Breast Cancer Care Forum

Hello! I'm nearly a year on from chemo, which sent me hurtling into an overnight menopause. I'm sharing my menopause post below:   https://thesherbetpatch.blogspot.com/2019/08/hot-hot-hotter-flushing-my-way-through.html ... View more

I'm so glad to find this thread as I finished simlar treatment in October and have felt a general slight stiffness, tenderness, sort of pulling sensation and feeling a bit bruised on my bad breast. It also extends up to my underarm area, where I had clearance. I had my one year mammogram in February, which came back clear, but the anxiety never really leaves!       ... View more

Hello! I'm not as far down the line as you, as I only finished treatment - lumpectomy, axilliary clearance, chemo, rads and booster rads in October last year. I also have tenderness in the bad breast, but for the past week or so it's felt more like a slight pulling sensation and bruising, extending up to my underarm. More of a niggle really. I'm on tamoxifen, with aches, fatigue and hot sweats. Its not easy, the hormone treatments!   Sending a gentle hug x     ... View more

Hello! I've been on Tamoxifen since the first week of September, after finishing chemo on 20th August. I'm 51. I first started getting lower back pain during the docetaxol, and it's been intermittent ever since. However, when it does flare up it's got steadily worse since starting Tamoxifen, particularly at night. The past two nights...and days...have been the worse yet. And now it seems to be in my right hip aswell. The lack of sleep because of this has completely wiped me out, and that in turn is making me emotional. Definitely the Tamoxifen is making it worse. I'm on the Teva brand.   Sarah x ... View more

Hello! I  haven't been on the forum for a while and seem to be having a senior moment, and forgotten how to add a blog link as a comment rather than as a reply to a comment   I'm now  a year on from starting chemo, and have enclosed a link to my blog below.   https://thesherbetpatch.blogspot.com/2019/05/survivor-reflection-and-moving-on.html   Sarah x ... View more

RE: How many chemos in four and a half months? It may vary, but for me it was six sessions. ... View more

Hello!   I echo the ladies above...please don't fear the worse. The list of side effects is huge, but not everyone gets every side effect and with the side effects you do get, there will be varying degrees.   I went through four and a half months of chemo last year,  FEC and Taxol.   Fec did make me nauseous, but the hospital will give you anti sickness meds that do a good job at controlling this. The first chemo was worse for me nausea wise, but only for the first few days. And mouth ulcers...the mouth ulcers were pretty bad and very painful, but your dentist should be able to prescribe you a numbing mouthwash called ''Difflam'' which I found invaluable. And soft foods...instant whip and jelly were my go to's!   With taxol, I'd heard horror stories. I will say, the first one was pretty bad, with bone pain and mouth ulcers, but this was because there was still FEC in my system. It did get easier.   Be prepared for the ongoing fatigue, which builds up gradually with each chemo cycle. This, for me, was the constant side effect.  And chemo brain is very real, and tends to creep up on you after chemo has finished, but it's more frustrating than serious. It may take longer to recall things, a bit more forgetfulness...being mid conversation and then forget what you were saying!   But on the positive side, my hair started to grow back on Taxol!   Sarah x ... View more

Hi, Tigerlilli! Hope you're doing okay.   Taxol gets a bad press, I had three taxols last summer after the three FEC, and after reading all the horror stories about taxol I was a bag of nerves for the first one!   I will say, when the first one hits on around day 3, it is pretty bad side effect wise as you still have the FEC in your system. For me, it was bone pain and mouth ulcers. However, aside from the ever increasing fatigue for me the taxol got a lot easier with each dose, and there were more good days than withthe Fec.   Good luck, and if you need to ask anything about the taxol from someone who's gone through it, I'm here xx ... View more

Hi, Tigerlilli! Hope you're doing okay.   Taxol gets a bad press, I had three taxols last summer after the three FEC, and after reading all the horror stories about taxol I was a bag of nerves for the first one!   I will say, when the first one hits on around day 3, it is pretty bad side effect wise as you still have the FEC in your system. For me, it was bone pain and mouth ulcers. However, aside from the ever increasing fatigue for me the taxol got a lot easier with each dose, and there were more good days than withthe Fec. And on the plus side, your hair starts to grow back!   Good luck, and if you need to ask anything about the taxol from someone who's gone through it, I'm here xx ... View more

HI, Jem!   I have just sent you my fcebook link in the message box xx   This is my last week of radio before moving on to the boosters week on Monday. Another CT scan tomorrow as so far I've been using the breath hold technique but they don't use the breath hold for boosters, so need knew photos. ... View more

Hi Jem! I'm two weeks in and have no burning or discolouration at all. I'm using E45 cream once a day, twice if I remember. The only side effect I have from radio is fatigue, which has got worse in the last three days, but part of that could be due to the chemo...or the very early mornings. Please don't be anxious...after chemo rads is a walk in the park 🙂 Sarah xx ... View more

@JemPD  New Year meet up sounds perfect! I will send Facebook details now.   As for finish date...well that was a traumatic radio today!   Ever since my meeting with the radio oncologist in August I have had in my head 7th October as a finish date - 3 weeks radio followed by an extra booster week. However, at a routine review meeting with a radio nurse, when I mentioned that two weeks in I was happy to be at the half way point she said ''oh no - you've only got one week to go, not two - the oncologist cancelled the booster week after the radio planning session three weeks ago!!!'' I was completely thrown by this as when I'd queried the extra week at the time he'd said it was because I was young (!) pre menopause and it was a grade 3, in his words, ''particularly nasty cancer'' The nurse couldn't understand why it had been cancelled and not discussed either and the consultant is on holiday. So another nurse brought some paperwork where it was apparently noted that the consultant had assumed I was younger than I was - 51 - and cancelled the booster when he realised as the cut off is under 50s!!! The other reason was clear margins, although they weren't clear after the first op so I had to go down again. It was all quite traumatic and I was shocked...I felt I'd been given the best treatment option only to have it taken away with no explanation - but the upside was that after an extra hours waiting another consultant was really appologetic, said in her opinion a grade 3 cancer with positive lymph nodes almost always requires a booster week and reinstated them.   Sarah x         ... View more

@Hets67...night number one of tamoxifen and I had two dripping hot sweats! And really dizzy getting out of bed, but that could have been from lack of sleep. Feeling fine now, buf dreading popping another of those shiny pills of doom later on! Sarah xx ... View more

@TraceyMac...congratulations on finishing chemo! @Tropic_al...rads is fine, a walk in the park after chemo, although appointments are all over the place! 7.45am yesterday, anytime between 9am and 5pm last week and this week all before 8.30 in the morning. 6 down, 14 to go... The only downside is I thought I saw a familiar face there last week, had it confirmed on the weekend...the daughter of a near neighbour who I taught in primary school is one of the radiographers! The idea of her drawing on my boobs with a marker pen and monitoring my breath holding...I'm sure she's wonderful but I'd be really embarrassed 🙂 Luckily, she hasn't been on my team yet but I change machines for the booster week! @JemPD...I started tamoxifen today was really dreading 10 years of pill popping a hormone tablet. Shocking night sweat tonight, but not sure if that's coincidence as I've had random sweats throughout the chemo, but this feels different. A month out of my last docetaxol I've still got muscle fatigue in my legs, particularly the thighs, and especially when walking up even a slight incline. And they're definitely feeling stiffer when bending. But on the plus side the oncologist said my bloods were recovering well and signed me off appointments for two years!!! Hoping everyone is doing well and sending a big hug, Sarah xx ... View more

Well, I just posted a long essay, only to have it disappear into the ether 🙂 I'll post again in the morning xx ... View more

Congratulations @TraceyMac for finishing chemo xx   @Tropic-al - rads are going fine, 6 down, 14 to go! The only downside is the appointment times - last week were all over the place, today was 7.45am and the rest of the week are all before 8.30am! Oohh, and I thought I saw a familiar face last week, which a friend confirmed for me on the weekend - a near neighbour's daughter who I taught at primary school is one of the radiographers!!! I'm sure she's wonderful, but I'd be so embarassed if she was the one drawing on my boobs with a marker pen and monitoring the breath hold 🙂 Luckily so far she's not been one of the team I've seen, although for the booster week I move to a different machine.   Today marked four weeks post chemo, and the oncologist signed me off appointments for two years 🙂 He also started me on Tamoxifen for 10 years, not too keen on that, but took the first pill today.   I've still got muscle fatigue in my thighs, particularly when walking on even a gentle incline, alongside the random clammy head sweats, but the fatigue is lifting.   Hoping everyone is well and sending a big hug,   Sarah xx ... View more

First radio today! There's definitely an art to the breath hold...I thought I'd cracked it at home, only to discover on the machine that I naturally arch my back when breathing in 🙂 A pain free experience, but surprised to be a bit pink and sore after the first session. Does chemo make skin more sensitive? Sarah x ... View more

@jo and @jem sending a big hug xx The pre radiation appointment is fine...I was nervous about gettingcthe tattoos but they are tiny and the procedure is quick and virtually painless. You will talk with the radiology doctor before being lined up on the scanner to check everything is looking good on the computer. Most bizarrely I had to strip my top half in a corner of the room with two radiologists present, yet was given a modesty gown to put on to walk the six steps to the machine 🙂 Hope yob start to feel better soon. Hard to celebrate the end of chdmo when the side effects are kicking on, and I definitely wasn't prepared for the muscle pain. Or the continuation of the random chemo/menopahsal sweats that leave me with a clammy head! On the positivd sode my baby hair is looking quite fluffy now, although my lower eyelashes have now completely departed, leaving me with really watery eyes outside. I also failed a field of vision eye test on one eye and have to be retested on Tuesday...the optician thinks it was due to fatigue and eye watering as it was at the end of an hour long appointment so fingers crossed! I have heard that chemo affects the eyes and they can take months to return to normal so I'm hopi g it's a temporary blip. Sarah xx ... View more

@tanya this muscle fatigue after chemo finishes is definitely not something I was expecting! Here's hoping it's short lived. Have yoh started on Tamoxifen yet? I'm hoping to avoid it until after radiation, but I have an oncologist appointment on 17th September and am expecting to be presented with the ominous box of tablets. Sarah xx ... View more