@glitteryrainbow nerves before an op are completely understandable, but I hope the surgical team work with you to alleviate as best they can, though I’m sure they won’t pass completely. I don’t think I really understood initially just how much courage it takes to be a cancer patient at times; constantly fearing aspects of our treatment but having to do it anyway
@budsbails2301 great news on the lump reduction and good to know all the treatments you’ve had have done what they’re supposed to do! How are you feeling about the last 2 now?
As for me picc came out at chemo on Thursday as they decided the risk of infection was too great as my arm wasn’t improving and they couldn’t put a sterile dressing over. So they’ve put me down for a priority portacath, will hopefully be this week but if not chemo will be delayed for a week at most, which isn’t too bad I guess… 8 more rounds to go so hoping my arm stops having a hissy fit and behaves itself now
Hi all, just catching up while sitting in hospital. Nothing to panic about I had my mastectomy and diep flap reconstruction on Thursday. All went well but i had to have a full node clearance as 2/3 nodes taken previously still showed cancer. Wow, hard to write that I’d been so hopeful chemo would have done the job @glitteryrainbow good luck for Tuesday. I read something on a different thread about listing things that your grateful for during MRIs and i did this as i was going under. Don’t know if it helped, I’m always more concerned about recovery as I hate feeling helpless. @budsbails2301 great news about your chemo response! @kiltie I’ve read lots of people saying how good their ports are so hopeful this will make life easier for you.
Hope everyone else is doing ok xxx
@tori123 Hope you are healing well,how long will you be in hospital.Sorry to hear about your lymphnodes, I can only imagine that must have been a shock for you.What is the plan now,will you need the 6 months oral chemotherapy?Sending you a very gentle cwtch xx
Hi I’ve been sent home today which is good. Oral chemo has not been mentioned to me, possibly as I’m HR+ve and Her2-ve? Do you know the name of it? I like to have a bit of an idea before talking to oncology.
The plan last time we spoke is radiotherapy, 2 years abemaciclib and some hormone therapy but probably not tamoxifen due to family history of ovarian cancer.
@tori123 sorry im on another group which is triple negative, which is what I am.That is the oral chemotherapy.Hope all goes well with the oncologist.Glad youre home,at least now you can rest xx
@glitteryrainbow Thinking of you tomorrow, remember have a nice dream and please let us know when you are out and recovering.Sending you a big cwtch xx
@tori123 I’m glad to hear you made it home and I hope your recovery goes well from the op. Finding out about the lymph nodes sounds like a shock, especially as you say when you hope that chemo is doing what it’s supposed to… I’m also HR+ and Her2- but I ended up having the mastectomy and clearance first then the chemo, and get the impression that I’m just going to have to go on faith that it’s working for me, as don’t think there’s any suggestion of further scans. I’m also due radiotherapy and then hormone blockers at the end of chemo (whenever that may be as I’m now looking at a 2 week delay whilst I wait for the portacath ) Anyway, I hope chat with oncology goes well.
@glitteryrainbow I’m also thinking of you and sending you lots of positive vibes for tomorrow
Thank you all for the lovely messages💖 currently sat waiting to go down! Im first on the list so hopefully the wait wont be too long. Feeling sick as a dog and cant stop shaking! Had a bit of a wobble when i realised that my partner couldnt come with me to wait until i had surgery.
Also found out that I have been anemic my whole treatment! Would have been nice to know
I am out of surgery and in recovery! Been pumped with painkillers because its alittle sore. Made my surgeon cry as i was in floods of tears haha but feeling good!
Great news @glitteryrainbow Be kind to yourself. Rest when you need it. Surgery can take a lot out of your body and you won’t look the same as before whether it’s a mastectomy or lumpectomy. But you will eventually get used to it.
@glitteryrainbow aw love you,I can only imagine how difficult that was for you.But you did it❤️,make sure now you rest and keep up on those painkillers xx
Hi folks, taken a bit of time off here to try to get back to ‘normal’ a bit so just catching up on how everyones treatment is going. @tori123 and @glitteryrainbow well done on getting through your surgeries, make sure you rest up but also do those arm exercises. I never thought my arm movement would get back to normal but it does. Sorry to hear of those of you that have had delays to treatment or been in and out of hospital. Hope things get back on track soon.
I’ve been on the tamoxifen for 40 days now. Seems to be going ok, main side effects at present seem to be hot flushes and disturbed sleep. I had these anyway during chemo as chemo put me into menopause i think - im 45 so was heading there anyway but the tamoxifen has brought these on a lot stronger. Im taking it at night on advice from the macmillan team to lessen side effects during the day but wake up 2 or 3 times drenched in sweat . My brains not particularly active right now so im hoping when i go back to work ill sleep like a log again! Any tips for hot flushes gratefully accepted. Herceptin injections on their own just make me feel a but tired and palpitating the next day or so.
Ive started an breast cancer fitness recovery programme from www.getmeback.uk which id highly recommend, im finding is a great motivator to move my butt and am walking each day. Its tailored exercise so as not to aggrevate any lympodema and help strengthen after surgery and chemo. My hair is resprouting everywhere, accept downstairs which weirdly remains a brazillian and my eyebrows and eyelashes have decided that nows the time to fall out. My hair is also growing back grey. Back to work in 4 weeks on a phased return.
Thank you, I’ve been having a bit of “what the hell have I done to myself” day to day so I’m so glad to hear you’re recovered from the surgery well. I’ve heard of getmeback planned to join when I’m recovered, I think the lady does some free online things with the future dreams charity to.
Re Tamoxifen, I was previously on it before chemo, but I don’t know if I didnt get side effects or wasn’t on long enough to get them. I read a lot about changing brands if your side effects are bad as some brands will be worse than others. Cooling pillows and/or cooling mats under your bed sheets, and slightly more extreme some antidepressants can help with hot flushes. I was on sertraline whilst on tamoxifen (still am)
@snoop182 also re Tamoxifen, check out Dr Amy Morris on Instagram (dramymorris) she is doing a tamoxifen masterclass on the 7th. If you’re not on insta I think she has a website and youtube channel.
@glitteryrainbow so glad to hear surgery went well. Keep looking after yourself and as mentioned do keep up the arm exercises; I made the mistake of stopping early and was surprised how quickly I seized up again!!
@snoop182 lovely to hear from you again and to hear things are going well (hot flushes aside!). I did think about saying a return to normal, but i hesitate because I don’t even know what normal is anymore how are you feeling about the return to work? I can’t figure out when I go back, if I’ll be happy to apply my brain in pursuits other than what am I having for lunch and should I walk the dog now or later? Or if I’ll struggle to fit back in to a world where people expect more of me than just being able to endure a day!!
I too have had hair regrowth; which unfortunately made an unwelcome return everywhere for me… But, tragically after week 4 of paclitaxol it’s started falling out again although it’s just a sort of action man fuzz I’m kind of devastated at losing it all over again… still at least I know it grows back fairly quickly, and that I have a badger stripe of grey right at the top of my head to look forward to!!
Finally, in other news my port is being put in next Thursday now, which meant a 2 week delay which I wasn’t thrilled about, so they said if I’m not too sedated after getting it fitted they’re happy to give me chemo the same day and of course now I’m thinking yikes why did I open my mouth
Hi @kiltie - sorry to hear about the hair and portocath. The hair does grwo back remarkably quickly once it gets going so focus on that x @kiltie thanks for the tips, i am on insta so ill check that out. thanks for asking re my return Kiltie. im mixed over it. I know I’m definitely ready to return as I’m fed up with being a sick person, getting a bit bored and 24/7 with my beloved husband is driving me mad ! however, there are hurdles to get over with my return. I work for a local council and run a service with over 300 staff and work with multiple other departments so there’s going to be a lot of people asking how I’ve been and noticing i look different. They are 80% women so i was very open about my breast cancer diagnosis. I think ill need to come up with an edited version of how things have been as not everyone actually wants the full details when they ask and i don’t always want to give them! Whilst i love my profession my role can be mentally demanding so I’ll need to pace myself and not do more than my phased return hours and be good at doing my time sheet. I will not been allowing myself to get stressed, working outside my hours or letting work take over me. Ill also be making myself get back into the office and out of the house. Luckily they have suggested a phased return over 8 weeks so that takes me to Christmas and full time by January so I’ll be easing gently back in.
Most importantly im trying to return with a positive mind set which ive tried to maintain during treatment. Whilst cancer will always be part of me now i don’t want my life to be about having had cancer and im grateful for what this journey has given me. A new appreciation of life, that i should be prioritising my health and well being more than i did before, that on good days ive been able to drop my little one to school and pick him up and be around to help my older one transition well into secondary school more than i ever would have, realisation that i have the best friends and family and i need to make time to see those friends that i often go months or years not seeing, that work comes second and family time comes first. I knew all that before of course but as you all know it brings it into much sharper focus when you’re faced with possibly losing it all.
Im trying to pepp myself up for my return by reviewing my work wardrobe, what still fits after a small amount of weight gain, what suits my new lack of cleavage, what do i feel confident in, what am i not going to over heat in! I dressmake for a hobby so ive also been filling my days sewing some new dresses and trousers and focusing my mind.
It’ll be different going to work each day but im going to embrace it. Albeit, slowly!
@snoop182 sounds like you’re job is very busy and as you say mentally demanding, but clearly you’ve thought a lot about your return to work and what you say makes so much sense, especially about timing, pacing and priorities. I still dither about how and when I might return, I’m still obviously in the midst of chemo and then have radio after this so I’m probably looking into next year before my immediate treatment is finished, but I also switched jobs just before my cancer diagnosis so am only on SSP which runs out at the end of this month… so am a bit conflicted but as you also mention you do revise your priorities after cancer; health and happiness are now much bigger considerations for me.
I’m also very jealous to hear of your talent with a sewing machine, I would love to be able to sew my own clothes and love watching sewing bee and then wandering round fabric shops feeling inspired and dreaming of what I could make, but have found the reality much harder to realise… those sewing machine pedals go soo fast😅
@glitteryrainbow & @tori123 hope you’re both still doing okay, sending lots of positive recovery vibes your way and indeed to anyone else who needs it!
All good on my end! Still feeling a little tender from surgery but slowly easing off the painkillers and managing a lot more. I think last week was the first week where i really did do nothing during the day, to my partners surprise .
Had a little bit of a break down on Saturday as we have a wedding to go to next week and i just feel like a bald mess. So my lovely girlfriend ordered me some tattoo eyebrows and some fake eyelashes and has told me to practice all week. Im really struggling to come to turns with my look and hate looking in the mirror. Im tired of looking like a sick person. But i know it will all grow back, ive just got to be patient. Ill attach a picture of my first go at it, featuring my fancy new wig i got for my birthday.
@snoop182 great that you are returning to work! Make sure you take it easy, the first couple of weeks are probably going to be really tiring but i am sure you will get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. My return to work is fast approaching and i can not wait . Ill take anything they are willing to give me, even if its one day a week . I too switched jobs before i got diagnosed so feel like i havnt been able to get into the swing of it. I havnt completely finished treatment yet, i still need radiotherapy but they are happy to have me back and for me to just work mornings whilst i have radiotherapy.
@budsbails2301 how did it go with the oncologist? How are you feeling now?
Sending lots of love to everyone! Keep going, there is light at the end of the tunnel for us
If that is really your first attempt at putting all the fake hair on I am so impressed!! I had to go back to your message as I thought I’d misread it. You look amazing x
@glitteryrainbow so glad you are recovering hun.I totally understand what you mean about the reflection not being who you want.You look beautiful in your photo:heart:.So after my appt today,we move onto surgery.They just feel the Chemo has caused so many issues they want me strong.So hopefully in the next 2 to 3 weeks.I wil continue to have immunotherapy in the meantime xx
and good to know all the treatments you’ve had have done what they’re supposed to do! How are you feeling about the last 2 now?
. My brains not particularly active right now so im hoping when i go back to work ill sleep like a log again! Any tips for hot flushes gratefully accepted. Herceptin injections on their own just make me feel a but tired and palpitating the next day or so.
how are you feeling about the return to work? I can’t figure out when I go back, if I’ll be happy to apply my brain in pursuits other than what am I having for lunch and should I walk the dog now or later? Or if I’ll struggle to fit back in to a world where people expect more of me than just being able to endure a day!!
although it’s just a sort of action man fuzz I’m kind of devastated at losing it all over again… still at least I know it grows back fairly quickly, and that I have a badger stripe of grey right at the top of my head to look forward to!!
however, there are hurdles to get over with my return. I work for a local council and run a service with over 300 staff and work with multiple other departments so there’s going to be a lot of people asking how I’ve been and noticing i look different. They are 80% women so i was very open about my breast cancer diagnosis. I think ill need to come up with an edited version of how things have been as not everyone actually wants the full details when they ask and i don’t always want to give them! Whilst i love my profession my role can be mentally demanding so I’ll need to pace myself and not do more than my phased return hours and be good at doing my time sheet. I will not been allowing myself to get stressed, working outside my hours or letting work take over me. Ill also be making myself get back into the office and out of the house. Luckily they have suggested a phased return over 8 weeks so that takes me to Christmas and full time by January so I’ll be easing gently back in.
.So after my appt today,we move onto surgery.They just feel the Chemo has caused so many issues they want me strong.So hopefully in the next 2 to 3 weeks.I wil continue to have immunotherapy in the meantime xx