Breast Cancer Now Forum

Keep going with the exercises ladies. They do work. When I did the 'walking your hands up the wall' one I did it on a door with panels and was able to see week on week that I was getting a little further. It's a great feeling the first time you reach up to get plates off a shelf in the kitchen and it doesn't hurt. I am 2 and a half months down the line (bilateral) and I am thinking about cleaning windows now. Never imagined I would ever be able to do that again. Good luck with the results bt. Hope it's good news this time. ... View more

Commiserations Maclinsky. I know what you mean by feeling back to square one when you find out the margins are not clear. I had a bilateral without reconstruction so can't really advise on how you will feel or the recuperation time for you. What I can say is that the thought of it all was worse than the actuality. If you like your job and it is not strenuous then I suppose that it would be good therapy to return when the doctors recommend it and once you feel strong enough. Take your time though and accept all offers of help because it is major surgery. I hope it all goes well for you. Others will be able to advise on the post op effects and timescales ... View more

Hi again Bubbletrouble I started with the Bio Oil before all the scabby bits had gone. I just missed out the worst bits. I also used the Bio Oil all over my upper chest especially on the knotty hard muscley bits above my actual scars. I felt that the massaging might stimulate the nerves and get them all joined up and settled. That sounds very unmedical and probably not at all corect but as I said things gradually settled down until one day I realised that the sensitivity had gone. Glad you are also doing your stretching exercises. ... View more

Hi Duckess I also had a bilateral mastectomy 3 months ago because of unclear margins. It is perfectly normal to be afraid of what is to come. I focused a lot on the fact that I had clear nodes and how the mastectomy might be the worst thing I would have to face. It turned out to be that way - no chemo or rads. The anaesthetics these days are a lot better than in previous times and the pain relief offered works well. The thought of it all is often worse than the reality. I found that to be the case. It wasn't a walk in the park but it was perfectly manageable. I feel fine now. ... View more

I am three months post surgery and I know that this is it for me. I am retired and able go about breast free a lot of the time but I do wear my softies if I am out in company. In a weird kind of way I feel special. I have come through a few months of the kind of trauma that my two breasted friends cannot imagine and I feel stronger for having got to the other end. I know that you are never quite out of the woods, as it were, but I never have to fear again that any doctor can tell me for the first time that there is cancer in my body. ... View more

Hi Bubbletrouble, I am very happy to report that the sensitivity gradually disappeared after a few weeks. While it was bad I found that close fitting underwear made of satin or silk helped a lot. ... View more

Best wishes from another double mx survivor (no recon) - 3 months ago. I hope you are all as lucky as I was with no post op complications. The thought of it all was definitely worse than the actuality. Take all the help you are offered in your recovery period and allow yourselves to miss what you have lost. It is still early days for me but I now feel so well and relieved that the biggest worries are behind me. I will follow your progress with interest. Rose x ... View more

I miss mine too. We are bound to. They were part of us for so long and visual reminders of femininity. However I tell myself that life is more important and that in any case the person who is me is unchanged. ... View more

I really wish medical people would stop saying that pain does not mean breast cancer. I suppose in some cases it doesn't but in my case it was the only symptom I had. Because of this I didn't bother going to the doctor and waited a couple of years till my next routine mammogram. I examined myself silly and to this day never did find any lumps. In the end there were 3 IDS lumps in my left breast and one with ILC in my right. I ended up having a double mastectomy after a WLE failed to get clear margins. I am willing to accept that this may have been the eventual outcome in any case but I think that there is this erroneous theory around in some quarters about breast pain being ok. Nadia, I hope that your pain turn out to be nothing. However I think that you have been treated rather shoddily by the sounds of it and for your peace of mind you should get a further opinion. ... View more

Hi Barbarama I had a double mx without reconstruction two months ago. I had ILC in my right breast and IDC in my left. I can honestly say it was not nearly as bad as I had imagined. For the last few weeks I have been doing most of what I could do before the op. I was in hospital from Tuesday till Saturday. I had 4 drains which were removed gradually – the last one coming out on the morning I was discharged. They don’t need to be emptied. Once the drains are out it is much easier. You will be given pain medication to help until things settle down. You will need help when you get home because lifting, stretching and any jerky movements eg hoovering and ironing have to be avoided. You will be well able to do the little things like making a cup of tea etc and if the weather is good you should be able to go to the park with your boys. Think you should have another adult with you though in the early days. You should start off with the gentle exercises first and then increase when you feel ready. That way the strength in your arms comes back over a few weeks. Good luck. You have youth on your side so I am sure you will be fine. I am an old codger of 64. Rose xx ... View more

I am 8 weeks post double mx and can confirm what the others are saying ie the reality is nowhere as bad as the thought of it. Take the pain relief advice you are given and don't try to be too brave about it. The pills really do work. About a week after my op I experienced a lot of skin sensitivity to the extent that the feel of clothes on my skin hurt a bit. I found that wearing anything made of silk or satin next to it felt better. That cleared up after a couple of weeks but it was something I hadn't expected so of course worried that it would be there forever. The likelihood is that you won't even experience it. Start off with the very gentle exercises and don't overdo them. I introduced the harder ones gradually when I felt ready for them. I am amazed now at how far up the wall I can walk my fingers compared to when I first tried it. Good luck. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. I am sure it will. Rose ... View more

I had a double mx without reconstruction in Dec and asked at my post op results meeting last month how I would be checked in future given that I will not have mammograms. I was told that it will be done through clinical examination. I had a lot of stuff to take in at that meeting so I didn't query further but I will bring the subject up again at future check ups. I would also be interested in what others have experienced. Rose ... View more

It’s all true. I brought it on myself by daring to live to 64. I was stupid enough to let myself be born to a mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 73 and a father who died of prostrate cancer. I should never have had those children in my thirties. Why did I become a teacher and let myself be subjected to all that stress? There must have been a way of preventing myself from being one of life’s worrier types. And the biggie for me was being silly enough to respond to that breast screening. I could have been happily wandering around cancer free like all the older women who weren’t screened 30 years ago if I had just stuck my head in the sand. My bad! But wait! I have never been on the pill or had hormone replacement therapy. I hardly touched alcohol till middle age. I fed my first child till he was 9 months old. While never having qualified for the Olympics I have taken part in many sports for leisure and walked a fair bit. I have never been sylph like but neither would anyone have described me as obese. I indulge a wee bit now and then but by and large I eat a well balanced diet. It’s all bollocks! There are extremes here and there, perhaps, that will affect onset of BC but most of us just muddle through life hoping we will not be one of the unlucky ones who get it. As others have said let’s just rejoice in the fact that the survival rate is miles better than it was when I was born and is increasing all the time. Rose ... View more

I bought a nice satin button up the front nightie from BHS. It had a matching padded coat hanger covered in the same material as the nightie. I felt right posh. I am size 16 BTW. Rose ... View more

That sounds reassuring Jo. I will let you know how I get on. I am not quite ready yet. My BCN is arranging an appointment for me. Being completely breast free I suppose I can choose to be whatever size I want:) Somwhow I think I will stick to what I was. My trouble just now is that wearing a bra with my softies, I keep thinking it is riding up since there is nothing much to hold it down. I am hoping that the weight of the permanent ones solves this problem. I am finding the M&S vests with the built in bra thing are best in the meantime. Rose ... View more

Thanks Jo I think I will take your advice and phone beforehand. My nearest place is Edinburgh. Rose ... View more

Thank you from me too ladies. My BCN advised me to go to the local M&S to be measured and fitted with a bra which I should take along to the prosthesis person at the clinic. I admit to being a bit embarrassed at the thought of someone in a shop seeing my quite extensive scars. I am told that they have people there who are trained and will be used to this. Has anyone else been to have this done? How did it go and were you a bit reluctant like me beforehand? Rose ... View more

Hi Jojo I had my (double) mx in December too and am now at the stage where I am starting to think about the permanent prostheses. I would be interested to hear how you and others have got on. Rose ... View more

If you are as determined as you sound then I think you should put the emphasis on the imbalance in your body after the mx and the trauma this will cause rather than your fears that the cancer will return. It is much easier for the health professionals to argue against the healthy breast being removed than it is to gauge your psychological feelings on being left with one boob. My case was different to yours in that I had residual cancer in both breasts even after lumpectomies so there was little choice for me. Be warned though that it is major surgery and that recovery takes time. I hope that in the end you get the outcome that puts you at ease. Rose ... View more