Anyone in North Devon in for surgery next week?
Hi Wattsit
Sorry I’m in Devon, had my masectomy at RDE Exeter, and starting rads there this monday. I assume you are going to North Devon Hospital. What are you having and when. Will keep everything crossed for you.
Love Heather
Hi Heather
Yep,its NDDH for me, Mast on 1 side & they etsimate around 10 ymph nodes. Go in Tues & op on Wed, hopefully home on Friday. Don’t know if i’ll be having rads, they’ve only talked about chemo so far, but I guess they don’t really know till they get the alien out & have a look. I swear it’s getting bigger by the day & has its own heartbeat!
Best of luck with the rads Monday, I hope you can remain side effect free. Let me know how you get on.
Love Thelma x
Hi Thelma
Will keep everything crossed for you on weds, I had my op on a friday, drains out on sunday and home on tues. I had an snb which came back clear so no lymph involvement thank god. No chemo, just the rads starting tomorrow and I’m getting nervous, don’t know why all the girls on here say its a breeze.
Will let you know how I get on.
Love Heather x
Hi Heather, thank you. Best of luck with the rads, I don’t know what treatment i’ll get. At the moment my Consultant is saying chemo, but I guess it all depends on what form the alien takes when they remove it on Wednesday. I don’t know which is more daunting, rads or chemo
I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow & please let me know how you get on, although I probably won’t be on line again till the weekend…
Hugs Thelma xx
Hi Thelma
I wish you good luck on Weds when they remove the alien. Rads was easy noisy and boring really. Bit of a nightmare having to keep still, but it is not for long. I think chemo is far worse that rads judging on what the ladies say on here. Well I’m one down and fourteen to go.
Love Heather xxx
Hi Heather
Really hope the next 14 go as well for you. Make sure you keep in touch i’ll be interested to know how you get on. Till the weekend…
Thelma xx
Hi Thelma
Best of luck for tomorrow, it really is the waiting and thinking about it that is worst, when you go down to theatre you will be really nervous, the rde don’t give pre meds so I had to walk down, beleive me that was the worst bit. Once you come back to the ward you are a bit dopey, but the relief that the little so and so is gone is amazing.
Hugs for tomorrow and thinking of you
Heather
Hi Heather - I made it ! I am relieved that the aliens’ gone, trouble is I look in the mirror now & see another. How did you cope with it?
I’m back to hospital on Monday for the 2nd drain to be removed and again Friday for the ‘what happens next’ meeting. How long between your rad sessions?
Thanks for your support
Hugs
Thelma x
Hi Thelma
Glad you made it. It does get easier looking at the new you, although some days are worse than others. My rads are every day at the rd&e. Meet a lady there today who was from North devon. apparently they don’t do rads at North Devon Hospital? Will be thinking of you Friday and please let me know how you get on. Thats much quicker for your results than mine. The waiting is awful, but at least you know you are on the ladder to getting rid of this alien.
Keep doing the exercises, because although they hurt they really do help.
Love
Heather
Hi Heather,
Went & had 2nd drain removed this morning & dressings all off. OH has seen me + and - dressing now & he held up very well. I’m trying to move it as much as poss but my underarm is soooo sore, more so than the breast scar.
They only do the chemo at NDH so if I need rads will have to go to Exeter, I don’t know which I dread the most. AT least I only have to wait till Friday to find out my fate. What was the time scale between your op and starting your rads? I’ve got it stuck in my head that they won’t start any other treatment till the New Year, what do you think?, I didn’t bother asking my BC nurse today 'cos they never seem to want to predict anything.
Take care
Thelma XX
Hi Thelma
I started rads eight weeks after mast. I know they won’t start until scar is healed. I had my dressing on for ten days and then my bc nurse took it off at my results appointment. OH was watching so he had no option but see it, he said well that looks worse than I thought (great so much for moral support) BCN said it was really nice flat and clean, so then of course I wanted to look, and I didin’t think it was to bad, if a lot longer then I expected. The rads are giving me a bit of gyp, its like really bad sunburn and it itches and I know I can’t scratch, so they have given me some different cream today which seems to be helping. If you do need rads the gang at Exeter are great really friendly and nothing is to much for them. I will keep everything crossed for you for friday and do let me know how you get on.
Love Heather
Hi Heather
Despite appt with BCN yesterday, not much further forward, tho its probably my fault for not asking enough questions. I’ve got an appointment with the Oncologist next Thursday to discuss the chemo so i’ll make sure i’m better prepared. Chemo could be interesting, I’ve already got kidney & liver problems that they’ll have to consider, BCN reckons they may give me lower doses over a longer period of time. Terrific!
I’ve posted a pain question on another thread regarding the armpit pins & needles/pain/sensitivity/tightness etc, it’s relly quite bad- don’t suppose you have any suggestions?
Love Thelma xx
Hi Thelma
Sorry your no further forward with your treatment plan.
I am still suffering with pins and needles and sensitivity still doing the exercises and have another appt with gp on monday to review this further. Unfortunately I can’t help you more on this, I shall look for your other thread and see if any of the other ladies on her have given you any info.
Take care and let me know how you get on thurs.
Love Heather
Hi Heather
Had my appt with Prof Radstone yesterday (have you met him)? He’s sooo nice & told me all I wanted to know. My vital stats are:
T2 N1 M0 which I was quite pleased about but, Its grade 3 which aint so good and i’m ER neg. They’re still a/w the HER2 results from Truro.
I start my chemo ( 6 x weekly )in the New Year which will be followed by 4 weeks of rads in Exeter. That is going to be such a drag! Had some more fluid syphoned off which made me more comfortable, but got kept awake with cording instead! Never mind, sleeping pill tonite.
How are your rads going? Have you got the itching under conrol yet an how are your preps going for Xmas?
Love Thelma x
Hi Thelma
Rads finished today!! Sore and itchy but at least the little so and so’s have been well and trully zapped. Sorry to hear that you have to have chemo, I can’t comment on it as I did’nt have any but I’m sure some of the girls on here will give you any info you need. The team on rads at Exeter are a great bunch. I have never waited past my appt time once, in fact I have arrived early every day and some days been on my way home before my actual appointment time.
Not had cording either, but my arm and elbow are really painful, especially when I lie down, can’t get comfy, side still to sore to lie on, if I lie the other way my remaining boob seems to drag on sore skin from rads, so have to lie propped up at angle to sleep.
Done all my pressy shopping today, as a treat? for finishing rads coz I actually didn’t feel to bad today, on a high I expect.
Food shopping tomorrow am and thats it, feet up sun and xmas eve coz my eldest daughter is cooking lunch for the whole
family 14 of us in total. I’ve been told I am to do nothing but enjoy, so who am I to complain.
Have you done everything and what are you doing for christmas.
Love Heather
Hi Heather, well done you must be so relieved its over but sorry to hear you can’t get comfortable. You may have already tried it - but I find that if I put a pillow across my tummy, I can lie on side or back & bring the pillow up under my armpit/cuddle into it & I feel more comfortable.
What a day - visitors started at 11am and last ones left at 3. I am knackered.
We’re all set for Xmas, OH braved Tesco on Sat at 7am. I’ve got 5 for Xmas Day & 6 for Boxing Day so nothing too hectic.
My daughter works at Sainsbury & offered to get the turkey, so I told her to get one abouth 10 - 12 lbs. She bought it home & put it straight in the freezer for me & today I took it out to defrost-10KG !!! m now going to be pannicking to defrost it in time! And to make matters worse - the dog doesn’t like turkey. I might have to open a soup kitchen for the day.
All I have to do is pop into town Monday & buy a mastect bra, fed up with not having a bust & cant wear my old ones cos they dig in where I’m still a bit swollen.
Hope you and yours have a great Xmas
Take care
Love Thelma x
Hi Thelma
Think you may be on turkey for several days. I braved a mast bra and falsie today for a couple of hours on my sore chest coz I don’t want to have no bust tomorrow, it was a bit sore against the skin but bearable, so with the help of a few paracetamol I may be able to have a bust for xmas.
Shall try your pillow idea tonight and see if it helps. Thank goodness I hav’nt had a hot flush for sometime so the pillow should be okay.
Hope you have a great day with your family.
Look forward to hearing how your first chemo goes.
I have to see the oncologist on 30th of Jan so at least I have a month off from hospitals.
Merry Xmas
Love Heather xxx
Hi Heather, great minds think alike. Hope you had more luck than me with the bra, I bought it Monday & put it on when I got home but by the time I took it off at bed time I had tram lines under my arm & to my shoulder blade where it dug in. I guess I should have gone for something a little more ‘long line’, I’m not sure whether its still swollen or I still have some fluid. Xmas morning I put on a sloggie top & resorted to my comfie, only to have my daughter winking at me half an hour later cos it had risen up about 3 inches! Very embarrassing. Never mind.
Anyway, hope you had a good Xmas,
Love Thelma x
Hi Thelma
The first bra I got for my softie my daughter bought in Debenhams, it was £10 was really soft and was able to put safety pin in the bra and softie which didn’t show. I then found a web site called Hayways think thats how you spell it and bought two nice mast bras with lace trimming for £20 each and then I was recommended to try amenoa think thats the right spelling, but you should be able to find it on google, they are at Eastleigh in Hampshire and bought t shirt bra from them which is really comfy even with the chicken fillet in. Hope this will help with the bras. I was advised by my bc nurse to be measured before my op and they made me a 36a and I’d always wore a 34b so I’d been wearing wrong size for years. So have not had any trouble with the bra cutting in or digging, so it may be that you need a bigger size. I must admit for the first 6 weeks I didn’t wear anything but loose blouses and cardis which hid the fact I only had one boob so most of swelling had gone.
I am now peeling where I had the rads, and boy does it itch. Could do with some of those mittens they put on new born babies to stop scratching. Have to keep my hands busy or sit on them, coz then skin hasn’t broken down, but will if I touch it coz its looking very fragile.
Had a great christmas, my 2 year old grandaughter was just so funny, thought every present should be opened by her.
Have a good new year and keep in touch.
Love Heather xx