Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thank you so much for your insights. I had heard about the loose bowels! I wonder if they give you any medication to reduce the symptoms. Interesting about the dietary changes. I guess I could deal with it if it's just for one year. Thank you again. ... View more

Hello lovely ladies,   Good to hear from you, Ocean. Well done for getting through the rads. Good grief, you had a lot of sessions! Thank you for the beautiful photos.   Edinbird, I hope the next sessions of rads are easier for you. I totally sympathise on the lack of sleep. It's still affecting me as well. Sounds like you've done everything possible to get some decent sleep but to no avail. Maybe cooler nights will help? Fingers crossed.   Sonia, your hubby's new boat looks awesome. When will you get to try it out? I'll have a go at getting onto the mesenger group. Couldn't get the app to work last time.   How are you feeling after your trip to Cardiff, Marlyn? Did you manage to keep looking attentive even when your mind went a wandering? I find myself doing the nodding and smiling thing quite often and then suddenly thinking, what did they just say? Not good!   How was your soup, Rosina? I made courgette soup last week and it was delicious. Even my hubby enjoyed it and he normally avoids veg if he can.   Daisy, I hope things go smoothly with your Mum's move. As for taking loratidine, I started taking clarytin last week as I was fed up with constant niggly aches, itches, sores, etc. Not sure if it's helping but I am sure to start rattling soon with all the medication I'm taking.   Susie, hope you're enjoying being picc line free. Must be a relief after all this time.    Well, I'm feeling the effects of a busy weekend. Had 3 lots of visitors on Saturday, followed by ice hockey (they lost 😑) and then a trip to Caister/Norwich yesterday to take daughter back to uni. It was lovely to walk along the beach and we even saw some seals playing in the waves. Made my day 😊   Been over to see a friend this morning and we went for a short walk.   Really need a nap now.   Hope everyone else is having a good day.   Sar xxx         ... View more

Good morning lovely ladies,   First of all, good luck to our Susie with the last chemo today! You've done so well. I'll be thinking of you and sending lots of virtual hugs ❤   Lovely to hear from Deano - sorry about your sad news. Good to hear you're getting on ok with Tamoxifen. I also find it affects my joints, especially when I've been sat down or lying down for a while.   Sonia, congrats to your son on the sports awards. You must be very proud. As for numb fingers, I haven't had that but mine are very sore and prone to infections. I've also had pins and needles in my left hand. The nurse who did my Herceptin yesterday suggested I might have carpal tunnel in my left arm. I'm not convinced though.   Nettienoo, I can totally sympathise with the lack of energy and sore toes. I've banged my toes several times and ended up with blood everywhere and missing nails. Nothing broken though, that must be really painful. You poor thing. I hope you have a lovely weekend at the caravan. The weather looks good for it.   Marlyn, 3 hours in the car.... I feel for you. Hope you manage to enjoy a bit of your time in Cardiff at least. Don't fall asleep during the church service 😂   Sarah, my sleep is still rubbish. Woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep until after 5am. God help me when I have to get up for work. Love the hairstyle you're aspiring to. Even like the star but I know you said you're not having that. Are you off to the hockey this weekend? We've got Hull tomorrow. They beat us last weekend back to back so I don't hold out much hope.   Daisydi, so sorry you're going through such turmoil with your Mum. It must be very upsetting for you all. Sending big hugs ❤   Rosina, well done on getting the 4 day week approved. I just don't know how I'm going to cope with full time work in the near future. In the meantime, my ideal job has been advertised. It's an early years teaching role, part time in a small school. Just what I need but unfortunately I can't afford to take the paycut. It's really upsetting me.    Busy weekend ahead with hockey Saturday and taking daughter back to uni for her final year on Sunday.   Hope everyone else is OK.   Sar xxx         ... View more

Hi Sonia, I did go back to sleep after 2 hours of being online. When are you thinking of going back to work? I am going to speak to my GP about a phased return. I know I need a nap in the afternoons so I'll probably opt to come home by lunchtime. I just don't want to build up too quickly and then end up feeling rubbish. ... View more

Well it's the middle of the night and I'm wide awake.    Popped into school today and that always sends my mind whirring. I am hoping to return to work after half term but not sure how many hours I'll cope with in the beginning. Rosina, dropping a day sounds good if that is an option. I often wonder how I'll ever cope with full time hours again.   As for September weddings, mine was going to be in August but then it would have meant that a lot of people couldn't make it due to being on holiday so we opted for September instead. We were only 21 at the time but had been together since we were 16. We met at school during our A levels after I had just moved to MK.    I haven't experienced anything which would suggest former lives, etc but have had premonitions via my dreams.    Really need to try and get back to sleep now. This is what worries me about returning to work as I seem to have at least 2 or 3 nights a week where I am awake for hours. The other night I only slept for 3 hours in total. Not good. I went to the cinema the following day and slept my way through most of the Lion King.    Hope you all have a good Saturday. I'll try not to spend most of mine asleep although at this rate I might have to.   Sar xxx     ... View more

Hi everyone, What has been going on with this forum?? Couldn't get on here since Monday. Boo! Love all the photos...nice hair (and lashes) Nettie, also Sarah, Marlyn (lovely nails), Susie and Sonia. Looking good!   Daisy, just want to send you a big hug. Also, Edinbird 💕 Rosina, hope you're having a good day at work. Don't let the little things bother you, although I can vouch for how annoying it is when things go walkabouts. How many hours/days are you doing now and how are you feeling? Sarah, I did enjoy the hockey, thanks. The difference in quality is noticeable but the atmopshere made up for it. Looking forward to the weekend already. I've had a busy week so far. Husband and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary on Tuesday so we had a meal in a Turkish restaurant. It was very nice. Have also kept up the exercise routine with aqua, barre and a class called Sh'bam, which is basically dancing like mad. It hurt a bit so I'm not too sure I'll be booking that one again! Going to a cancer and beyond talk this evening. Looking forward to hearing what they've got to say. Out for another meal at the weekend, this time with parents and our children. No wonder I need so much exercise with all this eating out! Hope you're all having a good day.   Sar xxx   25 years of marriage!!       ... View more

Good morning everybody,   I hope you all managed to have a nice weekend and enjoy the last bits of sunshine. Hope you enjoyed your drink in the summer house, Susie. Getting colder now, brrrr!   Welcome back Trixielady. I too think you look lovely in both photos but I understand what you mean about not wanting to go out without your wig at home. I keep grabbing the headscarves when I'm out, much to my other half's protestations. He likes my short grey hair apparently. I'm not overly impressed though.   Thanks for the photo of Christine Lagarde, Rosina. She does look elegant. Something to aim for. My hair is too spiky for my liking, never mind the fact that it's completely grey. Your colleague's comment is just typical of how people think they're being nice, yet it grates on us terribly. A friend of mine, in response to me saying I would like my hair to grow a bit longer was, "Yes, then you can style it a bit more."  Another one of my friends said, "Ooh, look at your hair!" Followed by, "It will grow." Generally, I'm not getting the impression that anyone (apart from hubby) likes It very much. Haven't shown my Mum yet. Now she's definitely got no filter so that will be fun 😂   Have you tried the pink hairspray, Marlyn? Are you going to post a pic?   Well, I've had an almost normal weekend with the first ice hockey game since last season, visiting a friend, playing badminton and going for some long walks. Even played the keyboard for a bit but had to stop because of my sore fingers 😔 Still feeling the side effects from barry Herceptin. Getting lots of pins and needles in left hand as well. With one thing and another it's never possible to forget this dang BC.   Right, time to get dressed and head out to the shops.   Hope you all have a good day.   Sar xxx         ... View more

Morning everyone,   Just popping in to give our MBJ a big hug. I'm cross on your behalf. 😡   Thank goodness you didn't have any more chemo.    Praying for no more side effects for you xx ... View more

Dear MBJ,   How much more bad news can one person take? I am so sorry and totally understand that you will still be in shock. We are all here for you every step of the way.   Big hugs,   Sar xxx ... View more

Hey everyone,    Just been for my last counselling session. I feel like I'm definitely on the up, despite suffering from side effects which I think are from Herceptin.    Managed a walk around the lake. Love watching the ducks and swans.       Went to my Bosom Pals support group last night and the surgeon who did my ANC was there. I thanked her for being so attentive (she came to check on me twice after my op and she phoned my husband to let him know how it had gone). She was so grateful and pleased to see how well I am doing. She did a talk to the group about all the surgery options, reconstruction, nipple tatttoos and all the latest technology. It was really interesting. She asked me if I would be willing to speak to other patients when they have their next info session at the hospital. I said I would be very happy to do this if it helps in any way.   Going to aqua again tonight. Really grateful that I can get back in the swimming pool after such a long break.   Sounds like some of you are getting back into using gym memberships too. I never froze mine so have stupidly being paying for doing nothing all this time. Never mind, I will make up for it now.   Was about to put clean sheets on my bed but Missy had other ideas!       How are you lot doing?   Sarah, don't take this the wrong way but you look like a different person in today's photo compared to your last chemo one. What an amazing difference! Hope you're enjoying your day in London. I have written the MK/Swindon games on my calendar. Very exciting!   Rosina, make sure you take it easy and stick to a phased return. It must be nice to be back but all too easy to overdo things. Your 8/8/8 schedule sounds good.   Edinbird, I hope the boiler has been sorted. What a pain!    Sonia, I'm sorry you're suffering. It's so hard to move on with these SEs lingering, isn't it? Sounds like you're very busy for the next few weekends as well. Hope you feel better and able to enjoy your travels up and down the country.   Nice to hear from you, Nettienoo. Hope you enjoy the LGFB session and that you don't come away with scary eyebrows and the like. Post some pics if you're happy with the makeover. 😊   Hope everyone else is having a good day.   Sar xxx     ... View more

Hi,   I finished chemo in June and had my 7th Herceptin last week. My nose is often runny and at first I put it down to lack of hairs but now the hairs have grown back so it must be the Herceptin that's causing it. I'm going to mention it to the nurse when I have my next injection.  ... View more

Just woke up from a 2 hour nap, ugh 😴   Rosina, well done for lasting as long as you did at work today. Hope you feel up to doing some yoga this evening.    Daisy, I'm aiming to go back to work after half term, assuming I don't need 2 hour daytime naps by then!   Off to aqua this evening. The thought of it alone is tiring me out but I know I'll be alright once I get there. ... View more

By the way, Sarah, I just showed your photos to my husband and he said you look like you're in your late 20s. He is a fan of the short hair (on me as well) and is trying to persuade me to keep it like this. Unlikely I think! ... View more

Hi everybody,   Had a hospital appointment this morning and there was me thinking I would get a mammogram but all I got was a very quick chat with a breast surgeon and a quick feel for lumps. None detected, I'm pleased to say but I'm disappointed that the scan won't happen until December. Was hoping I could go back to work knowing I'm NED but looks like I'll have to wait and see.   Still struggling with sore mouth and stiff joints. Don't know what's causing what to be honest. Herceptin, Tamoxifen, residual chemo effects....who knows?   Sarah, your hair looks great! You've got really good coverage and I'm sure it will grow quickly now. I collected my ice hockey season ticket yesterday and we also had a chance to meet the players. I'm excited for the season to start and can't wait for us to play each other so I get to meet you!   Susie, did you sleep any better last night? I actually woke up feeling cold for the first time in ages and had to get a blanket. Talk about one extreme to another!   How is everyone else doing?   Hope you're all having a good day.   Sar xxx      ... View more

I cold capped but there was such a huge difference in colour between my longer locks and my regrowth that I had to take drastic measures and go for the pixie cut. Hopefully it will grow quickly.     ... View more

Hi ladies,   Sorry for the silence. Forum wasn't playing ball again.   Had my trastuzumab at home the other day and have had some annoying side effects like pins and needles in my hand and a very sore mouth. Boo to that. Think I preferred herceptin which didn't really affect me.   Haha, Marlyn we could be twins. I had a little haircut the other day! Top of head   Back of head   Played badminton this morning with husband, son and his new girlfriend. It was good fun.  Also returned to aqua aerobics last week and tried out a barre class. All good. Glad to do some normal things again.   Sarah, Mickey's Halloween party was started in August for the first time this year according to my daughter. It still sounds as you described it. Lots of people were dressed up and we came away with a ton of sweets.    Daisy, I'm so sorry to hear you're suffering with your skin and also that your Mum is having such a rough time. It really doesn't make getting old very appealing when you hear how difficult it is to get the care that is needed.   Edinbird, I'm so pleased you had good news. Now we just need your work situation to be sorted. Your hair regrowth looks really good.   Susie, hope you're able to get some sleep tonight. At least the weather will help as it is getting a lot cooler.   Rosina, good luck for your inset day tomorrow. Hope you enjoy being back at school.   Trying to reply from memory here and now I've lost the plot...so if I haven't mentioned you, I hope all is going well and I love you all loads.   Sar xxx     ... View more

Hi Claire2019,   I'm sorry for the late reply but I've only just seen your post. Also sorry to hear you're suffering with cording. The massage was just me applying pressure with my other hand in a circular motion for a few minutes at a time. I would try to do this at least 3 times a day. Also, the stretches really do help although they can be painful so be careful.   Hope it clears soon. ... View more

Hi MBJ,   I would definitely recommend the lanyard for your trip to Abu Dhabi if you get to go there. It made such a massive difference for me.   Enjoy the Greates Showman and the flash mob. Sounds great! Hope the weather behaves.   Sar xxx ... View more

Hi Susie B,   It certainly was a pleasant surprise to feel the warmth when we landed on Friday. Usually it's bloomin freezing! Our hotel was the Hilton Parc Soleil. It's about 15 to 20 mins from the Disney parks and we found it nice and peaceful.   My cat seems a little better today thank you. She has eaten a small amount of food and has been cuddling us a bit too so hopefully she's on the way to recovery.   Hope you get to book your break in December.    Sar xxx ... View more