I dutifully took my first 10 days of tamoxifen. Finished the first strip. Put it in the bin. And then forgot to get the next strip out for 3 days. 3 days!!! And I even noticed the flushes weren’t quite as strong. And I still didn’t realise. Talk about chemo brain.
Murphy, I hope you feel better about work soon. Its a very difficult and sad situation you describe, but you will get there in the end. I go back on phased return after the Easter holiday weekend, I am already dreading it. As if its the most important thing (!) I was really desperate to have enough hair to ditch Hilda the Hairpiece, but I am doubtful of that happening in time. As for the people, the woman who has been doing a lot of my job is not going to want to give it up. Its going to take some serious readjustment for both of us.
Junash - my lashes are still in the process of falling out I think. I am very jealous of you!
LainieG - good luck for your tattoos. Let us know what design you opted for in the end :robotwink:
Peta, all that travelling sounds gruelling - but you have to think “I’ve started so I’ll finish”. The end is in sight. My last nuking is Monday, and I will be very glad to not see that ruddy hospital again for a while.
I am so glad I am not the only one who is having trouble with memory! I have to write down in a diary the second I have taken my Tamoxifen as otherwise I can’t remember if I did actually take it or was just thinking about taking it!
So have my last rads session on Friday! Will seem strange not going to the hospital anymore. Bit anxious if I am honest but I found this quote below and I think it is very apt and when I read it it makes me determined to get my life back! :-
“If the fear of cancer keeps you from moving forward, enjoying life, being with loved ones, laughing, then the cancer won, even if it never comes back. But if you reclaim your life, then even if the cancer comes back, it didn’t win, because YOU, the PERSON, survived.”
I love the quote Mysterymouse. It’s so true. If we keep worrying about the cancer coming back it’s stealing more of the time we should be enjoying. Avid in the worry will be easier said than done but we really need to try. And yay! for rads finishing xxx
I’m glad I’m not the only one forgetting meds ladies. I don’t feel so daft now. I have a pill sorter. I really should start using it. I had my injection after 11 pm last night and should’ve had it by 8. Hubby had to come home from work. Wish I was brave enough to do it myself. I’m such a woos! Xxx
Bettypoppit, I’ve been back on citalapram about a week and a half now and I can defo feel a difference re hot flushes. Not nearly so many and not as severe. I don’t know if anyone else on the group is on letrozole instead of tamoxifen? I can’t have tamoxifen due to my blood clot. Was just wondering if anyone is suffering from joint pain and how they’re coping with it? My fingers in particular are really sore, but also feet, arms and knees. I’m like a 90 year old getting up off a chair if I’ve been sitting for a while. I know this is a common side effect, especially whilst on a generic letrozole. I’ve got an oncologist appointment at the end of this month and I’m going to ask to be prescribed one of the branded tabs. Although more expensive, they seem to have fewer side affects according to some ladies on the forum.
Been at work today and fell asleep earlier this evening cause I was so tired. I’m now wide awake at 3 in the morning!!!
We all need to get using pill sorters, memory loss seems to be a very common problem. I wondered too jingo why they didn’t have the days of the week on the foil. It would make life so much easier for us.
Lainie, that’s a shame you didn’t get your tattoo. I’ve seen it being done on the TV and it looks very realistic. I had to laugh at your poor hubby having to come home to give you your injection. I’m finding my skin seems to be getting tougher where I’ve been injecting and there’s a bit more resistance getting to needle in (I do it slowly, I can’t just jab it in!!). I think it’ll need to be swimming costumes rather than bikinis on holiday this year though. I go to turkey two weeks after I finish injections and can’t imagine the bruises will have gone, the same ones are there for weeks.
After finding myself staring at the packet the other day wondering whether I took the darn thing or not I got a permanent marker and wrote M Tu W Th etc on the foil side of mine - great minds must all think alike. We should definately lobby the manufacturers, that’s a great idea.
Just a quick question I am nearly at the end of all my treatments (last rads tomorrow) whoop whoop Just a little concerned that after all the treatments there are no further follow up scans at all. Is this the same for everyone else? I was diagnosed in July and had scans followed by a mastectomy in August but little niggly fears still keep coming into my head :O. Just wondering if that is the norm? I don’t want to become nerotic and I know I have to trust the ‘team’ but it’s hard as did think there would be one final scan just to be sure.
Twitching eye is really bad today. Odd but only in the one eye I hope it improves soon
Had picc line out today - feels like a real step forward. Yesterday had 100ml put into implant & in two weeks another 250ml going in.
Think I’m going to be one of the last finishing treatment as rads not starting until April 21 and then exchange implant surgery not happening until after summer - date TBC as they want temp implant to ‘do its job’. So end keeps moving further away !!!
Junash Ive just seen my onc and surgeon and am having expander put in 3 weeks after Chemo the a quick pump up before rads Max 3 weeks later! I’ll be interested how yours reacts to rads as I’ll be a month behind you but with a new scar which surgeon says will be OK. Anxious!
Mysterymouse + Bettypoppit, I was meant to finish rads tomorrow too but my machine had a day being serviced so my last nuking is Monday. I think the lack of scans is typical. As is the worry about it! My onc explained it by saying I am cancer-free so there is nothing to scan for. Which I suppose is fair enough. They do know we are all terrified at this point, and he did say that the down side of scans is the anxiety they induce whilst you’re waiting for results - so, doing them “just to be sure” means your blood pressure would be up with worry for nothing. I managed to persuade him to have a feel of the lumps and bumps I have been left with (+ the good side too) to allay my fears, and I guess our oncs and bc nurses and GPs will not be surprised to see us in the coming months when the worry gets the better of us. I have a review with the radiologist in 6-8 weeks time, a review of hormone therapy with the onc in July and my one-year-from-surgery annual mammo combined appt with the surgeon in Sep. And that’s it. On one hand scary, but on the other - I do feel a bit of relief that I can start to put it behind me. I know that’s not much comfort to ladies with further reconstructive surgeries planned, sorry! But we WILL all get there eventually!
Oh Jingo so sorry you’re suffering a setback. I totally understand why you’re upset about the sleeve. Our nurses and docs are great but they can’t possibly understand how we feel. Hope you’re feeling a bit better soon xxxxx
Junash I can’t wait to get my picc line out. It really will feel like a big step forward. Then it’s just finishing my reconstruction surgery which will take about 3 or 4 small ops (as well as having my nipples tattoos). So looking forward to putting the past year and a half behind me xxxx
Jingo - to say thats pants is an understatement and PETA - hope yours doesn’t develop.
I was reading about operation of lymph node transfer, where unused lymph nodes from groin etc are transferred to upper arm creating new channels for the lymph to disperse. Look at the BMI Healthcare website. There is also a blog somewhere of someone in Singapore who has had same treatment - I’ll try & find it. New procedure but these things become common practice quite quickly. Worth investigating for future??
Maidstone hospital - which you get to from Victoria station has a breast care support group every last Saturday of the month. The one at end of match is about lymphodema and dealing with it. Worth checking with your local hosp or getting the train down. I’m going along just for the info - happy to collect you from station.
Got to go & get the boy from karate club - will dig out the blog when I’m home.
Catch up with rest of you re picc and implants later tonight xx
So sorry to hear about your lymphodema jingo. That’s just another problem you could do without. I can totally understand why you got so upset today, I would’ve been the same. I think sometimes things become so routine to the health care professionals that they can forget the impact things can have on individuals xxx
PETA, hope yours turns out to be ok, but best get it checked out xx
Thinking of all on the rads conveyor belt and hoping you’re all coping with the travelling back and forth and your skin is holding up. Keep slapping on the cream!!
Jingo_x, sounds like that nurse could do with receiving a big dose of empathy.
I came across this web site when I was doing research for myself. It contains a fair amount of info and links to other resources, but also seems to cover the emotional side of things. lymph-what-oedema.com/
Bettypoppit Congrats on finishing rads. You must be so pleased to be at the end of treatment. Xxxx
Jingo glad you’re feeling a bit better. Xxxxx
Hugs to everyone ???
CONGRATULATIONS Bettypoppit and Mystery Mouse!! I hope you are both able to celebrate reaching this stage that has been so very far ahead of us all for so long… claim your place on The Pedestal Of Completed Treatment - and prepare to have to squeeze up a bit with the others who are already there to make room for the rest of us as each of us gets there!
Hoping you are having an ok weekend with minimal (or even no - Yay!) side effects - Hugs to Everyone - x x x
Congrata mysterymouse and bettypoppit on finishing your treatment you must feel relieved its now done. Xx
Jingo sorry to hear about your sleeve can i just ask you did you have any numbness in thumb or hand before. Im wondering whether its the last lot of chemo effects still or the start of something as my arm has started to ache up the top.
Peta i havent been given any tamoxifen yet either ive got another rads appointement on 16th hoping i can see oncologist at some point to ask .
Hope everyone else is feeling ok im feeling more like myself day by day but still not back to speed amd the start of a cold dont help. Enjoy your saturday night im off to watch ant and dec soon amd maybe a glass of vino xxx
Will seem strange not going to the hospital anymore. Bit anxious if I am honest but I found this quote below and I think it is very apt and when I read it it makes me determined to get my life back! :- 
Just a little concerned that after all the treatments there are no further follow up scans at all. Is this the same for everyone else? I was diagnosed in July and had scans followed by a mastectomy in August but little niggly fears still keep coming into my head :O. Just wondering if that is the norm? I don’t want to become nerotic and I know I have to trust the ‘team’ but it’s hard as did think there would be one final scan just to be sure.