Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi lovely ladies. I had the same issue after a therapeutic mammoplasty. In hindsight I kept bleeding on the ward the day of surgery and they just kept sticking pressure dressings on, I wish I had asked more questions then. However mine was a little different in that it was failure of blood vessels at the incision sight and so the skin died. Eventually after trying iodine and silver dressing I had 2 Pico dressings. One on each part. I had the surgery on 29/2/16 And had chemo delayed until the end of the 12 week window of maximum effectiveness. I started chemo on 12/5/16 And still had an open wound. I developed cellulitis after my first cycle and was in hospital for a week. They changed the chemo regime and I had my last one on 7/8/16. Radiotherapy was then delayed until the wound had fully healed so didn't start until Christmas 😯 . Have just had my matching surgery and had a Prevena on which is the same but has a canister for the removed fluids to go into. No problem at all this time. In total it was 9 months healing but had 2 months of remaining the same whilst on chemo. Hang in there it does get better. Has the Pico alarmed a lot? Xx ... View more

Hi Pecan. Am so sorry to hear about your wound. I had issues with mine healing and ended up with a pico. Two at one point cobbled together in the middle. They kept losing pressure. In the end they left the smaller end of the wound out. I can't begin to describe the ridiculous ways they had to dress it and stop it beeping. I even started back to work in a reception class with it tucked inside my bra as thete was plenty of room for it after my op. Eventually my hubby was taught to dress it at home as the ward had no idea how to deal with it if it went wrong at weekends. It took 8 months to heal completely but that's because as soon as it was small enough they started chemo. Fortunately this didn't set it back but just halted the healing. Stick in there, it will suddenly start making massive progress xx ... View more

Hi Rachael. I'm sorry you're having such a bad time of it all. I remember being at your stage a year ago. I wish I had been offered the oncotype test as I was marginal with one node positive. I've since found out you can have the test with one positive node. I chose to have chemo because originally they had told me I would definitely need it as I had a positive result on my initial lymph node biopsy. However one chat from my bcn sticks in my mind. She was totally straight with me and it's what made me decide to do my best to stop worrying about the future as it will eat into my time when I am well. She said that you can have a lady with the worst possible prognosis and 20 years later she's still around and fit and healthy yet another lady could have the best possible prognosis but it still returns quickly. Statistics are just that. They are not fact and are very out of date by the time they're published. Also we are not medical textbooks, nobody knows how each individual will fair. My best friend from school's mum suddenly started to get a really swollen tummy. Turns out it was fluid in her abdomen caused by ovarian cancer. Normally by this stage it is an incredibly poor prognosis. She had chemo and an operation. The type of chemo meant she didn't lose her hair. She is fighting fit and has had no more problems. This was when we were 14/15 and we're 50 now. Treatment was so primitive then compared to now too. I know I'm rambling on but what you're feeling is entirely natural. I promise you it does get better. For me the best leveller was returning to work. I work in a primary school and only told my closest friends before I went off. The head teacher then had a meeting the day of my op and told all the staff I wanted to be treated normally. I returned this time last year as financially I had no choice. People treated me like I'd never been away. I have had a wobble again this holiday as have had my op on good boob to match and it's another reminder of what I've been through. However I know once I step back through those doors again on Monday life will be back to normal as far as everyone is concerned and that is just what I want. Be gentle on yourself. Xxx ... View more

Hi. Sorry yes wasn't very specific. Had a reduction to my good side to match bc side. Had loads of problems with healing on bc side last year and that is now all droopy whereas new one is very pert and small. After all I've been through with bc side taking 9 months to heal, chemo delayed until wound pretty small etc I should be satisfied but I just want a matching pair. I do feel ungrateful esp as I'm not normally image conscious. I don't wear make up and am overweight but this seems a really big deal at the minute xx ... View more

That's the other issue I'm having. No desire for it whatsoever. Luckily due to his issues hubby is the same. Xx ... View more

Me!! On 6th July. I had a therapeutic mammoplasty. New one is much smaller. Seeing surgeon again in 2 months. Will ask if he can sort it. So disappointed. ... View more

Hello Cherry and Mandy. I'm sorry you're going through such a worrying time but you have come to the right place for support. My GP used to do a weekly breast clinic and operating list so when I saw him and he said he would be flabbergasted if it was anything sinister I was very reassured. However at the one stop clinic they did a scan of my armpit and when she said she also needed to biopsy there as one of my nodes was enlarged I just knew. 2 weeks later the results were in and it was cancer with spread to lymph nodes. I wish I had been told either nothing by my GP or that it looked like cancer. However I am now 17 months down the line of therapeutic mammoplasty, chemo and radiotherapy. 4 weeks ago I had my matching op on the other side. I have 10 years (now 9) of anastrazole and I'm on the add aspirin trial. The one thing that I took from the forum was the worst time is waiting for your initial results. Once you get a treatment plan in place the time flies. It's not an experience anyone would choose but equally the fear is way worse that the practice. Good luck to you both xxxx ... View more

Hello Elaine. I see from your last reply you are probably not reading anymore. However, just in case you are, i just wanted to put my perspective on things. In a former life I was a theatre nurse. I changed my career as I have a severely disabled son so was a stay at home mum for 17 years and now work in a primary school to fit in with his college/ appointments etc. The 2 previous operations you have had do have very painful recoveries. This is partly due to the type of surgery and partly to the position in your body of the problem. However surgery for your tumour is extremely unlikely to cause pain after the first day. Even then it is likely to be soreness you experience rather than pain. I absolutely echo what others have said. If your body, with the help of hormonal treatment, could cure your cancer then all of us hormone receptive ladies would be offered that choice. Treatment for cancer is mind blowingly expensive so would not be offered if there were alternatives. The first thing most if us are told us do not Google. The more extensively you do the more you will find that isn't credible. If you wish to see papers written on your choices your oncologist will have access to properly controlled trials and results, if there are any. We are all terrified at the start of this journey. Please, please listen to your medical team and ask for more appointments if necessary to make sure you are fully armed. Good luck in whatever you choose. Xx ... View more

I take anastrazole and was just about to start a thread 're joint pain when I saw yours. I have always been told to take vitamin D. Mine was in my boots when diagnosed and there is lots of research indicating low levels with incidence of breast cancer. However that seems to be generic advice and not anastrazole related. A good all round vitamin B (not just B12) is good too I was told. Think they're called vitamin B complex x ... View more

I recently rejoined Slimming World with my friend. Am on anastrazole. The group leader was rude and awful. She kept us and another lady waiting for 45 minutes whilst she swanned around doing nothing but tidying up whilst other ladies did the weighing etc. When we said we wouldn't be able to stay every week she literally had a go at us telling us we would fail!!! We have not been back and will be joining weight watchers once my friend comes back from holiday. I've done both in the past and only have myself to blame for needing them again. ... View more

Hi. I'm sorry you've had complications. I was exactly the same although different reasons. I had therapeutic mammoplasty and full axillary clearance on 29th Feb 2016. I didn't start chemo until 20th May and then still had an open wound. My oncologist started the chemo as late as possible but still with 12 weeks - just! My GP reassured me saying there will always be a benefit to chemo it's just the biggest benefit us within 12 weeks. I developed cellulitis after my first chemo and my second was delayed by a week. After the initial high reading my temperature resolved very quickly. Try not to worry too much, time us still very much on your side xx ... View more

I think the oncotype test is only used when there is no clear answer. It's trust policy whether they include patients with lymh node involvement as I think you can have 1 or 2 nodes involved but no more. But they will probably say NHS policy as it is in your hospital. If I remember correctly it the people on the predict score thingy below 5%advantage but above 4%. I didn't know about it until afterwards and I was borderline but opted to go for chemo so probably wasn't mentioned. ... View more

Hi Jintz. Brilliant news regarding having got rid of all the cancer. I had delayed wound healing so chemo was delayed too which didn't help my frame of mind. I was dreading it. However it is definitely doable. My first cycle was by far the worst. I had chemo on a Friday. By Thursday the following week I was ready to call it a day. I remember texting my sister saying how dreadful I felt. Afterwards my mum told me my sister had been really worried as I never admit to feeling ill. However that was the worst day. The next day I felt significantly better. I kept a diary of symptoms as suggested by somebody on here. That meant I knew what to expect each cycle and it became just another thing to get through. Looking back now it seems another person was going through it not me. The biggest tip I ever had though was take all the nausea medication they offer on time. Do NOT wait if you feel ok. And if you have symptoms tell your oncologist and they'll adjust things for the next dose. It really does fly by xxx ... View more

RIP Lovely Lady xxx ... View more

Hi Lynne. All the other replies have said everything I would suggest. It's a hellish time, as a mum you automatically want to protect your kids from any worry. But you also need to think of yourself. It's not easy as a mum as we are programmed to put our kids/family first. Talk to your bcn about counselling and changing your brand of tamoxifen. If you've been thru the menopause ask them to consider anastrazole or another from the same group. I know I've been relatively lucky with side effects but at the beginning found changing the time of day I took them really helped. It does get easier. I know it's hard to believe that right now and 15 months down the line I still have the odd wobble. I didn't believe anybody when they said it will get better but it does. Sending you hugs xx ... View more

I wasn't given the choice it was surgery first. I met a lovely group of friends through here who were all chemo first. I never really understood why but hadn't questioned it as we didn't 'meet' until my surgery was imminent. I personally am glad it was done this way as one of my friends they stopped her chemo early as her lump wasn't responding. But that's just me and my opinion. Good luck whichever you decide xx ... View more

Everything everyone has said is true. I was only ill with treatment. Couldn't work thru chemo as I work with 4 year old kids. But worked thru rads. I sometimes think we over think the tiredness too. I know it is a side effect but also we're more heightened towards symptoms too. Xx ... View more