Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi ladies! I'm day 11 after finishing radiotherapy.  I was told the symptoms would continue for a couple of weeks after the end of treatment but I underestimed this, so take note ladies if you are working!  My skin got redder, warmer  and more sore for a good week after the end of radiotherapy especially below my armpit which has been really sore.  I was close to taking painkillers but managed without.  I found it really uncomfortable to wear a bra for long periods too.  It has begun to peel now but my skin has stayed dry without weeping etc.  Today is the first day symptoms are slowly subsiding.  I've been putting on some good cream every day for the full 20 days and since finishing and it'll last me another week I reckon.  I bought it on Amazon, it's from France - BIAFINE which is for burns and is about £15.  I found out about it on the radiotherapy thread on here, it's been excellent. It 'absorbs' quite quickly so I'm not having to wait too long to get dressed - I'm all about the practicalities!!     It is great to see us all being post-chemo at last, I know I'm coping so much better by reading all your posts, thank you so much!      ... View more

Thanks Ali and Jencat xx ... View more

Ali, lots of books with that title on Amazon, who’s the author?? ... View more

Thanks Ali, that’s the book I was looking for x ... View more

Hi August ladies!   Am nearly at the finish line, two more radiotherapy sessions and I'm done on Thursday.  I'm Triple Negative so no more drugs or treatments which scares me a lot!  Feel quite helpless, so much so that I burst into tears in the radiotherapy waiting room yesterday, mortified!  The regular contact with practitioners over the last few months has been like a crutch, it makes you feel that your burden is being shared, which is so comforting.  Just yearly mammograms from now on...scary.   Radiotherapy has been so much easier than I expected.  The fatigue never hit me really and at my review appt yesterday at session 17 the radiographer said it may be because I've experienced chemo and that I've become accustomed to being generally tired, this is a good thing as I expected to be wiped out but I haven't been at all.  Physically, I'm experiencing what I'd say is a moderate case of prickly heat just below my neck on my right side and under my bra line and the rest of my boob feels like it has heat like sunburn.  I've been recommended to take anti-histamines to help with the incessant itching the rash is giving me and it's worse at night but really isn't half as bad as I'd expected.  I asked how long it will take for this to settle after I finish on Thurs and they said it may get worse for a couple of weeks then slowly improve.  Hope I'll be ok for a little escape to Iceland (the country!!) in a couple of weeks, I want to try out the hot springs!    Am pleased that my hair is clearly growing back, when I feel my head now I feel hair rather than skin!!!  Am truly fed up of the wig and headscarf thing now but will be sticking it out til Easter I think, I'm not brave enough. I have a question...who was reading a book on diet for breast cancer a couple of months ago??  I made a mental note to read it once I'd finished treatment and now can't find the post.  Need the title of the book  please in anyone remembers it.   Keep going ladies, one day at a time x ... View more

Hey August ladies! Day 4 of radiotherapy this morning, 16 to go! It’s all good, just have to lie on the xray table and it’s all done in 10 mins. No side effects yet, these kick in after 7-10 days I hear. Radiographer says it’s mostly fatigue, like I need an excuse for an afternoon nap!! I was totally wiped out after 1st session...think I’m prob still getting over the chemo. Sue58 - I started radiotherapy 3 wks after last chemo. The oncologist gave me the choice of diving straight in or waiting til the New Year, I just figured I wanted all treatment done with asap so I can on with recovering. Due to finish 18th Jan. ... View more

Yes Cathy, they say it stops friction!!!  lol! ... View more

Here we go...radiotherapy starts today whoohoo (ish)! I’ve got the emolient cream ready and the cornflour for inside my bra...I’ve done lots of research! 08.45am appts for 4 wks, not looking forward to the daily early wakeup alarm but at least it won’t disrupt my days and I get the weekends off. Plenty of time for afternoon naps! Wish me luck August ladies. One day at a time. ... View more

Good advice Sy, thanks x ... View more

Hi Xena, I recognise you from the August Chemo thread!  I start on 19th Dec til 19th January, am day 11 after last chemo and am feeling better every day since day 9.  Chemical hangover slowly going away and not too fatigued yet.  Good luck with the last SE of chemo, one day at a time x.   I have a question for you ladies.... When applying moisturising creams, do we need to then make sure it's all washed off and clean for the actual radiotherapy to make sure there's no residue on the skin or doesn't it matter?  I'd want to plaster the moisturiser after a morning shower but do we have to have dry, clean skin for the session??     ... View more

Hi Ladies!   I've popped over from the August Chemo forum as I finished my chemo on Monday and am due to start RT on 19Dec til 19th Jan.  Have read all your posts and they're so helpful already!!!  Looking forward to sharing with you all. Helen   ... View more

Well done Fairy, take it easy this week.   One day at a time xx   ... View more

Day 3 after last cycle!!! Doing ok though really achy today after the injection for white cells yesterday, first time I’ve been confined to the house because of this. Prob also because I traipsed around numerous garden centres yesterday looking for the perfect christmas tree then decided we’d decorate the tree and house when we got back so we’d be free to do something else on the weekend when I hopefully will have a bit more energy!! Sib, you’re news has really cheered me up, I always find that when our docs make a plan and set up treatments it helps to remain focussed on doing all we can to keep this disease at bay. Good luck with the new regime Sib, Christmas is put in the middle to distract us all, thank goodness!!! Sue58, congrats on finishing the last chemo, big relief. Because I start radiotherapy on 19th Dec I can give you the heads up before you start! My chemo nurse told me that we shouldn’t feel many side effects for 8-10 days then possible discomfort like sunburn, sore ribs etc as the radium has a ripple effect from the targeted site. May have a sore throat as time goes on depending where the site is, and tiredness could carry on for a few week after the cycle has finished. Everyone says it’s not a feeling of being unwell at all which will be welcome after yucky chemo. I’ll soon find out anyway. Hope I’m ok after it, hubby and I have booked to go to Iceland 3 wks after everything finishes!! Think the afternoon naps will still feature for a while lol! Well done everyone, one day at a time x ... View more

Ali, glad you're out of hospital, hope you feel better soon, just think every day you'll start to come out of this horrible haze and will be able to do more 'normal' things as each day starts.   I was admitted overnight on Saturday night for the same thing, they did bloods and my neutrophil count was good so they sent me home and said my white cells were good enough to fight the infection without antibiotics so that was a relief.  Good to know my blood count has sufficiently recovered the weekend before the next chemo at least!  No sleep at all though in hosp as the IV machine kept me awake all night, took me til Monday to catch up. Am having the last chemo on Monday and still feel a bit 'chemically', can't wait to get it done, then I start radiotherapy on 19th December.  I was offered a break til the New Year but I just want it all done asap, have been offered an extra 'bonus' week of radiotherapy so will have 4 weeks instead of 3 weeks now, I'll take all the treatment I'm offered...I want to throw everything at this disease! I'm so buoyed by you all, we should be really proud of ourselves.  Even though outwardly we may look like graceful swans to others, we all know how much we're kicking those legs below the surface!  We're all within weeks of starting the next chapter so lets pat ourselves on the back for keeping our chins up in between the setbacks and humps in the road, we're all the stronger for it. One day at a time ladies. xx   ... View more

Bloody hell!  12 days til my last chemo and my eyebrows have decided to leave me NOW!!!!   You're having a laugh!   Why can't you just lose all body hair in the first cycle and get it over with??? lol!  Am slightly celebrating as the horrible chemical hangover seems to have lifted overnight so feeling better today at last.   CT scan tomorrow as prep for radiotherapy, and a lifelong marker tattoo (?!),  anxious but got to be done.    ... View more

Oh ladies, we're all suffering with the emotional side this week more than ever aren't we??  I hit the big '50' on Friday, but because it was day 5, cycle 5 I couldn't think about popping open a bottle or going for a slap up meal, let alone celebrating with a lovely weekend away as I'd planned more than 6 months ago before my diagnosis.  My lovely family were so great, trying to make it a lovely day, it was upsetting me more!!!!   I've had a terrible weekend of side effects, totally feel toxic, with a pulsating head, yucky mouth, bad tummy and tears.  I have a CT scan scheduled for Thurs as prep for radiotherapy in Dec and am struggling to remain positive.   Thank goodness we all share how we're feeling because I know I'm not alone in this...we're all feeling the same and we know we'll have better days than this.  Chin up ladies, it'll pass and we'll turn the corner soon.x     ... View more

Hi Meesh! I’m having 6 x FEC cycles. Had cycle 5 on Monday. I’ve found that the side effects have remained the same throughout but I’ve made little changes each time to cope better. During cycle 3 it took me a good two weeks to recover and for cycle 4 I found that I felt lot less nauseous and bloated by cutting out bread/toast, and rested every afternoon during the first week and recovered to nearly normal from day 7! I find that my mouth gets sore from day 5 so am using the mouthwash from day 4 every few hours as advised by the chemo nurse and for cycle 4 had no soreness. For sore hands and arms from vein pain I put heat pads on for 20 mins a few times a day and it helped massively during cycle 4. Now you’ve had a couple of cycles you may see a pattern too, I understand now how helpful it is to keep a journal of side effects so I can anticipate things now!! Best advice ever. One day at a time remember x ... View more

Evening ladies! Fairy, hope yesterday went ok for you. Sib and Ali glad you seem to be doing better. Had FEC no 4 on Monday, despite really sore hands and arms the canula went in fine and no dramas with soreness during the infusion, phew! Feeling ok but the bloaty feeling is kicking in slowly today again, have decided to have porridge for breakfast instead of toast as I think bread for brekkie and lunch isn't helping and am forcing 5 pieces of fruit down me.  Am eating regularly and have staved off the nausea so far..,.time will tell.  Last cycle when I finished the steroids on day 4 the bloated feeling got worse every day so hoping the fruit and no bread experiment will work, have to try something, it took two weeks to feel normal last time and I need to be ready for my best friend's 50th on day 12 of this cycle!!! Well done Sue58, long may the side effects lie low! One day at a time...   ... View more

Chemo 4 for me tomorrow then, though the veins on both my hands are in a hell of a mess and are so painful I’ll be surprised if they get a canula in! Will be drinking 2 litres of water beforehand and getting heatpads wrapped around them for 30 mins before just like last time and hopefully it’ll do the trick again. Good luck Sue58 and everyone else diving in again this week. One day at a time remember x ... View more

Just had bloods done ready for chemo on Monday...hopefully! Girls’ night out tonight at our local Italian and I think my taste buds and stomach are settled enough for me to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine...hopefully! A bit of interesting info I found out by accident two weeks ago ladies. I was at the jobcentre with my son who was enquiring about volunteering work, I got chatting with the lady and my current situation came up. She told me I am entitled to receive PIP allowance which is the old disability living allowance. Her colleague claimed it last year while having chemo and radiotherapy for BC. It’s not means tested and you can claim it from diagnosis date. The payment can be anything from £22 to £149 per week/month (I’m not sure) according to your needs. I would never have known about this had I not had the chat with the lady. May be of use to some of you ladies. It’ll go to good use for me, paying towards petrol to/from apptmnts and the heatpads I’ve bought to relieve pain so far! Not to mention headscarfs and the additional cost of the wig after using the voucher. ... View more