Breast Cancer Now Forum

Evening all. Sounds like everyone is making the most of the bank holiday weekend. Wildpearl, I'm very impressed with your painting. I always hate doing the ceiling, it makes my arms ache even when I'm at full strength. I can't imagine attempting that at the moment. I've been using dark nail varnish on my nails since a started Tax. Up until now they have been in pretty good shape. However, in the last week they seem to be falling apart which is slightly painful and very annoying. I think my thumb nail may have broken right down at the base. So a put a plaster on it to stick it on and protect it. Unfortunately, I think some of the sticky bit of the plaster is now attached to the nail, so it is only a matter of time until the whole thing is going to come off. That's not going to look good and I'm slightly concerned it's going to be rather painful. Other thumb feeling quite tender as well, I think it may be about to fall off too. Otherwise, feeling less tired in the sense that I don't fall asleep on the sofa as soon as I sit down, but still very short of breath. My Dad and step mother are coming to stay for a few days tomorrow, so will be busy entertaining them most of the week. Can't believe the school holidays are almost over. In 2 weeks time we will be in the UK taking my 13 year old to boarding school for the first time. I was hoping to have enough hair to go commando by then, but I think that might be a little ambitious and as the weather seems to have got colder I think my head might be too cold to have nothing on it anyway. My 10 year old says my head currently feels like a hedgehog. Charming! Hope everybody has a good nights sleep, whether at home or in your hotel room. Enjoy, night night ... View more

Morning everyone. We are back from holiday. I've been reading thru the forum and I'm afraid I'm struggling to remember everything. However, Joan I'm not surprised your family are reeling from the sudden death of your brother in law. It does seem cruel to have gone through surgery and then die suddenly. At the risk of sounding trite (?sp) it does make you think 'seize the day'. Your family must be busy now sorting all the arrangements. I hope it goes smoothly. Rosie, I'm not surprised you are feeling fed up. The constant trips to medical institutions and feeling less than 100% is so draining. I think having had surgery and chemo we all just want to feel instantly normal again but it doesn't seem to work like that. Bumped into my GP on the ferry back from France and she said it is a year long process, so I guess we all have a few more months of recovery time to go yet, but we will get there. I'm still very short of breath and my limbs are pathetic. I feel like my legs and arms have done a major workout at the gym just putting the washing in the machine. I managed to cycle once to the boulangerie with my boys whilst on holiday. It was a 5 minute cycle and I was so slow and felt completely knackered when I got back. The holiday was great though. We all had a good time and it was great to have a change of scene. Now it is back to reality, getting things ready for kids new school year. Need to get everything done this week as various members of the family are coming to stay from this weekend till school starts. Had my 4th herceptin injection yesterday and started tamoxifen today. Hopefully I will be like Wildpearl and not suffer too many side effects. Husband not looking forward to me becoming a menopausal maniac! ... View more

Rosie, I'm not surprised you are fed up. But at least you made it to the uk for the wedding and you can look forward to having some good times with your son and his fiancée. The holes do not sound nice, but I assume he can use them to drain any fluid or clot. Wildpurl, if it's any concellation, my ankles seem quite puffy as well. They seem quite bad first thing in the morning which doesn't make sense to me, but I have just come back from my echo which was fine so I am assuming my heart must be functioning ok. Let's hope it settles down over the next week or so. My skin is slowly getting better. The spots are gone, just left with very flakey eye lids. Not a great look, and still very itchy, so I'm continuing with the bio oil. Trying to ramp my chemo brain up to remember all the things we need to pack into the car for our holiday. Have to keep writing lists as the brain just can't cope. We leave first thing tomorrow morning on the ferry and then drive to l'ile de Re, which is an island just off La Rochelle. The weather is looking slightly dodgy but as long as it doesn't pour with rain we should have fun. DH really needs a break, so I'm hoping that even if I'm not up to doing anything too strenuous he can have fun with the kids and not have to think about work or his 'sickly' wife. ... View more

Hope everybody is feeling OK, particularly those that are building up for another hit of chemo. I had my implant 'inflated' this morning. Painless procedure other than a small prick. The surgeon seems very chuffed with his handywork. The new boob is looking pretty similar to the old one, so I doubt whether I'm going to bother having the other one hitched up, but will decide when I go back to see him at the end of September. My face is still itchy, although I had some piriton last night and that seemed to calm it down and meant that I had a great night's sleep! DH decided my hair would look better if I got rid of all the straggly bits, so he set to with his beard trimmer on my head. This was 2 days ago when the skin on my face was looking very angry. Initially it looked terrible. I looked like someone who had been in a concentration camp or a creature from a scifi movie! Fortunately, my skin is not so angry now and I think I've got used to my complete lack of hair so it doesn't look quite so bad. I'm hoping the new growth will come in quickly so I can get rid of the scarves. I wish I had the guts to go commando as I find the scarves a bit annoying in this warm weather. I can't believe how unfit I feel. I'm slightly concerned that when I go for my echo on Friday they will find something wrong, which will be a right pain as we leave for France on Saturday. Let's hope it's normal. Rosie, I hope you have a safe trip home and the stitches come out without any more dramas. ... View more

Rosie, so glad you had a great day yesterday. That must have been a real panic with the zip. Are you going to have a relaxing day today or are there more family gatherings? My spotty face is looking less angry this morning but it is doing what it did last cycle which is to get very dry and peel. It's quite sore and very itchy, particularly around my eyes. I have been putting Bio oil on it to try and stick my skin back on! Makes it feel better for a while. We are going to some friends for supper tonight so I hope it feels better by then. My good news is that there is definite evidence of 'five o clock shadow' on my head. The question is, what shall I do with the remaining straggly Bobby Charlton combover? Should I get it shaved off and start again or wait till the new growth gets a bit longer? ... View more

Joan, I don't blame you for feeling a bit low. I'm finding this last cycle hard going to recover from. I had my mastectomy before chemo, so in theory I have finished my treatment . The thought of building myself up to have surgery after chemo, is understandably daunting. You just must want it all to be over. If it helps, I'm very pleased with my mastectomy and reconstruction. It looks pretty good, the perky boob of a 20 year old. Sadly, the other boob is still that of a 50 year old although my lovely surgeon is keen to do something to it to hitch it up so they are a better match. Personally, right now I just want to be left alone and not prodded anymore so I won't be considering any more surgery for quite some time if I can help it. This cycle does seem to be taking its time to recover from. I feel loads better than I did 4/5 days ago, but still far from normal. The skin on my face has gone all spotty, sore and itchy, I look dreadful and it feels really uncomfortable. Hoping this is just going to be short term and will get better in a few days. Rosie, thinking of you and your family tomorrow. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Lovewine, can't believe they haven't decided on next chemo or not. Surely, they have to make up the drugs in advance, so they must know the day before at the latest. Hope you get it sorted. ... View more

I also had an upset tummy a few days ago. Spent the whole afternoon on the loo. In fact, I was so exhausted I think I fell asleep on the loo with my head resting on the loo roll. How sad is that! I thought it was due to over doing the laxatives, but maybe it was more of an upset tummy. Wildpurl, I agree with you, getting over this last one is taking its time. Are we just being impatient or is it really taking longer? Lovewine, it must be very frustrating not knowing what's going on. I hope you get some news quickly. Rosie and everyone else I hope you are having a relaxing evening. ... View more

Well done Rosie. Here's to a restful night's sleep, safe in the knowledge that you have achieved your goal. It must feel wonderful to be amongst your family after all your trials and tribulations. Your children and grandchildren must be delighted to see you and give you a big, but gentle hug! I'm just beginning to feel less crap this afternoon. Still very tired when I exert myself. Had to sit down after I had picked a few runner beans! Hoping tomorrow I will pick up a bit more as I'm getting very bored and frustrated. Managed to offload the kids taxiing so far on my lovely friends, but hoping to do my bit tomorrow afternoon. ... View more

Nellie, although I am not triple negative a understand where you are coming from re being 'institutionalised'. I had a chat with my oncologist and he said it was very normal to feel a bit abandoned when your course of treatment comes to an end. We all get used to the support network of the breast care nurse and the oncology nurses and suddenly they all seem to withdraw. He warned me about being over zealous with constant monitoring as emotionally it can take its toll. He said people can get very worked up every time they are due a follow up appointment which if it is say, every 3 months can get very emotionally draining and rarely changes the outcome. I think that is why generally, annual mammograms are the normal way to follow up and just keeping on top of your general health, ie. if you get extreme bone pain or a persistent cough go to your GP as opposed to just ignoring it. I know my MIL used to get very twitched whenever she was due a colonoscopy after having bowel cancer, that was over 14 years ago now. Constant monitoring seems to be a double edged sword, initially it is probably reassuring and then there comes a point where it stops you being able to emotionally move on. ... View more

Hope the weekend has gone well for everyone. Rosie, I am sending you good luck vibes for tomorrow. Hope your day goes according to plan and you arrive safely. You must be getting excited , as must your family in the uk. We will all be glued to this thread on Tuesday to check that you made it without any hiccups. I've had a fairly uneventful weekend. I have tried to take it easy. We had 2 extra boys for a sleepover, but they were no trouble, in fact it kept my 2 entertained, so everyone had fun. Far too much xbox, but as it's the holidays I don't mind and my older son will be at surf camp all next week, so he'll get plenty of exercise then. Feeling slightly achy today, but not too bad. Hoping to begin to get my energy levels back as the week progresses, with the thought that all being well I don't have to go there again. Taking great delight in throwing the empty drugs cartons away. On wards and upwards. ... View more

Wow, Lovewine, that is great news. It must be such a relief. Now just the surgery date to sort. Hope everyone has survived the heat today. We must be beginning to compete with Rosie's Cyprus heat. How did your reflexology go today Rosie? Hope you enjoyed it and the constipation is sorted. I'm not feeling too bad today, just very tired. Went to friend for a chat this morning, but came home tired and fell asleep for a couple of hours. Hope I perk up next week as I've got lots of lovely kids taxiing to do next week. ... View more

Fab news Rosie. I'm sure you will feel loads better just being in your own home. You will probably be a little more active being at home which may all help with reducing the fluid retention. However, make sure your husband is still on cooking and washing up duties, you don't want to over do it. I've just got back from having my last chemo. I hope I don't need any more because my veins are now crap. Took 3 goes to get in, but after that all went fine. Now feeling a bit hyper, probably a combination of steroids and elation that it is hopefully all over except for the herceptin and tamoxifen. Let's hope the side effects are not too grim this weekend and then I can start looking forward to going on holiday in a few weeks time. Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine. It's 'phew what scorcher' here today ... View more

Rosie, I think you will be amazed how much the swelling goes down over the next week. When I woke up from my surgery my new boob was like one of Pamela Stephenson's. Within a week is was back to the same size as my old boob and then gradually reduced further. It is currently slightly smaller than my other boob, but will be visiting the surgeon in a couple of weeks to be 'inflated'. I wore a soft but fairly firm sports bra for several weeks which helped to keep the swelling under control. ... View more

Rosie, just spotted your latest post. Hope the swelling is nothing serious. Perhaps it's a bit of trapped air or poo! If they were really worried surely he would not be waiting to this evening to see you. ... View more

Morning everybody, hope everyone is coping today. Joan, when I was first diagnosed we discussed a lumpectomy, but in the end I had a mastectomy with an immediate reconstruction because of the position of my 2 very small lumps. Mine were on the cleavage side so the surgeon said it would have left a big dent in my cleavage side of my boob, which would have been difficult to hide. He told me that if it had been on the lateral side it would have been easier to 'shift things about' so you are not left with a big dent. I'm really glad I had the mastectomy because a friend of mine who is about 3 months behind me in this journey ended up with 3 trips to theatre to get clear margins. She started off with a lumpectomy and ended up with a mastectomy. Nowadays the surgeons do like to conserve as much breast tissue as they can, but only if they can assure themselves they can get clear margins. I think it also gets more tricky if the tumour is near the skin surface and/or the nipple. Rosie, glad you are feeling clean and refreshed. Hope the second drain is removed tomorrow. You will feel liberated when it is gone. I'm assuming the hospital is air conditioned so you are keeping cool. We've had a trip to A&E this morning. Not me thank God. Younger son fell off his skateboard last night. He has an enormous graze on his lower leg. We just didn't have anything big enough or suitable to cover it. He was seen by an apparently stunning female SHO. So he was very brave whilst she was sorting him out. It would have been a complete drama if mummy or daddy had tried to do it! Hope the sun shines on everyone's gardening activities. We were going to the beach but have decided that getting sand in my son's wound would not be a good idea. So staying at home and having a BBQ with some friends later. ... View more

Rosie and Lovewine, you certainly have had a few set backs. It seems so unfair that some people seem to sail through their treatment and others have endless hurdles to overcome. However, let's hope the medics sort you out quickly so you can continue on your road to recovery without too much delay. After you were all so impressed that I managed to play tennis I thought I should let you know that I spent the rest if the day feeling completely whacked. Had to just slob on the sofa for the afternoon/evening. The boys didn't seem to care because it meant they were glued to the xbox all afternoon without me suggesting they went outside. I've been for my pre chemo visit to the oncologist and bloods today. All systems go for Tuesday next week. Can't believe the end is in sight. Although, I will still be making trips to the hospital every 3 weeks for my herceptin injection so I won't be saying farewell to the nurses yet. ... View more

Rosie, I'm impressed that you can even hold your iPad and type having had a double mastectomy. Hope the drains are not too annoying. I managed a very sedate 45 mins of tennis this morning. I was very slow round the court and my once killer serve has temporarily left me, but hopefully by the time we get back to playing after the school holidays my strength will have returned. I feel very unfit and my younger son kindly pointed out that I had 'bingo wings' the other day whilst I was driving the car! Once the last tax cycle is over I am going to have to go on a fitness campaign. I hope everyone who is working up to the next cycle is not feeling too knackered. The end is in sight. ... View more

Nellie, yes we do live on an island, so going to boarding school is not that unusual here. At the moment my son is very excited about going. Of course he will probably be feeling a little bit more apprehensive when we actually get on the plane to go! I am going to have to be very brave when we actually say our goodbyes. I'm sure it will feel very weird to walk away and leave him in his new surroundings. Fortunately, we live close enough that he will be able to come home every 3 weeks or so, not like the old days when kids where shipped off in September and didn't come home til Christmas. The hair cut was a great success, number 2 round the sides and a longer bit on top. A lot of gel is now required! It makes him look a bit older so he's well chuffed. My face is doing exactly the same as you described. This time though it seems more severe. Are you on herceptin and tax? I was wondering if it was the herceptin doing strange things to my hormones. I hope not because I'm not sure I can tolerate this for a year, it is beginning to get a bit stingy. Rosie, I want to wish you all the best for tomorrow. I hope you get some good drug induced sleeps! Don't be disturbed if you get sent home with a couple of drains in. They are nuisance, but better than ending up with seromas that need to be drained. My hospital provided pretty paper shopping bags to put the drain bottles in which made it easier to walk around and less disturbing for visitors. Sending you a 'virtual' hug for a speedy recovery. ... View more

Rosie, if I were you I would just double check with your surgeon. I flew 2 weeks post op. I have had a mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. The surgeon told me I should be fine 10 days post op. Admittedly, it was only a half hour flight, but as you say as long as you keep moving about you should be fine. I hope everyone is feeling well enough to enjoy their weekend. The sun is shining here, although I think it may cloud over later. The school holidays have arrived for my boys, prize giving was a success with prizes for both of them. So that was a great way to end the week. My older son has now left the school he has been at for the last nine years and is off to boarding school in September, so it was a slightly strange feeling when we said our goodbyes yesterday. He wants to go to the barbers today to get a radical teenage haircut for the summer holidays. I think he was a bit surprised when I said ok. I am assuming it will have grown out by September. I'm day 12 post tax and the hot flushes have subsided but my face is on fire. I have bright red cheeks and nose. Not a good look, but in the scheme of things a manageable side effect. Anyone else still got a flushed face? ... View more

Nellie, I also have a 6 month follow up appointment with the surgeon. My oncologist told me that once you have finished with chemo/rads they refer you back to the surgeons for long term follow up, ie. annual mammogram under the care of the surgeons not the oncologist. So nothing to worry about, just routine. ... View more