Elsie, sorry to hear you may have to have chemo. I went in fr my first one guns blazing ready to kick this thing, but it didnt last. I had it Friday afternoon, and by 9pm I was sick, but it turns out I didn’t take the drugs properly afterwards and misunderstood the Nurse so will know for next time. I was sick again Saturday morning then literally laid on he sofa all week. I started to pick up at the beginning of the week, but was sick again Tuesday, but today am feeling the best I have felt since and may do some last minute Xmas shopping later on. My appetite is non existent and following mastectomy and all this have lost a stone - I’m not a small person so this is good, but all for the wrong reasons. I had a bit of a scare last night with my hair, but not sure if its just normal hair loss through its lack of condition at the mo - I cried all the same. I am trying to be positive but as each symptom happens I have mixed feelings of doom combined with a least that one less thing to worry about and I am very teary at the mo. I’m not going to lie, its not a nice thing, but everyone is different and I hope for you your kids help get you through it. My only advice at this early stage would be to take your drugs properly as soon as you can and hopefully avoid as much of the side effects early.
I upset my dad yesterday telling him to be prepared that I may not be able to make Xmas if I feel like this, but he talks of it like its a cold, and if I get out and force myself I will feel better - but I am not in control, a beechams won’t get rid of this one!! He also thinks I am depressed, but I am more angry with people thinking they have a miracle cure when all I want is to be left alone to do what my body tells me to do and pick myself up when I am ready.
Narnia, fingers crossed for good results on the 9th!!!
cbc22 - I am still feeling sore from SNB lumpectomy and mastectomy - I think they only removed 3 nodes but I have a sunburn feeling under my arm right down to my elbow - My surgeon said I would feel his for some weeks - its been about 3 now! Also at the same time everything feels numb to touch so finding putting cream on quite difficult - hope the pain eases off for you soon wish I knew a way of making it better - I’m so desparate to sleep on my right side!!!
I was diagnosed in late May with Inflamatory Breast Cancer… it was 5.5cm at diagnosis and stage 3, grade 3, er and pr positive and her negative…
With IBC you have the chemo first - so i’ve had 4 x AC and 4 x docetaxol and finally had my mastectomy on Nov 25th… So at the moment i am getting over the op and waiting for the results… I know i will definatly be having radiotherapy as that is also standard for IBC patients…
It’s actually so good to see some posts off people who have also recently had surgery… you wonder so much whether what you are experiencing is “normal”…
Those of you who have had a mastectomy… do you also have a huge bump where the scar is…? Or is that just me…? lol… mine looks almost like a hot dog roll beneath the skin… and the bulge at the side under my arm is HUGE!!! there is no way i could wear my current bras… Mind you it is hurting too much at the moment to wear any bra…
Hi Rhapsodyangel, I had my mastectomy on the 12 November and although I am healing well, I have a small bump where my cleavage would have been and another just under my armpit. Relieved to hear you are experiencing similar (in the nicest possible way), perhaps it is normal! I too can’t wear noral bras yet, although my M&S Mastectomy one is not underwired and I can cope with that and the one the hospital gave me. Hope you get good results - let us know how you get on. Mands x
Hello everybody,
Decided on Friday that the pain wasnt so bad and made the mistake of sweeping the floor and doing a few more jobs around the house. Complete mistake. Had a terrific stabby pain under my arm and a swelling on Saturday and suffered all day, so will not be doing that again, but its hard looking at all the dust! Didnt sleep at all well on Saturday evening and so was desperate for sleep and finally drifted off in the early hours of Sunday morning, only to have someone nudge me saying “I’ve brought you a cuppa tea!” Aaargh!
Up early this morning cos it feels like someone is giving a chinese burn to the end of my nipple.
Anyway, rant over, got my oncology appointment on the 16th, so will have some idea of what treatment lies ahead.
Mandy, sorry to hear you’ve been sick a few times and hope you are feeling much better now. Did you get that Xmas shopping done? I haven’t done or bought anything yet. Haven’t felt like it but to be honest am not in a christmassy mood at the moment, but who knows it may get better.
I could kick myself for not having the right size bra at the beginning cos I feel my recovery would have been a lot quicker and I would not have had so much pain.
Good luck to everyone awaiting results and hello rhapsody angel! x
i would say it is true the effects are cumulative… so i felt more tired as time went on, and much more breathless… but once chemo stopped it was amazing how quickly those side effects went away - so there is light at the end of the tunnel…
i know there is a chance they are going to say tomorrow i will need more chemo… IBC is probably the most aggressive of the breast cancers… and if there is much sign of cancer cells still in my lymph nodes then i will have to continue chemo… (as well as the radio therapy…)
Hi girls!
Finally feel like doing things again, as have been so nackered after surgery on Friday it was too much of an effort to do anything! Op went fine and cons confident he has got it this time-hope he’s right!! Came home Saturday and felt so good I went out for a 2 mile walk…reality hit on Sunday when I felt like a deflated balloon! Also not sleeping again which is really getting me down-however my GP phoned on Monday and has said to take sleeping tablets to get through this spell-I was a bit wary but she reassured me it was better in the short term to get some sleep and how right!
Now just another wait for results, and trying to get used to the idea of chemo-what a nice start to the New Year that is going to be?
Mandy- it is reassuring to read how you are getting on and I will try to remember what you have said. hope you do manage to enjoy Xmas a bit. My girls have been great…I came home on Saturday and they had put up the tree and all decs-so pleased as I couldn’t motivate myself to get started,
well it was a long wait - but with some good news at the end of it…
the surgeon thinks they got all the cancer in the breast area… apparantly in the end the tumour was 2.1cm long still but that wasn’t spherical… more like a string…
and with the lymph nodes - they got 6 and 1 had some cancer cells in -
unfortunatly my onc wasn’t at yesterday’s meeting - so he didn’t know her plans… so we will have to go back next wednesday… it might be i have to have 4 more doses of chemo - because of the one gland having cancer cells in… she will also get me to sign the consent forms for the radiotherapy then…
but all in all they were very pleased with the results - especially considering what i have got…((inflamatory breast cancer -IBC)
elsie - agree with your gp take the sleeping pill if it helps you get through this time… i took them during chemo when i was having problems sleep because of the steroids…
Yes it’s amazing how you latch onto even a little bit of good news-you seem to have a very positive attitude towards having more chemo rhapsodyangel-hope I can be as positive when it comes to it!
Feel so much better today with getting a sleep-didnt waken til 9.20 this morning-wondered where everyone had gone…!!! Don’t want to take them every night but I have them when I need them now which probably is a help in itself!
Went out for Xmas lunch at one of my schools today which was really nice, just seeing everyone again as I really miss the company. However if there is one good thing about being off at this time of year it was seeing how stressed everyone was…at least I am missing that-lol!
xxx
Am new to the site and am just geting over surgery for a wide local excision and node sample. Anyone else in similar position? Have 3 weeks to wait for results and then next treatment. Great site!!
leadie, i had the same op two weeks ago…and only had to wait ten days for my results, which were not too bad.Good news was surgeon got good margins on the cancer in my breast, so no more work to be done there, apart from a couple of nips and tucks on wibbly bits of scarring, then a new nipple/areola if i want it done (surgeon saw my lovely tattoo on my back and has suggested i might want to ‘think outside the box and have a tattoo on my breast instead’!!..Lovely man, truly lovely!).Bad bit was they found microscopic bits of cancer in my sentinel node, so i now have to go for chemo, sometime in the new year, followed up by radiotherpay and then rremoval of the remaining lymph nodes.No too sure why they are doing it that way round ( i assumed they’d take the lymph nodes first, but maybe it’s better to blast the cancerous cells in there first, to prevent any further spread, or to zap any stray cells on their holidays from my pits??), but i’m looking forward to the late summer, and early autumn of next year, when everything should be sorted, hopefully my hair will have started to grow back too and i can get on with life. I hope your results are good xx
Hi girls!
Have been busy getting organised for Xmas and generally feeling ok but the last few days have had dreadful itch and soreness on the breastbone area, since the latest surgery. Didn’t have this first time round and wondered if anyone has experienced this with a reexcision? The wound area seems ok and I am reluctant to phone my Gp or BCN in case they feel I am fussing unnecessarily. It is keeping me awake at night…even more than usual at the moment! Any comments please? xx
I haven’t had a reexcision, but my WLE began to itch a few days after my surgery (which was 3 weeks ago today) and as the bruising came up I felt as if I’d been sat on. Someone told me that a wound itching is often a sign that it is healing.
Thanks for that Narnia
Have only just found this thread. The site can be quite confusing as I forget where I have posted! As I saidbefore, am back after Christmas…the 30th… for results and what is next. Have been preparing myself for chemo as well as Rads, as they are both a possibility. Have decided that will have my hair off and have a wig if I have chemo. Couldn’t be bothered with the cold cap business!! Are you going to try that?
How long was it from diagnosis to treatment for you and where are you being treated?
Best wishes
yes, i find it confusing searching the site too! I am not going to bother with the cold cap, if i’m offered it…i’m told it doesn’t often work, and my hair will grow back anyway, so i shall just get by with hats and funky scraves i think. I’m not looking forward to having the rest of my lymph nodes removed,partly because i’m not keen on another op, also not keen on the idea of lymphodoema either, but the main thing is i don’t know what to expect in the way of more scars? I was diagnosed on 23rd Sept and had my op 28th Nov, so 9 weeks wait for surgery, which they assure me has made no difference to my prognosis. I am being treated in Bath at the Royal United Hospital.I hope you have great results on the 30th xx
Hope you are right Eliza as I am having another sleepless night-though could be partly due to a meal out, rich food and eating late! Still quite itchy and feeling hard lumpy bits too which is a bit concerning. However in on Monday so will mention it to cons! I have also been experiencing slight pins and needles in my arm-this is now 6 weeks post first op and 2 weeks post 2nd…think I am just getting anxious about getting results again and imagination running riot!!
Narnia and Leadie- I was wondering about cold cap too and my hairdresser told me I would have to ask for it as it is not routinely offered, but feel I don’t know anything about it? Any threads with info on this or maybe I should start one? Went shopping the other day and my friend persuaded me to buy a hat and start wearing it now so people get used to seeing me wearing something on my head as I never normally do-good point I thought! xxx
Narnia… sounds like the wigs could be an option for me, if I end up having chem. Sounds like the ladies here that have wigs and are enjoying messing about with different hair styles etc. Sounds like the cold cap takes extra time in hospital and doesn’t stop hair thinning. I for one don’t want to be hanging around in hospital more than I can help. Can’t believe I’m writing about wigs…a few weeks ago I would have been so shocked to have this discussion…but know I think…well…we have to go with what ever is thrown at us…I think once I got over the initial shock of the cancer diagnosis, other stuff gets easier to handle…
and if there is much sign of cancer cells still in my lymph nodes then i will have to continue chemo… (as well as the radio therapy…)