Hi all. Had a bit of a setback on Monday. A gush of blood started erupting from the stitches at the top of my new breast, so my husband rushed me back to the hospital at East Grinstead, and I ended up staying there until Thursday. There was a pocket of old blood sewn up inside my new breast which had gone septic and just pushed it’s way out. Very unpleasant at the time. All fine now, and I’m back home and on anti-biotics. Never a dull moment, eh?
Hi everyone Sarah here. Long time no visit. I can see that sjb cut and paste a facebook message I wrote. I wish I had known as I would of had the decency to log in and respond to your well wishes. It is great to read your all cancer free albeit with hurdles to jump and ongoing concerns with some things xxx rather than a secondhand update I thought I’d say hi myself. Obviously we are all coming up to three years of this blimmin situation. I have now had two big operations , involving a free flap from my tummy as all my Breast skin had to go to. This time last year it was still primary in breast area so east grins trad removed the lot! I had great recovery but the cancer appeared again in the skin near my neck in January just along the scar line. The biopsy confirmed what it was and the scan showed spots in my lung and chest lymph involvement , so it was feb this year I moved into the incurable group. I have tried two lots of chemo both ones that are for long term quality of life vs the hard hit cure. Both haven’t worked and I found out last week that the second hadn’t so devastated. All year feels wasted and I am pretty weak now as its lung, thyroid, chest, skin, armpits, around heart…pretty large tumours. It’s time now. Royal marsden want me to try taxol on a weekly basis to see if this can control its growth …really, weekly … I have till Friday to decide … I have to say I will probably give it a go but if the side effects are bad …what’s the point with no quality of life and not being able to do mum things. I spend to much time in bed now xxx well that’s me, I have had 55 radiotherapy and 35 chemo sessions with 6 different drugs … The body getting tired now! Xx please I hope you don’t mind this message, I haven’t messaged coz I don’t want to put doom and gloom but I felt updates should come from me and was overdue lovely ladies xxxxx
Hi Sarah,
I really feel for you and your family for what you have endured and echo everything that has been said,
Your strengh, courage and determination has got you this far and your family will be so proud of you so you keep fighting girl and I am sure all the december angels will be holding your hand and supporting you every step of the way.
sending lots of love and hugs
Wyn x
Hi Petal. It’ll be 5 weeks tomorrow since I got my new boob. All going well now. Going out for walks every day, slowly going further and further. Can manage about half a mile now! Lol. Went to see my boss yesterday and plan to have a slow return to work starting in a couple of weeks. So I’ll be doing two four hpur shifts week commencing 10th Oct. One on the tuesday and one on the thursday, then see what I can manage the following week, etc. Need to get back to normality!
Hello all. Yes, I started my phased return to work after 7 weeks and slowly built my hours up. I’m doing about 30 hours this week then finally returning to full-time next week!
My new boob has healed up beautifully and my tummy has settled down now. Still not doing any heavy lifting, to be safe. I do still get quite tired. I remember how long it took after my radiotherapy to get back to normal, so I know it takes time. Just want to be normal again though.
Can’t wait to get my other boob lifted next year. Something to really look forward to!
How’s everyone else?
Hi Ladies,
Hope you are all well and getting excited about Christmas approaching.
SJB glad to hear you are on the mend and back to work.
I recently had my annual check up and mammogram and glad to say all is well 3yrs on although still have the aches and pains that I now accept as the new norm for me as I can be full of energy one week and then exausted the next haha I need to find a balance.
Take care everyone
Wyn x
Have we all gone our separate ways now? I just popped in to say hello.
My reconstruction developed complications this year. I went back to East Grinstead for a check up in April. They sent me down for an ultrasound scan because I had a hard lump in my tummy, under the navel. The registrar that saw me that day said it was a haematoma - a build up of blood from the blood vessel they took a section from for my new boob. He said it was leaking and that when they did the next op, to uplift and reduce my old boob, they would have to open my tummy up again to repair it. He used a syringe and drained 240ml of fluid, and made an appointment for me to return in a month’s time. This really upset me. It took ages to recover last time and I really didn’t want another tummy op to recover from!
But when I went back in March, I saw a different registrar, again I had an ultrasound scan. And he said it was a seroma, and explained that after being stitched up, some of my internal flesh hadn’t healed and was dying inside me, so my body was surrounding it with fluid full of antibodies to prevent infection. I was feeling really washed out as if I had anaemia, and he said that was exactly how I should feel with that going on inside me. Nothing to prescribe to help, I just had to let nature take it’s course. Again he syringed it and got 210ml of fluid from the lump. I went home confused and frustrated. I felt like death warmed up but I had a full time job to do. I was running on empty…
I went back again last Friday and now it seems to be clearing up and I’m feeling better at last. It has been hard going though. No date yet for my next op. It’s all so slow. I just want it to be over, but I can see I’ll be going into 2018 with the work still unfinished. The next op after this one will be nipple reconstruction. They’ll never get both done in one year, will they.
Hi Petal and SJB,
Nice to see your posts, sorry to hear you are still going through problems.
I dont visit often nowadays but like to check every now and again to see if any of the angels have posted.
My SIL was diagnosed with BC exactly on my third anniversary ( couldnt beleive it). fortunately it was caught early and she did not require chemo so her treatment was done very swiftly and she is now recovering well.
Glad I was there to offer support as I know how frightening this journey can be and I suppose it helped knowing that I got through it.
To my shock I have also recently been diagnosed with diabetes (life sucks sometimes) although its not serious enough to be medicated and I am making adjustments to my lifestyle and diet, I would not be surprised if chemo had a part to play in the onset as I have heard that before.
On a happier note I am keeping myself busy with work and love looking after my grandson who is 2yrs and 8mths now and he is a wee character.
Hope everyone else is doing well and taking care of themselves
hugs:smileyvery-happy:
Wyn x
Wyn, Petal and anyone else who may drop in…I need to let you know that we found out on Facebook yesterday that Sarahmummy passed away on April 7th. She had been told she had about 12 months left at the beginning of the year, but I guess that didn’t go to plan. I’m really sorry to be the one to tell you, but I couldn’t leave you not knowing. Our Facebook group are all devastated. We hadn’t heard from her since March, but I assumed she no longer wanted to waste time with social media as every day was precious. However one of us sent her a personal message and her husband replied with the news.
I hope you are coping as best you can. I recovered from the internal complications but am still waiting for news of my next op.
Hi all,
I’m so sorry to hear of Sarah’s passing and I know she will be missed by many users who got to know her well. Please pass on our condolences to her family from Breast Cancer Care.
News such as this can come as a shock, so if you need someone to talk to do not hesitate to call our helpline.
Take care all,
Bonita
Hi Petal. I’m still waiting. Hopefully I’ll get my balancing uplift in the Spring. No date yet. Waiting patiently as ever!