Hi
Thanks for sponsoring us, we had a great day, incredibly emotional. Have changed my pic to one from today.
Lots of love to all
Heidi xxx
Fantastic Heidi…well done you and yours…lovely pic!
Helenxxx
Well done Heidi, you and your lovely kids did great!!!
Tracy xxx
Hi everyone. Heidi I think you and your daughter are fantastic running the Race for Life. You are a real inspiration to all of us couch potatoes. I would love to take part in something like that but have nobody to run with me. Do most people run in groups they already know or do people run alone?
Great reading all the recent posts on how well you are all doing. This group keeps growing every day and getting so popular for anyone who is having this life changing op.
I have now had 3 expansions and will have the fourth tomorrow. My boob is growing nicely though still very numb. Has anyone else had that problem and does feeling ever come back?
My ps is planning to do second op now in October so that my body can have a chance to rest before he does the levelling up.Really looking forward to having 2 boobs as perky as my new one is.
Lovely to be back on this great site again with my great bunch of friends, long may this post continue.
Christina xx
Hi All
Christina - there were 9,500 women running the race yesterday and the age ranged from about 2 up to about 80! Some walked it in groups, some ran it alone, some held hands and walked, it was amazing to see so many women there for a common cause, all completing it for someone they know touched by cancer. Go for it next year - believe me you will have made friends with someone by the end of it!
How exciting to have rapidly expanding boobs! Is it painful when they do it?
Well its 3 weeks today and it will be my turn, can’t wait. Finding it difficult to sleep at night because am so excited. How long do you reckon it takes before you can drive again?
Lots of love
Heidi xxx
Morning all…Well done Heidi for the RFL and yep you’ve only 3 weeks, it will both whizz by and go slow, very contradictory!!!
Christina how many more expansions do you have to have? Like Heidi that concept is new to me too! And a levelling up op in October…Something to look forward to. I might get to know the same when I see my PS in August.
Tracy how are you recovering …well I hope…still do the resting thing, its really early days yet.
How is your wound now Lenny…better than before I hope and its not long before you move house too…so you rest easy as well.
Lyra hope your op went well and it won’t be long before you are out of hospital and reading all the posts here. Sleep and rest, don’t do anything strenuous!!
Hi Helen…hope you are feeling as chipper as you were last week!
Hi Anne and Sarah hope you are enjoying your new found ‘freedom’ with your new boobs!!!
Hope things are going ok for you too Cathy and Karen.
take care all
Helenxxx
nell you are just great at not only remembering us but at what stage we are at!but you haven’t said how you are, are you almost back to normal?
well done heidi for sunday and congratulate your daughter for me, now you’ve just got 3 weeks until your big adventure… make the most of them, coz as good as the results are, the op really does knock your body for six.
christina good to hear from you… i have this cartoon image of you and the surgeon with a bycicle pump… i’m sure it’s not like that but that’s what comes into my brain everytime you tell us… i know sad!
i do hope everyone is moving forward at whatever stage they are at… i feel a little as if i am standing still, was back on the ward on friday as my new wound had begun to ooz, just a little and they had told me to take no risks and i am now on more antibiotics. saw ps yesterday and he wants me to take even more and go back again in 3 weeks, there is a chance that there might be some bacteria lurking on my mesh… hey ho. we have seriously started packing now, not me of course but my home no longer looks like my home… but it is all a means to an end.
now girls where are we on the bra front… who at what stage is wearing what? when can we get a serious under wire one? all advise accepted.
well helen, anne, tracy, lyra and sarah you are often in my thoughts hope all is well with all of you, sarah sorry i had to cancel,
love to you all,
lenny
xxxx
Lenny i love your image of me at the end of a bicycle pump!! It is similar to that in a way as i am attached to a small hose, not a garden one i hasten to add. Ps then puts in 50 ml a time with a syringe and i sit there amazingly watching my boob grow.It is totally painless and very quick.Hopefully after today i will have 2 more expansions then be left until October to have second op. Ps keeps taking photos of my new boob every week, i think he is so proud of his handiwork. They are amazing what they do for us aren’t they. They do really seem to understand what we have been through to get here. You wouldn’t get better treatment if you paid for it.
Did anyone see the lady on gmtv yesterday who has won 2.5 million on the lottery and has breast cancer? She said she starts chemo tomorrow and is terrified. Very true what she said about the one thing all her money cannot buy her, which is her health.
I am now wearing my old prosthetic bra’s as until i know what size i will be there seems no point in buying new ones. I don’t think i will ever wear a underwired bra again as they have had quite a bit of bad press in relation to bc.
Fantastic the way you are all progressing, good luck with the house move Lenny. Make sure you just direct others to do the work.
Heidi thank you for your comments about the rfl, i will certainly do it next year. Be good to give something back.
Just want to echo what Lenny said - nell you are so wonderful at remembering ‘where’ everyone is and asking after everyone. I am hereby naming you as MUMMY of our little group! Thank you for being you and for all of you being such a wealth of support and encouragement.
Am worried that the bc site stops these threads when it gets to a certain number of pages - they don’t do they? What if we lose each other!?!
Lenny - hope the oozing is slowing down and you don’t have an infection. Just out of interest - compared to the mastectomy, is the recon MUCH more painful as I didnt’ have any probs after that but know that this is much more complex!!
Love to all (wonder how Lyra is getting on??!)
xxxx
Hi Heidi,
No need to worry about the length of the threads, if they are getting too long we’ll let you know so that you can start a new thread.
Kind regards,
Jo, Facilitator
Thanks Jo, I hereby name you BIG BROTHER!
lol
heidi
I agree with you about Nell as I am always impressed with how she keeps track of us all and what we have had done/about to have done !
Heidi - well done with Race for Life - great photos on Facebook. I did it in 2007 and found it very emotional. Hopefully I will be fit to do it next year. I bought a pedometer today - thought it might be useful to chart my walking progress! Your question about driving - I drove at 4 weeks but I think you may be able to drive sooner after the LD operation which you are having. Christina may be able to tell you. I am finding the recon op harder to recover from but it was much more invasive - still worth it even though I am getting a bit fed up with the stiff tummy now.
Hope Lyra is doing ok - she should be back with us soon.
Had a trip to London on Saturday with our friends to see the show Oliver - tickets had been bought a year ago! Rowan Atkinson was great as Fagin but Jodie Prenger(won the Nancy part on TV show) was ill and didn’t appear. It was a long day and has taken me a few days to recover !
Lenny and I are hoping to meet up on Friday.
Hope everyone else is well. I can’t remember who went to Spain recently - did you do any swimming ?
Love to all
Sarah
x
Morning all…I only scroll back when writing some posts…because I have a brain like mush at the minute!!! But thanks!!
MUMMY!! Well thats definitely better than grandma…which I am and love being!!
Lenny…where I am at the minute is…I went for an ultra sound last Friday to check on the hard tissue in my breast. It is crescent shaped and about 4ins long and hard. They rung me up out of the blue and asked if I wanted my appointment then. Basically the nurse did a thorough scan then called in a radiographer for a 2nd opinion. Both admitted to not having seen such a large amount of damaged tissue before. After chatting amongst themselves…the radiographer said he would send his report to my PS…who I will be seeing in August.
He thinks the tissue shape fits in with the history of the operations I’ve had. So unless I hear different…then I will find out in 6 more weeks when I see my PS. So gonna put that out of my mind!! Think I am out of it sometimes…lol Hehehehehe
Hope you all are just fine and recovering without too much impatience!! Understand about the stiff tummy Sarah…I still get it too, but as everyone keeps telling me…you have gone through major surgery…give it time!! (I’m impatient too).I’d love to see Oliver!
Take care all
Helenxxx
Hi everyone, hope you’re all well
Helen (Nell), may I pick your brain please? I think you’re 3 weeks ahead of me in the DIEP recovery (11 May for me). I’ve started trying to rest (for short periods of time) on my r/h side (recon is lh side) and return to the ‘back’ when tummy’s had enough. Just wondered if you’ve managed side/front (oh, can’t wait!). Also, are you able to walk fully straight yet? I find I keep ‘relapsing’ into a slight stoop (naughty me!). Do hope your recovery’s going well.
Tracy - hope recovery’s going OK. As for work, I’m 10 weeks post op and, although I’m starting to think about the ‘road back to work’, I’m still finding tiredness (especially pm’s) so will give it a while yet & be guided by ‘Occupational Health’ Dept at work as boss wants me ‘100% up & running’ (hee hee!).
Lenny - how’s the tummy? I was ‘lucky’ in that I had minor wound infections which seem to have cleared but still being careful with them as 2 delicate areas still)
Heidi - congratulations on the run. You look so slim in the picture - I’m amazed you have any tummy ‘spare’ for the DIEP! Good luck with your op when it comes round.
Lyra - don’t think you’ll be back just yet but can’t wait to hear how you’ve got on.
Got to share something funny (strange humour me!) with you all. I went to see PS last week and still had some gluey stuff frm belly and scabbing around boob scar which my Dr had said ‘leave to come off on its own’. Oh, not my PS - she pulled off all the remaining scabbing from my tummy and THEN picked off all the scabbing around the boob ‘flap’ (good job it’s only small flap). Worryin thing is she was laughing (mind you, so was I - hysterically!) whilst she was doing this. Mind you, it does look a lot better.
Lots of love to everyone - ‘happy healing’ or ‘good luck’. (I know I haven’t remembered everyone!). Cathy xxx
Hi Cathy…I can’t manage front lying…not comfortable. But up to a point I have been able to lie on my ‘tummy boob’ side for a few weeks now. I still only lie on it for a short time, because the hard tissue hurts after a while… after its been squished. So don’t worry about it…but maybe you could try it for short periods of time. I have a sausage shaped, small 'bean’cushion that I put under my arm sometimes to stop the rubbing between armpit and boob. Good luck!
My op was on the 20th April…12 weeks this Monday gone…
Helenxxx
hi ladies looking for any advice you can give me. I was originally diagnosed 1990 had lumpectomy and rads, reoccurrence 2008 so mast and chemo, have just seen a plastic surgeon re DIEP as that is the one she recommends, although I would like a reconstruction I am equally scared of the operation, could you tell me your experiences good and bad and were you pleased with the final result, many many thanks suzan
Hi Suzan
Well, you couldn’t have come to a better place and you’ve got one lady (Helen (Nell)) above your post & little ole’ me below, as well as many ladies here on this thread (read back, you’ll discover loads!) who have had the DIEP op. Just like you, I was terrified (and then some!). This was my 1st ever op, 8 hrs long and I was convinced the worst would happen. Well to nutshell it, the 8 hrs seemed like 2 minutes, the pain management was excellent and I an truthfully say was never in pain, just some discomfort which was easily handled by painkillers. You’ll receive so much support here so I won’t ramble on for now. All I will say is yes, I too was terrified but after this - I’m not scared and would do it again.
Ask any questions, PM if you wish. Good luck and lots of love. Cathy xx
PS: Happy with result - just need nipple!!
Welcome Suzan
Your story is almost identical to mine, just different years, 1996 and 2007 and had diep a few days before Nell. Cannot praise my surgeon enough and am so very very pleased with the result. Have put my prothesis under back wheels of my car (that felt soooo good) and now have a cleavage to be proud of.
My advice is to start reading this thread from the beginning and you will great a brilliant cross section of experiences, good and not so good, it started with me at the stage you are at now, with help and support coming from all sides and now a bunch of amazing friends either been there or waiting for recon.
To all the recon clan - Hiya, my mum has now gone home and I’m babysitting a labrador whilst the neighbours are on holiday - I’m shattered, its harder than looking after kids!!
Helen1 - I’ve done it, slept on my front, woke up like it yesterday, felt really strange, sore and stiff, but it must be getting better as it didn’t wake me up immediately.
Hope everyone is ok - well done Heidi, I really missed doing the RFL, my first one was 1997 and was inspired by so many women fighting cancer that I’ve tried to do it eversince to do the same but will make sure I’m out there next year again - brilliant day.
Sarah - it was me who went to Spain,and I did swim, it was lovely, arm was a bit weak to start but gradually got better.
Hope you’re doing ok Lenny and Tracy, how are you doing?
Love to everyone.
Cheers
Anne x
Hi Anne et al!!
I am doing ok, went to the hospital yesterday for physio and my first check-up and they seem really pleased. I go back on the 5th of August for more physio and to see Mr. Ramakrishnan, so I am sure he will say whether he wants to do any adjustments (he did mention lypo-styling later on if necessary). I am still delighted with the results and love my flat tum - just hope it stays that way for a while! The binder is getting on my nerves a bit and keeps moving upwards, but I have to wear it for another 6 weeks apparently.
Welcome Suzan, you have certainly come to the right place! I don’t know what I would have done without these lovely ladies to help me through the last few months of cancelled ops etc. They are certainly all very inspiring to say the least. I had my DIEP two weeks ago and although the first 48 hours after the op were hard going, I am so pleased I had it done and would do it again if I had to.
Love to you all,
Tracy xxxx
hi ladies, thanks for your warm welcome and all your replies.I must admit I feel petrified at the thought of another op and am convincing myself it will all go wrong, but on the other hand cant really feel that I can be comfortable living my life feeling like I do, I find the prosthesis very uncomfortable especially in the hot weather and get very frustrated at the clothes buying situation.I think after 18 years I hadf convinced myself it was behind me, wrong !if its one thing cancers taught me its never to be complacent.Were any of you treated at east grinsted hospital ?once again many thanks for all your replies love suzan.