Congratulations on finishing chemo 
I start radiotherapy next week exactly 3 weeks after so itās weird isnāt it but Iām very glad to be done with chemo 
It is so crazy like you say that some of us are coming to the end of our chemo journey!! I had my lumpectomy in December before Chemo and it was a bloody breeze compared with chemo!!
As always love to those still on the chemo journey
Little hair updateā¦ I started using this rosemary tonic that was recommended on here and Iāve been eating alot of protein/healthy and this is my hair progress since last week! Thank you to whoever recommended it excuse the flaky scalp Iām trying to wash as little as possible until the shedding stops 
Opened a hospital letter today to discover my surgeon was not joking about sorting things out in advance due to my drug allergiesā¦.i have a booking in appointment on the 19thJuly to discuss both my skin and drug allergies.
been asked to bring in details of adverse drug reactions and photos of what happens with the wrong type of dressings so they have time to source alternatives. Lovely eldest DD did suggest the surgeon stuck with Softpore dressings and think carefully over any surgical glues they normally use by plastics. Dd thinks I would react to most of the current ones the hospital use. surgeon knows her work as a member of the Burns Fellowship as she is one of the very few nurses who was asked to join so took her suggestions seriously. Glad she got that day off to come with me.
I am still trying to get m round the fact the surgeon not only clocked my medic alert as I walked in the room but that he is also doing all he can to reduce the risk of a bad reactions during surgery and has listened to my oncologists warnings about l am known to have adverse reactions and that chemo has amped that tendency right up.
Oncologist wants me to start a specific brand of trastuzumab on Weds as I have already had six Phesgos. Will be asking what will be in place in case I have an adverse reaction to trying a new drug and if it needs to be a specific brand so l can double check the pharmacy sends the correct drug up for me.
Hope everyone else has either finished or can see the finish line coming into view. KEEP GOING.
Katie, l can honestly say you have far more hair than I have.
Hope your hair continues to regrow for you.
Hiya @katie91 
ā¦. I will have my surgery in September (lumpectomy) after my neoadjuvant treatment finishes in August ā¦ is it really easier than chemotherapy? 
If I allow myself to think about it, Iām bobbing myself more about surgery than the slog of chemotherapy since beginning of March!
I had a lumpectomy (to remove a tumour which was 3.1cm after pathology results) on 19 March and started adjuvant chemo on 23 April. In my experience the surgery was easier by a country mile than the chemo that followed. Iām 4 ec and 2 paclitaxel down, two more to go!
Aah, thanks @kawan ā¦ I have read a few people say this, but I struggle to believe it ā¦ I think itās just the concept of being put to sleep / surgery ā¦ it frightens me more than chemotherapy 
Thatās totally understandable and in truth I may found it easier as at that point the whole cancer/hospital experience was much newer? Iād imagine if I were having it now I would probably feel similarly more nervous, but genuinely from a physical perspective it was a breeze compared to the rollercoaster of chemo for me.
Wishing you a straightforward op and super speedy recovery 
Hey @big I was so scared of my lumpectomy, Iām not even sure why tbh, Iām not scared of needles or anything like that but it was my 1st surgery (other than a C section) and Iād never been put to sleep before but I was so well looked after on the day. Spent the morning on the ward talking to some other ladies (a couple also in for BC surgeries and a couple of other different things), was kept informed on the day of what was happening and when they wheeled me down to be put to sleep we were chatting away and the next thing I remember I was coming round from surgery I was sore for a few days and uncomfortable for abit after it but nothing major, my experience was all very smooth and honestly I would do it all over again instead of chemo if I had to choose one I think chemo is just such a long slog whereas surgery is over and done with in a few hours and then youāre on the road to recovery.
Keep on top of the exercises they give you, eat well, stay hydrated and rest. You will be absolutely fine
Ahhh thanks @wibbles itās been really important to me because I chose not to tell people about this whole crazy journey Iāve been on so I could just get my head down and get on with it rather than everyone asking if Iām OK constantly and with 2 young daughters, I wanted things to stay as normal as possible for them. Hopefully it will continue to keep growing fast!!
Hope youāre doing well on this crazy ride xxx
Hi March starters. Just popping over from May 2026, to add a bit of reassurance for @big about her lumpectomy. I had mine in January, a wide local excision and sentinel node biopsy plus some jiggling about by way of oncoplastic reconfiguration! I started chemo in May and in comparison the surgery was a doddle. I could have gone home the same day as surgery but because I live a long way from the hospital I elected to stay in overnight, which gave me a great opportunity to āpeople-watchā!
Everything was very straightforward, I was in a bit of pain on waking from the anaesthetic but that vanished within seconds of being dosed up with liquid morphine and I was soon back on the ward with a lovely tuna sandwich and a hot cup of tea, feeling perfectly normal. Home for more tea and medals the next afternoon, after a big - and very good - hospital lunch!
Having had general anaesthetics five times previously in my life for non-cancer related operations, I wasnāt especially worried about this one, as I know how careful and rigorous the procedure is. Ask the anaesthetist to give you anti-sickness meds during the op - they usually do this anyway.
I didnāt need painkillers post-op, except the occasional paracetemol. Youāll be given exercises to do to keep your shoulders and neck flexible, but theyāre easy and quick, and youāll probably be given a picture chart to pin up somewhere to remind you of the routine.
Showering is pretty straightforward as long as you donāt saturate the dressings, theyāre water repellant to some degree but donāt get them too wet. Youāll be told when they can be removed, some within a few days, others a bit later.
As someone who is finding chemo very hard going - fatigue, mostly - I can honestly say that, in comparison, surgery was a walk in the park! I really hope it will be the same for you.
Good Luck for the op. All very best wishes.
Aah, thank you @bea4 ā¦ I appreciate that ā¦ in a warped-sense, chemo feels like a comfort blanket because Iāve been having it for so long!! 
ā¦ with September around-the-corner, surgery is starting to feel real and the thought of it makes me feel nervous ā¦. thank you 
Thank you @katie91 ā¦ thatās it, for sure ā¦ the long slog of chemotherapy!!! ā¦ two more cycles to go! Thank you ā¦ I feel more reassured after you lovely ladies giving me your thoughts & advice xx
Just to add to the general vibe, I had a single MX before chemo and trastazumab and I can absolutely say surgery was a breeze in comparison. If you take whatever pain relief you feel you need and most importantly do your exercises, itās just not a problem. They do many of these surgeries each week (or even day!) and they really know what theyāre doing. If youāve managed chemo etc youāll not find surgery a big problem 
Youā re welcome, @big ! My chemo is due to end by the end of September, so Iā ll hopefully be finished with that ā legā of the treatment, just as youā ll be recovering from your op! Iā ll be thinking of you then, and wishing you well and a speedy recovery!
Hey @big
The whole being put to sleep thing is definitely a scary concept. Iād been under five times before my lumpectomy and I still felt nervous about it. Ultimately the whole thing was so much easier than chemo by a significant amount. The worst parts about it for me were back sleeping and having to wear compression stockings for two weeks. I was actually happier about being able to ditch the stockings than I was removing the dressings!
Hope it all goes well when it comes. x
I have my surgery in a few weeks after chemo ended this week so itās good to hear all the positive stories from your surgeries. I have had an anaesthetic before and it always lowers my blood pressure significantly so Iām not looking forward to maybe having to stay in because of that. Sounds like recovery from this is easier than chemo though which is good to hear. Not sure what the impact will be on the body having the surgery after chemo but certainly looking forward to getting through another stage of the journey .
Good news about the hair @katie91 - Iāve already supplied myself with some of this - just waiting for a couple of weeks before I start applying - have you used on your eyebrows too ??
@wibbles wow, sounds like a great team effort has finally clicked into place. So heartening to hear they are responding so positively what you and your family are telling them.
@Big Honestly the chemo has been the hardest thing. I reflect on my anxiety and fear re my operation (Theraputic mammoplasty and sentinel lymph node removal) and think chemo has required far more mental bravery. The team and nurses were so kind, and there were tears of anaesthetic fear before going under and tears of relief after when I came round! I also had to have a second scrape to clear margins which was absolutely less invasive and easier to recover from. Youāve got this. X
Hi all sorry ive not been so active here. Iām the other side of chemo and I donāt want to talk too much about what that means until we are all past it. A small win today though was walking to the hospital to return the needle bin and all the picc line stuff they left me for the nurses. Feels very good to get that out the house 
and being able to walk there and back like I did pre diagnosis is a huge win!
@big I echo everything others have said. Its no spa day obviously but if you make sure you are fully prepped with all you need you will be ok. How many times have you walked into the chemo unit? Walking into surgery its just this once. Its not repetitive. Even for me, I had 2 lumpectomys and I have a double mastectomy on the horizonā¦ Iām nervous because operations are rightly a bit scary but I have absolutely got this. And so have you. After chemo is there anything we canāt do?
