Breast Cancer Care Forum

First EC done on Friday. Just felt groggy/hungover so far. I have had anti emetics and steroids prescribed for 3 days but nothing else - no injections or anything. No cold cap so have been bought headscarves and a hat by my cousin and I want to get a wig sorted out. I hope you are all ok xx ... View more

Just to add, I am 45, have 2 children (15 year old and 12 year old), live on border of South London/Surrey and have decided not to cold cap. ... View more

Hi Everyone! I have had my pre-chemo blood tests today and they were ok so I am all ready to start chemo on Friday 13th 😱 I have been given Emend tablet to take 1 hour before my appointment on Friday. I am having chemo first as my tumour is bigger than first thought and has what looks like tendrils so quite spread out. Grade 2 er+ 8/8, pr+ 8/8, HER2-. Sadly, I also have some cancer cells in the lymph node that they biopsies so chemo was on the cards whether before or after surgery. It’s looking like either single or double mastectomy (I also have some bleeding from nipple on good boob and despite clear mri, I am anxious about it as the bad boob had the same a couple of years ago). I will be having EC x 4 (every 3 weeks) then accelerated Taxol x 4 (fortnightly). Then surgery and rads but I’m trying to concentrate on getting through chemo first! I think I’ve rambled on enough, so that’s me for now. I hope you are all doing ok xx Allypops x ... View more

Hi Hansa, I had 2 clips inserted on 3/7/18. It was very similar to the core biopsy but without the “click”. So, done under local anaesthetic using ultrasound. Cut a small nick in skin, insert needle and push through the clip. I then had a mammogram to check they were in the right place. Then home. I tend to bleed and bruise a lot but have had less for this than the biopsies. It wasn’t too bad at all. The mammogram was the worst bit but I still have swelling from biopsies and some pmt tenderness too. ... View more

Karen, The clip sounds ok then. One less thing to worry about! Thanks for the reassurance xx ... View more

Thanks Karen. My metal clip gets put in Tuesday. I am hoping it won’t be any worse than the core biopsies. I will join the July chemo thread as soon as I get my start date. So hopefully, I’ll see you on there soon. Allypops x ... View more

Thanks Sally. It’s thrown me a bit as I had initially thought that I would be having surgery first. But I will be glad to get started on my treatment plan. I hope chemo won’t be too unkind to me. I hope you continue to find the chemo ok and manage to keep all the side effects under control. Allypops x ... View more

*bone scan not being be scan! ... View more

I have had my appointment at the Royal Marsden. As long as being be scan and echocardiogram are ok, I will be starting chemo in about 2 weeks. EC-accelerated T chemo (4 of each). They don’t think it’s inflammatory but it is a bit spread out and close to skin. It’s also in the lymph node they tested so I would be having chemo at some stage anyway and doing it before might give more options, or make surgery less complex. So that’s the plan at the moment. ... View more

Had appointment with consultant. The mri, ct, and biopsies show that it is bigger than they thought with axilla node involvement. It’s also close to skin so I will need a punch biopsy next week in case it is inflammatory. But no evidence of distant spread on ct. But may now need chemo first and mastectomy. So being referred to Royal Marsden for them to look at treatment plan. They still seemed hopeful that they can treat it. I’ll be glad when the plan is in place. ... View more

Another phone call - ultrasound and further biopsies from other side of bad breast as well as ct tomorrow. But all results should be ready in time for the appointment next Thursday. My poor boob is already black and blue from yesterday’s biopsies (bled a lot too). I’ll also need a bone scan at some point in the next couple of weeks but that doesn’t need to be done before the next appointment/treatment plan. ... View more

Just had phone call. Now have a CT scan tomorrow morning too 😨 ... View more

Sounds like an exciting summer, JaneBelinda! x ... View more

Thanks JaneBelinda and Thistledown Sorry you are having all these worries too. xx ... View more

More core biopsies taken (including axilla lymph node - scary) so will have to wait for results before finding out what the treatment plan is. Appointment with consultant postponed til next Thursday. Feel terrible to be honest. ... View more

Apparently, they have seen “something” on the MRI and I need to go for another ultrasound on Wednesday. Oh my god. I burst into tears on the phone but they couldn’t tell me anything else other than I’ve got to go Wednesday for them to check this other thing. My heart is jumping out of my chest! ... View more

MRI today. Noisy and a bit claustrophobic but not too bad. Now the long wait until Thursday..... ... View more

Dear JaneBelinda, I hope the meeting goes well tomorrow. Will be thinking of you xx ... View more

Abdominal ultrasound went ok today. Liver is fatty so need to improve my diet but no obvious signs of anything else. It was the same radiographer who decided to biopsy the non-suspicious looking lump just to be sure - she said she was really shocked that it had actually been cancer. More tears from me - I did thank her though. Now just to keep fingers crossed that the MRI machine is working on Sunday. Hope you are all well xx ... View more