@sooz1 hope you have a lovely time away you so deserve it. Xx
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@sooz1 sounds nice a nice break, enjoy!
@salbert LOL, tassel tits. Bet you never thought so many people would be thinking/talking about your boobs.
Iāve just had Kadcyla number 12. 2 more to go! The end is almost in sight but right now Iām really freakin tired (and also really hungry). I just stood in front of the fridge, shovelling spoonfuls of potato salad in my face (5 servings my arse). Thereās a possibility that Iām going to be potato shaped by the end of this course of treatment. All for a good cause though, my plastic surgeon said I wasnāt allowed to lose weight in preparation for my DIEP since I donāt have a lot of fat on my belly.
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@sooz1 hope you have a lovely time away, we are hoping to go away to cornwall between chemo and surgery if all goes well. My brother and his family are coming over from dubai so will be nice to see them.
Im laying here as usual the night before chemo, steroids keeping me awake but tired at the same time! Mixed feelings aboit tomorrow, nervous due to the chemo and knowing i will feel awful for 10days after but excited as my last big chemo and my picc will be coming out and i will be able to have a shower without cling film haha and my 6 year old son will be happy its out also.
Then i can focus on getting through surgery, which should be end of July, havent had exact date. Nervous about that also and what it will mean after and whether I will need more chemo or just the phesgo.
I hope you lovely ladies have a great weekend and the sun shines.
Jo x
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Hi Im in Dorset, not sure of your plans, or where youll be but on Sat/Sun at Highcliff is a Food and Craft fair, free to attend, food stalls line the street and crafts are in a field, Ill be there sat, probably be wearing a kaftan and headscarf, so if you see me, say hi xx
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@sooz1 - ahh That makes sense ā¦ Iām keeping my fingers crossed for the radiotherapy zapping it away with its super rays !
Enjoy your break ā¦ switch off and relax for the weekend xx
@salbert - Iām glad to hear you are being sensible and not overdoing things x keep on milking it !
@kartoffel - you are smashing through the Kayla ! How many more do you have to go ?
@cruising - very envious of you living in Dorset ā¦ itās one of my favourite places
@under_the_sea - good luck for tomorrows chemo
X
@shannon27 - good to see you are also taking care and looking after yourself . Donāt try to rush the recovery x
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Hi everyone
@sooz1 I too am delighted to hear you are off for a long weekend in Dorset. You need and deserve a little break. Unfortunately I donāt know about denosumab but hope somebody will.
@kartoffel It is indeed for your own good that you inhale as much potato salad as possible at the moment. Well done!
@under_the_sea - Wow! Chemo done! Great news.
@arty1 - No, not overdoing it at all. Just off to Guildford for the large drama school reunion I have planned for this weekend. 
Iāll be knackered on Sunday but I started planning this a year ago from my chemo chair so this has been on my horizon for a long time. Seeing all my old college friends will give me all the energy I need to carry me through tomorrow. (Must remember Iām not 18 anymore!)
Love to all,
Salbert
xx
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@salbert - No that doesnāt sound like overdoing it as Iām sure there will be many laughs and lots of fun and donāt we all need that now x
I went for my bone scan yesterday ā¦ the radiographer struggled getting the needle in , tried inside my forearm and blew the vein so it swelled up 
she had to get a nurse in the end . My poor veins have had enough 
Spent the last 24 hours avoiding the family so I didnāt poison them with gamma rays . Disappointingly I havenāt developed superpowers like the hulk
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Gosh @arty1 that sounds grim!
Iām also in Dorset @cruising. But Iām heading up north to meet school friendās today. Only Berkshire but everywhere pretty much north from south coast. Lol. Shall i organise a south coat meet up? Anyone?
@salbert hope your reunion goes well and thinking of all chemo curl gals today. My sis cut the mad small granny perm curl off end of mine, looking bit better!
For today Our own survivor gel that has been in my bathroom cupboard for 100 years!
Enjoy your weekend all. X j
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Id love a meet up, Im TN but still pop in here as support and info xx
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Does anyone have any tips to get your viens any better ? Need to try drink more fluid but on friday they had and awful time trying to get any viens to show, i really dont want a pic line for the last of treatment xx
@shannon Iāve noticed on my unit they give people who have difficulty a bowl of warm water to soak their hands in. I canāt comment on how well it works as Iāve been fortunate to have fairly visible veins. If it works its a fairly non intrusive way to help. All the best for next time.
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Yes i usually get a basin of hot water, after 4 attempts they got me to pop the heated pads on my forearms to see if it brought any up 
fingerscrossed for next time i have til oct/nov every 3 weeks xx
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Hello lovelies
Iām on a high still from my drama school reunion at the weekend. I made a speech to say that the last year and a half has given me clarity on what matters in life and that I have a sense of urgency to do all the things that Iāve been saying Iāll do but which I never got round to doing. We had a fabulous trip down Memory Lane and I managed a 2am bedtime. It did me the power of good and energy levels are slightly lower than normal but not excessively so. I recommend it.
@arty1 That sounds horrible. However, I disagree with you re the superpowers. You have lots. One of them is being an excellent Community Champion and another is transforming people with your stunning artwork.
@jayveebee I was wondering whether cutting all the granny curls off might work or whether they would all grow back and I would just delay the growth. Let us know how it goes! Survivor Gel sounds about right for us lot!
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Hi lovelies, just back from my appt with the surgeon and feeling completely overwhelmed by all the new information about chemo response, implant vs. DIEP reconstruction.
I finished 8 rounds of chemo last Thursday and had an end-of-treatment scan (MRI and ultrasound) after my 7th cycle. The ultrasound showed a great responseāthey couldnāt locate the markers, and it seems the tumours are gone (hooray!). However, the MRI still shows something measuring 30mm (originally 36mm).
My oncologist and breast surgeon seem to interpret the results differently. The oncologist was quite positive, saying itās likely scar tissue or non-cancerous calcification and that it shows a very good response overall. But the breast surgeon was more cautious, pointing out itās only slightly smaller and weāll need to wait for final pathology resultsāthis really freaked me out. Based on this, a mastectomy has been recommended, and possibly radiotherapy afterwards.
When it comes to reconstruction, I had originally felt quite settled on having an implant because it seemed simpler and involved less recovery time. But the surgeon mentioned that implants can sometimes fail, and that Iām a good candidate for both implant and DIEP. My local trust only does implants, so Iāve been referred to see a plastic surgeon at St Thomasā Hospital in London to discuss all the optionsāand Iāll need to make the final decision myself.
On one hand, thinking i should be glad there are options, on the other, Iām feeling totally overwhelmedāespecially coming straight out of chemo. Would really appreciate your thoughts on this to help me make the decision, and if anyone has had a DIEP reconstruction at St Thomasā in particular, Iād be so grateful to hear about your experience.
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Hi @jan30 iāll leave ladies with masectomy experience to answer. I have always found the BC nurses at my unit good for a chat and sounding board.
@salbert I can report that the small curls have stayed gone and I only have bigger more regular size curls left. My thinking was Iād prefer a funky younger looking shorter style over longer wedge of tight curls.
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Hey im just 5 weeks out on Thursdays from a double mastectomy and diep reconstruction! I am up in scotland i had mine at livingston, my surgeon was in the program surgeons living on the edge ? It was filmed at st johns hospital. Id be happy to answer any questions you have about diep xx
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Thx so much @shannon27 Can I askāhow long did you wait between finishing chemo (or other treatment) and having your DIEP reconstruction? Did you have it done immediately, or did you wait a few months?
Iām not sure if having just finished chemo means Iād be able to have an immediate DIEP reconstruction. The recovery time is honestly the scariest part for meāwere the first two weeks really challenging? And how long did it take for things to start feeling more normal again?
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Hey ladies! I got some more catching up to doā¦ i came back from holiday then went again a few days later
I need a bit of advice from mastectomy ladiesā¦ whats your tissue feel like? I have some lumpy stringy tissue in one areaā¦ please tell me someone elses is like thisā¦ i think i am having a spiral moment. Xx
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Hi @jeml
I had a double lumpectomy but am still struggling with scar tissue. Itās stringy and lumpy and I have seen a cancer physio who said massage is really important to breakdown the tissue adhesions.
Maybe give your breast nurse a call and chat it through, they can refer you to a physio or the BCN nurses 0808 800 6000.
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@jan30 I think a lot of it would depend on what your proposed course of treatment is, post-mastectomy. My team didnāt want to do an immediate DIEP because they were pretty certain Iād have radiotherapy afterwards and it wouldnāt be as good a result due to how the reconstructed breast would change as a result of radio. My PS said that if I had a little bit more fat to work with, he could have done it but because I only had ājust enoughā to create one boob then it was likely Iād be lopsided post radio. Iāve had an temporary expander in since my surgery last summer which isnāt super comfortable, but preferable to being left with a less aesthetically pleasing reconstruction.
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