Breast Cancer Now Forum

Crack open the bubbly - a red-letter day! Congratulations and well done! Maralyn ... View more

Hey Sunflower16 I get music played to me whilst in the treatment room anyway, but the actual treatment when you are by yourself is minimal. Most of the time the radiologists are with you making sure that you are positioned correctly for your treatment. Please don't be anxious - there's nothing to it and you'll be fine. Just lie there with a big grin on your face! Trust us! ... View more

I suppose that one of the pluses of chemo (as opposed to the countless downsides!) is that I didn't have to worry about shaving my legs or underarms all summer. Today I am 8 weeks since my last chemo and I keep looking at my leg hairs which have started appearing, and, like King Canute, I keep telling them to go back and reappear on my eyelids but they do not take any notice, and just wave at me! Why is it we wait so long for certain hairs to appear, whereas the ones we have previously spent hours in the past getting rid of, come and flaunt themselves shamelessly? Is there no justice in this world?! At least all this points to my ‘green shoots of recovery’ as my body slowly recovers from the battering it has endued these past few months. Anyway, back to the tips for starting radiotherapy - I have also been advised to try and wear cotton and natural fibres next to my skin and avoid underwired bras. I bought some Sloggi crop-tops to wear in bed after my mx with reconstruction and these are a good idea as they give you some support, but are lovely and soft against your skin. They wash well and are quick to dry too which at this time of the year is important too. They cost around £10. I think that this is worth bearing in mind too. I had my 6th of 15 rads today and asked the radiologist if the treatment makes you feel tight and stiff in the underarm area as I seem to be finding raising my arm on the treated side uncomfortable. She said this can happen as the area becomes inflammed, and recommended that I now start doing my post-operative exercises again, and continue for a couple of weeks after my treatment finishes. ... View more

Just a quick one to say that, if you are not prescribed aqueous cream, you can buy it over the counter relatively cheaply. Remember too that your breast tissue extends beyond your boob so apply it over a wider area for better protection going up to your neck, extending to your underarms and down your torso. Also, I was told not to use deodorant either when having my radiotherapy session so let's be thankful that this is not hot, sweaty weather!! ... View more

Had my 5th of 15 rads today and the glass of wine with my dinner went down a treat! Might even have a night-cap!! Cheers! Have a great weekend and looking forward to hearing all about it! Maralyn ... View more

Hi Jeannete i have to agree with Marian101 and say 'go with it'. I, too, have had an MX with reconstruction, chemo, rads (5 down and 10 more to go) and herceptin. I have been told that the treatment I have been offered is 'belt and braces' and my insurance policy against a re-occurance. I was offered trials for my rads because, apparently of every 10 women undergoing it, 9 are found not to need it. However, I decided that as I was the '1 in 8' diagnosed in the first place, how could I be sure that I wouldn't be the '1 in 10' who would need the rads? I am taking everything I am offered as I am going to beat this. So, just like Marian101, I say YES, YES, YES to rads too! Maralyn ... View more

Hi there Just in from my 5th radiotherapy session so only 10 more to go. So far so good, and I have been recommended to use Simple Soap, apply aqueous cream and only pat the area dry. I have been told that any soreness or redness is likely to appear 2 weeks after treatment finishes which for me will be over the Christmas period!! Let's hope the aqueous cream does the trick! As for tiredness, I'm not at work at the mo which I think is a big help, especially at this time of the year when it is so grey and miserable out. So far the most tiresome part is the 60 mile round-trip journey, and because car-parking is so bad I make sure that I get to the hospital well ahead of the visiting time parking to be sure of a space. The only trouble is this means a lot more hanging around waiting for my appointment, but, hey - you can't win 'em all! Compared to chemo, radiotherapy is a doddle, and, as Cherrytom says you get tattoos into the bargain! ... View more

Good luck for next week. The op is the easy bit - it's the waiting for results that is the hardest part! Postive thinking ... View more

Hey - now i'm wondering if you have lavender boobs hence your name Lavender Lassie?! ... View more

Glad to hear that your op went well smfmum, and fingers crossed for your results. ... View more

Congratulations Techo I have my 5th next week so 1/3 of the way through for me and my 3rd MUGA scan is due on Dec 12th - 1st reading was 87 and the 2nd was 80 so hoping for similar result. My veins gave up after 3 FECs so have a subcutaneous port to see me through the rest of my herceptins. All the best to my fellow HER2 positives out there! Keep smiling xx ... View more

Hello smfmum I remember my BCN saying to me, after I had received my diagnosis, that, once I had got over the shock, I would become calm, and she was right. I found my lump in March and has my mx with reconstruction in April. My lymph nodes were clear. I have finished chemo and started on my radiotherapry, and am also on herceptin. My BCN said that they will get me through this, and, with the support of my family, friends and colleagues too, as well as this website, they will. Remember that every year in this country 48,000 women are given the same news as we were given so we are not alone. Stay positive and you will find that you are strong enough to beat this. Keep smiling 🙂 ... View more

Well done, Libsue Remember - a trouble shared is a trouble halved. Hope that you sleep well tonight and enjoy the soup! ... View more

Hi Anoifmaeve I had my masectomy with reconstruction in April - my tumour was 2.8cm in size, and followed this with 3 FEC and 3 Docetaxel chemos and started radiotherapy today - 1st of 15. I am also on Herceptin, and my lymph nodes were clear. My op was at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, and my reconstruction was with an implant as my main priority was to get rid of the cancer and worry about aesthetics at a later date if needs be, but I do know that my Breast Surgeon also does private work at the BMI Hospital in Bury St Edmunds - here is the link http://www.bmihealthcare.co.uk/consultant/consultantdetails?p_name=Jane-Aitken&p_id=49164 She is brilliant (as are the rest of the team at the West Suffolk Hospital and my GPs at School Lane Surgery in Thetford) In fact, when I had my 1st appointment at the Norfolk & Norwich hospital where I am having my radiotherapy treatment, the oncologist commented on what a good job had been done on me as regards the reconstruction. Bury St Edmunds is in Suffolk so a bit of a hike from your neck of the woods, not the other end of the world but a recommendation nonetheless. I only had an overnight stay for my op anyway so worth investigating? See what your GP thinks Good luck and let me know how you get on. ... View more

As you say Wandy, a minefield for us in knowing whether to carry on with our lifestyles as before, or look at absolutely everything that we put in or on our bodies as a matter of course, and probably end up by becoming neurotic in the process! We may think that we eat healthily, but do we know the full facts all of the time? I think that if we try and use natural products as far as we can then we are taking a step in the right direction, but it is all about striking a balance. I have heard of some who have given up meat, alcohol, processed foods etc etc after their diagnosis, but who can say why they succumbed to their cancer in the 1st place? Why do some non-smokers get lung cancer and some heavy smokers do not? The reason to avoid parabens is that they mimic oestrogen which some breast cancers feed off. Again, it seems that there is a lot of research around on the subject. Don't forget that there are other natural sources of oestrogen to avoid too such as evening primrose oil. Here are a couple of links concerning parabens, but there are plenty more out there. http://www.health-report.co.uk/parabens.htm http://www.thegoodhuman.com/2007/06/21/what-are-parabens-and-why-should-you-avoid-them/ Happy reading, and why not ask your hairdresser if they have any natural hair products that they can use on your hair in future, and if not, perhaps they can start stocking them for you and other customers? I think that plenty of tlc is the order of the day for our new crop of hair and I am going to try the herbatint product once I have grown enough hair! Good luck and looking forward seeing your lustrous locks! ... View more

Helo Libsue I tell people that Docetaxel has a 'sting in it's tail'. My chemo followed on from my masectomy with reconstruction and I started with 3 FECs followed by 3 Docetaxels and I know which of the 2 I prefer!!! OK - the FEC made my veins collapse so that I now have a sub-cutaneous port inserted as I am on Herceptin for a year, and I was sick on the 1st evening after FECs 1 & 2, and it did give me a headache, but compared to the 'Dreaded Docetaxel' FEC is a doddle. In fact, I felt so awful after my 1st TAX that I had to delay my 1st herceptin, and I felt as if I had doubled in age overnight! To make matters worse I must have been grinding my teeth so hard during that night that I managed to break a tooth! My legs even ached in bed. I am now 6 weeks after my last Docetaxel and the dreaded chemo gremlins are still hanging on in there! I have swollen ankles due to fluid retention which is making my legs ache and feel like lead weights, I feel and look like a barrage balloon, and my feet and fingers tingle like mad. I feel worse now than I did after each of my docetaxel doses, and my chemo nurse said that this is often the case with residual chemo effects hanging around for a couple of months after the last chemo dose. My hair is beginning to grow back, albeit fuzzy so that I look like a 'fuzzy-wuzzy' badger! I will never, ever complain about having a bad-hair day again!!! However, my eyebrows seem determined to continue to disappear going the same way as my eyelashes. My nails are beginning to recover with pink bits pushing out the horrible discoloured bits, and the hairs on my legs are putting in an appearance once more! I start my radiotherapy tomorrow so, and am due to have 15 sessions, the last being on December 7th so at least I can look forward to all my treatment (other than the herceptin which is not chemo) being over before Christmas. I know that this doesn't sound very inspiring, but stick with it - if it didn't do the job then we wouldn't be given it. At your next pre-chemo session tell your chemo-nurse how you are feeling and I am sure that they can come up with some way of alleviating your symtons, but don't suffer in silence! All I can say is that at my very first appointment with my Oncologist way back in June I was told that the chemotherapy treatment I was going to receive was referred to by the initials of the drugs in question – FEC-T. For those of you who are fans of Father Ted I would say that never was a treatment so aptly named! ... View more

Yes, I agree with you on TAX being a different matter altogether. I started with 3 FECs followed by 3 Docetaxels and I know which of the 2 I prefer!!! OK - the FEC made my veins collapse so that I now have a sub-cutaneous port inserted as I am on Herceptin for a year, and I was sick on the 1st evening after FECs 1 & 2, and it did give me a headache, but compared to the 'Dreaded Docetaxel' FEC is a doddle. I am now 6 weeks after my last Docetaxel and the dreaded chemo gremlins are still hanging on in there! I have swollen ankles due to fluid retention which is making my legs ache and feel like lead weights, I feel and look like a barrage balloon, and my feet and fingers tingle like mad. I feel worse now than I did after each of my docetaxel doses, and my chemo nurse said that this is often the case with residual chemo effects hanging around for a couple of months after the last chemo dose. My hair is beginning to grow back, albeit fuzzy so that I look like a 'fuzzy-wuzzy' badger! I will never, ever complain about having a bad-hair day again!!! However, my eyebrows seem determined to continue to disappear going the same way as my eyelashes. I start my radiotherapy tomorrow so, and am due to have 15 sessions, the last being on December 7th so at least I can look forward to all my treatment (other than the herceptin which is not chemo) being over before Christmas. All I can say is that at my very first appointment with my Oncologist way back in June I was told that the chemotherapy treatment I was going to receive was referred to by the initials of the drugs in question – FEC-T. For those of you who are fans of Father Ted I would say that never was a treatment so aptly named! ... View more

Think you need to change your name now Tolliebelle to 'Purple Haze'! ... View more

Hi Lulu I am now 6 weeks on from my last 'Dreaded Docetaxel' and, as far as I am concerned it has a 'sting in its tail'! I have found that the residual effects of this are far worse than what I seemed to encounter after each of my previous doses. I had 3 x FEC followed by 3 x docetaxel. Luckily I have kept my fingernails and toenails, but I still have tingly fingers and feet, as well as the fluid retention which makes my legs ache. By the end of the day my ankles have disappeared following the way of my eyelashes and eyebrows! My head hair is fuzzing nicely though, and the hairs on my legs too! I have been told by my chemo nurse that residual chemo takes a good 6 to 8 weeks to disappear so let's hope that she is correct for me and your mum. ... View more