I was the same as @gromit12 with the polybalm. My poor nails just keep ripping off with Kadcyla and nothing I do seems to help. I just try and keep them as short as I can to avoid them catching on anything and ripping off.
Iām delayed now for cycle 8 of Kadcyla because I brought back Covid from the US. Iām on Paxlovid and that stuff makes everything taste FOUL. I was fine the whole week of meetings and dinners and then as soon as I got back, I felt really grotty and tested positive. Not a happy camper. Iāve tried so hard to be positive and just get on with stuff but this just feels like too much.
Ohh @kartoffel I feel for you having a dose of covid as well as everything else. Iāve found that any viruses seem to literally affect my brain, and i get depression symptoms that lift as the virus leaves. Itās really hard to deal with while in the thick of it, but try and remember āthis will also passā. Wishing you fortitude!
Hi, I just looked into Polybalm for my Mum, my goodness the cost! Are there any alternatives? My mum is a pensioner, and Iām a single mum on a low income - I just canāt really afford to spend Ā£100+ on this
Morning all and welcome to @rayasnan. We are a super friendly bunch and we have a wealth of info on here so have a read and ask away!
@rrey Itās great to hear from you and a big whoop-whoop on your wonderful news. As I always say, itās so important to share the bit where you reach the light at the end of the tunnel to illustrate just how many of us get there. It may be a tiny pinprick in the far distance at the start of a journey none of us wanted to undertake but oh how brightly the sun shines when you reach it. I genuinely have a new found appreciation of the most mundane things in life now. It sure does give you perspective. I am also planning holidays now and it feels so good. Thanks for your positive message for everyone.
My nails are in such a state after all the treatment that I went and got some blue gel nails a couple of weeks ago. Goodness knows what they are looking like underneath but Iāll cross that bridge when I come to it. I was just sick of the sight of what was left and found myself crossing the street and marching into a nail bar on a whim. Iāve not heard of polybalm but good to hear of its existence.
@kartoffel Sending you love and strength and I hope you are on the up now. Thatās a double blow getting Covid after youāve been so amazing throughout treatment, both physically and mentally. I have found you inspirational as Iāve walked this walk with you and I send every good vibe I can across the airwaves to you. Youāve retained a sense of humour throughout and I want to tell you how much I have appreciated your presence. And of course our mutual love of potatoes.
@mum-a-lums30 I have been using Dr Organic Tea Tree Nail Solution and I could see the new growth coming through and looking a lot healthier before I suddenly lost patience and compulsively marched into the nail bar the other day. Itās probably not as effective as Polybalm but it certainly helps. Anyone else got any nail tips?
Nail tips? Just discovered that applying nail polish, then using paint stripper on window sill, doesnāt improve look of nails!
My sewing pattern to make head wraps just arrived in the post. My latest occupational therapy project for old scraps of material. Nowhere does it define what small medium and large heads areā¦this could turn into bald woman wearing blindfold!
I was advised to use a balm rather than an oil daily on the whole nail bed. Use a strengthener every 3 days and reapply to check nails underneath. Coat in varnish ( dark if on a taxane chemo) with a top coat. Moisturise hand after each wash.
The lady I had in the course was based in Northern Ireland and recommended Oriflame, similar to Avon and available online in UK. Generally she said it didnāt really matter what brand. The courses are face to face and online, you get a bag of goodies. If you e been online you have to wait for it to be posted to you.
@carrie5 I think you need to step away from the paint stripper for a while!!
@carrie5 What I am gleaning from this is that you are making your own head wraps and stripping paint all in one day. In my book, you are uber-practical, even if it doesnāt always go according to plan!
@naughty_boob I am also envious of your ability to absorb knowledge at the rate of an encyclopaedia so that you always have it to hand whenever anyone has a query. I mean, I attended a few workshops and have watched various YouTube videos but can I retain the information?? Not on your Nelly!
Iām off to see my consultant today and as we know, I always look forward to my trips to the Marsden. They are all so lovely and I associate it with the point at which my worries and fears were turned around and I had hope restored.
I have about 30 kids doing an assortment of LAMDA exams this weekend. Please keep everything crossed for me!!
You werenāt kidding when you said that Iād feel better once I had a plan!!! Went for my appointment today, got pre op on Monday and then operation on the 21st 4 weeks recovery and they are predicting 6 months of chemo, then the endocrine therapy for many years!!!they have pursued me that a lumpectomy is better for me as the tumour is tiny so Iām hoping for clear margins and no genetic cause as that will mean more surgery but for today, I actually feel almost like my normal self and for that Iām grateful.
@jobieejo Iām so pleased you feel better now you have a plan.
We will be with you every step of the way. Make the most of your time before your surgery in 21st, if you can. Time will pass so quickly and before you know it the day will arrive and you will be on a treadmill/conveyor belt/ferris wheel until your treatment ends.
Well I got a call from the radiotherapy late effects team this afternoon regarding my post radiotherapy fibrosis. Iāve got an appointment in 2 weeks The nurse says Iām doing all the right things- stretching, massaging the fibrosed areas and she also suggested some deep breathing. At least I am now in the Musgrove system having had radiotherapy in Reading
Iām feeling better now I know a bit of my plan too.
Pre op this Monday where they are also inserting a micro chip, then a dye injection on Thursday and my surgery Friday.
Busy week next week!
Still very anxious and nervous, also I have never had an operation before so not sure what to expect.
I then will find out my chemo and radiotherapy path once handed over to the oncologist once my surgery complete.
Love and positivity to you all
Good news @gromit12 I really wish the late effects radiotherapy was available nationwide. Iām at Velindre in Cardiff with the Welsh NHS and they donāt have the service. Just across the border in Bristol/Gloucestershire they have a self referral system for late effects.
I did ask at Velindre why they didnāt provide the service and they say there is a limited service for those who have had radiotherapy of the stomach and groin area. They just deal with late effects of bowel and bladder issues. I now have help from a cancer physio but it took a lot of asking, having seen a normal physio who didnāt understand cancer treatment.
Hope you get some relief. Radiotherapy seems so easy at the time but it can cause long term side effects. I was once told by a cancer rehabilitation specialist at the Penny Brohn charity, it was the gift that keeps on giving! Any itās so true.
@naughty_boob good that youāve found a cancer physio. Iāve been watching some YouTube videos by a breast physio and have learnt some massage techniques - the nurse yesterday said to carry on doing these and to keep stretching as much as possible. Also to deep belly breathe. She said the service is not commissioned by the NHS but by Macmillan
Somebody posted a link on another thread to The Breast Cancer Physio, Jen McKenzie, who is based in Australia and Iāve found her very helpful on top on my own cancer physio. So much so that I will be discussing some of the techniques with her.
Here is the link for anyone else that is interested.
Glad your service is funded by MacMillan, I believe my cancer physio is part funded by MacMillan as well.
@jobieejo - I had my last chemo five weeks ago but am still continuing with the herceptin by infusion x Iām so glad you now have a plan in place , it makes such a difference when you feel things are progressing and makes you feel a little more in control. I booked a couple of nights away with my husband before my surgery and I highly recommend it if you can ā¦ or treat yourself to a nice meal out x
@erica as above , once you have a plan , it does make a difference when you feel things are happening , once you start on the treatment train itās all enveloping but you donāt get time to think of much else except getting through the treatment. Treat yourself too before you start it all , I had a lovely night away in a rural shepherds hut and that peace and quiet really helped to mentally prepare me for what was to come x
@salbert I hope the consultant appointment at The RM went well x my friend is an oncology specialist nurse there and raves about it x
I wish they would warn you more about the effects of the chemically induced menopause , my poor family donāt know whether to hug me if run for cover at the moment. Combined with the fact Iām not staying asleep
At night and feel like Iām burning up . Iām a laugh a minute at the moment . At least we are saving on heating bills
Hello ladies, I had my surgery on Saturday and it all went ok. However surgeon hit me with there being a greater disease in the axilla, I had known one enlarged positive node. He says thereās lots of fibrosis so we just have to see if there are active cancer cells still lurking. Now back to feeling terrified. Feels like you clear one hurdle and the next psychological hit is waiting for youā¦. Has anyone else had lots of lymph node involvement? I had already been told I would likely be on to Kadcyla so was expecting that but now feel obsessed with my recurrence prognosis. Any tips on how best to deal with that? Xx
itās just never ending isnāt it, and to have a delay 
zx
The nurse says Iām doing all the right things- stretching, massaging the fibrosed areas and she also suggested some deep breathing. At least I am now in the Musgrove system having had radiotherapy in Reading
