Hi @lilly123 Thank you for your kind reply. Its good to know that its something thats done as standard along with all the other many many tests xx
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Hi @salbert, you are so so kind with your reply. It really is uplifting when you hear stories of people living with cancer even if it cant be cured. Its makes you hope that its not the death sentence that your brain is telling you it is. I hope you are feeling okay after your mastectomy and you definitely deserve to chill and do whatever makes you happy xx
Hi @salbert
So good to hear youāre recovering well from your surgery. Itās so good to hear positive outcomes. Itās amazing how in such terrible times we are still able to hold on to the little things that can make life just a little easier.
I have my chemo scheduling appointment today. Everything has suddenly started to move a little faster. Iv never looked forward to an appointment as much as I have this one! Am I weird! 
Bought myself a chemo outfit as I heard someone else mention this I thought why not 
now I need to stock up on some healthy snacks and a few chocolates xx
Hi, good to hear your surgery went well. I couldnāt shower when I had my drains in, in fact they wouldnāt let me shower for 2 weeks! Good job it wasnāt very warm !
PICC line was not fitted, Covid and MRSA swab results had not come back. Now got to go again Saturday morning. 
Hi @salbert
I am so glad that surgery went well, that you are home, and that you have chocolate 
.
You are alway so incredibly kind and encouraging in your responses to others - I hope that you can now breathe a sigh of relief that this bit is over for you. You truly are a warrior.
As you know, take it very easy and be very kind to yourself.
Wishing you a swift and straightforward recovery.
Xx
Hi @belle1
Sorry to hear that communication has not been great.
I am triple positive too and have been told I would switch from phesgo to kadcyla if residual cancer is found during my DMX on the 28. Kadcyla is basically herceptin with chemo, and side effects seem similar to phesgo from what I have read on this forum. Although I hate phesgo I hope I will contnue after surgery as I canāt have a port for IV due to a heart condition.
I will know in about a month.
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Hi @salbert
What a big step. Very happy to hear you arw doing well. I am amazed you have been released so quickly. And very impressed you can be so chatty after major surgery!
My surgeon does not use drains, apparently it is standard practice at RM Chelsea. Letās hope the build up wonāt be painful.
I am starting to prep for my DMX, bought a V shaped pillow yesterday and need to source heart shapes onesā¦
I hope your recovery goes smoothly.
Big hugs,
Marion
Hi @salbert , wel done you - sounds like all going well. The dressings they hsve these days are so good, you can shower and tje dont peel off. Enjoy your chocolates.
I went for pre-assessment today and was a bit alarmed when they said i would be a day case for a bilateral mammaplasty, but hopefully will come home armed with lots of painkillers.
Best wishes.
Penny
@belle1 sorry to hear you are now triple positive and this wasnāt mentioned before. Iām ER+ HER2+ PR- and having Letrozole as Iām post menopausal. Most bc with ER+ will have some sort of hormonal therapy eg Tamoxifen (premenopausal) or Letrozole/Anastrazole (aromatase inhibitors) for 5-10 years, which in themselves cause menopausal symptoms.
I canāt comment on Kadcyla but you can search the forum to find others that may be similar to you. Iāve found this one, someone who is also triple positive.
@salbert you are such a warrior! Itās doesnāt look like your plan to lounge in bed and eat chocolate is going to play outš¤Ŗ. I canāt believe you are out so soon and that youāre are not in too much pain. I love the bionic tit comment, itās so apt. Your surgeon sounds like the best of them, I had a lady surgeon also and when I went for my annual mammogram the radiographer commented on how good the boobs looked and how neat the scars were. Iām still not keen on looking at my naughty boobs but like your poem said Iām grateful for all they used to be.
Love to you all
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Hello darlings
So Iām up and about for a second day on just one dose of Ibuprofen. Iāve got my drain in its bag under a loose fitting dress and am on my laptop on the balcony having just eaten a massive fajitas lunch cooked by my son. Iām sure the saying goes āFeed a cold, starve a fever, gorge a mastectomyā. I must have heard that somewhere!
@cheryl2109 It is not only not the death sentence that the brain tells us it is in the midst of the fearful phase, but the chances are that you donāt even need to be having the Stage 4 conversation because you arenāt there yet and you probably wonāt be. I had far too many Stage 4 converstions with myself and my original team that I didnāt need to have. I donāt want women to have to go through that mental torment if they donāt need to so I like to do what I can to help. If you have wobbles then come on here.
@lilly123 Glad to hear that you can press on with chemo. Youāre not weird. I was practically, actually make that literally, begging for chemo before I switched to Marsden. I just wanted to know I was getting washed through with the stuff that would kill those cancer cells. I also had a chemo outfit which some people ritually burn at the end but which I cannot bring myself to do as it cost too much! Definitely chocolates. Important to treat oneself when going through this.
@bigpickle I couldnāt shower the last time I had a drain but this time round itās all been sort of waterproofed for want of a better word. It does make you feel better to get showered and dressed and hide it all under a wafty skirt. Sorry to hear you had a delay. Everything crossed it all gets done tomorrow morning.
Hi @fran Lovely to hear from you. Iām just paying it forward after all the wonderful women who came out of nowhere to catch me the day I came on here in a state. Itās been so important to me and I want to keep that support network strong.
@marionse25 Hello. Thanks for sharing your Kadcyla info with @belle1 I know somebody else who has just been told she will be getting Kadcyla after residual cancer was found during her mastectomy. I guess we have to get our heads around a slightly different treatment path and be grateful that it was found and we have a clear picture, even if it wasnāt the one we thought it was. I have heard that some surgeons donāt use drains. This one is fine as the tube is so small. I was dreading it after last time but itās absolutely fine. Doesnāt hurt at all.
@pennyp Itās crazy to think that they do mastectomies as day cases but apparently itās a very standard procedure and if youāre fine and you want to go home (which I did), then you can. And like I say, I havenāt even touched the codeine. Iāve had one dose of Ibuprofen today and no pain at all at present. I think it must be the chocolates. Better get stuck into those Lily OāBriens for the sake of my health!!
@naughty_boob Brilliant advice as usual. No wonder they made you a Community Champion. You were one of the first people who made contact with me back at Christmas and I thank my lucky stars.
Nowā¦I have just had a hamper delivered. I think Iād better go and tuck into it, as all this eating is clearly doing me a lot of good!
Love to you all and have a great weekend.
XXXX
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Hello, Iāve just found out that Iām HER2 and Oestrogen positive. Iāve had a recurrence in my axilla but itās not spread or in my lymph nodes. Iām waiting to speak to my oncologist to arrange chemo and herceptin prior to an operation to remove my lump and some lymph nodes (better to be safe than sorry Iāve been told). Iām not sure where the treatment will be yet. I do want to use a cold cap again even though it didnāt work last time, probably as I didnāt wash my hair straight away.
I got a second opinion last time in 2018 at The Marsden in Surrey and had lifts rather than a mastectomy. This time Iām going private as I have insurance through work.
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Hi Linda
Sorry to hear your back on a familiar journey once again. Sounds like you are prepared for whatās ahead, no pun intended. I never tried the cold cap as I didnāt have a particularly good head of hair before my chemo. Iāve finished chemo, had lumpectomy just finished radiotherapy and to celebrate just had all the dead hair shaved off. It was actually really liberating, hoping I will grow some better locks this time round.
@salbert im sooo pleased to read you are continuing to do well post mastectomy you really are awesome in being there for us all during your journey. Absolutely loved that poem and ps) I smacked a bench on your behalf.
We are so lucky in many ways, we also have our amazing champions, thank you all for sharing your knowledge itās been sooo reassuring 
Iām going to have to get chasing my oncologist again now as Iām due to start zelondronic acid infusions along side my 3 weekly phesgo but Iāve still had no appointments come through . Can anyone tell me if I should have a post RT scan I seem to remember MUGA scan mentioned ?
Thatās been a lesson Iāve had to learn, keep chasing the teams if you think they have missed something as there are so many of us for the specialists to be looking after itās easy to fall through the net.
Stay positive and stay here you brilliant and talented ladies.
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Hello @Linda_Corinne I am SO very sorry to hear that you have to go through this again. Please accept one of my massive overbearing virtual hugs. That must be such a kick in the teeth after going through it all the first time round. The cold cap didnāt work brilliantly on me, but the hair on my head is growing back at the rate of knots so I think itās true that it helps as it sure as hell isnāt growing back anywhere else yet. I started NHS but then went private over at Royal Marsden in Surrey and my experience there has been excellent. Keep us posted. You beat it before and you will do it again.
Hello @helsbels2, my old friend. Thank you so much for slapping a bench on my behalf! That brings me great joy. It makes me laugh aloud every time I hear of someone else slapping a bench. Iām hoping to get my drain out today. Carting this thing around is wearing thin now!
FYI, I have already had a zoledronic acid infusion and I had to get my teeth checked first as having dental treatment afterwards can cause problems with the jaw healing. I also have 3 monthly MUGA scans to check the Phesgo isnāt affecting it adversely. So far, so good. Definitely bother your team. Sometimes I think they are just too busy to be able to do everything. Iāve been ringing the ward daily with my drain output since last Wednesday and never once got through so Iāve been emailing the info in. Iām not keeping this thing a moment longer than I have to.
I love your āStay positive and stay hereā message. Absolutely!! I echo that, you brilliant and fabulous women.
Happy Monday
Drainbag Salbert
xx
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Thanks for your messages Helsbels2 and Salbert. I have been referred to a local onc as better to do chemo locally in case of problems so am hoping to see them this week. Hopefully get a call tomorrow or will call them otherwise. I could go to Bristol initially then at home but decided against unless it takes more than 4 weeks. So fingers crossed and also for it to disappear completely as expected.x
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Everything crossed that itās all speedy and resolved in no time at all.
My drain is out!! Pathology results on Friday. Itās another step closer and another tick off the list.
x
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Glad things are going to plan. Its good when things run smoothly. Ive recently started spitting the dummy out if things get changed. Still its made me stand my ground and get my way in the end.
Independence from the drain is another step in the right direction.
Hi Salbert
I honestly felt wretched when I had my drains in. Wasnāt allowed to shower, just awful. Such freedom!
Another step forward.
Thanks @entropy and @bigpickle It certainly is a good feeling to cast off that drain.
Yesterday threw me another curveball when my husband woke me at 5am to say I had better come and say goodbye to my 18 year old beloved cat, Stockton. He was lying on the living room floor semi-conscious. I picked him up and tried to give him some water but he couldnāt really drink. I took him upstairs and cuddled him on the bed, talking to him while waiting for the vets to open at 8:30. He died in my arms at 7:45am. Yesterday was awful because I loved the very bones of that old furball. Iād had him since he was a kitten and weād gone through a lot together. I cried all day.
I awoke a few times in the night but I told myself every time, that heād had his full life span and lived to a good age. The vet said it would have been a stroke or a blood clot and that if we could all choose, it would be the way we would like to go, surrounded by all our family, talking in soothing voices and telling us it was ok to go to sleep. (Not sure if he appreciated my singing Queen to him as he departed this world, but itās a special song that I always sang to him.)
I realise today that this year has taught me a lot about how to cope in adverse circumstances and to do all you can to look on the bright side. I think I would have had a very different reaction a year ago.
So for today, RIP my little Sticky Stockton cat and I thank you for enriching my life for 18 years. How lucky was I.
Love to all,
Salbert
x
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So sorry to hear about Stockton. We lost one of ours about 3 weeks ago. He wandered further than he ever had and was unfortunately hit by a car. He was 15 1/2 years old. The folks involved took him to out of hours vets and as he was microchipped the vets were able to contact me. We still have his sister who is missing him, as are we. They are part of the family. It sounds that Stockton passed away peacefully and was loved and petted till the end.
Sending hugs xx
Oh no @salbert snd @bigpickle that made me cry. Its so hard when you lose a beloved pet. We have two cats who are 15, one is fit and well and still running up trees the other our big ginger tom is definitely old and a bit strange, he likes to sleep somrwhere quiet and has a bit of arthritis, but he seems happy enough. I dread the day when he goes. 
we dont take him to vets unless we have to as he gets so stressed he nearly has a heart attack. Big hugs to you both. Goodness what the universe is throwing at us! We will get through it older and wiser.
Penny
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