Hi last message as ‘two-boobed woman’! Thanks for all your good wishes.
Bright, hope operation goes well, will be thinking of you during the morning.
Caron, I’m sorry you have trouble with your son, we have one very similar, usually only gets in touch when he wants something, but the rest make up for that one. Don’t let him upset you, maybe he just doesn’t know how to react! I have the opposite problem with my husband he wants to stay at the hospital while I’m having my op, (WHY?) I’m trying to persuade him to go home and do useful things like collect the younger children from school so that there is some normality in their life tomorrow! I shouldn’t moan, he’s really been great and know it’s hard for him too.
I’ve never received so many phone calls, texts or visits in one evening as I have tonight, luckily haven’t had time to worry. Well off to bed now, hopefully to sleep, maybe have just one more snack before I go!!
Goodnight and God Bless, hope we all have a good day tomorrow
Muv XX
your messages (especially that gay bit din’t half make me laugh ! ) your probably right ( he has never been able to show his feelings ! ).
Right I am now thinking that it is his way of dealing with this …
MUV hope everything goes ok today and you will be home soon recovering !!! ( get ur hubby to do ALL the house work !! ( revenge time springs to mind , for all those socks , boxers or underpants we have had to pick up ! ))
hope your not too worried by the time you come home I will have had my firsy chemo as well !
love to all Caronxxxxxxxxxx
Last chemo before Christmas yesterday afternoon. At the moment I feel OK but time will tell. Last steroids to be taken with my lunch which will improve my sleep again from tomorrow. Tomorrow I have to start the injections again so my joints will all ache but hopefully this is all positive stuff designed to keep the cancer cells on the run.
Caron does your chemo start today or tomorrow?. Either way you will feel better when you know something is being done,
You may find that the fear of the unknown i.e. your first chemo is not as bad as you think.
Shell don’t give up - everyone will do all they can and more to find the answers for you. It may be that this new chemo regime is the answer.We all know that the waiting for answers is one of the hardest parts of this journey we are all on.
After my chemo session yesterday I went and found one of the BC nurses with a list of questions. She was great. Some of her answers took me a bit by surprise i.e. I may not be having my surgery where I though but not a real problem and glad I know in advance - it will not be such a shock if it happens. It will be the same surgeon, I didn’t realise he operated at two locations. Also my radiotherapy when it happens may be at one of two London hospitals one easy to get to one some way from the railway station and quite a walk, and evidently I get no choice.Never mind- just something else to get my head round.
Caron your house sounds a bit chaotic just like mine used to be before the girls all moved out. Make the most of it when they marry and have families Mum and Dad have to go down in the pecking order and that can take some getting used to.
Today will be day of thinking of the two of you in hospital, you will both be fine. Get back to us when you can
Hi Andie ,
It is tomorrow I start my chemo, can’t wait this keeps nagging at me in my bust today !
My house is chaotic trouble is it’s the eldest one ( who does not live here ! ) that causes all the upset !
Never mind I’m sure he will realise that I havn’t just got a cold !
Steve will be back tonight ( thank god ) I could do with a early night and catch up on some much needed shut eye ! ( when Steve is home he always lets me get up in my own time ).
I have hung the washing out , I don’t know why it’s just hanging there limp !
I wonder where Shelly is ??? probably not feeling too well i bet .
I hope MUV operation goes well for her today .
write soon love caronx
yeah Jam came today to see me !! ( prob feels guilty about wot he said bout my hair???)
I have done another lot of washing (why? ) dunno can’t get it dry.
How is everyone today ? ok I hope ? I hope that MUVS operation is over now .
I know I said about the breast pain nagging me but so is the arm pit too .
I hope they don’t make a mess of my arm tomorrow ? oh it’s in the back of the hand isn’t it , and I also hope that I can’t feel the burning you have to tell them right away if you do don’t you ?
What doe’s it feel like ?? can you feel it right away ( anything I mean ? ) And when will I know if it’s shrinking??? will the niggles I get be less and less??
just some thoughts love caronx
Hi Caron
I have had the chemo in several places, back of hand, crook of arm and on the back of the arm about 4 inches up from the wrist - you should be able to see a vein if you look hard enough. Tell them about anything that doen’t feel right. One of mine had just come down from the lab and was so cold going in that it hurt. i told them and they slowed it down so it felt better. speak up for yourself, they need to know if it doesn’t feel right.
I hoped that I would feel a reduction right away but that for me was unrealistic. My oncologist sees me every three weeks a few days before each chemo session and she measures me every time with a gauge thing. After the first one and just before the second she told me she thought she could feel a very slight improvement. I was never sure whether that was genuine or whether she was trying to keep me positive. By the appointment between 2 and 3 I could feel a small improvement. The first thing I noticed was that where my breast was very very hard and hot it became softer and the hot tight anger feeling began to go. We are all different but thats how mine went.It amazes me that this thing came up so quickly but is taking a long while to shrink. Although I can feel an improvement I still have a fairly large lump. I worry about how much the lump must shrink before the surgeon will operate. Is he likely to say - although you have had the 8 chemo sessions I need it to be smaller and you must have some more. My oncologist did mention at one point moving to rads before surgery, but I understand that that is not a recommended route. This all becomes a fingers crossed situation.
Hope everyone is feeling OK - good luck tomorrow Caron let us know how you get on.
I have been diagnosed with breast cancer, I am 28 and it was a big shock, it is not in our family. I have been really positive, and it has been a complete whirlwind, I found out one week and then a week later had had a total mastectomy and all my lymph nodes removed from under my arm. I took of the bandage the other day and it was a shock, as my left breast now looks very alien to me, i have had reconstruction at the time of surgery. i start chemo on 30th dec…i feel quite aprehensive. I am having my hair cut really short this thursday as they have told me they cannot save it and it will fall out, so after my 1st chemo will shave it off, i dont want to see it falling out
I have been feeling really emotional the past couple of days, and i really need to chat with people going thru the same thing. My boyfriend is very sweet, but kind of burying his head in the sand… is this a normal reaction? i kind of feel like there is no escape for me, i have to deal with this all the time and it is always ther in my mind, there is no escape.
Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care chat forums, I’m sure you’ll get lots of help and support from the many informed users of this site, some of who are also very young like yourself. While you are waiting for others to reply you might be interested in some of the things BCC have to offer you, firstly there’s the telephone helpline where the staff here are either breast care nurses or people who have personal experience of breast care issues. The helpline staff are a good listening ear if you need someone to talk to in confidence and will give you extra support throughout your BC journey. Calls to the helpline are free, open Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm and Sat 9am - 2pm 0808 800 6000
I have also put below a couple of links to publications which you might find useful, again these are free, you can either download them or order copies to be sent out to you.
Hi Charlotte
Sorry that you have had to join us on this sight but you will find lots of love and support here. Bear in mind that we are all going through the Breast Cancer journey.
I am having my chemo before surgery so life is a bit different for me but I do know abouth the Hair loss issue. I had my first chemo and at first convinced myself that it wasn’t working because I expected my hair to start falling out straight away. It didn’t. After about 2 weeks it seemed to change texture and then within a few days it began falling. At that point I bit the bullet and took my husbands shaver to it. Alone in the house because I felt it was my problem to deal with. I bought lots of scaves and turbans and a wig. At first I stayed with the scaves and felt OK although I was convinced that everyone was looking at me. A couple of weeks ago I took my wig to my own hairdresser and he trimmed it for to me to make it my own. Now I am comfortable with it and feel less selfconsious.
I am a lot older than you and have been married a long while so my husband has a different outlook on all this. He is my life partner and is terrified of being without me. He is with me every step of the way but he did take a short while to reach that point.
You are right in that you have to deal with this, but you will, and with the support of all of us here you have somewhere to ask all the questions that you feel are silly but you need to know. We are going on the same journey all beit in our different ways. Ask away - and if you just need to let off steam this is the place to do it.
Thank you so much for your messages, they have made me feel a bit better already
I am hoping to get the internet at home in the next wk and so will def use this forum as i think it will help alot and hopefully i can support others too.
Hi Charlotte you are in good company here ! there are a couple of ladies that are usually on but Shelly is ill from chemo ( i think ) and the rest are at hospital having op’s !
So did you find out how big your lump was ? we have to have chemo before surgery to try and shrink the tumour first .
I just tell u wot happend to me I am 41 ( a bit older than you but doesn’t make you any less scared believe me ! )
I thought I had a small lump so like they say wait till after your period to see if it goes ! so I did and IT DID TOO !!! only it came back only alot bigger , thats when I went to the doctor ( the very next day ) within a week I had founs out it was breast cancer !, I was very shocked cos like you nobody had ever had cancer ( no kind ) in my family !, I even said to the nurse " sorry to waste your time " !.
Anyway then I went to see my oncologist ( who is very matter of fact < and was quite tactless ! ) anyway he said you have 1 cancer in your breast ( it’s very big now ) also there is a suspition of another area in your breast but they never did a biopsy on that one because I had already had 7 , and also 2 in your lymph nodes ( I thought that’s it then GAME OVER ! ) then he said you will have chemo first then surgery for a mastectomy I said " I knew that I am not stupid " ( it was only a matter of speach , I didn’t mean nothing by it ) to which he said quite bluntly "NOBODY SAID YOU WERE " It had taken all my time to walk in as soon as I saw the pink rose I just burst into tears and Steve ( hubby ) sat me down for a while .
Anyway I have just been waiting for my chemo to start and tomorrow is the day LET BATTLE BEGIN !, just had appointments with breast care nurse then my chemo nurse , I also have to have a CT Scan ( which I am really worried about ! ), but he said ( onc ) that he doesn’t think it has spread anywhere else ( hope not ! )
Anyway then I had a letter telling how big they were I got told One was 41mm ( in my breast ) and he told me the other one ( lymph ) was 13mm and one was 8mm ( I still don’t know how big the other one is in my breast ! ( but it is smaller than the 41mm one )
Anyway I start my chemo tomorrow and I can’t wait !!
Have you got any children ???
Write back asap Many good wishes to you and we all have our up and down days ( mostly downs ! )
love Caron x
Just say this WHAT ABOUT JADE GOODEY THEN ???
Wow I never liked the woman but Tell you what I really admire her now !!! having chemo and being on stage !
I am so tired today ( didn’t sleeo much last night ) and was up early as usual
Oh yeah wot I was gonna say is shouldn’t I be having the steroids by now?
Hi Ayojoy,if your having EC first then if I remember rightly you start steroids after first chemo.Then when you start TAX you have to start taking them before. wishing you all the best for tomorrow.
Hi Mel ,
I did sleep ok last night thanks ! ( makes a change ) looking forward to my chemmo today but nervous at the same time !
not going till 1 pm anyway so be around for a while yet.
Hugs Caron xxx
I’m also 28 and have had a mastectomy and reconstruction. I have no history of breast cancer in my family either… Well done for being so positive, I have been the same. I
start chemo today! I’m fine about it though, I was bit aprehensive at first but i’ve got used to the idea now. The fear of the unknowing is worse and I would rather do everything now to prevent this cancer coming back… If it did return later on in life and I didn’t have chemo I would always be thinking what if?.. I’ve cut my long hair short and bought loads of bandanas and a couple of wigs so i’m quite looking forward to my change in image! I’m not bothered about losing my hair. I was told by my wig lady that you cant wear fake tan! Anyone know if this is true??
The two things that have worried me is that I have no children and would like them and would be gutted if chemo ruined my chances of conceiving… We were actually trying for a baby when I was diagnosed. The other sounds pathetic but I don’t want to put on weight whilst on chemo and seriously considering not taking the steroids offered to me… I’ve had enough to contend without having to deal with that aswell!
will be having chemo in the new year, bcn has told me i will definately lose my hair, and surgeon suggested to hubby that he could shave his hair in an act of solidarity!! :)…hubby nearly passed out with shock , so funny…i laughed and hubby said, ‘no way’, and i actually wouldn’t ask it, or expect it of him, he has beautiful hair. I also feel this is to make me well again,so why would hubby want to be bald too? It was funny though, and surgeon (super lovely man) was very tongue in cheek when he said it! Off to hospital again today to have my wounds checked, and to have a chat with bcn about the next steps, i will ask about wigs etc, but not sure i will go that route tbh, though hubby thinks it would make me feel better?not sure, time will tell.
To all those having surgery today or in the next few days, good luck with it all, i wish you all good results xxx
Hi Yasemin & Nania,
Never heard of the fake tan bit ?? ( I will look like a ghost then !!
Have they asked you if you want to freeze your eggs ?? ( that will be something else you have to worry about ? )
Narnia thats funny my hubby told me he was shaving his head ( I told him NOT TO ! ) whats the point us both being bald ??
Yasemin , I know what you mean about putting on weight cos of the steriods my chemo nurse told me that the steroids make you get the munchies ! she said if you are sensible and stick to carrot sticks and celary ( YUK ! ) you should be ok !
You will need the steriods to stop you feeling sick , you might taste things different so you may go off things ?
What time you going for your chemo today ?
I am going at 130pm thinking of you all love Caron xx
