I was diagnosed in October 2008 9mm grade 3 triple neg with no lymph nodes involved.
I had a WLE , 8 chemos EPI-CMF and 25 rads. I was well all throughout my treatment, a little tired from time to time. Energy levels have been OK since then most of the time. I started to get hot flushes and my periods stopped during the chemo.
I am now in Chemopause and over the past couple of weeks I feel shattered! Of course my mind is playing tricks on me and now I am in a right old state worrying that the cancer is back, I feel bloated around my middle a lot of the time too.
Is it normal to feel like this, I was feeling so positive and now I am terrified, any words of encouragement would be most welcome.
Thanks x
I was dx in March 08. I was idc grade 3 with lymph nodes affected.
I had 4 fec and 4 tax and 25 rads. Then in April 09 i had a full hysterectomy.
For the hot flushes i get megastrol acesetate (think thats how its spelt) and that works very well. Please ask for it, it works quickly. Infact a neighbour who hadn’t had cancer was going through the menopause and was suffering hot flushes asked her doctor for it and got relief from taking it, so it’s worth a try.
i still get very fatigued and am bloated around the middle. Your not alone, i’m sure others will come in and make comments. All i can suggest is that you talk to your bcn. she is still there for you even after treatment is finished.
I think it’s normal to worry after a dx such as ours.
phone your bcn tomorrow and maybe get checked out, there are lots of reasons for tiredness like anemia, but it’s too easy to fear the worst.
I know what you mean - but I think it is a side effect of the treatment.
I was diagnosed June 2008 when I was 43. I had mx, chemo, rads, oopherectomy and am now on Arimidex. I find the fatigue to be incredibly debilitating and completely unpredicatable. I’ll be feeling quite ok for a few days and then wham - fatigue comes out of nowhere. The really annoying thing is that resting up doesn’t seem to touch it. When the fatigue is bad I can’t see properly, I have ringing in my ears, difficulty breathing.
It really messes with your head. When I am feeling well I am able to push the cancer thing to the back of my mind but when the fatigue strikes it all comes flooding back. I remember how tired I was when I was first diagnosed and I start to worry.
I have to say that pretty much all the cancer charities’ advice on dealing with fatigue is universally rubbish - my GP and onc were pretty unhelpful too.
It is by far the worst side effect of the treatment and there really doesn’t seem to be much anyone can do about it. I just hope that when my 5 years of Arimidex are up that normal service will be resumed because at the moment quality of life is taking a severe bashing.
if you are worried at all - call the ONC and discuss it - it is not worth putting yourself through mental torment speak to the professionals and they will I’m sure put your mind at ease