Hi all I was just wondering something and thought of course the clever folks on here would know the answer! Also, I thought it might be useful to have a thread for any quick or small questions!
Of course we all know that there are no silly questions, but sometimes you just want to ask a little something it seems OTT to phone the hospital/helpline about (or get reassurance that it IS okay to phone the hospital about!) or start a whole new thread about.
So here is my question:
When people talk about anniversaries, timings etc, when do you count the time from? Diagnosis? Starting treatment? Surgery date? Finishing treatment? etc. E.g. when people talk about annual mammo’s and check ups, is this from the date of surgery? And I have heard people say “two years” is prime time for recurrance in some cases but what does this mean? Any time in the two years after diagnosis? Or FROM two years after?
If anyone knows the answer I would be very grateful, I am just curious more than anything. And if anyone else has any random questions they have been wondering about do feel free to jump in!
Great idea & that question is one im not sure of but I personally would class it from the diag date others class it from end of treatment I think it depends on each person & how they feel
I would def say from diagnosis day!
My question - can I have a glass of wine before chemo tomorrow? Or should I be drinking water and flushing out the system. Slightly, insane (water) or toxic (wine)?
Alcofrol is best avoided for at LEAST a couple of days either side of chemo IMO, as the poisons can attack your liver function. The chemo unit does a liver function test every 2 weeks to check it.
I was advised not to drink alcohol during chemo as the liver has to work hard at that time and alcohol just adds to the load. Don’t know if that was just specific to me or if it was for everybody.
Oh dear, I boobed then (sorry, couldn’t resist) as I have indulged in the occasional tipple during chemo.
Re anniversaries, it’s just a date for me, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me. I suppose it’s from diagnosis, but then I clearly had it for a while before I knew about it, so maybe I’ve already passed my 5-year anniversary from the date it first appeared?
Another random question - do you EVER get used to being bald?
This might be a bit off-topic but could be interesting for you to try.
This morning I put make-up on HALF my face, and then took my picture. If I’ve got the whole face on it’s not really obvious but it looked REALLY WEIRD to have only half done. I’m going to have a bit of a play in a photo editing package to create two pictures, but I challenge you to have a go and see what it’s like. Very spooky, and I painted the unpainted half of my face pretty darn quick once I’d seen what I looked like!
My breast surgeon said it was from surgery - ie when the cancer is removed and you are presumed to be ‘cancer free’. However, if you have chemo first that would make a big difference to the dates (ie dx compared with surgery).
the day I was finally dx, as it will be etched on my brain forever
date of my surgery
date I finished active treatment which coincides with my birthday, so there’s two reasons to celebrate!
Alchofrol (:D) - was told to avoid just before chemo and drink plenty of water but was fine in moderation in week 3. Have to say though that for me it all tasted horrible so in the end I stopped bothering.
I have a question for those of you who have finished chemo - have you found that there are some foods that you don’t really like any more because chemo ruined the taste of them? It b*ggred me up for coffee until quite recently and (wails loudly!) I *still* can’t appreciate chocolate and that’s not a good thing for a chocoholic!
I am so glad that I’m not alone in my weirdness! Several times I have though about taking a photo of my half-done face, but not yet done so.
The made-up side looks almost normal, with the illusion of eyebrows, eyelashes, a healthy glow etc. The nude side looks like, erm… Humpty Dumpty on one of his off days.
Tell you what, next time I’ll take that photo, and stick it on here as my avatar.
KittieKat, you’re going to have to see me in person to get THAT beauty - it’s just far too weird. And I also noticed that my SMILE is crooked, so it looks even weirder! “Humpty Dumpty on one of his off days” - BRILLIANT!
Nymeria, cheese toasties. I had one just before my insides exploded on first chemo and I just can’t bear even the thought of one. Shame, I really used to like good cheese toastie…
I know I completely went off coffee and chocolate when pregnant, but chocolate can still make me very happy even after chemo.
Nymeria, I went off tomatoes and anything with a tomatoey sauce (e.g. spag bol) when I was having chemo. I finished last Oct and still can’t face them. Most other things that tasted weird during treatment are getting back to normal thankfully.
I was never a big chocolate eater before BC, funnily enough I developed a taste for it during treatment - I bet I have eaten more chocolate in the past year then I had in my life up until then! Perhaps I am eating your share!
When I was on EC and kept getting a very sore mouth, I used to manage tiramisu when nothing else would slip down.
I can’t even look at it now and I used to love it.
Do you (or should you) take tamoxifen at the same time every day? Or does it not matter? I thought you should but I might be conflating it with the Pill. I can’t remember if I was told that, or if I have made it up!
& that question is one im not sure of but I personally would class it from the diag date others class it from end of treatment I think it depends on each person & how they feel