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xwelcomex
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01-05-2012
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29-10-2010
10:13
@Tina45 Thanks for the encouragement. Looked at your profile; you were diagnosed after me...have you finished all of your treatment already? Everything does tend to move a bit slowly here in Somerset 🙂
Hmmm ...Maybe I should get some minoxidil and rub that into my eyebrows!
@Twiggypuss & molsid. Did you have Taxotere? I understand it often take slonger for regrowth after Tax.
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29-10-2010
10:02
Hey.... Depends on the type of recon you have. Aesthetic risks are associated with rads...loads of info on the net. My view was that they were my risks, not those of a surgeon. I decided on what I wanted doing (after lots of reading) and found a surgeon who'd do it.
I'm currently doing rads with a tissue expander in situ - no problems. The expander/implant exchange takes place in a few months.
My only advice is to do your own homework about the advantages and disadvantages of different types of recon and to find yourself a proper oncoplastic breast surgeon. Don't leave it to a general surgeon to advise you. My initial meet was with a general surgeon. He told me immediate recon was impossible because of the rads I'd need after chemo, that contralateral reduction was always done AFTER a recon and that an implant would be no good for 'someone of my age'. All rubbish. I had everything I wanted done at the same time as the mast. and my surgeon was qualified and experienced enough to do a fab job. Bonus was getting a reduction at the same time. I'm very small but had massive boobs - FF - and they were starting to look past their best 🙂
Decided on immediate recon because I didn't fancy stuffing something into my bra and also because I wanted the whole treatment to be over and done with as soon as possible. Bc was taking away so much of my life for so long; I couldn't face the idea of finishing the meds and then still having the recon to deal with. Not a walk in the park, but no regrets.
See profile.
Good luck xx
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29-10-2010
09:30
I finished 4 FEC, 4 Tax 8 weeks ago. Used a cold cap and kept ALL of my thick, long head hair (yay!) but have no eyelashes or eyebrows (boo!) Look like an extra from Star Trek.
Legs etc all sprouting but not a sign of a lash or brow hair. :-(. Unless, that is, you count the 4 eyelashes that have grown on my chin ;-).
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29-10-2010
05:49
Hey ...sent you a message ... xx
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26-10-2010
06:12
Commenting as a patient, Alison's point about consistency gets my vote.
When first diagnosed with a serious illness, patients are often inundated with cards, flowers and good wishes. Probably 80% of the people that initally wished me well have dropped off the radar. With many illnesses, the patient's condition improves after the initial treatment. With cancer, that's often not the case, particularly where chemo is needed.
Do let her know you are thinking of her and do this regularly. If you don't feel able to get into a discussion with her at any point, just send a text, email, Facebook message or flowers. It's so important to know that you matter to people. Don't judge her if she doesn't reply; she WILL be pleased. Be open with your words and specific with offers of help.
This is a time when you need friends and well wishers to be tortoises and not hares. 🙂
Regarding your dairy/meat query, I can't go into that here, but you might want to look at http://www.foodforbreastcancer.com.
xx
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24-10-2010
07:47
Well done you! Look forward to seeing the article; do let us know when it is to be published.
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22-10-2010
11:37
I had 8 lots of high dose chemo (FEC 100 then Tax) and used a Paxman cold cap throughout to save my hair. I have thick, long hair and kept 90% of it thanks to the cold cap. You'd honestly never know I'd had chemo if I hadn't lost my eyebrows...that said, I finished 6 weeks ago and they are now coming back.
http://www.paxman-coolers.co.uk - don't know which hospital you are at but most have at least one.
Do ask me for tips if you decide to use it...I am the Cold Cap Queen lol. There are definitely some do's and don'ts f you want to maximise your chances of it working, as I'm sure others who've had success will agree.
x
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16-10-2010
10:24
I know we can't expect all hospital departments to understand the intricacies of our treatments, but this was just tooooooo funny.
I had a tissue expander placed at the time of my mastectomy, which has an integral metal port. It'll be changed for an implant after all chemo and rads are done.
During chemo, I had to go for an x-ray to check the position of my Portacath. I had the usual instructions to take off all jewellery and anything else metal and thought to mention that the expander had a metal port. The young male nurse looked a bit confused and then asked me if I wouldn't mind "popping it out until the x-ray was done"! Well, that would have been an interesting exercise!
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14-10-2010
09:57
Quite right. Manuka honey is expensive. The Sainsbury £7 one is the 5+ one, I think. I just got some 20+ in there for about £13. All monofloral honeys I've come across are the same kind of price though.
Is it better than other honeys? Well, it depends what you need it to do. If you are looking at wound healing or infections, manuka honey works simply because the manuka (or tea tree) bush has antibacterial properties. Only the 'active' ones are any good.
http://www.manukahoney.co.uk for everything you ever wanted to know. Also explains the ratings system. 🙂
Works for me.
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12-10-2010
10:28
I know what you mean about just moving in to the hospital. I seem to be there far too often: oncology for chemo and radiotherapy, breast clinic for surgeon and expander fills, medical photography for before and durings of recon., then there was medical assessment unit when I was admitted with neutropenic sepsis (just once, and about the only s/e from chemo), ward stays for that and for op, cardiology for regular echocardiograms for Herceptin... um, PICC line and Portacath shenanigans....
Of course they never manage to co-ordinaate the appointments either do they? At least I get Herceptin done at home now. Yeahhh!!!
Yup, radiotherapy is daily. By the way, I didn't have any sickness with the FEC or Tax and took no drugs to prevent it either. Someone told me not to eat the night before or morning of chemo, just to drink ginger tea, then to drink loads of water after the chemo has been done and eat nothing for 2 hours. Worked for me.
Good luck for tomorrow; be over and done with before you know it. 🙂
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12-10-2010
01:54
I am a tad ahead of you with chemo. Finished FEC-T (4+4) just a few weeks ago. I remember feeling awful at just the point you are. It feels as though it's stretching wa-a-a-y too far into the future doesn't it?
If it helps at all, I can say for sure that even though it was only 8 weeks or so ago when I was where you are now, it feels like a lifetime ago; hang on to that. I found Tax a walk in the park compared to FEC, especially the last 3; hardly knew I'd had them.
Your chemo will be over well before the end of next month. You've (almost) had 6; you can do it. Everything else will be easy by comparison.
I was diagnosed in January this year (see profile), still have still rads, another 2 ops and Herceptin to finish.
I'm having my first radiotherapy session on Wednesday, when you're at chemo, so will think of you 🙂 Five weeks of driving 100 miles a day to the hospital every day-there has to be a kinder way to treat cancer patients :-(.
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