Breast Cancer Care Forum

And suppliers in Sheffield. I’ve looked on Safari and there’s nothing on the NHS websites, national or local as to which suppliers are able to take the vouchers. A national list would be extremely helpful! I have a good supply of beanies and scarves but a wig would be good.  ... View more

Some years ago I checked out one of the charities existed solely to provide wigs for children. I was disappointed to find that they acted almost as a middleman. They collected hair donations and sold them on, abroad where fine hair commands a premium price,  then used the proceeds to buy wigs here. I went three weeks ago to my local college and had mine cut very short and dyed turquoise blue. They where brilliant, fitting me in at short notice and refusing to charge anything. A wonderful cut too. Oddly before the cut I was resigned to losing my long hair but now it is the short hair and the care taken to achieve it that I’m sad about. The lecturer asked if I’d thought about donating it though she had no idea how to. I ended up saying they could have it for their students to practice colouring on.  ... View more

Hi, used to live in Doncaster now in Sheffield. I’m one of the older women someone above mentioned. I was diagnosed last April but my operation wasn’t able to be done for a mixture of reasons until this February. Mastectomy and all nymph nodes on right. My chemo starts on Thursday. That workshop sounds good. Let us know what it was like. I’m seeing my oncologist that day otherwise I’d be tempted.  ... View more

My breast cancer was discovered while I was unconscious with sepsis. Surgery  was delayed because two months before that I’d had a heart attack. It was delayed further because a CT scan of my chest showed a shadow on the opposite side lung which was dismissed as an infection. I challenged this when I finally learnt about it. It didn’t make me popular and when a further scan made it clear it was a lesion the BCN told me my situation was terminal, treatable but not cureable. After all of that I was seriously considering not bothering with any treatment at all. Seeing a different breast surgeon helped, mainly by telling me that because of its position it was impossible to tell how serious the lung cancer was without operating. I went ahead with the lung op and all the biopsies taken during the op from other places in the lung and nearby lymph nodes were clear and showed it was unrelated to the tumours in the breast and axilla. That xxxxing nurse was wrong! I had the mastectomy two weeks ago. I’m isolated though I live in a city and do worry about how I’ll cope alone  going through chemo and radiotherapy. The good news from the lung biopsies made me reconsider. If the breast and lymph node biopsies give a very different picture I will reconsider. Have you tried speaking to the nurses on the helpline. I’ve found them a very different breed to my BCN team. More knowledgeable, sympathetic and, unlike the hospital BCNs, their priority is me not their surgeon, the hospital or themselves.  ... View more

Just to add that it’s taking me ages to take in all the information. I felt besieged by leaflets from the hospital breast cancer team and even navigating the forum makes me wish I had a better memory or was more techno savvy. So much information ( which is helpful though ) can seem overwhelming added to your understandable anxieties. Last year someone told me to take all the help I was offered knowing I’m terrible at asking for help never mind grabbing it. She was right. If it’s not offered, seek it out. If you’re concerned, speak out. Grab everything going you need or want. Then tell me to practice what I preach!  ... View more

Thanks to all of you. I thought It was me. It still may be my “independent” attitude as the first BCN described me. Now they all avoid me and I get a nursing aide, all of whom treat me like a human being.  ... View more

Hi Pink lady, I’m a newbie too. I had my mastectomy and clearance a week ago today. I just wanted to say hello. There are loads of wonderful women on here who will answer your questions. I can also highly recommend the helpline.  ... View more

I’m new as well and can confirm what Ally has said. It’s taking me some time to navigate around the site and two of my posts have been eaten by techno gremlins. Best wishes and good luck. ... View more

I used to have very long hair until last year when a bout of sepsis left it in such a tangle I chopped it off myself once I was home. As I’m expecting to need chemo after a mastectomy on Monday I had a sudden urge to go very short in advance. I also like the idea of spiky and a bright pastel colour. I haven’t been to a hairdresser for over 25 years ( used to trim it myself). Am researching hair stylists and have checked out Boots the Chemist website for washout colours. Do let me know how you get on. ... View more

I had a right mastectomy and total lymph node removal yesterday. No drain. I have to take the dressing off after six days. My surgery was delayed for six months after diagnosis because I’d had two minor heart attacks (NSTEMI) in February. When I went to the outpatient appointment mid August,after two pre op assessments, to sign the consent form for 31st. August the surgeon casually mentioned the chest infection I’d had in May when I’d had a lot of tests. He didn’t say anything in response to my “What chest infection”. The next thing I knew was an appointment for another CT scan. After that scan, two days before my planned op I had a phone call asking if I could go to outpatients as soon as possible. The “chest infection” I’d never had was a lung lesion on the left side. After he’d left the room the BCN who I’d never seen before told me my condition was “terminal, treatable but not cureable. The problem with holidays needing to be taken may be why that surgeon had two six week holidays in six months. Initially I had a dedicated BCN except she didn’t tell me she would be on Maternity Leave before my op ( I’m not very observant and thought she was overweight) . She informed me by phone, sent a load of leaflets by post but didn’t tell me who was taking over from her. It was disorganised to put it politely. My few calls weren’t always answered and when they were I got the distinct impression I was a nuisance. The wonderful  local cancer support charity got me a second surgeon and tried without success to get me a dedicated BCN. By then my trust in the breast surgery department was not good. I had thoracic surgery at another hospital. The specialist nurse there was totally different and gave me the results of the biopsies over the phone. All the cancerous tissue had been removed, the biopsies elsewhere in the lung and lymph nodes were clear. Also the two cancers were unconnected. As my second surgeon said I was very lucky. I’d told him about the nurses ‘diagnosis’ the first time I saw him as with that prognosis I was seriously considering not having any sort of treatment. He said nothing about the nurse then but when I saw him to again sign a consent form I asked him if the lung lesion was why she said what she had. He just said yes. After my lung surgery there was a gap of three months when I heard nothing from them. I eventually phoned and suddenly it was all rush. The lung biopsy results had gone to the first surgeon/ his secretary and not been forwarded. Sorry I seem to have poured out my life story. I hope I’ve posted in the right place.  ... View more