Hi Everyone! How are you all getting on? I know the majority of us have completed or are very near to finishing our treatment regimes but it's always good to catch up. After all the aggravation of my skin breaking down after the radiotherapy I'm happy to report that following lots of loving care and loads of Hydrogel!! my skin is now back to normal and I can wear a bra without a dressing/padding etc. I still have a few lingering side effects - still have the occasional weepy eyes, peripheral neuropathy in both hands and feet - not painful but still aggravating. My husband said I was out for the count the other night but my feet were dancing a jig in bed - he ended up getting up to make himself a brew because it was so maddening to him (bless him!!) The eyebrows, eyelashes and yes hair!! are all beginning to show themselves. I cold capped throughout treatment so the new hair is so far is white - it remains to be seen if it stays that way or if it starts to grow with colour in. My hair is now growing the coloured hairdressers part, my normal hair colour and lots of gray/white which would have been covered by my regular hairdresser visits. Now I'm trying to decide whether just to let my hair do its own thing - I'm reluctant to colour while I have new growth as a BC friend said her hair was so porous that blonde went bright yellow and to leave off colouring for as long as possible. But my daughter thinks I'm too young to go grey!! and thinks it will make me look older and discussions about being on trend with grey are for younger people!! lol!! I am getting aches and pains particularly in my back (similar to when I was on the gcsf injections) but that could be down to being more active - gardening etc but nothing seems to ease it - tried heat packs, painkillers, rest, gentle walks - I suppose if nothing else I could try the anti-histamines again - they worked before lol!! But then again it could just be a side effect of the lovely Tamoxifen!! But the best thing is how finishing treatment seems to switch on a real healing vibe. People comment about how much brighter and how well I look (make up helps here - the Look good feel Better course is coming into its own now lol!) I do feel loads better - maybe it's because the treatment does really drag us down and we don't realise it. I do have fatigued days which are frustrating but I'll have to live with those and see how things go when and if I start my phased return to work in May. But a final decision on that will be made when I see the oncologist in three weeks time. Still waiting on my next appointment with the plastic surgeon for when the next phase of mastopexy and tidying up of my reconstruction jobby will be discussed but other than that life is good and there for the living!! Oh and I'm booked onto to a Moving forward course in May because I still feel I need to sort stuff out in my head but not gone the full counselling route yet. My Hospice worker has been an angel with chats and things when I go for my reflexology treatments but sadly they are coming to an end so it remains to be seen if I need any further help there - my GP says to see how things go - it's always an option later. So that's my update - how about everyone else? It would be good to hear how you are all getting on. We will all have good and bad days in the future but the lovely sunny days we have been having are a sign of good things to come. Hugs Swampy
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