Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi, Just to let you know that I have been taking Letrozole for 30 months and I too developed trigger finger after about three months. It was the little finger of my right hand that was a problem. This only lasted a short period of time, about three months. I used to put my hand on a flat surface and gently stretch the effected finger back a few times twice a day. Not sure if this was why it went away but may be worth a try. I know I found it a bit unnerving  at the time. Best wishes. Linda ... View more

Hi Tricia, I agree with Jan that you need to find ways that work for you to cope with the effect that a cancer diagnosis has on your physical and mental well-being. It is important to acknowledge that it is quite natural to have some negative thoughts at times, you must not be hard on yourself when this happens. I know that my way of thinking, being two years from end of main treatment, is that when people ask if I am OK I say fingers crossed yes as I don't like to tempt fate. People think this sounds negative but it is what works best for me. Every one is different and you will find what methods suit you. Most importantly be kind to yourself during the coming weeks, months and years. Best wishes. Linda x ... View more

Hi Tricia, Don't blame yourself for trying HRT as it may not have made any difference. I started having periods at ten and had a late menopause.  I did not try HRT but still developed breast cancer. Genetics play such a big part in cancer and we cannot do anything about the hand we are dealt. All we can do his to do our best going forward and hope for a bit of luck as well. x ... View more

Hi Tricia, It must be hard when covid means you can't have another person to listen and take things in. I know that even with my husband being present there were some grey areas. Hopefully you have a breast care nurse who can answer any questions you may have or to go over the information as it is all overwhelming at the start. I am doing well at the moment, fingers crossed. My only problems are minimal at present due to Letrozole. I have intense hot flushes a few times a day, triggered by changes in temperature.  I feel unwell briefly beforehand so know what's coming but it is all over very quickly.  I am also a bit stiff when I get up but this goes in minutes. If the drug works it is worth these minor inconveniences. I still have days when I dwell on what the future may hold but on the whole I focus on doing things that make me happy. I hope you get good results from your lymph node clearance and your treatment goes well. x ... View more

Hi, Really sorry that you are going through a frightening time at the moment. I, like many ladies on this forum, can empathize with your current situation. I myself was treated for a Grade 2 invasive lobular breast cancer in February 2018. After surgery it was 35mm with 18/18 positive lymph nodes after an axillary level three clearance. I had chemo, then re excision to get clear margins. I then had 23 days of radiotherapy and four six monthly bisophonate infusions. I am just coming up to having been taking Letrozole for two years. My surgeon said that lobular is a slow growing but sneaky cancer. Try to stay positive as it is still possible that you will have the surgery and there will be no other infected nodes. Even if they are there is treatment available and no one knows for sure who will be the unlucky ones. I try to exercise andmand a healthy weight as it is my way of feeling I have some control.  I know it is easy to say and the unknown is scary but hopefully things will feel better when you have the full picture and treatment plan. In the meantime use this forum to find out about other people's experiences and the comfort of knowing that you were not alone. Best wishes. Linda ... View more

Hi Roberta, I had a therapeutic mammoplasty in March 2018 and at that time bought a post surgery bra, the reduction in size of my breast was accommodated in the same size bra as pre surgery. I was also advised to consider surgery to even me up at a later date, especially as I had radiotherapy which can alter the size of your breast. After further surgery for clear margins, chemo and radiotherapy I could not face the thought of further surgery. Several months later I changed my mind and had mammoplasty surgery to the other breast in September 19. At this time my surgeon advised me to purchase a recobra which I did. It was so comfortable and as it stretches you do not have to worry so much about the precise size as they come in small, medium, large etc. The website helps you in deciding which size to buy.  My surgeon told me that they also help with a better cosmetic result. Hope this helps. Best wishes. Linda ... View more

Hi Modo, I know the feeling as I too was unsure if I had taken the daily dose of Letrozole but decided that I thought that I had not so had a tablet. Not sure if I made the right decision but anyway I did not experience any symptoms. If you don't take the tablet I would not worry as the benefits of Letrozole last  for years after you stop taking it so one day missing will not make any difference. I know that it is difficult to be rational at times so do understand how you feel. Hope the rest of your day is less stressful. Linda    ... View more

I have been following this thread and can understand the hurt that has been caused by those with a secondary diagnosis. I am one year on from treatment for breast cancer and live daily with the thought that it is possible that  the disease could progress, maybe in the next months or even many years in the future. Whilst I commend you reasoning behind the campaign I do feel the choice of words was inadvisable. If I was a secondary lady or man it would effect my mental state. Perhaps Incurables would have been better, accurate but not making people feel that they were already written off. I understand the need for action but perhaps this issue could have been handled with more sensitivity for those living with the disease on a daily basis. Despite this I obviously wish you well with the campaign and hope improvements can be made in treatment for everyone as soon as possible. ... View more

Hi Jan, Thanks for getting back to me and sorry if I have contributed to your concerns. I know from experience, surgery was in March 18, chemo April and radiotherapy Oct18 after further surgery, that it is a lot to come to terms with. I know that the chance of recurrence will never go away but they told me that they still don't know for sure who will be unfortunate in this respect despite the original staging. When people ask if I am alright I always says touch wood I hope so as I don't like to tempt fate. I don't think this is answer people expect but it helps me to keep it in perspective. I went through months of varying degrees of worrying about the future but have now got to the point where most of the time it is pushed to the back of the mind and it is not the first thing I think of when I wake up. I still have my bad days but as long as it is a temporary blip that OK.       I try to tell myself that if it comes back I will deal with it at the time and in the meantime get on with making the most of every day, you appreciate the smaller things in life more after going through what we have. I hope your MRI scan results are good and that you get through the next stage of recovery being your peace of mind quickly. My mum used to say that you can spend time worrying about something that might happen and then something completely unexpected occurs so try not to worry about what might be, easier said than done at times! Best wishes, Linda ... View more

Hello Jan, I have also been treated for invasive breast cancer and after surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy take Letrozole and have 6 monthly bisophonate infusions. I agree that some of the information on the internet is misleading, especially how the media reports developments.  I read your earlier post where you said that you had 19/21 positive lymph nodes and you were stage 2. I had 18/18 positive nodes removed but have always wondered why it was staged as Stage 2B by the oncologists. I thought this number of positive nodes meant it was Stage 3. As you say hopefully we are both free of cancer and things have moved on but I wondered how you know you were Stage 2, was it your oncologist who told you this was the case? I did ask at the hospital and they said that my circumstances led to the stage being 2B - T2N1 but the TNM information suggests different. Your post led me to think about this again. Best wishes, Linda ... View more

Hello, My daughter got married in May 2018. I had my first FEC/T chemo three weeks before the wedding, they let me delay the second round by four days so that I was in the best shape I could be. I cold capped the first session and will never know if this helped me keep my hair for the wedding, most people lose their hair with FEC chemo. I only washed my hair with gentle products twice a week. When I say washed it was more a gentle rinse. I used a wide toothed comb to gently comb through my hair once a day to prevent matting. I slept on a silk pillow to reduce friction and wore a hair net, certainly not glamorous but I had most of my hair on the day. Don't know if it was all the tugging as I had my hair out up with pins as I was an older matron of honour for my daughter but it really started to fall out the day afterwards, certainly I have read that everyone is different and the type of chemo does effect the likelihood of hair lose. Hope the tips help and everything works out for you. Ultimately I had a wig on stand by if needed and remember you will look lovely whatever the state of your hair. Best wishes, Linda ... View more

Hi MoDo,   I can understand that you are distressed about the situation you are in. I myself know that it is all to easy to over analyse every comment made and drive yourself mad with worry. I had a level 3 ANC in March and so far have had no problems. I have continued with the arm exercises as I have further surgery and radiotherapy to go through and want my arm to be in as good a shape as possible. I also massage my arm twice a day as instructed by the BCN.   I am sure they would not be suggesting lymph node clearance if they did not think it was best as they are keen to keep surgery to the minimum as possible but with the best outcome for you. I think the decision is harder if cancer cells are detected by a sentinel node biopsy but it sounds like yours have been detected by ultrasound and biopsy, as were mine, so it is more likely that there could be additional nodes with cancer cells but they can only tell by removing them. Obviously you need to ask questions to feel comfortable with your decision but remember everyone's situation is different. I myself recently had to make a decision between re excison and mascectomy and found it hard but I have confidence in the surgeon and felt better once I had decided on the way forward.   I hope you feel better when you have decided what to do and that your operation goes well.    Linda x ... View more

Hi Vonnie,   I am now recovering from my last Docetaxel and have a few suggestions that may help you with your last one, I hope they help.   I had indegestion badly after 5th round and my oncologist prescribed a tablet for this, no problems this time.   I had sore, watery eyes that felt painful in the corners, regular eyedrops that you can buy from a chemist or supermarket made this less of a problem.   As regards taste I feel that the suggestion I was given by the chemo nure has helped me. At the second Docetaxel infusion I told her about my mouth tasting and feeling disgusting plus the lack of taste or things tasting awful. She suggested that I sucked an ice lolly just before and during the time the drip was going through. Apparently there is research being carried out regarding this method. I had three lollies and my mouth recovered much quicker and was not sore, just had white coating for three days. During the last infusion I had five lollies and things have been even better. Day 10 and I am beginning to get much more taste than last time. May be worth a try.   Good luck, I know how awful it feels to not be able to drink and eat normally. I now have a list of foods/ drinks I am looking forward to and watching people eat and drink on TV etc. does not help.   Best wishes,   Linda ... View more

Basically you can't have your cake and eat it. Most people don't have the choice, only you can decide what is best for you overall. Mostly I  have been happy with the NHS so far, private is not always best and sometimes this does mean waiting and seeing different people in the NHS system. I know from speaking to others that not all hospitals are as good as each other so it is important to make sure you are happy with the hospital you choose if you decide to stick with the NHS. Good luck with your decision. Go with what your heart tells you as everyone's circumstances are different.   Linda   ... View more

Hi Paulus, Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone is different and it is a personal choice as to how to handle these things. I decided to have chemotherapy as I wanted to give myself the best chance of preventing further spread. I had invasive lobular , Grade 2, which had not shown up on mammogram, hence I had 18/18 nodes which some degree of cancer cells. This makes me high risk so want to do all I can. No guarantees of course. I have not had too many side effects so far so have been lucky, had last round on Friday so just need to get over side effects and avoid germs for next few weeks. I have kept my mind and body as active as possible to help with my recovery. At 58 I want to be able to be in a position to enjoy my life although I accept that it will never be quite the same again. I am more likely to live in the moment rather than planning long term which I tended to do before.   I think I am unsettled because at the original results meeting in March they said I would need a mastectomy and then after an MDT on 3rd August the oncologist implied that it was my decision to have further bsurgery. Hopefully this will be clarified on Wednesday and the best option for me will be clear.   Best wishes for the future.   Linda ... View more

Hi Clare, Thank you for sharing this information with me. I have an appointment with the breast surgeon on Wednesday and intend to ask many questions to clarify the situation. I know there wasca tight margin on the side of the tumour nearest my nipple but do not know how tight. They told me at the results meeting that they could not take more from here as it would have compromised the nipple and had always been told that a mascectomy would be needed if the TM was not clear. However I was later told that the path report said consider mascectomy but then the oncologist said that it was my decision to have the further surgery.  I think this arose because I phoned to chase an appointment that I was advised that I would have halfway through my chemotherapy,as advised at the results meeting. Neither of the two surgeons involved with my surgery are there at the moment and I was told that the surgery would be discussed at the next MDT which was on 3rdAugust.   I need more info but rather hope that the choice is still more clearcut than it appears at the moment as it would be hard to decide myself. I know that reconstruction would not be done at the same time as they are keen to get on with radiotherapy asap due to lymph node involvement. Not sure whether I will have reconstruction in future as the thought of further surgery at the moment does not appeal but my views my change depending on what happens in the coming months.   I will let you know how I get on and hope all goes well for you.   Linda ... View more

Hi Michelle, I did use the cold cap for the first round, trying everything to keep most of my hair for 12th May. I am not sure if I will continue with it for the second treatment, will see how the hair loss is going and go from there. I will monitor how my spots are in the next couple of days and contact my oncology key worker for advice if they do not seem to be improving.  How are you feeling after your second round of FEC compared to the first. My second is on 14th May, just after my daughter's wedding. The wedding has given me another focus during the last few days but will have to think about doing some things over the coming weeks  that never usually have the time for as I am not working at the Primary School where I am employed as there is always illness of various types and I did not want to take that risk. At the moment normality and taste are what I look forward to, just have a long way to go to achieve this but will try to take one day at a time!   Best wishes. Linda ... View more