Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thanks again ladies. My chemo nurse says most people have a wobbly at some point during treatment. Especially at this stage where you are fed up of the side effects, the sore mouth, constipation. Not feeling like a woman, let alone looking like one! Her words were 'its short term pain for long term gain'. Very true. She also said if I have a million more wobblies before my next dose just to call her. I promise not to. Love to all you wonderful people. mandyxxx ... View more

Linda, I take on board what you say about alternative medicine. I just think its a shame that we don't spend more money studying some of the natural things on this earth to see how they affect diseases. When you look at the original ingredients of some drugs they come from tree bark and foxglove. I am sure the cure from cancer is in the back of someones fridge somewhere!! With regards to the diet thing, I don't think we will ever know. I think if we are feeling we are doing the best for our own individual bodies then that positive thinking can only help destress us and hopefully cause us less ill health. xx ... View more

Hi Gerty01 I had my surgery first so a little different to your case. Have you had to have chemo because of the size of your tumour or because of the grade? I have had 3 FEC and 1 Tax. I have to say Tax has knocked me about. I had it last Wednesday and only just starting to get out and about again slowly. Make sure you take painkillers and I had bad heartburn from the steroids so get some Lansopraozole from your doctor. Prevention is better than cure. it does hurt, i won't lie. There will be a thread around with people in who are going through chemo at the same tiime as you. I am in the August one. It really helps as you are all at the same place in treatment so you support each other. I don't have a PICC but others do so they will give you info. Good luck with it all. mandyj.xx ... View more

Carrie35 I am with you all the way. Not even taking BC into account sugar as we know it (granulated from Tate & Lyle) is poison. That is hard for me to say as a sweet tooth! All foods have their natural sugars and the processed refined crap that is around to make life more convenient for us is not doing us any good. Just look at obesity!! I was a nurse in the NHS for 18 years and you have to understand that as professionals we are limited to the advice that we can give our patients. We are not allowed to advocate alternative treatments just the conventional ones that are chosen by NICE as guidelines. You have to follow the protocols and give evidence based information to inform patients. But when these are all coming from the same sources i.e funded by the drug companies, we never get to see how other remedies may work. If you cannot patent a treatment then it will never be used to treat people, and it may just work. I am not saying that all research is rubbish, it clearly is not. But where the drug companies have the power and the money it will always be western medicine as we know it now. ... View more

Hi Ladies Spoke to my lovely chemo nurse and she said that 6 doses are the gold standard of treatment and if she was in my shoes she would have it. She does not want to see me back in years to come regretting my decision to stop. She told me to sleep on it another night and ring her in the morning. I will do it. I am a stronger person than that. I am stubborn and don,t like things to beat me. I have to remind myself of that dreadful moment when they told me I had cancer and know that I never want to hear that again. June22 thanks for your post. The 91% thing was from the adjuvant online stuff that the onc does. With my type of cancer and age I had an 86% chance of survival after ten years with the surgery alone. With chemo it bumped me up to 91% and then this does not even add radiotherapy and tamoxifen into the equation. The onc practically shrugged his shoulders and said you will be cured (but not in those exact words, they never use cured!) So again, this prompts my common sense brain to carry on with the chemo. If you girls can all do it then so will I. All for one as they say. mandyj.xx ... View more

Sorry swoot, didn't mean to miss you out there. You too were right. Once out of the Tax fog things are clearer. Enjoy Scotland. I went there on honeymoon. Its stunning! mandyj.xx ... View more

Jackster50 your post made me cry. Today I had made the decision not to have any more chemo. I had spoken to the oncs secretary and the chemo nurses to say I was not coming again. Since reading what you put I am waiting for the chemo nurses to call me back as I want to tell them I will continue. I think all the pain and heartburn made me think I cannot do this. Once the human feelings come back you see that you can dig deep and get through 2 more. I have been reading the survival statistics for younger women with breast cancer and I realised that I need to de everything for my little boy to try and cure this forever. Thank you again Sika and Jackster50 for your support. it has made all the difference. mandyj.xxx ... View more

Thanks for your reply Sika. I will definately get all the info before I make a decision. You are right about how it makes you feel and think. I hope you do better with your next dose. Thinking of you. mandyj.xx ... View more

Girls I am in a quandry! I am seriously considering stopping my chemo after 4 doses. The Tax has made me feel so ill and the thought of putting it in my body again scares me. Onc says he can reduce it or I can go back on FEC but to be honest I just want to stop it all and take control over my life again. I had a chat with a nurse on the Macmillan helpline this morning who said that the decision would be the right one for me whatever I decided. I had a grade 2 IDC with one positive lymph node. It was 18mm and had not spread anywhere else. They are happy that it is gone and that chemo was an insurance policy so, for the sake of a couple of percent risk I think I will take my chances. I have been given a 91% survival rate without adding radiotherapy into the equation. I probably have less odds every time i cross the road! Nothing is certain in life and people still get cancer again after all the doses. I am still happy to have the radio and Tamoxifen but right now I have had enough. I cannot live the rest of my days in fear of this disease as we do not know what will happen. Spoke with my onc about it and he said 6 doses are better than 3! Not helping there much. He was not set against it and I have a couple of weeks to decide before next dose is due. I have looked through old posts/threads on here of people feeling the same but they are no longer on here now to tell you what decision they made. Sorry for the rambling, my head is everywhere. mandyj.xx ... View more

Hi all Spent my first afternoon in A+E yesterday as I had terrible chest pain. Never had to call 999 for myself before! I did have the first dose of Tax last Wednesday and the pain turned out to be the bone and muscle pain alongside heartburn. It scared me though because nothing was shifting it. I don't think I took enough preventative pain killers for the bone pain. To be honest i was not expecting it in my rib cage! Anyone else had rib and chest pain with the Tax? mandyj.x ... View more

Hi all Had my sore armpit lump thing checked today. Its an inter mammary lymph node/gland. It looks perfectly normal and healthy and my docs think it has just become swollen because of my cold. It's still delicate around that area as its only been 3 months since the surgery. If it has not gone in 3 to 4 weeks they will scan it again. i did get a look at my scan before my surgey so I saw my abnormal lynph nodes. There is definately a different shape and colour to this one. It looks like it should - thank god! Had a temporary filling put in my dodgy tooth. Got to go back in Dec, after my final dose of chemo, to have it took out and filled properly - such fun! Yes, I am a Miranda fan. Sika I cannot believe how much time you have had to spend in hopsital. You must be gutted that it has affected you so much. One day all this will be a distant memory to us all. I think we all look forward to day where we wake up feeling fit and healthy and can spend hoours shampooing and blow drying our hair!! Bring on the Tax! (I am trying to convince myself it will be fine). luv to you all mandyj.xxx ... View more

Hi all Not having the Tax tomorrow. The nurses took one look at me when i went up today and said no! I obviously ooze cold symptoms. My nose is still a little too snotty for their liking so I am booked for next Wed instead. Only a few days delay. Will still be done before christmas (apart form the radiotherapy). I popped up to see my BCN as I have a sore bit under the area where my nodes were removed, below the scar line. There is a tiny hard bit that moves around. It may have always been there and I have not noticed before. She is not concerned about it but they are going to scan it on Monday to see what it is. She thinks it may just be scar tissue or a stitch! I suppose I have been feeling low with my cold and it all feels a bit sore. It does feel like the soreness you get with the nerve endings returning to normal. I mentioned before that I get sore/numb around my scar lines during my periods. I should have started another about now but there are no signs this time. Maybe my poor boob and armpit are a bit confused. Its a good job I am not going tomorrow as this afternoon a piece of tooth chipped off - ouch!!! Going to see dentist tomorrow instead. I think I spend more time in clinical settings now than I did when I worked as a nurse!! Swoot- good luck for tomorrow. Let me know how you get on. take care everyone mandyj xxx ... View more

Hi all Had internet issues at home so not been here for a while. I am due my first Tax on Friday but I have a cold, which I caught from my little boy! My bloods are fine and I did not have a temperature so they are happy to go ahead but its up to me I think, I am to ring them in the morning to see how I feel. I am scared of having the Tax, which is mad,because I should have been more scared when I had the first FEC, suppose I was just naive back then to it all. My veins are still sore and very dark too. Very sore if you knock your arm and hurts as you straighten it. My friends mom had lots of chemo over the years before she finally passed away and she said her moms veins recovered well and she never had any problem having her blood taken, so hope all our veins recover too. I have to admit that I forgot to ask about the palpitations so will mention it when I speak to the nurses. Hope you all feel well soon if you currently feel rough. Getting excited as christmas stuff appearing in shops which means the end is nigh!! mandyj.xxxx ... View more

HI Alipalli I had a therapeutic mammoplasty in July for Grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. i also had a node clearance done at the same time. I was told by my consultant that a lumpectomy does not always give a clear margin and 1 in 4 women end up going back under the knife for further tissue removal. The mammoplasty is where they take a larger portion of breast tissure than a lumpectomy so clear margins are probably easier to get. then you basically get a boob reduction and uplift at the same time. they can offer this if you have a fuller/larger breast (i was a double d cup size). the surgery was not too painful at all and the results are very good. to be honest I am still fitting comfortably into my old bra and you cannot tell i have had any surgey done with my clothes on. the scars are fading well too. My cancer was all removed. one lymph node positive so i am now half way through chemo with radiotherapy to follow. i will get Tamoxifen but I do not know much yet about hormone treatment - sorry. Hope this has helped. feel free to post on here, my husband came on here before i plucked up the courage to do so myself. mandyj.x ... View more

I have watched a few interesting programmes about cannabis. It does have anti cancer and anti oxidant properties. In fact THC would cure most illnesses but it is the drug cartels and the petrochemical companies who stop its use. It was deemed a dangerous drug! Its as though the powers that be do not want us to be well. It keeps the population down if we are all popping our clogs of different diseases. Cannabis is a natural plant with medicinal properties that have been known for thousands of years. if they ever relax the laws on it the drug companies will be the first ones in there to make their cash and it will be as available as paracetamol. After being diagnosed with cancer and having chemo (god knows what toxins we are having put through our bodies) cannabis seems like a good option! I too have MS and I know that it benefits the symptoms of that too. There is a man called (i think) Ricky Simmons in either America or Canada who extracts the natural Hemp from the cannabis and states to have cured terminally ill cancer patients with it. They take two droplets on their tongue twice a day and thats about it! he has been arrested so many times for supplying drugs but he keeps going. His first patient was his dad - bless him. One time when he was in court they would not allow the people he had cured of cancer to testify on his behalf! What does that tell you. Have a look into it, it's very interesting. Good luck with everything mandyj.xx ... View more

Hi ladies Not been on for a while as have been rough for a few days. 3rd FEC last Thurs and all was well but by day 3 I had the nausea from hell. The worst so far. Could not move for the last 4 days without feeling sick and as though my stomach was on a spin cycle! I also wondered if any of you have strange palpitation type feelings when you are awake with steroid induced insomnia? I feel like my heart is going to stop and I am sure my pulse gets weaker. It makes me panic. Once I am off the steroids I do not seem to have it. Am rather scared of taking the higher dose ready for the Tax in case my heart does stop!!! paranoid or what? Maybe just a bit mad. I was watching some a+e type program the other night and some woman has chest pain and it turned out to be a spasm in her oesophagus, do you think it could be that? I must ask the chemo nurses. I am driving them mad at the moment, what with needing Emend for the next dose and mouth gel for the soreness. I don't want them thinking I am a hyperchondriac!! Nurses do make the worst patients - ha ha. Luvvie66 - I too am a piece of fuzzy felt! Ellaboo - I am getting those how ARE you questions. The headscarf is a winner for sympathy. The lad serving me in the co-op today was really worried that I wouldn't manage with my one carrier bag! It only had a pizza and some garlic bread in it! I might get a T shirt printed that says 'I feel better than I probably look'. Take care all luv mandyj.xxx ... View more

Hooray. 3rd FEC has gone in today. Half way there!! I have been reading a book about diet and breast cancer by Suzannah Olivier, very interesting. Took her advice and started eating more healthily (organic where possible) and checked with onc about taking vitamins etc. I started taking multi vitamins with olive oil, co-enzyme Q10, aloe vera, evening primrose oil and hemp oil (that tastes fowl), about a week ago. This time my pre chemo bloods were almost back to the levels I had before I ever started on chemo! My WCC and neutrophils were twice as high this time compared to after the first dose! Not sure if its a fluke but they won't do me any harm. Its true what they say, you are what you eat. Hope you are all well. mandyj.xx ... View more

OMG! I have a few days away from my computer and you all seem to be visiting hospitals! So sorry to you ladies that have been suffering. Hope you have got through the worst bits. So far so good for me but it just goes to show that you don't even need to feel ill and you can still be septic! Have not checked my temp for days as I have been too busy living a normal life prior to my next dose on Thursday next week. Will check my temp now! My white blood cells and neutrophils were only half as good before the 2nd dose so there was less to fight back with this time. Enjoy the weekend and the sun whilst its here. luv mandyj.xx ... View more

Hi Kerry I am 36 and was diagnosed at the end of May with grade 2 IDC. My armpit ultrasound looked dodgy so had biopsy done, which showed cancer cells. I had a therapeutic mammoplasty (a WLE and a boob reduction at the same time, as it takes more tissue away) and node clearance. Lump was 18mm, 1 out of 5 lymph nodes positive, ER+ and HER2 -. I went to the same scary place as you as I have a 3 year old boy. I was convinced it had spread and that I was riddled. It consumed my every thought and I cried so much about dying young and not seeing my boy grow up that I think I ran out of tears. I was told that if 4 or more lymph nodes were positive they CT scanned you. Well that terrified me! I think being a nurse made it worse. A little knowledge is dangerous. I ran around the house crying with joy when they said one! There comes a point where you accept what is happening. It is usually once you have all the results back and have a date for treatment. Until that day you are in no mans land. Its hell, there is no doubt about it. I had my surgery in July and have now had 2 doses of FEC-T chemo. Its not pleasant and I wish it was all over but it has to be done. They said that even if my nodes were clear they would have offered chemo as it bumps up your chances of it never returning if they throw everything at you. I will have 3 weeks of radiotherapy after the chemo finishes and then my life starts again. Just be prepared to take a year out of your life to beat this, but if that year gives you decades more it is worth it. Don't worry about the thoughts you may be having, they are normal. Good luck love and hugs mandyj.xx ... View more

Hi I am not bouncing back as quick second time around, which is disappointing. June22 I too find my scars a little tender and seem more red. Not sure why! I also seem to go a bit numb around my boob. I am wondering if this is more to do with my multiple sclerosis as my right leg goes numb and pathetic for a few days too! I seem to get a sinus type nauseating headache from day 6 onwards. It's just one thing after another! Love and hugs to you all mandyj.xx ... View more