Breast Cancer Now Forum

It’s lovely to hear your news Emzlew. Wishing you and your family a happy healthy summer. xx ... View more

Hello all Lovely to hear news again, thank you for getting i touch Emma and Louisa (fab blog btw Pupletrunks - you capture the intense mixed emotions perfectly).  Thankfully I am well and apparently clear of cancer since the lung and breast ops Dec 2019. The enlarged lymph nodes turned out to be a false alarm- phew. It has been so strange to have had this covid year dovetail cancer treatment. What a weird, unpredicted, shocking experience we have all had. I spent most of last year not going out/in my garden. My children found shielding me very stressful. Youngest turned 18 last weekend and has had very low times, but the recent news about A level plans and return to school has lifted her spirits. She spent yesterday organising a trip to a music festival with friends in the summer - i do hope it can go ahead after so many cancelled plans and disappointments. It is hard to imagine such large events ever happening again isn’t it? My 22 year old son came home to finish his degree last summer and hasn’t yet found a “proper” job, but he is now in a temporary role for the NHS and that has lifted his spirits considerably. At least he gets to meet new people and have in person conversations. He also got vaccinated, as did both me and my husband, and it is bringing us a lot of reassurance after feeling we were dodging death if we went out of the front door. My oldest daughter got married at New Year, sadly we couldn’t be there because of lockdown. She moved to Canada with her husband in January and has a job out there. So she has been able to move her life forward despite all the obstacles in her path. We miss her terribly but do enjoy the window she is giving us into something new. My husband has been a star and emotionally we have gone through more together in the past 18 months than we had in the previous few decades. It has been very bonding, though as I recover I find my old irritation with the things he doesn’t do is coming back (taps that need fixing/doors easing/tools tidying- it’s a long list!). And perhaps we are now moving out of the nightmare times into something newly joyful? I begin to think that might be true and to feel happy much more of the time than I feel sad or anxious. I hope that is true for all of you too. It’s impossible to put into words the seismic scale of the emotional upheaval that came with the cancer diagnosis and then bloody covid on top of it. I expect we might all be a bit more ragged and torn as we emerge, but one thing is for sure, you appreciate your life and your friends with new intensity. Likewise the importance and value of this little group. It has been a hugely important part of my survival. Thank you all. Much love kath xx ... View more

Hello Lydia Sorry to hear you are joining the ranks and hope treatment goes smooth and swift for you. We were all October starters last year 2019 so can tell you that it is do-able. I hope some more new people join the thread for you, or perhaps an October 2020 thread is needed? It is lovely to hear how everyone else is doing. What a crazy year we have had.  I am now five months post treatment, am getting more energy and have my hair a reasonable, if short length. I had quite a dip in mood with the exhaustion of chemo but my spirits have definitely lifted as I recover. I had an enlarged Chest lymph gland On my one year CT and am waiting for PET result. It’s a bit of a blow, I would have liked the all clear, but I am not feeling as daunted as i did with initial diagnosis and hopefully it can be treated 🤞 . Thinking of you all and wishing us the energy to live our lives with joy. Kath xx   ... View more

That’s lots of hair Cherryp 😯 . Is it different from before? Mine is now black - previously a mousy brown, so it’s a bit of a shock! That energy really does take its time to come back. Waiting ⌚ ️  x ... View more

Hello Shi Luna is getting bigger and gooder every day 😝 . We gave her a “shower” in the sunny garden yesterday using a watering can so we could get warm water as she isn’t too keen on the cold hosepipe (except to drink).  She is a shiny sweet smelling doggo now 😊  why do my photos always import upside down on this site? 🙃 xx ... View more

Hi Leaw i desperately wish I could go back to the time when life seemed indefinite, I feel the uncertainty of my future is a backdrop to everything now. That isn’t to say I don’t feel pretty good most of the time and enjoy each day, it’s just the shift to an expectation that life is limited colours things. At least every few days I have a moment of enormous sadness for what’s been lost, but I am not filled with terror as i was in the early days of diagnosis. And maybe living life with this new perspective will mean i make the most of life - especially once I feel safe to go out again. My doctors say September. How are you dealing with it? And everyone else?   love kath xx ... View more

Thank you. Reassuring to hear you are coming through it CureDars! love to all xxx ... View more

Oh i posted a reply but now it isn’t showing? Weird. I just said it was nice to hear we are all finally getting to the end of this traumatic journey. I had last chemo 2 weeks ago and no further treatment now, just follow up. It still feels emotionally challenging at times but as I feel better each day I spend more time feeling positive. Wishing us all calmer waters ahead. love kath xx ... View more

🥰 good night all xx ... View more

Sort of got it - just had to make image small, but it’s upside down!  ... View more

Hi Shi Good to hear from you. How are you doing? Luna is beginning to get the hang of how to be a good doggo and is a sweet silky seal of a puppy most of the time, except when she is pulling up my plants in the garden 😖 . I am trying to attach a photo but not having much success, will try in separate message love Kath xx ... View more

Very good to hear you are putting surgery and chemo behind you, Thank you for encouragement Curedars 😘 👍 And it all sounds very normal and familiar to me ajatron! Some days our sense of humour just can’t be found. love to all kath xx ... View more

Hi all Good to hear how everyone is doing. It seems like treatment can be unexpectedly never ending, but as I am also tn it’s good to be forewarned. I have two more EC rounds over next 4 weeks and should then be done - apart from bone strengthening meds once every 6 months for 5 years. I find myself mostly cheerful but then at times tears unpredictably overcome me. I am definitely still processing the shock of diagnosis and treatment impact, and CV isn’t helping! Working from home with a little one and bc sounds hugely challenging Claire, that husband needs to get on board and share the strain!  Wishing us all calmer waters and many sunny days ahead. Love Kath x ... View more

Hi all so pleased to hear lots of good news and the end approaching now. What a rocky road everyone has had to travel. Can hardly believe there will be an end point 🤞 thank you for EC advice CureDars - funnily enough corned beef is something i am eating too. Helpful to hear that EC took your body a couple of weeks to process. Good luck all with Surgeries and radiotherapy.  Keep posting updates on how you are doing. Really cheering us all on down the home straight 🎉 👍   love kath xx ... View more

Hi Cherry  so pleased for your good news 😊 👍 . The op will soon be behind you too, and they manage them so well these days you will soon recover. i seem to be doing my treatment the opposite way round to everyone else, just had first EC last Friday after the 12x once weekly Carboplatin and Paclitaxel. I have been exhausted by the EC. Much more impactful than previous chemo. Been on sofa for a few days and horrible diarrhoea . Ugh. Today is day 7 and I seem to be turning the corner. Anyone any advice on how to manage next two of these- what to eat/drink etc.  hope everyone is steering clear of cv and coping ok with all this  love  kath xx ... View more

Great news Lea, so happy for you!  I still have quite a bit of chemo to go and hoping that I can complete it. Was strangely nice to come out to the hospital today. I enjoyed just walking down the road from car to the entrance! Such strange twists and turns our lives are taking! love to all kath xx ... View more

That’s so good to hear. And hopefully we will all get our energy back eventually 👍 xx ... View more

Fantastic Claire, so pleased for you. How are you feeling? Have a great day  kath xx ... View more

Hi Leaw so pleased to hear you are out the other side of chemo and have had a good response. You are on the downhill now! i am on 3rd chemo round of 7 and doing ok, just getting tireder. Due to finish in June.  How is everyone else? love kath xx ... View more

Hi all good to hear how everyone is doing. It isn’t straight forward for any of us it seems, and the past few weeks i have been crying at the drop of a hat. It’s still shock and grief. But physically i am recovered well from mastectomy and now fitted with a prosthetic which gives me more confidence even in tighter clothes. I just had week 5 chemo (three week cycles of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel followed by 2 Paclitaxel alone, then i will have three cycles of FEC). I find Carboplatin unpleasant but i am not sick, and the injections for white blood cells can cause pain so i take paracetamol. It’s all a bit crap but better than not having anything to treat the cancer, and i am beginning to think summer will come and this will stop. I am sending love and hopefulness to you all.  kath xx ... View more