Hi ladies. Sorry to hear that everyone is a bit low. Not much fun this, is it? Ginger1 hope you are ok now, sorry to hear that you ended up in hospital.
I have now shaved had my head shaved. I cried the whole was through but my OH was amazing and said that he thought that it was a bonding experience. I’ve not been out yet, but that’s more as I’m not feeling too great. Imfeelmlike I have hayfever, but I don’t usually get it, or it’s the start of that cold that didn’t emerge last time. I can seem to stay awake either. Zzzz
I’m off for my blood test in the morning and to see my oncologist to see if I can go ahead on tues.mfingers crossed.
Dog girl, those sweets sound amazing. People keep sending me flowers, which is amazing but I can’t eat those
Sorry to hear some of you are not feeling well. Hope you feel better soon.
Josiejo I had my hair shaved Thursday my best friend (she’s a hairdresser) done mine. It took me ages to look in the mirror but once I did it didnt look that bad. I have been out in a scarve and feel quite comfortable. OH and daughter think I look good.
Going for blood test Tuesday ready for second FEC Wednesday.
I feel pretty guilty about not having such bad side effects as you all seem
to have. I have minor irritations, but nothing to cry about. And who is to say
that is as a result of the chemo? May be just one of those things that may also
happens without chemo.
Saying that, it doesnt mean I dont need need support. Emotionally I feel a
wreck - broken. I wont let anyone else see it, but I admit to you in private that I am struggling.
Anyone else out there feeling like this? Feel free to PM if not happy to
converse publically.
Completely agree and vote with Doggirl - Elizabeth is the D’Buds mascots - who else agrees?
Merc
OMG Doggirl - BLACKJACKS ! (tries to hide the salivation now streaming from lips and in public!)
Hmmmm, I guess I should do a quick update:
PICC line was blocked when I went for weekly change and flush. Ended up at different hospital and cxr to check position. No movement, so loaded with anti-coagulant for an hour, and then re-tried. All ok, but having another allergic reation to the dressing. WIll have to go back tomorrow to re-dress and lock.
After spending 3 days in hospital out patient clinics, have finally got NHS Trust to admit my mum has a stress fracture of her T7 vertebrae, and that the lack of care and consideration whilst in her care is therefore now subject to further discussion.
I suppose I am doing it again - hiding behind something else to get me through the tough times. It works for me though - so I am going to rock on and and beat this b1tch !
Merc - sorry to hear about your mother and that you are feeling crap. Probably lots of other people have said this but have you talked to your GP? your hospital probably offers various counselling services too if you want to go down this route, or talk to the BCC people. Alternatively you could keep a private diary if you don’t want to share. Sorry if this sounds like the standard advice that gets handed out to people but please think about it. Sending cyberhugs.
I am on the sweeties too - pear drops and cough candy, and I don’t even have the excuse of the funny taste SE!
Morning buddies, just called GP surgery and am off to see nurse to show me how to do these injections. More blinkin drugs in my body!!! Merc nice to hear from you -sorry you are having hard time will pm you later x totally agree that baby Elizabeth should be our mascot if her Mum doesn’t mind us adopting her!!! Dog girl the sweets sound yummy and yes Rattles, i do try to eat well/healthy in weeks 2 and 3 but I just eat whatever I fancy/can stomach in week one- just polished off bacon sarnie with brown sauce, courtesy of OH- yummy!!? Gillian- good luck with the bloods tomorrow. Hope all you other buds are doing ok, Em xxxx
Elizabeth would love to be a mascot. She much prefers people without hair now days… She is laying under a play gym at the moment looking alittle scared. Maybe she is a bit small!
Hello buddies,
Good to hear from you Merc and dont feel complain about SE’s or feel guilty about it. I am sorry about your mum, it must be very hard trying to look after her and worrying about her when you are having to cope with so much yourself. I dont seem to get around to posting and sending pm’s at the moment but thinking of you. Ginger- hope you are feeling better. The book I mentioned a few posts ago is actually called Talk to the Headscarf…not Talk to the Hand! Gillian good luck with bloods. Harry - how are you doing? Em- well done for tackling the injections. I havent eaten bacon for years but suddenly feel like a Frazzle!!
Now it is my turn to share my wobble - have to see surgeon tonight as an emergency where he will decide whether to do surgery this Thursday or 23rd June ( I was thinking - so that means HE will def. do surgery then, gulp). I am in so much pain, part of me wants him to do it now, but the other part of me doesnt want him ever to do it. He says he will do a complete mastectomy (gulp). I cant believe it. Another operation. I hate operations. Anyone had/having a mastectomy with delayed reconstruction? I can’t seem to find much about this type of op in the breast cancer care booklet ie how long, recovery time, what to expect etc. Can’t face even putting a post in surgery…
Rattles,
Hugs to Rattles. I’m sorry but I know very little about mastectomys. I have my bloods tomorrow and then hopefully 3rd chemo on Weds - I’ll be half way through then. Feel like I’m on a rollercoaster at the moment - one minute i’m feeling postive and then the next I crash back down and feel sorry for myself. Last friday I went to a Headstart scarf tying session with my 10 year old daughter which was really good we had a great time - I can really recommend it if you get the opportunity.
Julie
Rattles, I’m sorry to hear about your op too. I don’t know much about them either. Maybe you could pop in to Aprils thread for some advice if no one on her knows.
I’ve just been at the hospital for 4 hours, having bloods and seeing the onc. My white cells are too low 0.6, so they have delayed me for a week too, also as I have been feeling I’ll, they have given me some antibiotics. Yay.
Dog girl, I told the onc about my side effects from the steroids and she is stoping them next time and giving me more anti sickness drugs next time instead, I’m so relieved. It would be worth you talking to yours too.
Hope everyone is feeling Ok today and aren’t too waterlogged. It’s pouring buckets down south xx
Hi everyone, feeling a bit better today , just really tired , now look like a monk , huge bald patch on top of head and rapidly thinning out everywhere else , Rattles I had a full mastectomy and anc with delayed reconstruction, actually dont know if I will get recon as this was discussed before they found the other tumor and decided I was to get chemo and rads, op was not as bad as I expected it to be, have prostethis now but only wear it when I am going out, poor postie and delivery men , bald woman with only one boob answers door lol, Josiejo sorry you have been delayed too, seems we are all suffering just now. Hope you all start to feel better soon.
love and hugs to everyone xx
argghh three times i’ve tried to post a reply to Rattles and each time lost in cyber space!!! Rattles - i was due to have a mx in early May but the DAY BEFORE my op my surgical team decided to start me on chemo first!!! It was all abit unnerving as I had been all prepared for an operation, kitted out in hospital pjs and mastectomy bras only to find out I would be facing chemo instead!!! Anyway, before the change of plan they told me op was a simple one in terms of not involving anything internal and that most women recovered fairly quickly 3/4 weeks - in fact they advised me I could still go on holiday to Portuagal 3 weeks after my operation (another reason to feel stressed/upset with the change of plan!). I was quite prepared for the op but I have quite (very) small breasts so I think that probably helped me come to terms with losing one - not sure anyone would actually have noticed!! Rattles I’m sure your surgeon will make the right decision for you and the sooner the pain you are in is over the better. Good luck darling, thinking of you. Let us know what date is decided so we can all hold your hand, Em XXXX
Hi all
Rattles - I had a mx 7 weeks ago, but had implant with strattice. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I recovered from the op (came home after 2 days with a drain, which the district nurses checked every day). I used to run regularly before all this horribleness, and I reckon that I’d be about ready to start some gentle jogging about now, if not for the chemo. Hope your conversation went well with your oncologist.
Still have my hair at the mo (11 days since I got FEC’d for the very first time, as Madonna almost said ), but am happy to know that I’ll be in mascot Elizabeth’s good books once I catch up hair-wise with everyone else.
Spent a lovely sunny day up at my allotment yesterday - can’t believe that we’re getting the best of the UK weather at the moment (I live in South Cumbria, where we get plenty of rain usually…). Went to my local cancer charity this morning for a hypnotherapy session - it was really relaxing, and the therapist gave me a CD to bring home so I can practice at home.
Hugs to everyone due to get ‘dosed’ this week, Alix xx
Hey buds hope you are all doing ok,. Rattles - I had a mastectomy with delayed reconstruction in March. Honestly wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, not too much pain at all. I had a sentinal node biopsy at the same time . The area under the arm - which is where the node came from was the most painful bit. have you had the lymph nodes removed already?? If you had it shouldn’t be too bad at all.
After surgery all I needed was paracetemol and brufen for a few days, and that was mostly because I am a wimp and was too scared to go without painkillers, but actually I probably would have needed very little on day one only. I hope this reassures you.
Also living without a breast is actually no big deal. I now pop my prosthesis in in the morning and forget I am any different underneath my clothes. I initially thought I would go for a reconstruction at some point but the way I feel now I am not so sure, it is not so bad living breast-free.
So ladies that have lost their hair ------ Wig OR bandanna??
My hair is coming out in handfuls, it’s getting shaved off tomorrow :Sure I’m gonna have a weird shape head under there … you never really know what’s under all this hair??
Oh well hope you all are not suffering too badly, good luck to those having chemo this week.
Itsmelou x
I’ve been wearing a scarf since I had my hair shaved. I’m picking up my wig Friday. Not sure if I’m going to feel comfortable wearing the wig.
take care
Gillian xx
Sorry Rattles don’t know much about mx. Hope you’re out of pain soon x
Josejo my lovely baldy xxxx good news about the steroids. Was pleased to hear the news as worried about my self medicating. Am trained medical professional now don’t you know. Watch Holby City, Casulty and One Born Every Minute. Actually I did do my injection today so should get a certificate or ssomething?? Will also be oncologist in FEC minus 6 don’t you know?! Seriously injection giving piece of pi Hope yours went okay Emylou?
Itsmelou - my wig is sooooo flipping itchy so would be interesting to know if anyone can bear theirs? Today had a baseball hat over my scarf cos I work outside and the rain did not stop. Not once. Need both layers! I found that although my head is a lovely shape (pur-lease!!) I have a huge great Gorbachev birthmark on the back of my heed. Nice!
Thanks for making me laugh doggirl - would you like to be my doctor?
Have just got home after long trek across London to see surgeon who is so committed he arranged to see me at another hospital . I have the unwanted fame of being a patient who one only comes across once or twice in a career. Great.
It seems that if I wasn’t on chemo I would be having an emergency op on Thursday. It is clear that my skin is degrading across scar line and it is just a matter of time before it breaks down. If it does, I will need an op within 24 hours. However, apparently oncologist (who I see in the morning) wants me to have chemo this week and then the op on the 23rd June. This is because he doesnt want a 7 week delay in chemo (3 weeks so far and 4 weeks post surgery) as it will reduce the effectiveness of the chemo. There is also some doubt about my skin’s ability to heal as its being so naughty which might delay it even more.
I had a fit. The prospect of chemo Wednesday and then an op 10 days later!! A proper old-fashioned mastectomy removing all skin, implant and strattice. I was so ill after my op. How could it all go wrong 3 months later? Clearly, I am not made of stern enough stuff. How will I manage an op 10 days after chemo? Then I cried on the bus and made the mistake of showing my ‘not-brave-face’ to mum and sister. Feel terrible.
God it feels so good to be able to blast into cyber space.
I will have to take the chemo won’t I? Because if I dont I will feel I failed.
I am having my first glass of wine since February. I want fruit salads, wine and a bacon butty. I have been a good girl too long. Its got me nowhere…
To all the wonderful ladies above -thanks for sharing your experiences. Harry duck - my poor OH got a cold and had to sleep on the floor. Suggest you have seperate towels, tooth-paste etc. Lots of hand washing. Oh and no snoggiing- sorry could not resist.
I feel a bit better now. Cheers to the buddies!
Wont get on line tomorrow.
Rattles, xx
, Rattles I had a full mastectomy and anc with delayed reconstruction, actually dont know if I will get recon as this was discussed before they found the other tumor and decided I was to get chemo and rads, op was not as bad as I expected it to be, have prostethis now but only wear it when I am going out, poor postie and delivery men , bald woman with only one boob answers door lol, Josiejo sorry you have been delayed too, seems we are all suffering just now. Hope you all start to feel better soon.
), but am happy to know that I’ll be in mascot Elizabeth’s good books once I catch up hair-wise with everyone else.
Hope yours went okay Emylou?