Hi all,
Well I was diagnosed with DCIS high grade on 7/7 and had my lumpectomy on 22/7. I go back tomorrow to get the results as they weren’t ready when I went last week. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster to say the very least. I do feel well looked after though by my hospital & breast nurse. I think I’ve been through so many different emotions, shocked, scared, tearful to even joking at work about it but underneath there’s always this horrible anxious feeling. That’s all about my (hopefully) gone cancer.
I’m a 51 year old mum of 3 with probably way too many pets but hey ho - I’ve promised myself a new cat when I’ve finished my treatment - it’s either that or a tattoo!
Im a tad nervous about radiotherapy as a lady who had breast cancer at work had to have a pacemaker after the treatment and I’ve just read about having to do breathing things if the treatment is on the left side which mine is. Does anyone know anything about this? I have to say the lady at work didn’t tell me about the pacemaker but my ‘unhelpful’ manager did!
I shall spend some time looking through as many posts as I can, but back to work tomorrow. 
Hi cookie
I heard a lot of ‘horror stories’ about radiotherapy which really put the wind up me and I worked myself up into a bit of a state. I can only tell you honestly about my own experience. This was it. You lie down. The radiographers manipulate your arms/ legs/torso into the correct position and then you are asked to lift your arms up and keep them in two ‘rests’ - a wee bit uncomfortable but not too much. The radiographers leave the room, then there is a bit of a whirring and clanking noise caused by the machinery moving around you. There is a pretty picture on the ceiling and relaxing music playing in the background. It was quite boring after the first few sessions - I just closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep while all this was going on. I had no after-effects at all. I dutifully put on the cream they supplied me with, as advised, but I didn’t suffer with rashes, itching or anything else. I remember that they did ask me to hold my breath for a very short while at some stage, but again, that was nothing. Compared to chemotherapy, radiotherapy was a piece of cake! PS - you’ll get a ‘tat’ to mark the spot just before your radiotherapy!
My radiotherapy treatment was a doddle. The worste part was travelling 40 miles each way to the hospital.
It doesn’t hurt (although you may become a little sore by the end of treatment - a bit like sunburn). My radio ‘blast’ lasted 10 seconds - at least, I was able to count up to 10 while the whirring noise was going on. You get placed by the therapists and have to lie still. The most difficult part I found was not ‘helping’ the therapists as they placed me. The room is quite cool - for the benefit of the machine - so sometimes the therapists’ hands were a little chilly! I have a lot of bosom but wasn’t at all phased even when the therapist was a male. It was all very matter of fact. (I did wonder how the men felt when the lady therapists were treating them for prostate caner - but I didn’t ask!)
I had 3 tiny tattoos (which I now have difficulty locating) so that they knew precisely where to place me, that’s done at your first appointment.
My appointments were all over the place timewise and frequently there were delays but if you tell them you’re working they may be able to schedule them at a time convenient to you. I think my hospital - Poole in Dorset - worked from 7:30 am until 7:30 pm Monday to Friday (including Bank Holiday Monday morning).
At every visit I was asked whether I had any questions/problems and everyone was friendly and professional.
When I hear stories about what some treatments involve for other health problems I feel that radiotherapy comes out as being far the least scarey.
Good luck.
I had radiotherapy to the left breast. I was also concerned after hearing stories about damage to the heart. However, I was reassured because the radiotherapy these days is so precise in targeting the area it is supposed to. They put very small tattoo dots in 3 places and target those tiny dots. Following chemo I had 15 fractions, and have had no problems apart from getting burns which soon cleared up.
You will go for an initial appointment before your radiotherapy starts. Talk about all your concerns at that appoinment. They will answer all your questions and put your mind at ease. It’s only natural that we are scared etc. I was terrified, but the staff are brilliant.
Good luck x
Thank you for your kind replies Lucy58, CassieB & Feistyflora. I got my results and they’ve got all the cancer out so just have to wait for the radiotherapy now.
my consultant told me to go and have a glass of champagne - I said I couldn’t because I had to go to work and he was aghast - he signed me off again for another week. I went back to work yesterday morning (I’m a doctor’s receptionist), did my shift and I felt so shattered that I didn’t do much for the rest of the day. People keep telling me to take it easy but it is hard when the house is getting messier and messier - I shall just have to keep my eyes closed. I do feel like I’m coming down with something, I feel a bit ‘glandy’ - might get one of the lovely docs at work to give me a check up - there has to be some perks for doing my job ??
im supposed to be going on holiday at the end of September to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary - I’m sort of hoping that I’ll get my therapy over and done with by then but I suppose I’ll know when I see the oncologist on 4th September.