It was much easier and quicker than chemo!
They told me to moisturise chest area well in the weeks before starting, and each day while having rads. No discomfort so far. My scar area just felt slightly warm this afternoon.
So far, so good x
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Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well.
I got my surgery results last week and it was good. They got clear margins and no cancer cells present so it had a full reponse to the chemo. My lymph nodes were clear however showed fibrosis which they said meant there was probably something there but again had a full response to the chemo. I am very thankful but also know I’m not at the end so just putting on a big smile when everyone tells me how great it is and how happy I must be. I’m more relieved but just also a bit in disbelief and waiting for the next thing! I know you’ll understand these feelings.
I’m waiting now for radiotherapy and I’m going to ask if they’ll also do radiotherapy to where the lymph nodes are since there was something there. I’m a bit concerned that it was only the sentinel nodes they checked so I feel like I should have radiotherapy on that area to blast it just in case.
My oncologist also offered me bisphosphonates every 6 months for 3 years to help prevent bone recurrence. This took me by surprise as i thought it was just phesgo I’d be taking. Has anyone else taken or been offered this? If I do this I’ll need to keep taking zoladex to put my ovaries to sleep so I’ll continue with menopause symptoms and also any side effects from the BPs. The oncologist said there was only a 3.5% benefit to the BPs so didn’t seem bothered about me taking them or not. I feel I should do everything I can at the moment but some of the potential side effects sound scary.
Does anyone else have experience of these? X
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Great news about your results.
I’m sure your team would have talked about whether you need radiotheraphy to the armpits. The meeting with the radiography team should go through what has been decided. Maybe you could ring your oncology team/secretary to check.
You could also ring the BCN nurses to see if they can offer any advice
- Helpline: 0808 800 6000 (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; Sat 9am-1pm). Speak to our trained helpline team. No questions are too big or too small.
- Ask Our Nurses: You can message our nurses here on the forum, or confidentially. Whatever you prefer.
So pleased for you and your successful surgery.
My 15 sessions of rads finished last Tuesday. So good to not lose a half a day, every day, going to hospital. But I do have to remember why it was necessary.
I will be starting bisphosphonates shortly as I am post menopause. My dexa bone scan shows ostopenia, which kind of surprised me as I’m fairly active, but also didn’t surprise me as there is family history of osteoporosis.
When I saw my onc this week I asked, now that I’ve had 3 lines of treatment, if I had done nothing at all how long would it have been before I would be struggling. As it was grade 3, not very long. A couple of years. A very sobering thought. I’m 57 now and I could have been gone before having the chance to collect my state pension.
If I ever had any doubts that I was doing the right thing I don’t now. There was no sign of cancer at my last routine mammogram 18 months before, and I have seen the review. When I had my mastectomy the diameter of the whole multicentric tumours were 52mm. This is the first time that I have ever had a major medical issue.
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