Breast Cancer Now Forum

My lovely and very good friend Freda who, although she's 67 is the most youthful and glamorous grandma I know, is known as Freda-ma by her grandsons. 🙂 ... View more

Adding SCACO Karen and Potmaid Clare. Glasses raised high to you all ladies, and to your families and friends. It was a privilege and an honour. Jane xxx ... View more

Hi Lozza, sorry it was bad news. You're almost exactly two years behind me - I was DX on 15th December 2010 (my full DX is on my profile), had my WLE and ANC on Christmas Eve and came home on Christmas Day. Not the best Christmas ever for me and my family, but I just wanted to get it out. I then had FEC-T chemo from January and then rads in June. Two years on, I'm currently NED, back at work full time and generally getting on with life. I need to lose some weight and get fitter and I have slightly numb fingertips and a touch of chemo brain, but apart from that, life is good! Glad you're being so well looked after, and try to keep that sense of humour, although the humour may get a bit dark at times - it sometimes helps just to tell the cancer to f**k off 😄 Oh, and surreal is definitely the right word - we've all been there!! Love and hugs to you, Jane xxx All the very best to you ... View more

Today is two years to the day from my DX and two years to the day from SCACO first writing about the Dark, Dark Woods. Woodies all, please light your flamethrowers, raise the two-fingered flag high and make sure your merkin is playing the Star Spangled Banner in her honour. Then get down to the JM and raise a large glass - I'll be raising a very real one shortly. Karen - we'll never forget you, our beloved and inimitable SCACO. Thank you for leading us through the woods. Jane xxx ... View more

We haven't been to Morocco before - we've been to Tunisia and Egypt. This holiday is a special treat - we were supposed to go away in June but had to postpone to September, then my FiL was taken into hospital so we had to cancel. November was the earliest we could plan again, so we decided to go to the warmest place we could get to with our Airmiles/Avios - which was Marrakech. We had great fun at our last meeting - it was at a hairdressers and we had such a giggle (wine might have been involved...) We've also done yoga, had reflexology, beauty treatments etc. Hope all goes really well for your op and hope to see you in 2013. Jane xxx ... View more

It would be lovely to meet you m-c! I won't be at the next one though, on November 27th, as that's the day we fly out to Marrakech for a week 🙂 There's also a group that meet at Bedford Hospital called Bosom Pals, but I've never been to any of their meetings as I didn't want to go to the hospital any more than necessary! Jane xxx ... View more

Hi midgemoo, Whereabouts are you? I live in Turvey. For anyone to the west of Bedford or in the Olney/MK area, there's a support group that meet in Lavendon on the last Tuesday of every month. The website's here http://wereinthepink.org.uk/ or on FB at http://www.facebook.com/#!/WereInThePink?fref=ts . We're a very friendly bunch! 🙂 Jane xxx ... View more

Unfortunately as chemo and rads affect your body in so many different ways, they could lay the blame on those for almost anything. Rads can weaken bones so if you broke something they might attempt to blame the rads... I wouldn't have travelled with BC cover, but lots of women do take the risk and have been fine. Jane xxx ... View more

We went to the Alps in August, a month after I finished rads. I was able to ride up the mountains in the ski lifts and walk down, doing several walks of 2-3 hours each. 6-8 weeks previously I hadn't been able to get upstairs without stopping three times for a rest as I had such a bad reaction to Tax. I thought I'd be spending the week lounging around and admiring the view, but I wa astonished at how well I'd recovered and the holiday did me a world of good. You CAN get travel insurance. I had grade 3 / stage 3A with quite extensive node involvement and got insurance through Bromley/Insure Pink. When I phoned them I was still having rads and was taking Tamoxifen so was having two forms of treatment. They gave me quote which wasn't too bad (I think about £135) , then told me what it would be if I waited to take out the policy until I'd finished rads, so was only having one form of treatment. It was a lot less (can't remember now but considerably less than £100 for 10 days in France). They gave me a reference no. so the day after I finished rads I phoned them back and activated the policy. There's always the risk that your chemo might be delayed for some reason if your SEs worsen (and with FEC they do tend to get a bit worse with each one and you get more tired), which would mean your rads get delayed, but if you've been OK so far it's probably worth the risk! Apart from anything else, it gives you something lovely to look forward to at the end of treatment! Jane xxx ... View more

Ditto to what everyone else has said. My surgeon said pretty much the same thing as Alix's. He told me that a delay of three weeks in starting treatment wouldn't worry him at all, but he wouldn't really be happy with three months. After all, in most cases the tumour has taken several years to get to the stage where it's detectable, so a few more weeks or so won't make any difference. Hugs to you, and well done to your surgeon for making the suggestion and you for having the courage to do it. At least now you know you've given yourself every possible chance of avoidng the MX and if you do end up having it you'll know it really was absolutely necessary. I don't know about you, but I plan to be around for an awful lot longer. There's too much more I want to do in my life and a few extra scars and less breast tissue certainly isn't going to stop me! Jane xxx ... View more

All the very best of luck Faye. Jane xxx ... View more

There was an article published a little while ago that said the protective effects of Tamoxifen continued for much longer than was previously thought, so I'm sure you'll be fine stopping it now. 🙂 There are quite a few alternatives that you can take, so I imagine you'll be moved to one of those once they've checked you out fully and found out what's going on. Jane xxx ... View more

Hi Bob, As with Di, there's not much I can add that others haven't already said - once Rosie has her treatment plan it will get easier. Regarding checks to see if it's spread - if her lymph nodes are clear she may well not have any further checks. If she has positive nodes then any combination of MRI, CT and bone scans would be usual as X rays don't necessarily show the right things - I had CT and bone scans, thankfully both clear. And yes, you're right, waiting for the results of those is awful! I'm almost two years down the line from diagnosis now - DX 15th December 2010 and op Christmas Eve, chemo January - May 2011, rads June. When you come out the other side, if you're anything like a lot of us you'll have a rather different outlook on life. Yes, life will never seem quite as safe and predictable again, but from my point of view at least, I'm glad to be alive and intend to make the most of it - the world is such a beautiful and wonderful place once you've looked over that horrible cliff and been able to come back again. All the very best to both of you for tomorrow. Jane xxx ... View more

Hi Kate, I think it's perfectly OK. I finished my rads at the end of June 2011 (15 rads + 4 boosters to the WLE area) and I'm sure my nuked boob is still several degrees warmer than the other one and it's also darker in colour. It also has some very visible dark pores that the BCN gave a name to when she examined me a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember what it was but they're normal too, and are a result of rads. I'm still tender on that side, especially on my ribs where they were caught by the rads and although it's a lot less often now, I do still occasionally get an electric shock feeling through my nipple. My WLE was just below the nipple so that area had the booster dose of rads, so it's not reallyh surprising that it's had a lasting effect. Do speak to your onc if you're concerned, but I'm sure what you describe is all normal. Jane xxx ... View more

Hello July ladies, I've commented on this thread before but not for a while - I was treated last year and I'm an old friend of Smudge65. I just wanted to reassure you that nosebleeds are quite normal during Tax. I had them many times and they only stopped a good few weeks after my last chemo. You should mention them at your next appointment and they might check your RBC but mine was always OK so they weren't concerned. The other annoying SE of Tax is the drippy eyes and nose. It's probably due to the lack of eyelashes and nasal hair (Tax saw mine off good and proper - the last of my body hair!) but you need tissues constantly and I couldn't wear my contact lenses at all. Also, do watch out for the cement digestive system and ask for some Laxido or Movicol sachets early on - they work much better than the pills. Once it's set in it's awfully hard to shift (so to speak!) so I found taking a sachet the day before chemo worked the best. Look after yourselves and wrap up warm in this chilly weather! All my very best wishes and love to you all, Jane xxx ... View more

Here's a large Pinot Grigio raised high to my fellow Woodie SCACO. May you always be happy and loved in the sunlit glade. Keep the welcome warm and the wine chilled for us lovely lady - we'll meet again one day. Jane xxx ... View more

Goodbye Karen. A truly unique and special lady. This disease is so terribly cruel and you've gone far too early. So, so sad. Love and prayers to her husband, children and family. Jane xxx ... View more

I was so upset to hear about Karen's passing this morning and am still in tears now. She was such a wonderfully bright, funny lady with a wicked sense of humour and a tiggerish attitude to life who brought so much ight and laughter into our lives in our dark times through the Dark Woods thread. Much love to Ian and her children and family - I'm sure they know how much she was loved here. RIP to the one and only SCACO. Jane xxx ... View more

You're right MG - transit van it is, but I think a combination of the A Team, Scooby Doo and the Italian Job would probably be about right for SCACO! Jane xxx ... View more

Hi all, Just to let you know that SCACO is still in hospital while they get her treatment sorted out. As of yesterday she was feeling very slightly better so we're all hoping that she's not kept under lock and key for too much longer. Maybe it's time the Woodies sent in the A Team to bust her out... Jane xxx ... View more