Breast Cancer Now Forum

Could stress be an early symptom? Could have something there Jane.My lifes had more stressfull episodes in it than a bad soap.You name it and I\'ve been there! I handled it all remarkably well until about two years before I was diagnosed when it all became too much.Instead of battling on I felt as if I was running around in circles and didn\'t know which way to turn,wanted to curl up into a ball and hope it would all go away - not like me at all! Am now in remission and find my old ability to handle stress almost as good as pre bc days. ... View more

Me too.I was dx with 2.4 triple neg, grade 3 with one node involved Jan \'04.Must admit I felt very much \'out on my own\' when treatment finished.I was the only one I knew not on hormone treatment etc.Then fate took over- one family disaster after another. You name it I\'ve gone through it over the past couple of years!Then I came to a quiet patch this Summer and was able to sit down and take stock!Suddenly I\'d time to worry about my prognosis have a panic attack and go through all the emotions that should have hit me sooner ....and do you know I found it all a waste of time. I wont let having breast cancer take over my life. I do my bit by eating healthily.I enjoy walking miles and keeping myself fit.I usually end up working like a navie in my large garden , or helping the men in the family -I\'ve helped wire many a house(two while on chemo)By the way I, too had aches and pains all over the place after chemo. They gradually subsided but it took about 12 mths!My feet are still bad though as my toes are quite numb and sore.they\'re getting slowly better but taking their time!..Here\'s to life after chemo! ... View more

Building Blocks Was told by my onc that breastcancer has many triggers or \'building blocks\' as he called them, and that its a combination of these that cause it to develope.Some tumors may need as little as ten blocks while others need an awful lot more.But he didnt seem to think that stress was one of them.(thankfully)....and its nice to know from Jane that stress after dx may actually help keep it at bay! ... View more

Alcohol. I, too would be interested to know what others think about drinking alcohol - weather it effects your chanches of long term survival,and if theres a difference between its effects on hormone neg and hormone pos tumours. ... View more

I finished my chemo (4fec 4taxol) July 04.Did have aches and pains on the taxol which continued and actually got worse after I finished chemo.I felt about 110.My back was so painful at times I couldnt walk unaided, and my toes!!!! I was hobbling about first thing in the morning like an old woman.I\'m hormone neg so not on any medication.Was also told at the breast clinic that it wasnt chemo related but somehow I think it was as Its improved immensely over the past twelve months and I havent taken anything for it, only the odd bottle of codliver oil. ... View more

I\'m er-,pr- too,so my aches and pains must\'ve been the chemo.I had a bit of a bad back before but it got really bad afterwards and then gradually improved until its now actually better than it used to be! At times my muscles used to ache as though I was heading for flu.I put it all down to the chemo as I feel perfectly normal now. ... View more

I wasnt too bad at all on chemo and sailed through the rads but had aches and pains all over the place for about 12 mths afterwards.my feet,my back- even had bursitis in my shoulder two mths after the rads which needed anti inflamatories to clear it up.I felt like an old woman! I\'m now two years over treatment and thankfully feeling good.The aches and pains have all cleared up! ... View more

Dont remind me. I dont like being reminded of Oct either. I went to my doctor soon as I discovered a lump on 16th Nov but couldnt have a mammograme til 16th Dec because they were so busy after breast awareness month ,also they couldnt fit me in for my op until 11th Jan.I somehow think it would not have spread to my lymphnode if I\'d been seen straight away! ... View more

Lymphoedema. I had ANC and also radiotheraphy on my underarm which increases still the risk of lymphoedema. I let them throw what they could at me as long as they thought it would improve my chanches.It\'s two years since my treatment finished and no sign of lymphoedema, but I do have to be careful with cuts and grazes as they take a lot longer to clear up.I\'m an avid gardener and often carrying heavy loads. it hasn\'t slowed me down a bit. ... View more

to pineapple Great news about your hair..as mine came back so fast I was really feeling for you.Am really,really pleased for you. ... View more

BUYING ON E BAY HI, i LOST MY HAIR ON TAXOL AND WORE A REAL HAIR WIG WHICH LOOKED VERY NATURAL.I BOUGHT IT ON E BAY FOR ABOUT 60 POUNDS AND IT WAS SENT OVER FROM THE U.S. IN NO TIME AT ALL.IT WAS SO NICE THAT I NEVER BOTHERED WITH MY N.H.S.ONE.I EVEN HAD COMPLIMENTS ON HOW LUCKY I WAS TO HAVE SUCH NICE HAIR. ... View more

attitude Really hope everything goes well for you,you are in my thoughts.You seem to have the same attitude as me- just got my head down and got on with it and on really bad days I switched on automatic pilot!I got through a lot better than relying on anyone,and besides close family who knew,were probably suffering more than me and trying to hide it. ... View more

stronger my man came back legless at 2am the night before my liverscan,hed been out with his ex.and told me hed had enough of this \"cancer thing\" and was leaving me.I begged him just to stay the night as I couldnt face it on my own.He ended up going nowhere but in retrospect I wish he had! He wasnt any help during chemo anyway,I never had much confidence and was afraid of my own shadow in pre bc days but I\'m not afraid of much nowadays,Im a much stronger person and Im sure you will be too.BC made me see him for what he is. I deserve a much better man,and so do you. I\'ll be giving him his marching orders any day now. ... View more

Hi Jas My last chemo end of july9 and my rads were over by end sept 04.my hair(prev dark brown with some grey)came back white so went blonde for a nov wedding. It came bk very quickly.chemo does drag,someone told me you\'ve got to take a year out of your life for breast cancer treatment and how right they were!do keep me posted Jas,I had a lumpectomy jan04 was offered a reconstruction but although my breast looks pretty strange it doesnt bother me. Dont know if Id have a reconstruction after a mastectomy though.maybe if I was younger.Im 48.hi jas ... View more

herceptin pos? twentyfive weeks of rads is an awful lot Liz-I thought I had enough!unfortunately I\'m er-pr-. when I asked about my herceptin statis in Oct 05 consultant said I hadn\'t been tested Jan04 when I had my op as it wasn\'t routine then, and it wouldn\'t make any differance now as I was 12mths over chemo.He said i could be triple neg. I didnt even know anyone hormone neg so he told me to go on the net. I\'ve kept remarkably well since considering the amount of stress I\'ve had and as for my breastcare nurse- she was non existant.never seen or heard from her except when in with my onc.I honestly think she didnt like me. ... View more

mistakes do happen had my mammogram and dx 16th dec.After lab reports was told tumour was very slow growing and had been there a very long time.It was 1cm.A week after my surgery on 16th jan was told it was 2.4cm was very agressive and had spread to my lymphnodes! when I complained was told \"mistakes do happen\" ... View more

keeping it quiet jas,I too didnt tell anyone except cloasest friends and family(even my next door neighbours dont know)just said I\'d got fed up with my waist length hair and cut it all off after I ditched my wig after treatment.the thought of my cancer being discused in shops and pubs behind my back was more than I could take.I even changed my gp because I knew the receptionist was a gossip.Am now nearly two years over chemo and busily growing that hair back! ... View more

dairy free Me too,a big fan of Jane Tomkinson.I read Jane Plants book when I was on chemo and went vegan straight away(have always been vegitarian so that helped)Still miss cheese but find soya icecream nicer than the real stuff ever was.I,m back to the weight I was before it started creeping up a few years before the bc, Must say I feel fitter and happier to have my old figure back.Being hormone neg with no tamox etc.to keep it at bay I feel I\'m doing my bit. ... View more

after treatment my treatment finished sept 04 My ck.ups were three monthly (6monthly at b.care unit and 6 monthly chemo /rad unit)Jan this year was told at bc unit that I\'ll now only be seen by them yearly with mammogram but any worries or concerns and I,m to go straight to them,not my gp I\'m not on tamox but my er++pr+ friends who had chemo with me are still attending the breast clinic regulary. ... View more

after surgery and rads I had 25 rads on my breast and under my arm(i suppose to catch any lymphnodes they could have missed with aux clearance)sept 04, but still get pains under my breast were my scar is when I wear underwired bras.Onc has said its because of the surgery an that it takes years for the nerves to grow back.I\'m still numb under my arm but dont expect that to get any better.It doesn\'t stop me digging the garden and getting on with things. ... View more