finally plucked up courage to join in

Hi Ladies,
Just wanted to say that finally I plucked up courage to officially join in the forum discussions - I was diagnosed with BC on May 1st and am now doin’ chemo after havin had WLE and axillary clearance. I think this site is brill and I have had a load of laughs from some of the comments - especially the ‘going to live on an island’ thread. It is sooooooo hard to explain to those around you what this whole thing is like. I found it re-assuring to find many of the answers to the million and one questions that flew around my head in the first few weeks after my diagnosis. Now getting used to my new non hair-do - one of my frends said ’ it still looks just like your hair - just well…thinner’ which made me laugh because till then I always thought that normally my hair was really nice and not like wisps of thread at all!

Anoush

Welcome to the club that no-one wants to join. You have already worked out what a great bunch of people there are here.

You and I were diagnosed at about the same time only I am doing the chemo before the surgery.

I look forward to hearing more from you
Good luck in your journey

Sharon x

Hi Anoush

Welcome to the club … although none of us really want to be here. I was diagnosed in July with bc and then secondaries to the liver, so have not got any surgery but straight onto chemo which started last week, and thankfully, I have to say, no side effects as yet. Waiting for the hair to fall out, and wig on standby, am dreading that I have to admit.

This site is fabulous for meeting people with similar or same problems and everyone is so helpful and caring that you will get hooked.

Hope you are OK and take care
Love
Dawn
x

Hi Anoush,

‘welcome’. As I’m sure you’ve already realised you are in very good company here!! I was diagnosed in March, age 34. I have had a right mastectomy and total axillary clearance and I started my chemo in May. I’m on E-CMF and am just over 2/3 of the way through now. I can not believe how quickly I am getting through them!

What chemo are you on and how have you found it so far? Will you be having any rads afterwards?

Take care and keep in touch,

Kelly
-x-

Welcome Anoush,
certainly in good company here,
i was dx in jan 04, WLE, chemo, radio’ and tamoxifen
it certainly is a rollercoaster journey.

karen

Anoush, hello,

I had WLE last November, node negative, eostrogen positive, followed by Chemo on the Tact 2 trial. Finished Rads a week ago now - and am feeling so human it’s unbelievable. Hair growing back - which is brilliant. Am on Nolvadex D ( brand of Tamoxifen) and no side effects. So , there is light at the end of what might seem a long tunnel

Janeyb
x

Hi and welcome
I was diagnosed in June with grade 3, 23mm HER+, lots of lymph involvement, mas and reconstruction over and 2nd chemo last week - what a rollercoaster. Am 37 with two boys 11 and 8. This is a tough road which you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy but here we are.
Some days good other days are awful. I hate that I have lost the freedom in my life - the carefree attitude is gone and I feel full of fear and not in control. I am scared and have found this website to be the only place where people really know what I am going through. Hang in there and good luck.

Muddy XX

Hi Anoush

Welcome to the site - you will find lots of support, advice and encouragement here as we all know what each other is going through !

I was diagnosed on 4th April, and am having chemo first to shrink the tumour, followed by a mastectomy, rads and herceptin. It’s all so very scary and first and there’s so much to take in, and hurdles to challenge (losing hair being one of them). I am now looking forward (don’t know if that’s the right description really!) to my last chemo on 31st August, and am feeling so much more positive even though I’ve still got a fair way to go.

You will have good days and bad days, BUT it will get better and the good days will outnumber the bad.

Good luck on your “journey” - we’re all here for you.

Lots of love Julie xx

Dear all,
Thankyou so much for your welcoming comments and encouragement. In response to a couple of the queries, my chemo is the epirubicin/cyclophospamide combo (not sure of the acronym used on this site for that). Am waiting to do number 3, found both sessions so far pretty tough going so not looking forward to that. Blood counts hit the floor so have had to have booster injection with some kind of growth factor (anyone else done this?), hoping to avoid delay in 3rd dose as was sooooo upset when got turned away from 2nd session. I am sure the nurse meant well when she said ‘just try and enjoy your weekend and come back on Monday’, but this left my poor long-suffering husband to try to pick up the pieces over a VERY LONG Sat/Sun. I agree with many of you in that it is a tough journey and one that I would have done ANYTHING not to have to do but now that I am on it I am just trying to cope with everything that is thrown at me as best I can and staying positive. I have two teenage kids and they have been GREAT, I don’t know what I would do if I did not have them and hubby plus a bunch of great mates to help me through all of this.

Hi Anoush

Welcome…but sorry to have to welcome you. I am 34, 2 small children, with triple negative BC, 6cm lump which is being dealt with by chemo, then mast, then rads. A long way to go yet…

Well done on plucking up the courage to join in, I am absolutely positive it helps and it is a dead good place to have a rant and a shout if you need to. Glad some of the posts have helped you already.

I hope you manage to get your 3rd session when you need it, it must be awful to be turned away. I am a little worried as I am having my 3rd next Fri 31st, and it is less than 3 weeks since the last one, they did warn me my bloods might not have recovered - but I need to revert back to a Friday so I get the weekend with hubby to look after the kids.

Best wishes and big hugs
Ali
x