I’m clear!
Results yesterday.
Doc said it had just sarted to be invasive but they have got it in time.
How lucky am I!
Next step rads and there is talk of hormone therapy , but they havent had the results of those yet.
Would have celebrated last night but still feel physically poo.
My arthritis of the neck is giving me some bad headaches so texed everyone instead of talking to them.
Managed some lovely cuddles off the grandchildren though.
Well, strange to think the cloud as lifted.
Jeanie xxx
Jeanie, I am so pleased for you! Funny how we can be so thrilled to be having radiotherapy, isn’t it?! I was the same, I got my results by phone when I was in Edinburgh, and my poor brother in law was very confused when I was so ecstatic at having rads!
Hope you are enjoying the weather, you will probably have a break before the rads start, and, they are definately very “doable”,
I’ve only got 2 left!! Boob is looking suntanned, not really burnt, nipple very tender but otherwise OK,
Take care
Lizzie XX
How’s the Rads doing Lizzie?
Is it hard to stay still.
Do you have to have any more treatment after this, tabs or chemo?
Had to go to my uncle’s funeral yesterday (died of bowel and bone cancer)
Met my cousin there who has womb cancer and just had a hysterectamy.Waiting for her chemo and rads.
Not feeling so perky today and realizing that just because there are no more ops it dosent mean this thing as gone away.
Off day and I now I will be OK tomorrow.
Jeanie xx
Hi Jeanie
Finished the radiotherapy yesterday! - felt strangely flat and a bit weepy, but OK today. (Apart from having a glass of wine too many last night!)
Nice feeling that I don’t have to go to the hospital today. Next step is a follow up appt with the oncologist in 4 weeks, then that’s it, I suppose, apart from annual check ups.
Think feeling up and down is part of the whole thing, Jeanie, don’t expect too much of yourself. And a funeral in the middle of it all as well is bound to make you feel sad and down.
Take care, still rest up and be good to yourself
Lizzie XX
Hallo Lizzie.
Glad the rads are done!
Did you have node biopsy too?
I wondered how long the soreness lasts. I feel very sore under my arm although there is no soreness to see.
I am also having a sick pain which lasts about 30 seconds if I use my arm wrong, such as bend my arm towards the back.
Did you get this and if you did, how long did it last?
I am doing the exercises but still unable to do the one with the hand behind back.
Jeanie xx
hello Jeanie1,
Ive been reading your notes to Lizzie,sounds like you & I have a lot in common,will give you a brief history of my experience. I was diagnosed in Nov.08,had 18 weeks FEC chemo,mastectomy and 11 nodes removed on May 6th. My results were 2 tumours present,one 2.5cm,the other was 0.8cm,plus 5 nodes were cancerous. Ive healed very well,
I was fitted for my 1st post-surgery bra yesterday and the fitter said my scar was great but the tightness is getting any better and
Im starting radiotherapy soon,believe that makes it feel tighter. This week started taking "Letrozole",could be all in my head but feel a bit queasy,are you on any pills? I dont sleep well,dark thoughts overwhelm me at times plus my menopause sweats & flushes disappeared on chemo,theyve returned with a vengeance. Can really empathise when you say about soreness under arm,how can your skin be so sore yet so numb???My sorest bit is my shoulder blade on my back,you too?
would like to compare notes with you from time,
Best of British to you, love Mags
Hallo Mags,
Good to hear from you.
Sounds like you have had a rough deal.
Waiting for appoint:with radiologist. Things have been a bit vague.
The consultant said before op that it was DCIS but he had found it to be invasive after. He didnt tell me the size of the lump or which stage or level. Will the radiologist?
Waiting for some blood test results (hormone - I think).
Anyway, good luck to you.
Jeanie xxx
hi Jeanie1,
I dont know who should tell you results,I ask very few questions,in everyday life Im a confident chatterbox but in the presence of any member of the medical world,I turn into a scared rabbit. Where do you ladies get your info and terminology from,If I start reading up on my condition I lie awake all night. Do you know at what stage Ill
get a scan,some days I think that its the only thing that will stop
me worrying then I start thinking how Id be if it gave me bad news. Are you on a tablet of any sort yet,feel a bit queasy again and loose bowels today,hubby thinks I should take it at night but if I lose sleep,Im weepy all next day.Are you able to keep a bra on most of the day yet,my record is 5 hours so far,good job I`m not working.
Cheerio for now, love Mags xx
Hallo Mags,
You obviously had more extensive surgery and treatment than me so its not surprising that you feel so rough.
I find that if I try not think too far ahead that it helps.Dealing with it daily and not focusing on the next bit too much.
I had a MRI scan before the op to see if there was other problems and it was reassuring to be told just before the op that they could only see the one lump.
I am waiting to see the radiologist(or whoever) to be told what tabelts I might need and when the rads start.
Dont worry about the terminology, I cant get used to it myself!
I am having the same problems with lack of sleep but it is due to the pain on turning.I have cervical sponylosis and since the op it is playing me up a lot more. By 3pm I am having to resort to my collar.The pain is in my neck, both shoulders, head and arms.
I am loads better than a few weeks ago though when I had trouble with my breathing and heart palpatations, so I am grateful for that.
Take care and be good to yourself. Lizzies’s support as been a great help to me.
Jeanie xxx
Hello Jeanie1,
Im sure youve had a lot more pain than me,my hubby could really empathise with you,he has cervical spondylosis too(among many other
complaint). Could I ask your age,Im 57,during chemo I felt 87,now Im starting to feel 67,if I could get rid of the muscle spasm and soreness under my arm and shoulder blade,Id feel 47. How was the anaesthetic for you as an asthmatic, I was on cloud 9 as I came round,joy to be alive as well as thinking theyd cut the b*****out!
Taken my tablet at 4pm.today and got no nausea or stomach ache as yet,maybe I`ve had a bug,nothing connected with B.C.,all roads lead
to Rome when you have this,dont they? Bye for now, love Mags xx
Hallo Mags,
Now what you mean about coming round after the op. I cried with joy!
Asthma played up for weeks but it is getting better now.
I am 52 in September with three grandchildren and another on the way in December!
Love them to bits. Also love my garden and 3 cats and dog (and hubby and kids as well of cause!)
Appoint: to see oncologist next Friday.
A bit aprehensive because I dont really now any details about the cancer exept that it was invasive. Not sure what the treatment plan will be expect rads for sure.
Came back from shops on the bus today and unfortunetly got swung about on my bad arm.Actually cried out with pain, the old dears on the bus must have wondered what was going on!
Look after yourself.
Jeanie xx
Hi Jeanie,
Hope your arm is o.k.today, I went to be fitted with my new boob yesterday(delighted with it)and picked up a magazine in waiting area
called"Amoena",aimed as us B.C.women,article inside about the dreaded
lymphodeama,one lady triggered off an attack by clapping at a concert. Put the fear of God in me,as if there isnt enough to worry about! 5 weeks on and I still have a scab at the end of my scar, the nurse who fitted my boob looked doubtful if theyd start rads
next week,maybe too inflamed. I live in the Tameside area of
Manchester,are you anywhere near me? Take care,forgot to ask you,
have you been told exactly what to do if your arm starts to swell?
love Mags xx
Hallo Mags, (Lizzie and anyone else out there!)
Probably wrong thing to do but I am hardly using my arm exept for the exercises. Thought that maybe if I give it a rest it might ease a bit.Most discomfort in the shoulder joint and top of arm at the front. Sharp pain goes down all of arm into hand and lasts about 30 seconds.It happens if I move sudden or over reach.
I am in the Black Country, not far from Birmingham. We are surrounded by canels and urban nature reserves.A heron often passes over and the swans have had 6 cygnets!I have a bus stop outside to a shopping centre and my three daughters all live local. I dont drive.
Lymphodeama is a worry, especially as it as become more common with Sentinal Node Biopsys.
When do you get your ‘new boob’? Is it a fitment for your bra or are you having it inplanted?(sorry to show my ignorance!)
Shame we are not nearer each other because we might have seen each other during rads.
If my arm starts to swell - scream, then ring the breast nurse at the hosp.(if you can ever get through-I have given up)Dont rate them myself.
Lizzie where are you.Hope you are OK.
Mags, look after yourself and keep posting.
Hi Jeanie,
Can really understand you trying not to use your arm,if you get less
pain,let me know. Ive followed the advice in the leaflets,"use your arm normally",but my hubby has done all the heavy housework and all the reaching from shelves when we go shopping. I called my B.C.Nurse Vanessa earlier,the pain under my arm and behind my shoulder was very bad today,she explained as the numbness wears off,its quite common for the pain to get worse,makes sense but doesnt help,she also said to take my Femara pill at night and sleep through my queasiness,Ill try it tonight.My boob(false of course)is one that slots in the bra pocket,looks sooooo real when I put my T-shirt on,I saw these falsies in a mastectomy bra catalogue,theyre about £140,we were about to move to Spain when I was diagnosed last November,we owe the N.H.S.big time,cant imagine what all my treatment wouldve cost us there. Back to swollen arms,I keep a tiny bottle of tea-tree oil in my bag,got bitten by a little blighter today,no effects of bite yet and usually get bad reaction,Australians swear by this oil for bites. Im not expecting to have a great weekend,the idea of a hospital
appointment on Monday is like the sword of Damocles hanging over me.
Take care,keep up with your exercises, love Mags xxxx
Hallo Mags,
Good job you didnt go to Spain, image going through all this in a different country! Thank god for the health service.
Hubby good with shopping and vaccuming because of my spondy but the rest is my realm, including the garden. Did the grass cutting with one hand yesterday.
Had good day with my dear frail(very slow) parents today. Walked round market and river at Bridgenorth. Wonderful cream teas!
Can understand now why we are getting the pain kicking in, makes sense now some of the numbness is wearing off-can feel more top of arm now.
Understand how you feel about hosp appoint: I am aprehensive about mine on Friday. Seems that everytime we go back the prognosis and treatment gets worse.Maybe thats what they do? Build you up gradually, Or maybe all ‘this’ as made me a bit paranoid!
What are they discussing at your appoint?
Watch that bite!
Jeanie xxxx
Hi Jeanie, and hello Mags!
Sorry to go AWOL, Jeannie, been up to Edinburgh to see my mum, she’s 89 and really not too well at the moment. She was in hospital for a week whilst I was on rads - which was upsetting, I wanted to see her as soon as I finished.
All done now! - skin sore and peeling a bit, and feel more tired than I did during them!
Hope you are OK,
Lizzie XX
Hi jeannie,
and pleased to meet you Lizzy. Happy to report that nothing developed
from the insect bite,I taken to hanging out the washing covered up
head to foot,it makes you paranoid as you say.As far as Im aware Im going to be marked up for my radiotherapy tomorrow,alas the end
of my scar is still a bit inflamed with a little scab,hope this doesnt slow down the process. Lizzie,youve evidently "been there, done that,got the T-shirt",how do they decide where to aim at when in my case,they assure me they removed it all? Im enjoying my time
on the site now,when i first started,I wasgetting upset at some girls case histories and Im cursed with a vivid imagination so Ive become a bit selective which posts i read(for my own sanity). In my case,the docs have kept to everything they predicted,my body has responded well to all treatment and at the beginning were more pessimistic than now so Ive got a lot to smile about.
Enjoy your Sunday,the Manchester sun is shining brightly,hope yours is too. Cheerio, love Mags xx
Great to hear from you Mags,
I was beggining to think something was wrong, or maybe you felt so good now your rads were done you didnt want to come back to this site. When do we stop wanting the support I wander, it would be a good sign.
Sorry to hear about your mom. Hope she is OK now. Is that where you come from Bonny Scotland? My grandad came from Glasgow and my ancesters before that were from Dundee and Montrose.
Dose it feel good now rads are done? Are you on any other treatment?
Lizzie sounds just like us, dosent she?
Hallo Lizzie,
Hope they give you the go-ahead for your rads even with that scab. Better to get it over and done with and then join the rest of womenkind again.
Are they going to ‘tattoo’ you, or marker pen?
Yes, some of the info; is a bit scary and I have learnt to be selective too. Some of our fellow BC people have gone through the mill. It makes me feel grateful and lucky that things have been fairly straight foward so far.
Got a weekend to Isle of Wight already booked for beggining of July so I hope they are flexible with the start dates for rads.
Anyway, enjoy the sun both of you and I hope you have a discomfort free day.
Jeanie xxxxx
Morning both
Mags, you might already be on your way to the planning - hope it goes OK. They basically zap the whole area, from two angles. The tattoos are less than impressive! - 2 tiny little pinpricks in my case.
Jeanie, my mum and sisters both live in Edinburgh, I’m down in Yorkshire. Love Edinburgh - it is such a nice city, I’m more of a country lass really - but like the atmosphere (and the shops! and the bars!) occasionally. Sadly, mum isn’t going to get much better, her heart is struggling so she is so breathless and tired all the time. Good days and bad days - she gets frustrated when she can’t do things, bless her.
Completely agree, best not to read too far ahead with some of the threads, some women really have a tough time.
Let us know how appts go this week, your rads will probably start pretty soon as well, Jeannie? I feel a bit lost, in a strange way - now the rads have finished. Have an oncology appt on July 2nd, don’t think I am having anything else as the opinion is the DCIS was low grade so wouldn’t benefit from tamoxifen enough to justify side effects. Which is great - but feel oddly insecure! Also, very tired and weepy - which is so not me - but again, “normal” for this stage apparently. So be warned!
Take care, catch up soon, I think it will take a fair bit of time to wean myself away from here!
Lizzie
Lizzie,
How long did you have problems with arm and shoulder, or are you still having it?
Can understand the weepy bit. Must be strange living and breathing this ‘thing’ for so long, as you have done. I expect there is always going to be the uncertainty of knowing if everything as been sorted. It as become a way of life for you, fighting this. Maybe in time it gets absorbed into the back of your mind, like, always there but not so important. Maybe, one day. Anyway your job isnt done here, we still need your support! Your the one with the t-shirt round here.
Asked the breast care support nurse for advise for the first time today. Wanted some more info; about the cancer I had, and some advice about this stupid shoulder and arm.Concerned that the exercises might be making my spondy; worse.Told to take painkillers and get more details from the oncologist on Friday. That was helpful wasnt it!Were you given details before the oncologist meeting?
Thanks Lizzie for the ongoing support.
Jeanie xxxx