Well done Ange,end of the marathon ???
Thank you Jill, I was in a sorry state in the night and desperately need to sleep it off. Wish I could get back into normal patterns. You are right I hadn’t anticipated the effect of the op. Thanks for the wise words. In 10 years time hopefully the days of waiting 2/3 weeks for results will have gone!
Did they not put on waterproof dressings?I had ones you could shower in,took them off after 2 days and then had steri strips for a week.I didn’t see my surgeon at all after the surgery so I don’t think you missed much by discharging yourself without seeing registrar .
They did give me waterproof but the top one was coming off and stinking around arm pit area. The ones they gave me on the ward are not water proof. Can I get the strips you used at any chemist?
They put the steri strips on in hospital,told me to take the other dressings off after 2 days.What advice did they give you ?
None at all. Not sure what to do with it. Have got some more waterproof dressing and will take it off and have a look! ?
I guess you could ring the ward and ask?They should have given you some guidance.My op sounds similar to yours and I took the dressings off after 2 days ,(was a bit yucky ) but over the actual wounds were steri strips which came off after a week.
Thankyou, racing ahead of myself agsin! Need to get results appmnt through first rather than 3 week wait! One step at a time I guess xx
Hi Clare, hope you are doing OK after your op. As Jill and others have said, it is so easy and tempting to jump ahead, but you really do need to take this journey one day at a time. You can’t wish away your recovery (as I tried to!), it will take as long as it takes. Don’t worry about results, radiotherapy etc yet, you need to focus on recovering from your surgery. One day at a time.
I find that I feel positive some days and other days the whole emotional and physical journey gets to me. That is normal and to be expected. But we are stronger than we think.
Take care, hope everyone is feeling well. I’m looking forward to a long weekend for Easter, gives me a break from the hamster wheel, yayy xx
Feel like I am joining this thread a bit late in March… but I am now 11 days into 15 treatments.( had LWE in January).
I’ve been on tamoxifen for about 5 weeks. So, with short temper(as if I’m pre-menstrual), close to tears constantly( like when I was pregnant),and a few hot flushes ( oh joy!)., this tamoxifen is yet to begin feeling like my friend, even though I know its keeping me safer in the long term.
My radiotherapy isnt too bad, apart from my skin becoming so sensitve that even loose fitting clothing hurts. Dont think I am feeling too tired yet( just a bit sorry for myself coz things feel sore). does that all sound familiar? ali
Hi Ali, welcome, it all sounds really familiar to me. I have completed 14 of 20 rads now and over the weekend my boob went from completely fine to nuclear - red, an angry heat rash and swelling that affected the nerve endings in my arm. It has also coincided with some huge hot flushes from the tamoxifen (I am 2 months into taking that too) and brain fuzziness.
I did feel very sorry for myself yesterday, but the radiotherapy girls have been so lovely. They gave me some hydrocortisone cream which has soothed things and also some cool gel dressings that I can keep in the fridge and put in my bra if I feel like I need to. They also said cool savoy cabbage leaves in your bra help, so might be worth a try. (I know they are good for breastfeeding mums and mastitis). My aloe vera gel also feels v soothing now especially straight from the fridge.
The only side effect I don’t seem to have is tiredness… So I took myself off shopping this morning for a bit of a pick-me-up. (Confusing radiotherapy and retail therapy, ooops!) Feeling a lot better for it too.
Hope you are all ok. I am glad to have finished but am very sore across my chest 
never mind they said 2 weeks then it’s all good. Happy days. The light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel 
xx
Hi Ali ,it’s really common to feel like that at the end of treatment ,the safety net has been taken away.One of the ladies I was going through radiotherapy with said “so we are just supposed to go away and try not to get it again now then?”,I think that sums it up.Treatment ends but the impact of what you have been through takes some time to recover from .Hard for others who haven’t been through it to u set stand that.You should still celebrate finishing though!!!I burnt my bra (I had to wear a customised one during rads due to floppy nature of boobs !!) in the BBQ whilst drinking a bottle of bubbly !!
Congrats Ange on finishing and excellent news Ali that you just have one more session. I’m on my boost rads now, just 4 more to go so I will finish on Friday. A glass of something is planned. (LOL at you Jill burning your bra… I might consider that too! I’m sure the kids would enjoy it)
I can totally relate to feeling sore. The whole area for me is dark red and I have an angry-looking rash, my nipple has cracked slightly. I am slapping cream on constantly and using Flamazine and gel pads to ease the symptoms. It’s not a pretty sight… And my arm is still painful when I straighten or raise it.
I know it will take a while to get back to normal, but I am trying to stay positive and really focus on the “normal” again. I have a new job starting on 1st May and hoping to be well enough to throw myself fully into that. I have friends that I want to meet up with. And I am looking forward to my life not being all about hospitals and appointments for a change…
No one can really understand this journey unless they have been through it. But I think we should raise a glass as we reach the end of treatment, perhaps another once we are finally starting to feel fully normal again.
Lizzie
PS - Can anyone tell me how long it took them for their nuclear boobs to return to normal after rads (i.e. not sore and normal-ish colour?) Also, does anyone know whether there are any restrictions on flying? I may need to travel in 3 weeks’ time. Thanks.
Mine took about 2 weeks to calm down.I don’t think there are any issues re flying ,just issues re protecting treated skin from sun if you are going somewhere hot.
Mine was very bad too,like very severe sunburn.
Mine carried on getting worse for about a week,then improved quite quickly after that.Yes,they advise you not to take Tamoxifen for 2 weeks before long haul flight I think .I intend to get pressure socks,take low dose aspirin and move around a lot when I fly to the Canaries,think they said over 6 hours was considered long haul.You not supposed to take it for a period of time before any surgery also.
There is a charity donating the end of treatment bells to hospitals around the Uk .
Congrats on finishing Ali! So cool, I love the idea of the bell to ring on the way out. I am now 18 down, just 2 to go… I met a very anxious lady going for her first session today, it was nice to be able to reassure her.
Feels good to have finished, but had quite got used to the routine. It’s a weird limbo state, between definitely having cancer, and being ‘cured’, especially as the radio is still doing its weird business to my boob. Don’t feel cured, but don’t feel like I can claim to have cancer either. Also, it’s all a bit open ended- there is no specific time, or structure to when things morph back to normal again. It’s early days I suppose. And probably that tamoxifen messing with my emotions.