Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hiyer ! Well, the good news is that you have had a clear US and Mammo, thats really good news. Regarding the 'strange puckering', You've taken me on a trip down memory lane.... and reminded me of many many years ago (errr maybe 25) when I recall having similar and nowadays it doesn't happen (in saggy meno). I just presumed it was a normal thing to be honest, and never asked anyone or thought much of it other than it was odd sort of tight and thick horizontal lines, and more on one side than the other when it was cold. I can kind of still picture it now. Just a thought, did you breast feed and favour one side ? BY 'derm issue' I guess it could be more reactive skin, more sensitive and therefore likely to pucker or even slightly thicker ? The point is, that it returns to normal and if there was anything concerning underlying the puckering it wouldn't return to normal. ... View more

I can't profess to know the exact answer, and its definitely one for your BCN - but my tumour was in the highest part of breast tissue possible and yet I was surprised by how low my scar was after unveiling it (it seemed inches lower than I was expecting). So, I realised that of course the surgery is done lying down, yet when we view breast we view it standing up. If I lie down flat on my back the incision matches up with the site of the scar tissue and hence the tumour...just wondering if you could be experiencing the same thing ? I might be totally wrong, and do ask your BCN as these things have a tendency to play on your mind and probably have a very simple answer 🙂 It seems your scar might be even further away than you were led to believe it would be, and you could indeed by quite right that it was a 'preferred/safer/less damaging' way to the site or something. I'd be interested to know what you find out 🙂 ... View more

Hey Jen, Scary isn't it, horribly frightening and burning up in your mind almost every thought you have. We understand- waiting for your appointment after referral is a wholly psychologically torturous time. However, you have done absolutely the right thing, you have been vigilant, you have gone immediately to be checked (so many stick their heads in the sand...) and due to that even IF (and if is of course an IF) this turned out to be a form of BC, then it is early stage and can be effectively treated for the vast majority of women - with an individual treatment plan. Of course there are target treatments for every stage of BC and every tumour type, but it is of course preferrable to the consultant and their team to get women in there as soon as they notice something. Please do come back and talk on here if you feel the need to, its a place to share anything you want that goes through your head. 🙂 ... View more

Hiyer Pommy, I'm sorry you never had a reply to your question. I'm guessing you are either recently diagnosed or have recently finished treatment and are after some reassurance. I might be wrong. Its definitely worth ringing the helpline number above if you feel you need some more advice or input ...   Talk to our breast care nurses 0808 800 6000 ... View more

Hi Theresa, You shout your anger out all you like, its all cool on here and please do NOT apologise. Are you receiving any specific support from a cancer or Breast C charity ? Have you been offered cancer counselling ? Are you accessing any of the support services on this site ? (I'll provide the link shortly - there are secondary specific areas on BCNow. There might be a Maggie's near you too, and its certainly with checking out to see if you might from some counselling sessions with McMillan helpful).  Everything is getting ontop of you, and you have every right to feel that way, my goodness what a LOT you are having to deal with - a busy wife and mother with your diagnosis and ongoing treatments, who is STILL trying to put everyone else first. https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/support-you https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/coping-with-treatment/complementary-therapies/talking-counselling-and-support-groups?&infinity=ict2~net~gaw~ar~~kw~~mt~~cmp~g_pmax_leg_uk~ag~&gclid=cjwkcaiaol6ebha3eiwaxdom5kn5poddgmujsweu5-4yya91wz_jmriobydyhjl4ghfde1safmw6ihocbiwqavd_bwe&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.maggies.org/ OK, its time for Theresa to come first for a while I think - there are loads of us around on here, and everyone is happy to chat with you, but do consider if you need some additional input from some of the other support services to get you through this. The good 'ole helpline here is always there for low times and for advice.... 08088006000 How you feel is how you feel Theresa, nothing is wrong at this point and Anger is very common indeed, but you are right to start sharing your thoughts and feelings - processing them is important. You say 'but this has been hard', I suspect thats an understatement to be honest, I think you are worn out right now and so please do start gathering information on anything and anybody who can metaphorically hold your hand whilst you are feeling so angry and sad. One more question - is there anybody in your life helping you in practical ways right now ? x ... View more

Hello Jasper, I'm sorry you didn't get a reply earlier to your concern. I hope by now that you have settled down and feel more relaxed about the bloods being taken on your 'side' that had the BC treatment. I don't think you need to be scared at all, infact in the last few months I was told by a medical professional in the field of cancer treatment that 'having nothing done in that arm' forever more was a fallacy persisting in the medical field.  It used to be that way that this arm was avoided for all BC surgeries, but new research has shown there is no reason to avoid that arm and infact someone I know queried this in hospital recently during chemo, but the arm was used after explanation. Those medics who have apparently done far more modern/recent training aren't taught to avoid that arm in all patients. The only examples I have asked about is for those with sentinel node removal along with lumpectomy and mastectomy, and not for full node clearance - so I don't know if the advice is different for those people. Please feel free to correct me anybody else who comes along with information which could help on this post 🙂 I hope you are improving now after your stay in hospital ... View more

Hey Delly, was thinking you'd not been around these 'erre parts for a while - how is life treating you ? ... View more

HI Godders, and welcome to this 'ere forum.... There is ALWAYS something they can do for any diagnosis, even many late diagnosed stage 4 people are 'living with their cancer' on a variety of treatments. Only when you are deeper and further into this BC world, a place that is new to you at the moment and full of uncertainty and fear, do you find out that there is more that is possible than you currently know about. Treatments are advanced for many scenarios, and there are even for some people who have tried anything and everything unsucessfully, trials ongoing they take part in. So many have people have been exactly where you are now (a family member of mine last year was stage 2) and no matter what all the histology details and tumour markers they find out, there will be a specific individual treatment plan for you. It must be absolutely awful waiting for the scan and imagining some frightening things at the moment, but once that is out of the way and the treatment plan is in place you will honestly regain some of your control as you start working on blatting the nasty cells. Stay in contact with the guys on here, everyone has either been there in the past or is currently 'there' now.....take good care of yourself x ... View more

Hiyer Marianne, I'm sorry to hear that you have been given a BC diagnosis, although it seems that your treatment plan is well in place and I hope at the least it is giving you some comfort in knowing you are moving forward positively to deal with the abnormal cells. Cold capping is certainly something that is talked about and asked about on here a lot, but I would certainly recommend discussing it with your BCN/oncology team as a first port of call if you haven't already (To add - its not something I have done, but someone in my family has). I know that some hospitals/oncology depts can supply them as part of your treatment, and it would definitely be worth you finding out if they can loan out to you either the cold gel cap or the refrigerated cooling caps as part of your treatment and give you advice on the pros and cons of each method and what is suitiable for you. (They should be able to advise on the question of 'Penguin v Amazon model' also. 😉) https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/hair-loss/scalp-cooling There are a fair few threads on the Chemotherapy part of the forum giving some thoughts from some previous patients, which might be of interest to you, but I would also recommend if you don't get many replies on this page that you perhaps copy across your query to this area..... https://forum.breastcancernow.org/t5/Chemotherapy/bd-p/4435 You could also try doing the 'Ask the Nurses' section of the website if you need further information. Sorry to not be able to offer more detailed help or personal experience, but hopefully someone will come along soon who can. x   ... View more

 Hi there Yamari Flores, Welcome to BCN forum. Have you already had surgery, radiotherapy and started tamoxifen ? If you could give a little more detail (is the burning mouth syndrome something you already have?) I'm sure there are people here who would be happy to chat 🙂   ... View more

Hi there Peaks, I wouldn't dare to presume (as I've not had secondaries) that I have answers to your heart-felt questions. I'm sure some of the ladies will be along in due course who have plenty of experience, to talk 'how you cope', medications and things to consider.....but I didn't want to pass your post by. You do sound very much in need of some family support, help with the shock and processing the frightening situation you find yourself in, and I'm not sure quite what you have been offered so far - apart from the contact with the BCNurse. You may well have already seen this page I am linking to below, on the main site, but if you scroll down you will see that there are various articles and an array of support services. For example if you click on the 'Sign up for one of our support services' section, you should have details of various possibilities that might be of interest to you or your wife. https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/support-you/secondary-metastatic-breast-cancer I'm sure that you have so many distressing thoughts whirling in your head, and it must be causing you both incredible ongoing anxiety (thats probably an understatement), but you are right that hearing from those who are already navigating the diagnosis ahead of you can be a very hopeful and positive thing to do. Your wife also comes into the category of 'younger women with secondaries' (as under 45) and therefore there are tailored sessions and opportunities to talk in a safe space with women of this age in similar family situations. https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/support-you/younger-women-secondaries-together I do wish you both the very best with finding some answers that you need. Do take care, and remember that certainly on the forum you are far from alone with dealing with your Wife's diagnosis - as there are large number of women doing exactly the same x.     ... View more

Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound horrific - it really wasn't that bad at all, and was all manageable, temporary and important in terms of treatment. I thought you were querying the boosters, so was making the point rather clumsily that as I already had side-effects there was no way of knowing which sessions had caused them specifically. Yes, I had 20 sessions. There was certainly NO shrivelling like a prune, quite the opposite really. As it happens......and this might make you smile......my lumpectomy breast is now the one I prefer out of the two. Ok, there is a dip and some internal scarring and you can see there was some surgery - but - The position of the surgery lifted it slightly, the skin is smoother on it and it seems less droopy and plumper on that side all these years later. 🙂 I drove myself to all my sessions and although I was tired at the end of the set, it wasn't anything too bad. I actually really enjoyed seeing the staff at the centre for a few weeks, and having a bit of a laugh through the unpleasant reason for being there. ... View more

Hey there, I had boosters done. 15 full Breast tissue and 5 boosters at the end. Its an almost impossible question to answer really Sparkle, from my perspective, trying to 'remove' any specific localised side effects from the boosters, from the whole breast rt effects. My boosters were done directly to the tumour bed and not the whole breast. By the time I got to the boosters I already had skin effects (red, hot etc), stabby pains (nerves being annoyed by the rt ;), breast size increase from lymph and swelling and assorted niggles like tissue problems on nipple area. My answer therefore is that in my case yes there were changes in the breast shape (I was 2 cup sizes larger that side for some time after) BUT it was temporary. As time went on, and it was some considerable time, the skin wentfrom red to dark brown, the hottness stopped, there were loads of freckly things, the lymph started draining and then two years later it was back to normal. Though - you lose any hair permanently where rt is done. SOme people find things settle much quicker, thats an individual difference thing probably based on skin type or genetics or something (I'm non medical LOL). What particular changes are worrying you ? ... View more

Thanks for taking the time to post Hubby2, and glad that you were both able to walk away knowing that everything was 'all clear' following a very anxious few weeks. 🙂 Also, so glad to hear that all the words and experiences written on the forum were able to help you during a troubling time. ... View more

Warmest of Christmas and New Year wishes right on back to you Svedija ! 😊 ... View more

Hiyer WelshJayne ! Welcome to the BCN forum. I was the same age as you when diagnosed (in 2016), but a different treatment plan and diagnosis of BC type. Christmas doing chemo sounds like its been a real challenge, and it must seem like everything is back to front and upside down for you - I do hope that at least you were able to get some family time and joy even if you perhaps weren't feeling great. I hope that your symptoms were well managed, although I know that it can sometimes take a little time to tweak symptom management after the first cycle. If you haven't already come across it, there is a monthly Chemotherapy thread that might be of interest/use to you here - https://forum.breastcancernow.org/t5/Chemotherapy-monthly-threads/bd-p/Chemotherapy_monthy_threads Take care, and see you around the pages x     ... View more

Hello Strong Mummy ! I don't have experience of your drug cycles (there are threads on the specific treatments part of the forum that might be useful to you), but just wanted to welcome you to the forum particularly as its Boxing Day and you are a single parent....so times must be tough for you. I know you have your parents and your partner, and its sounds like they are doing a fabulous job of keeping your (already) positive spirit boosted - but please do take a look around and post all you like amongst people who understand and have been where you are. Wishing you the most Merry Christmas right on back ! x ... View more

Hiyer Bunty, I'm really glad you got some 'action' and explanation by pushing. Do you have an appointment for the MRI now ? Yeah, its only when you are in the system that you realise there are some very fragile (to use your term) elements that can hold things up and make things stressful. Just to warn you, at some older radiotherapy suites those machines have a tendency to break down and cause disruption/cancelled sessions at times - although it does at least seem that they are on a much quicker turnaround with the engineer and seem to be back up and running in 24 hours. It would be helpful though wouldn't it, to be told this type of information at your initial call when it was cancelled - to be told that on a Monday they will know if its repaired or not etc and why there is a problem with the MRI situation. It would still be frustrating of course, but some communication goes a long way to helping with acceptance. ... View more

Hi Bunty, Welcome to the forum, a place nobody wants to be but is glad it exists when they need it. I'm sorry you are feeling lost and disillusioned with the system. I think individual experiences very much depend on exactly which location and hospital you are at, but I will say that even when I was at a hospital that was really good for cancer care I was having to keep an eye on appointments and possible errors - that seems to be a problem in general for many. There are examples of good and bad in all departments. A friend had the 'full treatment works' this year and was keeping a very close eye on reminding depts she was due various scans, tests and meds. Its not that the NHS don't do cancer care well, as they do I believe, but the departments are often not joined up very effectively and administration can have glitches.I can recall ringing once for one of my later appointment that hadn't happened - and finding out I wasn't 'on the list'. We are all a little at the mercy of the poor and sometimes lacking digital integration of nhs communications. I would expect that you have your Breast Cancer Nurse allotted, and I do think this is something you can bring up with them - as you say it doesn't feel fair, and adds to the stress of the whole experience. I don't think its unusual though, and I suspect it is a little worse than usual due to the covid-caused backlogs and strikes and various other pressures. You may have seen the news reports recently about cancer care in the nhs and the delays ? Thats horrible for you to be part of, and you shouldn't have to push, but there are some on here who have had massive delays in their surgery and had to keep pushing through all avenues (Like PALS for example) and so it kind of appears necessary at times. It can make you doubt your treatment, but the skill and abilities of the practitioners shouldn't be doubted - just put it down to a slightly ropey admin stuff. I know exactly what you mean about 'people not bothered'. This for you is the most important thing you have faced, its massive, its hitting every emotional and psychological button - but some of the people at the other end are unconnected to the psychological impact on you. I guess they are just used to this day in and day out and have lost touch with the human feelings for the patient. Its incredibly frustrating your delay after the broken machine, and no quick rebook, but I would certainly recommend that if you ring tomorrow and get no quick rebook then let your BCN discuss with your consultant. Their intervention could make things smoother. You can always ring the helpline number above too, for some more advice. x ... View more