stand.
Hello christine, I think mines grade 3 aggressive, with nodes affects, don’t know how many yet though till I have surgery. Angies right, I think in a way, it’s a relief it’s aggressive as they do throw everything at it. The chemo is aggressive but it’s shrunk my tumour down to nothing my oncologist said. If you need to chat about anything, the ladies on here are lovely, there’s no need to go through it alone. Best of luck Hun, keep your chin up and try and stay positive xx
Hi Christine,
Just to say I had my surgery in Feb which I recovered really well from. I started my Chemo in April (FEC-T) 6 cycles which I have just completed on 10th July. I had 3 nodes affected, although all were removed and was grade 2, I am also HER2+ so due to start Herceptin infusions on 12th August for a year and Tamoxifen in tablet form for five years.
Try not to worry there is no doubt it is a frightening journey and its not a road any of us would have chosen but we are all here to help each other through as best we can and as a group think we have managed very well. I have certainly found it a huge support and has helped me put things into perspective being able to talk to ladies going through the same - dont feel alone.
One of the benefits of this thread was that we were all starting and going through this within weeks of each other and have been a constant support with advice about what side effects were affecting us etc. Feel free to ask away, as worrying on your own will only make you more anxious.
One thing I would suggest though is when you get your start date, which may be August it would be worth popping into the thread for people starting Chemo on that month and then you have the benefit of people at the same stage as you…just a thought but like I said feel free to ask us anything that might be on your mind we will help if we can
Take care
Lori x
judy
i must be psychic
if you look at my post i asked for another bench haha i’m one of the ‘fat bottomed girls’ too
angie xx
Arggggghhhh, just typed long post and it disappeared, will re type later… 
Yay-another one off the train! Well done Angie. Looking forward to meeting you theretomorrow.
Sandy your wedding sounds gorgeous. Like Judy we got married abroad as we didn’t want a big church wedding. 6 of us flew out to Las Vegas and had a lovely ceremony 16 years ago, then back for a house party with friends.
Carol sorry you had a scare in hospital. I’m glad you’re ok
Philomena I hope you’re ok and today has gone well for you. Xx
Christine I’m glad you found us. The support recieved on this site has been fantastic and really helped us through this journey. I lost my dad to lung cancer 11 years ago and it was awful to see him so ill. I will say this journey will be nothing like that. It’s hard and you will have good days and bad days, with more good though it doesn’t always seem like that. We have all found that the first week after chemo is the worst, with improvements over the next couple of weeks before your next chemo. I had 3 tumours, one of which was 6.5cm and grade 3 but fortunately no node involvement. That has been classed as aggressive, which is why they are giving me radiotherapy as well. The way I see it is that the aggressive tumours have been removed and they are using canons to kill mosquitos to make sure it doesn’t come back. Please do drop in to speak to us and moan, ask questions or simply have a laugh with us, but I agree that it is worth also joining a forum with people going through treatment at the same time as you so you can share experiences and get a better idea of what is normal for the stage you are at. Good luck xx
Evening Girls
Final Tax Day 9
Short post on the emotionl rollercoaster today but just wanted to say Well done Angie, welcome to the party.
Welcome Christine, I was grade 3 had WLE and ANC and was told I would get the most aggressive treatment as my cancer was aggressive. Chemo, Rads and 5years Anaztarolestrozole as an insurance policy.
Philomena hope your ok.
Good luck to all for tomorrow, will post properly later
Big hugs to all xx
Hang in there Amber you’ll be through the worst of it soon - thinking about you and hoping you feel better soon.
Hope you have a good sleep,
Lori x
Good evening Ladies
Angie - Congratulations on leaving the train 
good luck to Judy, Mel A and Moira when you alight at the platform tomorrow make sure there is room on the platform for me on Tuesday
Philomena - I hope everything has gone ok for you today x
Chrustine - I was diagnosed with grade 3 with no node involvement, i had a WLE on 12th March followed by 6 cycles of chemo, last one on Tuesday yay I will also have 15 sessions of radiotherapy, like Mel I know that the aggressive tumour has gone but the aggressive treatment is needed to make sure that if there are any other cancer cells lurking about they will be zapped. I have found this group a real support, as everyone knows what you are going through, I agree that joining for group with people who are going through the treatment at the same time as you will be worthwhile.
i had an appointment with the ONC this morning to discuss radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Hopefully I will start my rads w/c. 26 August, I will have a planning meeting sometime before then, so fingers crossed treatment will be finished mid September. As I am only 18 months into the menopause I was given a prescription for Tamoxifen which i have take Tamoxifan for 2 years followed by a different drug for another 5 - 7 years, as the experts now advise that up to 10 years of hormone treatment is much more beneficial than the current 5 years. has anyone else been told this by your ONC?
I was also told that I shouldn’t go swimming until 6 weeks after my radiotherapy as the chlorine in the water can cause a reaction to the skin on my breast good news is that I can book a holiday for Early to mid October
Hope the sleep fairies visit everyone especially those on steroids
Kim x
Judy - my chemo brain missed the fact that you will be on the train with me an Moiratomorrow. Good luck xx
Kim I was initially told that I would be on tamoxifen for 5 years but I asked yesterday if this was likely to change in view of recent research and was told yes. I would probably go onto Tamoxifen for a couple of years then switch to an Aromatase inhibitor for the remaining time up to 10 years.
Amber I hope you feel better soon. Xx
Mel my last ones Friday, im off for my bloods taking tomorrow, but i won’t be on the platform till Friday, so save me a space. Kim, we will be waiting for you on Tuesday, hopefully there may be a fat bottom bench for me and Angie. Good luck tomorrow, to you and Moira, it’s quite exciting isn’t it, that the end is in sight. I’m hoping that in a months time, I start to feel human again.
howre you doing Pauline?
Hope your getting there Amber.
philomena, I guess the s/e will be hitting about now, big hugs to you, hope your managing to get some sleep.