Gosh journey it HAS been. @galdiolus well done and good luck for the next steps. X
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It was a very hard period for me. Lost my dad at the beginning of chemo and I have two very young kids so I was literally a walking zombie. I could only gather energy to read the posts and know I wasnāt going through those terrible side effects alone. Sorry I never posted but really appreciate the encouragement I got from the posts from you all. 
Sorry to hear about the glitches you had, glad things are picking up again. Sending you hugs and best wishes 
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Yes itās a great community and youāre so right it helps knowing others are in the same shitty boat and that weāre not alone. Sorry to hear about your Dad, so much to deal with all at once. I hope youāve got a good support network around you. X
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Sorry to hear about your dad @llybee. Its a lot to go through cancer while dealing with bereavement too. X
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Sorry to hear that. I also lost my Dad in June then got diagnosed in July/August. Was there a link as he went into hospital in May? Iāve been dealing with selling my parents house as Mums in a home and all the admin as Mum has mixed dementia so canāt do anything.
Thank you and so sorry to hear about your loss as well. Must be tough dealing with all that. Better days ahead
@llybee
Your walking zombie bit resonates. I had (what I realise now) was a bit of a breakdown for weeks after my diagnosis. I ended up on sleeping tablets as well as anti depressants and youāve had so much to deal with. I hope you are doing a bit better if thats at all possible through this rubbish.
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Hi to all you September starters. I guess a lot of you have finished chemo now, whereas I feel like I cross over with the October starters as Iāve had a few delays 
I had my final chemo on Thurs past 
so Iām hoping the next couple of weeks will be kind to me as I prepare for radiotherapy. I have to practice my deep breath holding to protect my heart during treatment. I feel so unfit at the moment and I can just about manage the required 25 seconds!
Anyone else feeling a bit āat seaā at the end of chemo? Itās a weird feeling not going back to the unit every 3 weeks. Iāve had a residual seroma since lumpectomy and now itās really bothering me, psychologically. It feels like a lump and I canāt help worry. Iāve asked for a review with my breast care nurse and I presume itāll also be visualised on the CT planning scan, but I keep thinking what if itās not just a seroma??
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing ok, whatever stage youāre at x
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I decided to ring the bell, even though I donāt really feel finished yet as I face the side effects for a couple of weeks. The nurses encouraged me and came down to cheer me on
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Hi @Pod123 Well done for getting to the end of your chemo. What a relief! The biggest shock for me was getting a whole week without a single appointment - although I haveānt had another one since.
I also have a Seroma. Itās rock hard and I find it very bothersome. Sometimes I think itās going away then I realise it isnāt I had six weekly sessions of kinesiology tape and application of heat but itās still there. At my last session the kinesiology nurse called a breast care nurse down to look at it. The BC nurse asked if it was painful. It isnāt. She thought it was OK to wait till July for my mammogram. They said sometimes they can take a year to go away. I asked if it could be drained but they said they donāt do that anymore because it can introduce infection.
Thanks for your reply @magl. Iāve tried kinesiotape myself but Iām not sure if it helped. The specialist radiographer recommended regular massage with moisturiser (which I need to do pre radiotherapy anyway) but she also said it probably wouldnāt really be drainable at this point. She said sometimes the fluid sort of congeals and becomes more sticky so it wouldnāt come out with a needle. She also said eventually it should be dealt with by the body but could take a year. Itās just annoying having it, isnāt it? Although Iām kind of reassured that Iām not the only one!
It is annoying. I donāt think about it all the time but when I do itās a reminder that all is not resolved and this business is going to go on for a long time yet. The explanation I had for how it works was rather brilliant I thought. The lymph fluid travels round the body via well worn A-roads and if lymph nodes are removed and their usual route is blocked they have to find a new way round via the B-roads.
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You are not alone. I feel the same on my toes - right foot. I finished chemo on 02/01 and I still feel it
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Well done @pod123 @guida for completing chemo
For breath hold technique this website in association with Sheffield Hallam Uni has videos to help with breath hold.
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Thanks for the video link @naughty_boob , itās very helpful
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My buzzy feet has started to go but now I have pins and needles/numb thigh instead. I thought it might be related to phesho (which Iām still having every 3 weeks) but it seems to just be the one thigh even if I have phesgo in the other one.
Post chemo bodies are weird.
I just had my lumpectomy yesterday and prepared myself at the beginning of my diagnosis by buying a compression sleeve, lymphatic massager, picc line protector etc. and I was asking about what things to use (vs which arenāt suitable yet) and the nurse was playfully mocking me saying I was a bit of a control freak. I was surprised it sounded like he hadnāt come across anyone else trying to find something they could control when everything else in their life pretty much is completely out of their hands.
I felt very much āat seaā, today feels like Iāve āreturned to workā, back to āfightingā something I canāt control that I donāt even think counts as fighting when Iām just being bossed around and losing physical parts of myself.
On the plus side though, I hated having a big chest before and my new nork is the perfect size and perky. I hope they let me keep it (theyāre going to decide if I need a mastectomy after my pathology results return, but the chemo was pretty effective). Iām actually looking forward to the other matching after symmetry reconstruction, I just hope I donāt have to reconstruct BOTH sides (cos Iāve decided I want a diep if thatās the case and I need a mastectomy after all and recovery for that looks brutal).
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Hope youāre not in too much pain after the surgery @sez
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Thank you, not too bad. Now the cannula is out just counting down the days to get the drain out. Canāt come soon enough.
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I hear you all @pod123, @sez, @magl and @Guida. The end of chemo felt very strange to me. I am 2 months clear now and my feet still tingle and my nails look awful. These might be the only symptons now. My hair is growing. I had my surgery 3 weeks ago. I feel so up and down. Plagued by mystery fevers, huge seromas and general discomfort. Iām so sick of feeling ill.
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