Breast Cancer Now Forum

HI Cath, no not yet I still have 4 more to go (and counting).  Well done for doing the Cardiff Half, If I can get the training in as well as the cycling I'd like to do Birmingham half in October - we shall see & thankyou I didn't know there was a fundraising section I shall go look x   Sarah x ... View more

Good to hear that its all done.  Its bit of a shock when it doesn't go to plan but also good to know that they are doing everything they can to make sure you are ok.   Hope the drain isn't too uncomfortable and that you are managing to sleep ok.   Sarah  ... View more

Good luck, I found it was much easier than I anticipated x ... View more

Hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. I had my results letter on Christmas Eve - everything looks good  best Christmas present Ever !! Glad it all went well, have you got your date yet? Sarah x ... View more

Hi Poppy, Hope yesterday went ok, and that you now have a date for your op.   I may get the results beforehand as it does seem a long time to wait but to be honest I'm not too worried about it - lets face it after having surgery, chemotherapy & radiotherapy in the last 12 months and still having the Herceptin injections until April, I'd have to be damn unlucky for there to be anything sinister lurking.   Sarah x ... View more

I'm good thanks Poppy.  Treatment, whilst not particularly pleasant, has been ok. I finished Chemo in June and Rads in August I now just have 6 more Herceptin injections to go and should finish in April 2017 and I have plenty of hair for Christmas Its been a long old journey but the end is in sight now, well I hope so, I ended up being diagnosed with a 1.9mm ILC and a 50mm DCIS.  My consultant said that a mastectomy would be too drastic as the DCIS was low grade and shouldn't cause any problems.  I have my 1st year mammogram tomorrow and then a consultation with the breast surgeon on 13th Jan so hopefully will know then if the decision to just have the WLE was the right one. It hardly seems like a year has gone by since we were all in 'the waiting room' and its such a shame that you are having to go through it all again, hopefully, this time, it will just be a case of removing the microcalcifications and that will be the end of it - fingers crossed.  The wire localisation is fine - I had it before my WLE.   Keep well and let me know how you get on    Sarah xx ... View more

Hi Poppyfields, I dip in and out occassionally and saw your post, hope everything goes ok for you x  I have my first year checkup on Wednesday - trying not to think to much about it. ... View more

Hi Ladies I posted earlier before I started but have been so busy since as I am also working full time so just haven't had time to post what with work, going backwards and forwards to the hospital and trying to continue 'as normal' with my life.  Today I have 8/15 of the 'normal ones' with 5 targeted ones to go.  Its going absolutely fine (just a bit tedious if anything) I'm lathering on the E45 and my skin is holding up just fine I hope everyone else is finding the same,  My tumour was right hand side of left breast.  I have seen comments about having to do special breathing during rads, I haven't had to yet but am wondering if I may have to on the 'targeted' ones as (I 'im imagining) it is above my heart .  Has anyone else done these yet - is there any difference between them and the normal ?  I'm at the QE in Birmingham.   Thanks  Sarah x ... View more

I've had the same FEC-T& Herceptin.  Finished my last T&H 6 weeks ago.  I had relatively few side effects with FEC - just a hangover feeling for a few days and taste issues so I too was dreading Mr 'T' and it wasn't too bad.   The first one I had a really nasty rash over my face and when I (finally) contacted my emergency number they told me to take antihistamine which sorted it out.  I say finally because I felt so stupid phoning them up because my face was blotchy and sore - don't feel daft about anything - call them, I caused myself 5 days of disomfort which was unnecessary.  After that I took antihistamin as a precautionary measure. I had aches and pains in my lower back and legs from day 4 - 7, these coincided with the filgrastim (G-csf) injections but after that I was ok and for me they were very manageable with a combination of paracetamol, ibuprofen and microwaveable heat pads.   Taste went for longer every cycle and after 6 it is now almost back to 100% - I can now enjoy a glass of wine again   When my taste was at its worst I found that pineapple and citrus fruits 'cut through' and hot blackcurrant squash was much more palatable than tea or coffee.  I've now had 1 Herceptin on its own - number 4 and I've got my 5th tomorrow (pending results from today's echo cardiogram.  It was fine last time, bit of a headache on the evening and generally feeling slightly 'under the weather' the following day  but nothing that an early night and some paracetamol didn't sort out. There was a definite postiive with the 'T' though, whereas with each cycle of FEC my hair tried to sprout but came out again, after T2 it started to grow and hold on  My advice?  Drink lots and lots of water, rest when you need to, exercise if you can, pay really good attention to oral health (I never got a single mouth ulcer) and stock up on catch up TV so that you have soemthing to watch when the 'T' dose of steriods kick in. Good luck with the rest of your treatment - you will get through it and it won't be as bad as you fear.   Sarah xx ... View more

Hi Runningfree,   I'm 48 and started running at the end of 2014 and stopped for 5 weeks following my WLE & SNB Dec 2015.  I also cyle and swim and although Oncologist said definitiely NO swimming he was happy for me to carry on with the running and cycling if I was managing it (obvious caveats - don't overdo it, don't do it if you don't feel well etc etc.)    I haven't done more than about 5k throughout my treatment be in weeks 2&3 I was running/cycling a couple of times each week.  I think it helped me through though, like you chemo wasn't a breeze but it was certainly a lot easier than others I have heard from) When I started on the Herceptin (I've had 4 so far)  Oncologist told me not to push myself too hard so I'm now running 35 min parkruns instead of sub 30.  Got my Echo-Cardiogram tomorrow before my 5th and Oncologist will let me know then if he's happy for me to start training for the Birmingham half marathon in October.  No tips but happy to chat running, cycling or swimming ('cause I can do that again now yippee). Sarah x ... View more

Hi Em, I had my surgery just before christmas and finished chemo 5 weeks ago.  I'm on Herceptin too and have already had 4/18 . I started my tamoxifen tablets on monday - haven't turned into a big green angry monster yet so all good so far x   Hope it all went ok today x   Sarah  ... View more

Hi Jay I'm room 1 at 1pm on 19th July - not sure of times after that but have requested an afternoon slot. Hi to all those I haven't yet spoken to and Good luck all x   ... View more

It does seem like during rads that it is going to be a bit 'Groundhog Day'ish.   ... View more

Hi Kay, I'm 5 months ahead of you, my chemo finished 4 weeks ago, I have had 4 of the 18 Herceptin injections and I'm going for my radiotherapy planning session on Friday so should be having 4 weeks of that July/august.  The chemo really isn't as bad as you fear I've had 6 x FEC-T and whilst its not pleasent it is totally manageable.  The hospital will give you drugs to manage any symptoms, I haven't been sick once and have been out walking on the not so good weeks and running & cycling in the good ones.  I'll be honest there have been some days where I have curled up on the sofa with a blanket and waterbottle but these have been relatively few. The hair loss is crap but it happens once, my advice, unless you are planning to cold cap, get your hair cut short before you start, IF it starts to come out in handfuls, have your 'GI Jane' moment  have a cry and move on, if it doesn't leave it - not everyone's hair falls out.  I have a wig and loads of scarves (which  prefer) and, once you've walked round Morrisons with your scarf you can go anywhere 🙂 Mine's started to grow back now - I think I preferred the smooth polished look to the soft fur I am sporting at the moment - lol.  Honestly, it will get better once you get started, you are almost through the worst bit.  Good luck xx ... View more

Hi, I haven't visited the forum for a while but popped on today and have seen this post.   I was diagnosed in December last year, had my surgery just before Christmas and had my last chemo 5 weeks ago.  Where you are now is the worst time, waiting for something to start happening, when you actually get going it really does become easier and it feels like you are actually taking control a bit. I was lucky to only need a Lumpectomy and SNB and that was fine, a bit sore but I was out of hospital on the same day and doing a bit of last minute christmas shopping the day after - not carrying any bags though.  I understand a mastectomy is much bigger but ladies I have spoken to since have said that it wasn't as bad as they were expecting.  The histology I got was such that Chemo and Herceptin were recommended.   Again, the fear of the unknown turned it into a big scary monster but it hasn't been that bad at all you will be given all sorts of medifaction to try and make sure you stay as healthy and well as possible through it - I am really sporty and have been able to cycle and run on the good weeks (alhtough not as fast or as far as I did before) and I haven't been sick once I was terrified of loosing my hair. Now I have no hair (anywhere ) but posses a wig (which I wear occasionally) and have so many scarves I could start a shop and 5 weeks after finishing chemo it has started to grow back - tbh I think I liked the shiny head better than the furry one !  Yes when it starts to go it's really hard but it only goes once.   I had my 'GI Jane' moment, cried for a bit and then got on with it and it certainly makes showering quicker ! I'm on to 4 weeks of radiotherapy next (which has got to be easier than the chemo) and then finish my active treatment after another 14 Herceptin injections (1 every 3 weeks).  None of the treatment has been 'nice' - this is a vile disease we are fighting and the treatment reflects that but it has all been 'ok' and certainly nowhere near as bad as I was imagining it would be and you will find the same.   Good luck, Sarah x ... View more

Hi Jay,  I'm having mine at the QE in Birmingham too. Not sure when mine will start but I have the same 3 weeks with 5 boosters, we may bump into one another 🙂   ... View more

Just had my planning appointment through, I become a tattooed lady on 1st July.  Don't have an actual start date yet but I'm sure it won't be long after. Good luck everyone, getting closer to the end now 🙂   Sarah x ... View more

Hi Everyone, computer issues over the last few days (don't you just hate technology when its not working properly) so haven't been able to get on-line 😞  hope you are all as well as you can be and that the side effects have been few   Sarah xx   ... View more

Hi Leonie   Well the staying up didn't work!  I'm now watching a movie and eating biscuits - these steroids are bad for the sleep and the diet    I used to love world book day when my kids were little - I'm sure they deliberately used to challenge me to make the most bizarre costumes - my daughter once wanted Little Bo Peep complete with bonnet and crop and when my son was reading one of the Harry Potter books he asked me to make a deatheater costume !!   The vein thing was ok to be honest, I only knew when the nurse told me she'd have to have another go.  I'm pretty sure I'm only supposed to use the one arm due to surgery on the other but the nurse said I have plenty to choose from so that's ok.   Hope you had a better night, Sarah x       ... View more