Hi all, i have been following all your posts with interest. I will leave the individual replies to our esteemed community champions, apart from my old friend @salbert - you look fabulous!
Its a BIG day for me - my last Phesgo today! Cant quite believe i am here. Also fot Zolendronic acid today so might feel a bit ropey tomorrow. So a new chapter starts tomorrow. I will post again tomorrow with further news.
Penny
Hi @pennyp so nice to have an update from you.
Congratulations on your last Phesgo 
Be kind to yourself after your Zolendronic acid.
@jayveebee Go you! I love Scissor Sisters. Was it excellent? Youāre looking great and itās good to see your lovely face. Agreed, you gotta milk it for all itās worth. 
Iām sure it was worth a telling off by your oncologist!
As usual, @naughty_boob is straight in there with all the info and then some, on acne rash and cold sores, which is excellent as she is far better at that than me. Thanks for your kind words re my butterfly outfit and good wishes for Friday. Quite honestly, Iām rather excited about my reconstruction op. Itās the good bit after the last year and a half. More than that, if I go right back to the autumn of 2022 when I first got symptoms. Itās been a long old journey so I feel that this is the icing on the top of a rather revolting and unpleasant cake. 
And Iām in the same boat as you when it comes to all that running and skipping etc. I tried to do the running man to Hear the Drummer Get Wicked not so long ago and was puffed after two bars and realised I canāt jump anymore. Iāve convinced myself that itās because I need to strengthen my ankles and thatās all.
@carrie5 - You have a wonderful way with words and have hit the nail on the head there. However we do it, we are still doing us and not letting cancer define us. This is such an important message. One of the best bits of advice I was given at the outset was to put cancer in a box and visit it when you have to. For the rest of the time, get on with your life. Of course we all need to make some adjustments for a while, but now that I am coming out the other side, I am living life more fully than I was before all this began. Iām also saying no to people and things I donāt want, which is a first and it feels good.
Good luck for today @sassy3. Hereās hoping it all gets done in one go today.
Oh @pennyp firstly thanks and secondly CONGRATULATIONS ON FINISHING PHESGO!!! 
What a wonderful feeling that is. Go slap a bench! Iām so happy for you.
Completely unrelated to bc, but has anyone got any tips for getting a splinter out of the side of my hand? I got one stuck in there last Thursday and have only just noticed that there is still a bit in there and itās become infected. I donāt want any reason not to have my op on Friday but have been jabbing away at it with a safety pin and now itās so swollen I canāt see the splinter anymore. This is an example of why I could never have become a nurse!
Love to all
Salbert
x
Hi all, scout in place in original tumour, but they were unable to do anything further with the other areas of concern. I now have to wait for MRI and have biopsies/ scouts during that procedure! I feel a little going round in circles, one minute MRI not clear enough so ultrasound needed, now opposite seems to be the case! Bit confused, waiting game againā¦
Hi ladies - itās been a busy weekend ā¦ I went to work and I think Iām getting stronger because I didnāt feel broken and exhausted afterwards . Well no more so than pre cancer !
I did take it easy on Sunday and it was my husbands birthday so we had a bbq. Yesterday was a bit stressful as I needed to take my daughter to her school 12 miles away for 2 am ā¦ for her school trip to Germany ā¦ I was worried how Iād manage but I went for a nap at 8 and got up at 12 ā¦ daughter was safely delivered and touched down in Munich this morning . She was very anxious as sheās never flown before .and needed lots of pep talks . Her text on arrival made me giggle though 
@salbert and @naughty_boob - itās bizarre on the EF , my oncologist said itās possibly because I gave up smoking ā¦ who knows !
I feel sad I canāt continue with the herceptin but appreciate that the endless reactions and steroids probably arenāt so good 
@jobieejo how are you doing? @salbert you look amazing what an outfit!
Iām certainly no fan of chemo thatās for sure but 11 more to go nice to see the number going down now! they are trialing me without the white blood cell injections so hoping all bloods are good enough to go ahead this week 
I get my first herceptin jab on Friday so that countdown can also start!
Did any of you ladies suffer with a bad back after paclitaxol? Iāve had a bad back for years but itās been so irritated this week from the paclitaxol Iāve been trying to walk it off but itās quite persistent!
@sn25 - I had nab- paclitaxel and I just ached everywhere on it ā¦ 
@salbert - well ā¦ I love that outfit ! You look spectacular! 
Have you managed to get that splinter out ? It sounds like itās too deep - donāt jab any more ā¦ your body will usually form a callous round it and push it up ā¦ in the meantime try soaking your hand in hot water x
@carrie5 - you are right in that we all get through this with our own quirks . Iāve gone with wigs ā¦ Iām envious of you and your caving and @gromit12 doing the park runs but I do feel Iām getting stronger each day x Unfortunately Iām horribly anaemic again (internal rage )
@arty1 did it all ease off once you finished? Iām going to try my usual tricks to ease it a bit with baths and walks and may reach out to my physio see if he can help!!
Hi, got to say Iām not a fan of this chemotherapy thing either, however itās not been as bad as I was imagining, Iām tired and having tummy issues but other than that my main side effect is acne, Iāve not had this many spots since I was 14!!!. How are you going with it? Are you going to be having Herceptin with the Paclitoxal?
Yeah chemo isnāt the one is it glad your not too awful, my period joined the party the day of chemo so that probably hasnāt helped, I havenāt been too bad today Iām suffering with my back and hips and just been a bit meh and tired but managed the school run the last few days and have been ok working so Iāll take it! Yep I have my first herceptin on Friday with the next chemo! Iām triple positive so will then be on to tamoxifen! Did you have side effects from the herceptin?
@sn25 Iām still struggling with back pain but the terrible leg and lower back aches have gone now ā¦ I found that muscle heat pads really helped x
Iāll give those a try, I did try some deep heat I struggled with spd/pgp when I had my youngest and it feels like that flaring up again if it flares and settles each week I can handle it (I think )
@sassy3 I suffered terribly with my skin during chemo until someone told me to moisturise moisturise moisturise and then it got better! This is a picture of me right in the thick of it!
Donāt worry about the PICC line. I hated the thought of getting mine after CE number 2, but it really is wonderful. No more needles for anything except the dye stuff for the MRI. I would get it again in a heart beat. Canāt help with any of your other concerns as still trying to get my chemo right. Reacted to doxy, then reacted to paxy, so waiting to see that their next move is
Hi @debly123 i was due 6 chemo but only managed 4 because of digestive problems. Bopisy from surgery showed residual cells. It was a shock to be offered Kadcyla but Iām slowly mentally dealing with it with the help of talking therapy and physically its much easier too. My digestion barely changes, taste not affected. And no meds for any side effects. I have fatigue but i think its more the radiotherapy as it feels similar. So what Iām trying to say is try it and see how you go, they can also reduce the dose to reduce any side effects. It helped me to think how lucky i am to be offered it and to know its Ā£84k of treatment so its got to be good for something!
Hey,
I keep reminding myself how lucky I am to have minimal side effects so far!!! Iāve actually managed to be fairly normal as well which I wasnāt expecting!. Only side effect from the Herceptin jab was a lovely large bump at the site of injection which had disappeared by the following morning.
Hi, what moisturiser did you use, Iām now completely paranoid about putting anything on or in me incase it does something weird
@jobieejo I used a lāocctaine one as it was scent and paraben free and used it every day twice a day throughout my treatment. I also tried a tropic scent free one which was also good. I donāt know if you have to use paraben free as lots of messages about that and if you should or shouldnāt but I just decided to go with caution but please donāt think I am suggesting you should go paraben free.
People started commenting on how great my skin was looking too. The oncologist did prescribe me steroid cream too and that didnāt help at all. Anyway it worked for me great so give it a go. Good luck with it! It felt alien to me to be putting on a moisturiser as I was thinking how can that help as assumed it was toxins trying to escape. Whatever the reason it really did help me so hopefully you will experience the same xx
