hi im a man with breast cancer and just wondered if there was any other men with the same as me on this site, also it would be nice if the ladies could give there oppinions about men with this issue,thank you, lance.
Hi Lance,
I am not sure how many men are on this site but i am sure you will be made very welcome, although we would all rather not be here.
I am recently diagnosed so not much help at the moment, this site is wnderful though and you will get lots of support as i have i am sure.
love
Val
x
Hi Lance,
welcome to the one club nobody wants to join! There are a few guys here and i am sure they will give you support, as will the women. Here you can whinge if you want to or say whatever you need to say, nobody minds because many know exactly where you’re coming from
take care
Hi Lance
there is a whole thread for men but they certainly don’t chat like the women do. Sorry you are here but welcome. It must be weird for men as so much is aimed at women. You must feel like an outsider? But if we can help you we will. Stay on here my love. It takes courage and I am sure you have loads. I can only speculate about how different it must be for men.
You take care and don’t go away
Dilys
xx
Hi Lance,
Hi Lance,
Hi Lance,
My name is Brian and I was diagnosed with BC in June 2005. There have been quite a few men on this site and they will be very supportive, as are the ladies. I am a (now) 43 year old married with two beautiful daughters and have had a full mastectomy of the left breast, radiotherapy and tamoxifen. Subsequent right mastectomy and the suspicion that it may be genetic with me (still awaiting the results).
Hi Lance,
Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care forums. I am sure you will get lots of help and support from the many informed users, both male and female, of this site.
Breast Cancer Care offer many free publications, one of which is especially aimed at men, I have posted the link to this publication for you below. You can either download a copy directly or order a copy on line.
breastcancercare.org.uk//content.php?page_id=333
This second link is for you to obtain a copy of our Resources Pack it’s full of useful information for the newly diagnosed. As this is a ring binder you can’t download a copy but if you order one it will be posted out to you.
breastcancercare.org.uk//content.php?page_id=7514
Hope this is of some help.
Kind regards
Katie, Moderator
Brian again, I must remember not to press the TAB button…
Everyone deals with this situation differently… I was determined not to be beaten by this and it is the psychological effect that is more difficult to deal with in my personal experience. It is easy to get angry - and found it difficult to not vent that anger on those who love and support you. They don’t deserve it and are feeling equally as angry about it as you are. Eventually I managed to control it by latching on to every positive that the medical proffession and the good people on this site can offer.
With that in mind, I’m going to give you a positive - I am completely clear. The treatment these days is very comprehensive and there is often no reason to suspect that the worst is going to happen. Yes life will change, but with the support that is available you can cope.
I sincerely wish you all the best and please use the resources that are available to you…you are not and never will be alone.
Regards
Brian
I would like to thank you all for the wonderful support you are giving me,i just started my second week of radiotherapy ( i itch like mad lol ),and i know its going to get sore. Had my first session of aroma therapy today ( didnt do much because i was too tense ),maybe a bit better next week, one thing i still have problems with is my aching joints,headaches,flushes. My only wish is that i can learn to control my temper with my 3yr old at bedtime,im a single dad at 50!!!,i know what your thinking,but she was a mistake but a lovley one lol, once again thank you all so much for your support,Lance.
Hi Lance,
Do not itch your skin. Use loads of aqueous cream, several times a day. (I put mine in the fridge and the coldness was fantastic) Can anyone help you out with your 3 year old? as radiotherapy can get very tiring.
Take care,
Kat x
Hi Kat,
Thanks very much for the advise, i don’t scratch it just put up with it.
Thanks again for the concern for my daughter but my mum helps with her but shes not very good help for me,not very supportive not nice to say but she seems all self.
I have good friends who give me support and nursing staff and not to forget the wonderful people on here, even when we are the ones suffering we still find the time to support each other,
Thanks to all,
Lance x
Hi Lance Sorry to hear you have joined us but you will get great support from all the ladies on hear they are fantastic I dont know what I would have done without them. So anything at all you want to ask them then do even if you feel its embarrasing just ask away as there is always someone on here who will help you out. I was diagnosed in November 2006 I had only moved house a week before from Birmingham back to Scotland so it was quite a shock as I had to have a new doctor and a new hospital I had lived in Birmingham for 26 years so I was really scared. Anyway the treatment I had here was fantastic I had a mastectomy and 8 sessions of chemo I didnt need any radiation as they said I was borderline and all my lymph nodes were clear. I finished all my treatment the end of July and I started a new job 3 weeks ago. I do feel well and I now feel I am getting back to normal and I am also starting to enjoy my new home here in Scotland. While I was ill I had days when I felt terribly homesick for Birmingham but thats gone now and I feel settled here. I am going for a week back to Birmingham on boxing day so I am so looking forward to it. I havent seen any of my old friends since I left as I wouldnt let them see me bald but my hair has grown back lovely now. Anyway enough about me please keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on and give my love to your little girl. I do admire you bringing her up on your own. I do hope you dont feel to bad having your treatment You Take Care Love Linda xxxxxxx
Hi and thanks Linda,
Glad to hear your life has got better and i hope you will be very happy there in Scotland,its a beautiful and lovley people.
Had my sixth day of radio today, went well but i do feel a little low when i go because i sit there on my own when everybody else has a partner or a friend for support, but never mind we are a tough lot ar’nt we lol,
Regards Lance xxxx
Not everyone has a partner or a friend for support Lance
although luckily I had friends not as many as pre - diagnosis as I am afraid some people do fall by the wayside. But strangely others come up trumps.
Mole
Hi Lance,
I often went for my rads on my own. I used to bring a book with me. Sometimes I enjoyed the solitude.
Glad to hear it’s all going well.
Kat
Hi Lance,
I always went for treatment on my own. Although my wife would have come, I thought it better that she and my girls should carry on as normal.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t find the radiotherapy a problem physically, yes it was generally tiring and boring, but there is always someone there who wants to chat. You will probably start to recognise that the people at each appointment slot are usually the same, but they wont necessarily be having Radiotherapy for the same reason as you. In my crowd it became a bit of a competition and boasting session, how many sessions we were having and when we were due to finish. We often had a joke about which machine was going to fail before our treatment was due as we waited.
Stick with it mate.
Brian
Hi Lance,
I always went on my own. I did not want my hubby taking time off work for hospital visits; rather, time off was for pleasure! There were several people on their own and we’d pass the time chatting. How are you getting on?
Margaret
Hi all,
Thank you so much for all your support, had my last day of radio today,Hooray !!!.
You are all so right in all you have said, i feel so much better in myself, i know it will take about two weeks to wear off but i know i can get on with a bit of living now.
My thanks also go out to Jim & Brian who have been brill.
Will be back soon
thanks again
Lance xx
Hello Lance,
My name is Nicky and im very sorry to hear about you getting diagnosed with this as i know of having chemo and radio at the age of 24 yrs old myself and being a fellow man you do feel isolated and its the journey through and after the cancer thats tough.
But with good support around and family there youll be fine i promise.
If you want to talk at any time would look foward to hearing from you
all the best mate
Nicky