Tagging everyone is a great way to reply and directing your comments to specific users.
As far as a bath, I wasn’t advised not too. I love having Epsom salts which have magnesium in, they help with sleep and achy muscles.
I have open access for life to my breast unit and nurses, so would assume you have the same. Maybe you could call your breast care nurse/team and have a chat, see if you can go in and see them. That way you can explain what is going on in your head and they will be now to guide you to examining your ’new normal’ boobs.
Good grief nobody told me I couldn’t have a bath - but I was only lumpectomy SNB so maybe that’s why . It’s a good job as I currently don’t have a working shower and enjoy a nice hot soak especially after a cold swim in the North Sea like I had this morning . Sometimes I wonder if all this advice is a bit OTT . Nobody told me not to use conventional anti perspirant either and after trying other alternatives I’ve gone back to Dove.I was afraid to do my Vinyasa Flow Yoga class for ages ( and really missed it ) in case the down dog / plank might cause lymphoedema after seeing something about this on the Moving Forwards course then at our support group the BCN said that that info was out of date and it was ok . I sometimes wonder if all these picky little rules have any rational basis and I certainly think they increase anxiety levels in many of us .
@JoanneN i read your response and reread mine. There was a typo re Bath . It said I want advised not to, instead of, I wasn’t advised not to.
I have corrected the text.
Like you I sometimes wonder what all the fuss is about. It’s like now I’ve finished chemo, Herceptin and on Letrozole and Zometa/zoledronic acid and I desperately need to lose weight after all the steroids and comfort eating.
I try to eat healthily, walk and some exercise but was looking into supplements that help reduce cholesterol ( a side effect of Letrozole) and reduce cravings. I’ve seen good results with some people. The ingredients are on MSKCc website so ‘should’ be safe.
Sorry I’ve also gone off topic but wanted to respond in case there was a misunderstanding with my typo.
@naughty_boob Your unit must be very different to mine! Mine were awful, and over the time I was given open access, I didn’t go back and had referrals to alternative hospitals instead. No one there ever made me feel they had any care for cancer patients at all, and it was very inconvenient to be a patient! They would not want to hear any problems post surgery! Awful. I am so pleased to hear that there are other units that care.
@JoanneN Rant away! I was told SO many things at the Moving Forward course, including not bathing, and so much about bites, stings, burns, re-occurrence and so on - terrified me. Really raised my levels of anxiety about many issues, at a time when I was feeling (like everyone else I suspect) very vulnerable. Anyway, I don’t bathe, I carry bite and sting gunk and antiseptic with me, in case of any mishaps and don’t use deodorant with aluminium in (even though I have read the research!)
I am feeling very confused. The only thing I was told about was no aluminum in deodorant ( and even that seemed to just be an issue during radiotherapy) and to avoid very heavy lifting and pulling on my arm. I love hot baths but I have oedema in my breast- no one said it could be related to this. I find it frustrating that it’s hard to get clear information.
When I did the Moving Forwards course bathing wasn’t mentioned at all - it’s 2 years plus since I did the course and this is the first I’ve heard of it . I had some oedema in my breast but I’m sure it was related to radiotherapy and it gradually went away - hope yours does too. In my job as a Nurse it’s not possible for me to avoid moving and handling loads completely. Xx
Thank you , I will watch carefully, I think it’s also the case of trying to get to grips with the new normal for my abbreviated ,now lumpy girl on the left.
I have an appt. now with my BCN for another concern and I’ll get some guidance on whether the lumpiness I feel is just my new ‘‘normal’
Thanks so much for this response. It’s good to know what you were told. I also find it hard to avoid all handling. My children are still quite young and my six year old is on the autistic spectrum ( albeit quite subtly) and he sometimes has temper tantrums where I have to hold him.
The anxiety is hard. Sometimes I feel fine and it’s like nothing has happened at other times a thought can pop into my head and I start to feel a sense of panic.
Yes @pbr acceptance of what has happened to us, and uncertainty about the future, is very difficult to achieve but you will in the end because it’s impossible to live without it. You are very early on in this journey so cut yourself some slack. I hope your appointment with the nurse gives you some answers and some confidence.
Hi,
I have similar anxieties although they seem to play out differently.
I found my relatively small tumour myself (12 months ago), after an apparently normal mammogram less than 6 months previous.
I’m now obsessed with checking my breasts. I do so morning and evening every day. I feel like I can’t trust anyone else, and have little faith in mammogram.
I’m hoping I might calm down with time and I’m due for my 1st post treatment mammogram and USS.
Hang in there, and trust your instincts, they’re usually correct xxx
Everyday when I shower, I feel for lumps. I found a pea-sized lump last November (2023). It was a cyst. The mammogram did not pick up the DCIS. An ultrasound showed the DCIS before they were going to culture the cyst. The cyst drained during the needle biopsy. It took 2 surgeries to get clear margins on the invasive cells, which, of course, were not picked up by a mammogram or MRI.
I have dense breasts which have always felt lumpy.
