Hi Debra,Hope everything going well with you. What is ER+ ?
I am going to be on Tamoxifen for 5 years and wondering if it going to affect my ovaries or womb.Do you know much about that? How do they monitor the effects? Anyone with experience of this?
Best wishes.Ann (awaiting mastectomy in one day’s time)
Hi Anna,
ER-positive cancers are more likely to respond to anti-estrogen therapies. If you have an ER-positive cancer, you may respond well to tamoxifen. I will be on Tamoxifen for 5 years as well but have not yet research side effects.
Good luck to everyone
Sophie
Ann / Sophia / Ladies
I am ER+ and will still be taking tamoxifen for 5 yrs to mop up any estrogens that is left behind, taking tamoixfen does increase your chance of endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) in post-menopausal women and women who have had breast cancer but only by a small percentage and my gynaecologists and oncologists will monitor me whilst on tamoxifen the risk is so low at less than 1% if you take tamoixifen for 10 years which is 5 yrs more than I will be on them for. As both consultants have said the benefits of this drug far outweigh the risks so I am not worrying at all, I to have done no research on this but I am sure there will be information out there that will back up what they have said, all of this information was given to me by my oncologist and BCN at the time I was told I would be on them.
I am not sure how they monitor you as I have not asked yet will do this at next hospital appointment
Ann hope all goes well with your mastectomy I am sure you will be fine lots of ladies I was in hospital with on both occasions said that they had no pain from the operation and could not believe someone could take your boob of and you would feel no pain, so hopefully it will be the same for you.
Love and hugs to you all
Debra x
Hi Debra,
I’ve been keeping an eye out for you. Just wanted to wish you well for your op this week.
Good luck Hun thinking about you and will keep any eye out to see how you are doing. I am 8 rads down 11 to go getting abit bored with the M56 but there are worse things.
Love Shonagh xx
Hi Debra and Sophie,
Thanks for info. I guess I must be ER+ then, as on Tamoxifen straightaway. I’ll be so glad when the op is over and done with tomorrow. Reading your comments I feel calmer about it again. Thanks. I’ll let you know how I got on in a few days time, hopefully. I have been praying ( yes,really!) for a sense of humour to help me cope with this diagnosis, surgery, and any follow- up treatment.
love and hugs to you all,
Ann xxxx
Shonagh
Thanks will let you know how the op goes, not to sure when I will start my radiotherapy but should be some time soon as this is my last op for a while, how are you coping with the radiotherapy most on here seem to cope well so fingers crossed that will be me.
Ann
Let us know how you go on with the op, will be thinking about you.
Take care
Debra
Hi ladies,
thanks for all your helpful comments. I have been told I have to have radio therapy, not sure what else yet (find out next Tuesday my results) (keep fingers crossed for me). Tell me what do you all advise, have the radio therapy in the mornings or afternoons, do you think I’ll be able to go to work during this? How do you feel in yourself? I have been told tiredness is an issue, is it ok for you to drive yourself to hospital and back (my hospital is an hour’s drive there and back unfortunately)? I look forward to your advice.
Good luck Debra with your op, hope everything ok for you. Hope you are ok Shonagh, hows the rads going, how do you feel?
Love to all,
Ladela xx
Hi Ladela,
I’m fine with the rads so far skin is holding out nicely (I did start aqueous cream 2 weeks before as I was a bit flakey skinned after the WLE/SNB). I too have an hours journey there and back. Phil (my OH) has been driving me as they have kindly given me appointments to work around his shift patterns and the parking is rubbish so ther have been a few times he has been circling the block while I am being zapped!!!. I am 11 down 8 to go and the tiredness is starting to creep in. I have had my appointments at either 11am ish or 2pm ish depending on Phil. The afternoon ones are ok as I get a lie in but the morning ones I have to be up and about to shower etc before setting off. I’m not returning to work until after my rads, my breast nurse said if I could manage financially to try to stay off until after they have finished and for a couple of weeks after. Luckily we took a mortgage break of 9 months when we got DX as we were expecting chemo and amazingly my employers have agreed to pay me in full for the whole 3 1/2 months I will have been off in total. I get really tired about 2 hours after the rads and nearly always have a bit of a doze which is somthing I havent done at all until the rads started. In fact I have the most awful trouble sleeping and have been put on anti anxieties to knock me out so I suppose the tiredness side effect for me is a bit of a bonus.
I am looking forward to getting back to work but my GP has suggested part time to start with especially as I work shifts and will have some early starts and late finishes. From what I can gather there is a bit of an emotional side too that once rads are finished its just the tablets and zoladex and the appointments stop being so frequent and we can feel a little bit on out own. I’ve got to make an appointment with my HR department an am hoping to do 3 days for 3 weeks have a weeks hols(booked a cabin for our wedding anniversary) and then 2 weeks of 4 days and then back to normal whatever that means!!.Cant believe how fast it has all been and how quickly the last few months have gone.
Hope this is some use to you. Thinking of you and wishing you luck for your programme. Love Shonagh xx
Hi Shonagh
The cabin sounds good, where are you going? I am thinking of booking a week in southern Ireland in the summer holidays (I work in a college) as some of my family are over there. Hopefully I will be up to it and the sun will shine. I think I will take one day at a time in regards to work, don’t want to push myself but I have only been at my work for 8 months and they are only paying me one week sick pay and the rest is SSP. So I feel a bit pressurised at present to go back, but on the other hand I am definately not up to it at present, I’ll wait and see.
Take care and I hope your treatment goes really well and you feel ok.
Take care,
Ladela xxx
Hi everyone out there,
I forgot to say, I’ve just had my stitches out, I know this probably will be a stupid question, but in the bath/shower can I use soap on that side?? Don’t laugh, I know it probably is a stupid question, but I cannot remember what the nurses said and should I use special antiperspirant now? Thanks very much.
Ladela xxxx
P.S. I know what you mean Shonagh about the ‘smelly armpit syndrome’ I have felt like that myself over the last couple of weeks, but I have just about survived using unscented baby wipes. xxx