Breast Cancer Now Forum

PS to website people - could there be an avatar with a short fuzz of hair?  Glory be, my hair has grown enough for me to go public with it.  I look weird but less so than before.  Have taken to wearing mascara for the first time in years, just because I now have eyelashes again. ... View more

So sorry that you are having problems with taste, Michelle & Linda.  Docetaxel is evil stuff.  I had three courses of it and for quite a while, everything tasted awful.  Trying my favourite foods made no difference; it all tasted dreadful, even water.  The taste distortion did wear off, though, and I’m hoping this will be the case for you.  I’m not on herceptin, so I don’t know about its side effects.   My query is this.  How long is it before I have to accept that the neuropathy in my hands and feet is permanent?  Last docetaxel was at the beginning of August and while the pain is gone, the tingling remains.   Hope everyone is managing to avoid the colds that have sprung from nowhere in the last few weeks. ... View more

Hi everyone    Hope it’s all going well for us.  I love the idea of meeting up.  Whether I can be there depends on the location decided - travel might be tricky.x   ... View more

Hope it all goes well tomorrow, Sal.   Post-surgery, post-chemo, post radiotherapy my biggest problem now is my dreadful nails - only attached from halfway down and I think at least one is going to split across and fall off.  Still got neuropathy in fingers & toes.  These are tiny problems given what went before.  On the plus side, I’m growing eyebrows & eyelashes.  Someone told me about it’s the small things like this giving pleasure.  Small?  It’s huge for me.  Means my body is recovering from the vile things done to it.  I’m grateful for treatment but it hasn’t been very pleasant. ... View more

Hope all goes well with the surgery, Sal.  I turned to the radiotherapy board when I started that treatment but returned to this board before long.  It’s only my experience but radiotherapy, while it’s no joke, is not as bad as chemo was.  Good luck with your treatment (the blue dye fades eventually).   Love Dx ... View more

It’s good to read that post-surgery is generally going ok.  I love the “anything boob shaped” idea; am so grateful my left boob still looks like a boob.  It’s getting sore, though, from the radiotherapy.   No more injections + port gone - must be such a relief Gigii.  Not surprised you are tired.  Every aspect of treatment swallows great wads of energy.  I was told I would be very tired after radiotherapy and, for me, this doesn’t mean I want to sleep.  It means I can’t cope with small setbacks because I just don’t have the energy.  I muddle through somehow.    It’s back to the chemo ward on Wednesday for a zoledronic infusion (hoped I’d seen the back of that place for good).  I imagined it would all be over once radiotherapy ended.  Wishful thinking, that. ... View more

Hi ladies   So glad to read your posts after a quiet patch on the board.  Thanks for all the good wishes regarding my radiotherapy.  Last zapping tomorrow  - can’t believe I’m coming out on the other side of treatment.  Radio has been much easier to bear than chemo.  Still got neuropathy & hideous nails but convince myself the pain is fading.  Very tired, though.    Re. survival rates, I tell myself that the tables for this are a model not an exact account for the individual.  Each small percentage adds a bit more hope.  It’s enough for now just to have got through the months of horrible treatment. ... View more

Hi Christine   Good to know how things are going for you.  I feel the same about this board.  Didnt feel quite the same about the September radiotherapy forum even though I’m now 2/3 of the way through radiotherapy..   Hope all goes well after your surgery.  Still early days. ... View more

Thanks Bibi.  Radiotherapy was nowhere near as bad as chemo.  A lot quicker, too.  Glad it all went well for you. ... View more

I was trying to edit out a typo so the problem is probably my doing.  Sorry to have rattled the system. 😔 ... View more

Thanks for this, Christine.  Really appreciate having this information, especially as you are rcovering from surgery.  I hope the last drain is gone or, at least, not oozing any more.   Letrazole is something I’ll be having to strip out the last oestrogen.  Feel my menopause is on an endless loop: first time when I had a total hysterectomy; then when I tried to stop hrt; then when I stopped again after cancer diagnosis and now to be helped along by pills. 😖   Chemo has made me frightened of any new treatment, so I think I’m fussing about radiotherapy for no good reason.  It’s helps to be reassured that even the tiredness is probably nothing much after chemo fatigue.  I’ve been feeling miffed at the whole cancer treatment and how long it has taken and this cheers me up since it’s only happened when I’m far enough away from the last chemo session to have the energy to feel this way.  While I was going through it, just getting on with it was as much as I could do.  Thanks for the tip about Aveeno cream, Michelle.  I use it as a moisturiser anyway and I’m glad it will be fine after rads.   I hope everyone on this thread is moving on after months of chemo.  I won’t miss it!     ... View more

Hi All   My first rad is tomorrow.  The advice here, especially about drinking enough, is very helpful.  Re. deodorant, I was told to use one that has no aluminium.  I’ve bought a Bionsen roll-on that claims to have 0% aluminium & I think I’ll stay with it after rads.  Got it at Tesco.   After chemo I’m tired anyway, so I’m a bit fearful about the side effects to come. ... View more

This is wonderful news, Michelle.  Must be such a relief!  Horrible chemo worth it.  Just.   Like you, Gygi, I have neuropathy in my fingertips (& toes).  I’ll be so glad to wake up one morning without feeling as though my hands are holding nettles.  I’m  sure swimming will be helpful to you in your recovery.  I swam a bit on holiday and felt better for it, even though I got tired very quickly.   Glad you are feeling a bit better, day by day, Christine.  Surgery is a huge assault on the body but it sounds as though you are healing well.   Last chemo is a big landmark, Sally.  I hope it all goes to plan & the side effects aren’t too bad.   Came home from holiday today & was exhausted.  Thought that if I’m this tired & the main effect of radiotherapy is tiredness I’ll be comatose after the first treatment on Monday.  Still, it beats turning up for chemo.     ... View more

So glad you are recovering well from surgery, Michelle.  The exercises will help with straightening your arm, it just takes a while.   Docetaxel seems to be cumulative in its side effects, which could be why the awful taste in my mouth is gone while yours is still there.  I had only 3 doses.  My nails are in a bad state & my fingers still hurt.  However, I’ve been on holiday & that was the best thing I could have done.  I’m wearing a wig most of the time as my hair is still only a faint fuzz about 1cm long.  The ends are frazzled, probably because the first growth was so damaged by the chemo.  Just the fact that it is growing at all cheers me up.   I hope you get good news on the 13th.  Fingers crossed for then.  xx       ... View more

Sounds as though there’s still confusion at the hospital, Christine.  It’s good that you got some reassurance about the pain.  If it’s any help, I had nerve pain down my arm after lymph nodes were removed.  That was at the beginning of February.  The pain, along with the tingling and numbness has gradually faded and is almost gone now.  It has taken ages but I’m very glad it’s happened. ... View more

Oh this is good news, Christine.  I hope the inflammation goes now that the drain is gone.  After the awful time you had, this must be a relief.  It’s not right that you had such a runaround, and at a time of such acute vulnerability.  Now that the surgery is done, things will, I hope, get better. ... View more

This is an appalling situation to be in, Christine.  I’ve met with confusing stuff at hospital every time but nothing like as bad as what you are going through.  If the local hospital can’t help, I was wondering if your GP might get onto the case and chase up better care.   A community nurse came every week to flush through my picc line and managing your drain would seem to be something similar that a community nurse could do.  It’s awful that you are having to go through this in addition to the surgery you have just undergone. ... View more

This is good news about your surgery, Christine.  It was far more extensive than I’d realised, so I’m glad you were made as comfortable as possible and you are back home now.  I hope your recovery goes well after the trauma of surgery.  Early days.   Like you, Michelle, I am obsessed with my hair growth.  I wear jeans & t shirts most days & I don’t think this will change.  I think this fashion thing is just a passing phase.  Perhaps my mind is telling me it’s time to move on & leave all this behind.  Hands & feet that don’t hurt, wine that tastes like wine, now that would be a real treat!   ... View more

I’m very glad that it went ok, Christine.  But surgery is an assault on the body and the body feels it as that.  No wonder your emotions are all over the place.  I hope that the staff are kind and can make you comfortable tonight. ... View more

Congratulations, Michelle, on your daughter’s wonderful results.  You must be so proud of her!  Yes, she is amazing - and so are you.  I’m glad the surgery went to plan and you are back home again.  The drain has all the charm of a ball and chain but it won’t be for long (I was so glad to see the back of mine).  The 3-week wait is a pain & I hope the horrible chemicals have done their job & zapped everything bad.   I’m encouraged that the disgusting chemo taste fades after about 4 weeks.  In desperation I tried eating my favourite junk food today (crisps, chocolate..) the taste was awful, just not quite as awful as a week ago.   Something very odd is happening to me.  I seem obsessed with clothes and fashion, which is not usual for me.  I look like a slightly fuzzy jelly baby at the moment, so not a lot to work on.  Perhaps I just want to look a bit better than I do now.  Or maybe I want to look quite different as that’s already happened.  Has anyone else felt like this?   ... View more