Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi @FlorrieBee and everyone. Sorry, not much help about your sore face - have you had some decent advice by now and it's improving. @Pesto - good to hear from you, have wondered how you are, hope things are as okay as they can be? I'm doing pretty well and am back at work now. I'm almost back up to my hours, but using holiday for odd days here and there for some extra rest. I was classed as clinically extremely vulnerable by Occupational Health still which was frustrating, but think I am okay to see some patients, who are known to be covid neg, by next week. Herceptin seems fine so far, 3rd one post chemo on Monday... And hot flushes and maybe some more achiness is all I've noticed from Tamoxifen. So if that stays the same, I will count myself lucky! How about you all? It's quiet on here, so hopefully that is to do with moving on and getting busy... I am kind of signing off today - I'm not feeling I have much to share or offer and my time is much more filled now. I'm sure I will still pop in now and then to say hello and to see how folk are doing. But for now I would like to thank you lovely women for the humour and compassion I have found on this thread. We have all gone/are going through a lot and the companionship that this forum enables seems important. It certainly has been for me, so thank you!  And all the very best in the near and far future Hugs all round and fingers crossed for a sunny, covid-free summer xx ... View more

Hi @Shine13 and everyone I've just caught up a bit and hope everyone's day today has been okay. @higgi I still have my fingers crossed that things calm down soon. @Shine13 and @PaulineS27 wishing you gentle recoveries from surgery. @grannyp well done for braving the party and all the other things you have been braving! @Karden I often think of you and hope that this round of chemo isn't being too unkind... I'm back at work now and am kind of moving on I think. Although I still have 10 more herceptin jabs (number 9 on Monday - I have pretty meaty thighs so they aren't a problem, but I do agree about the going slowly) and 10 years of hormone blockers, I do feel that life is beginning again. I'm still quite self conscious about my teeny hair and my fake boob, but even that is getting easier.  So I'm kind of signing off I think...I'm sure I will still drop in sometimes to say hello and see how everyone is doing. But I would like to say a massive thank you to you all, not just the ones I've mentionned. Your compassion, humour and empathy meant a great deal to me when I was in the miserable depths of chemo... And definitely helped me get through. I wish you all the very best that is possible for us - and hope we all have a sunny summer, wherever or however that is. Thank you, hugs all round, Caroline xx ... View more

@PaulineS27 5 days?! I had a mastectomy and was out the same evening. And I was pleasantly surprised at how okay it was. Will think of you. I personally found the waiting for the op much harder than the recovery xx ... View more

My attempt at posting a photo - not sure why it is so big! But here are donkey woman's donkeys! They kept me going through chemo and are still keeping me smiling.  So glad to hear stories of finishing chemo, hair growing and generally people making progress. I just hope that folk who aren't posting at the moment are doing okay - and that everyone knows they can still post if having a bad time.  Things are going pretty well for me, I started back at work, on a phased return, last week and, though it's really tiring, it's good to be back. And Herceptin jabs and Tamoxifen tabs don't seem to be causing problems... yet! I'm quite achey and hot flushes wake me up at night, but they were happening a bit before all this. All the best to everyone xx ... View more

Hi all, what a great picture @FlorrieBee ! definitely one to make you smile  ... View more

Hi, I must admit that I've not tried it yet. Have said to hubby that we need to think about it, but not quite yet! But I guess that we are put it into a rapid menopause so vaginal atrophy may be an issue? Lubrication not helping? I am kind of banking on KY jelly... But I also feel that I've read or heard somewhere that we can safely use the oestrogen pessaries - but they have to be prescribed. I feel quite lucky that I had a smear last year before all this started. I watched the Davina Macoll programme about the menopause on Ch4 last week, which talked a bit about sex. Have you spoken with a BCN? Or your GP? I'm definitely putting it off and have little desire, which is a shame as I could do with some fun... Hope you get some more useful advice elsewhere @LittleGorton  ... View more

Hi @Shine13 think our messages crossed. All the best for Monday - will you be home the same day? Ah, I hadn't thought of Herceptin affecting the taste. I can taste things but still have an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I thought it was a hangover from chemo, but guess it could be the Herceptin. My sleep is poor too - mainly hot flushes, which have increased since starting Tamoxifen. But I've not been a great sleeper for years, so it doesn't feel like a huge issues. And I do love a nap... x ... View more

Hello everyone, I've been quite behind on these threads as I'm now back at work and life seems a bit rushed again! @higgi - wonderful news about being cancer free! But oh, that all sounds so uncomfortable and horrid. Let's hope it settles down soon and they don't have to do anything horrible to you...  @Karden I could have cried for you when I read that you have mouth ulcers again. I remember when you had them before and they just sound so awful. I wonder if the aspirin gargle is helping at all? And it does sound as they may need to reduce your dose, doesn't it... @Pyewacket - nearly done with the radiotherapy, good stuff. What do you have left after that? @PaulineS27 - hope you are feeling okay?  And @grannyp - wonder how things are with you. Hope you are still being able to get back to your walking and maybe even some light dancing? It's been good to get back to work. I was expecting to find it tiring, but quite surprised how 2pm is like an alarm going off - must lie down! I have to factor in the 45minute drive as well, to make sure I am safe. I did work at home one day, but really feel I need to be in to see folk and start catching up with everything. There is only so much you can do with a computer and a phone. Generally I'm feeling pretty good. I have a very achey arm which seems to be from my 2nd Jab. I just spoke with a friend who is a pharmacist and she said she has heard of this with a few people - it might be that the needle may have hit a ligament and caused a bit of inflammation. Not a big problem and I'm sure it will pass, but it's yet another thing to wake me up at night! No big issues with the Tamoxifen so far - more night flushes I think, but nothing major. Herceptin jab on Monday.  Does anyone else get overwhelmed quite easily? I am enjoying getting back to meeting up with friends and family, but it doesn't seem to take much for me to get a bit panicky and need to go somewhere quiet. I'm thinking that this is probably the combination of the breast cancer treatment and lockdown? Hope it goes away soon, as I find myself quite irritating at times! Really hope everyone, especially those I've not mentioned, is doing okay, or at least as okay as possible xx ... View more

@higgi that is such horribly bad luck, I'm so sorry. On top of everything else  as if you don't have enough to cope with. As with everyone else,  fingers and toes crossed that it can be sorted (healed over I guess...) with the pressure bandage. Lots of thoughts with you xx 😘 ... View more

Hello all @Lewy2803 that's great, that you managed a weekend away - just what the Dr ordered! And you are right, we still all have lots to come, in various ways.  Thanks @Mumboo - it does feel as though life is starting to come back - albeit in a slightly weird way. I'm not feeling particularly emotional about it, but did cry quite a bit during 'The Dog House' (about rescue dogs)! @tennisgirl hope your chat with your team before next treatment is helpful. I found mine responsive and, even though my bloods were generally ok (ish), they did reduce my dose a bit when I said that some of the side effects were problematic for me.  Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend, in spite of the weather (though the sun is currently shining here in Derbyshire). xx ... View more

Hello all,  @higgi - I am so sorry to hear of your awful experience in A and E - that is simply disgraceful and there is no excuse for a Dr, however junior, to speculate out loud like that. (excuse rant, I've been a nurse a long time and never cease to be shocked at the things my colleagues - especially the medical ones - say). I wonder if you have thought of complaining? Obviously only if you feel like it, no pressure at all. But if you look on your hospital website, there should be some kind of easy way to make a comment. You are clearly a capable, intelligent woman, and the comment put great fear into you. So I hate to think of how it may have affected someone without your knowledge and confidence - and this website to get some support from. And just a few days after major surgery, too much to cope with, I feel. I wonder how you are feeling now? I guess with Thursday and results coming, it will be a weird, jumpy kind of week. Sorry if I missed it, but has the swelling reduced at all? Hope you can be kind to yourself - and re relaxation - I've never tried the tapping thing that @Shine13 mentioned, but I have friends who have and totally swear by it.  @Karden - you are such a star with your positive and generous attitude. Fingers very firmly crossed that the FEC is not too unkind, you deserve (as we all do of course) a straightforward ride...  @grannyp - as always, good to hear your wise words. And glad you are not having the post (though not really I know) treatment slump. Me neither, after the initial one straight after the last chemo. I had my first Herceptin on its own last Monday, didn't have any side effects as far as I can tell. 2nd Covid Jab on Tuesday, then a few days 'holiday' before starting back at work next Tuesday (11th May). I popped in to see the team on Thursday, which was easier than I was expecting. I will be on some kind of phased return (think I will be making that up myself as Occupational Health haven't been in contact yet) which is good as, although I feel pretty well, fatigue still kicks in during the afternoon. Anyone else finding that?  I ordered a swimming costume from a specialist post surgery supplier, now that I have my super silicone prosthesis! I'm going to ask a friend if she fancies a Spa Day with me soon. I don't really like spa's (get a bit bored and fidgety!) but would like to try swimming in what feels like a safe place - less crowded and rushed than our local pool. And I trust this friend to tell me if I look weird!  Do hope everyone is able to enjoy the weekend - is it bad that I'm happy about the rain tomorrow? It's so dry here...  @ Pyewacket - is it this coming Wednesday that you start radio? All the best for that - hope it's not too windy for your first trip on the bike!   xx ... View more

Hello everyone @FlorrieBee before I forget (chemo brain hasn't passed yet, guess it will be replaced by menopause brain!) - my eyes are much more blurry too. I'm just waiting to have my second covid jab and then I'm going back to the optician. Mine water a lot too - presumably due to lack of eyelashes and eyebrows... but they also feel gritty and it's definitely harder to focus. It is really good to have finished chemo - not long for you now too. I have started putting in dates to meet up with people and even have folk to stay (not til June of course). You're right, it does feel a bit weird to be planning 'normal' stuff. I'm going back to work in a couple of weeks, so I'm thinking that will make me feel that I'm on the way back to my life a bit... Glad your last round wasn't as bad, although it still sounds hard, with pain and nausea. I've not noticed anything since the Herceptin jab on Monday. I do have oral thrush back again - my GP says it will be because my gut flora is so diminished by chemo. I've got Fluconazole for a week and then he suggests I get some of those little Yakult pots. I did notice I had a bad taste still, but didn't check my tongue. So I probably didn't catch it very quickly this time. But it's small fry in comparison!  Hope everyone is coping okay? xx ... View more

@coffeeandcake - @Eglis has given good advice. You need to do what is right for you at such a horrible time. I went back to work after my diagnosis but took time off before surgery as, as you have said, I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate. And I'm glad I did. It is just emotional overload and you need to find some time to breathe and sort a few things out. I have finished surgery and chemo now and all I can say is that I found this site so so helpful. You will find lots of support and also people who you can relate to and who really 'get' what you are experiencing. All the best to you xx ... View more

Yes, I had a face to face or a phone call the day before chemo, to check how my blood results were and to talk about any issues. This is when they prescribe the chemo and take home meds. Do you have an appointment? If not, you can always give the consultant's secretary a call to check x ... View more

Evening all, you are right @Lewy2803 , it has gone quiet on here. I must admit that I've been on the forum less the last couple of weeks. I think that life has just become a little busier as lockdown eases and I can get out and about a little more. Friday was the first day that it really felt as though I had finished chemo, as I would have been going that day for next treatment. It was so good not to go! I'm at the hospital tomorrow for the Herceptin (Tratsuzomab) injection and back on Tuesday for my prosthetic boob fitting... It feels a lot easier than before and I'm hoping that Herceptin will allow me to carry on with my life okay. @Lewy2803 that's great, one more to go - hope this one isn't too bad and you can soon start to get on, though I know you have more surgery to come. @FlorrieBee hope that this round is kinder to you and, if not, that you have plenty of meds to help.  How is everyone else? @tennisgirl - any luck with getting your injections changed? and @Erin 35 hope things are going as well as possible. All the best to everyone xx ... View more

Hi everyone,  Hope everyone is doing as okay as possible, especially those who haven't posted for a while. @Pyewacket it's never good to hear that something 'can't be treated' but I guess now everything is treated several times over, so as you say, the chemo should have got it all already... Will think of you this week, biking it over to Sheffield through glorious Derbyshire. @Shine13 and @PaulineS27 - well done on getting to the end of chemo, hope the last one hasn't been too unkind... @grannyp - last radio tomorrow - fabulous! Well done you, and I'm delighted to hear that you have coped with it so well. Ah, I have avoided the secondary threads. As @Karden says, it is horrible for those women, but I don't think me reading them will help, especially as I tend to feel slightly over-involved in their stories. It's not surprising it led to you feeling low. I think most of us will have those moments - I remember early in chemo, wailing to my husband 'what if I go through all this and it still comes back?'. I am still trying to roll with the waves, which fortunately, for the moment, are quite gentle. But I'm under no illusion that there will be rougher ones along the way... I hope your mood lifts and you can enjoy the end of radiotherapy. Do you have any more fun trips planned? It's still quite hard to plan too much, isn't it? Although now that you have had your second vaccine... I'm looking forward to getting my second done (4th May) - a week before I start my return to work.  @Karden I wonder how you are doing? I really take my hat off to you for the strong, calm way you seem to cope with setbacks. I'm sure you don't always feel calm and strong, but you do seem to have an ability to move on from stuff as well as always looking out for others on this forum. I've been thinking of you and, like @grannyp really hope that your next lot of chemo is manageable. The Moving Forward course does sound interesting - do you know if you can sign up while still having Herceptin? otherwise I would have to wait until after December and I'm hoping to have moved on by then! I should have a look myself.  Thank you, I'm feeling pretty good. I spoke with the Consultant on Friday and my Hb is up to 102 (from 87) so that's a good result from a unit of blood. It was a useful conversation as he reminded me that the tumour was 'quite aggressive' (his words) but that my lymph nodes were clear and surgery got it all. Useful to me, to remember that this has been a difficult few months and that is not surprising. But my quality of life is definitely massively improved! all the best to everyone xx ... View more

@Karden I am so sorry to hear your news. What a blow. Of course they are just being cautious and it's that approach that is saving lives. But the thought of having to go back to chemo must be very hard. You will of course have as much support on here as you want,  but you are also allowed to be upset (and p'd off). I know I would be. Sending hugs xx ... View more

Hello everyone, @Shine13 and @PaulineS27  - all the best for tomorrow and today - bye bye to picc lines and chemo! @higgi - so glad you had a good time in Tenby and plenty of walking (70km!). But sorry to hear you've had a crash in mood. It sounded so familiar to me, that horrible feeling that we might go through all this and it might still come back. You always sound so positive and energised, but we all have to accept those times when it all feels too much, don't we. Hugs to you and hope it passes before too long. But do share how you are, if it is of any help, won't you?  @Karden - hope you continue your good recovery from surgery. And any news about future treatment? Sorry, I know you were expecting to hear on Tuesday, but can't remember if that was yesterday or next Tuesday... Have been thinking about you. Hope everyone is having the best week possible. I'm off to the hospital for a blood test today, but have had a pretty 'normal' few days - went to Bakewell for a Seasalt shop yesterday, and had coffee with a friend outside a coffee shop. That was so lovely! @Pyewacket - have you started radiotherapy? hope the journey is okay and the roads not too busy Hugs to all x ... View more

Hello everyone,  @grannyp hope you have a lovely time at the zoo - which one? Great day for it and good to get out there now that we can. @Karden - you are so good when you get this kind of news. I think I might want to spit my dummy out... But as you say, you need to wait for Tuesday and then take their advice. My fingers will be firmly crossed for you...  Glad that @Shine13 and @Pauline are nearly done with the chemo. I may be making a big mistake, but I'm just assuming that the Herceptin (Tratszumab) and hormone blockers (Tamoxifen I think for me, but not confirmed yet) will be okay and I will just carry on as normal! Oh well, I don't want to anticipate a bad time, as I know I can be a bit neurotic and create my own side effects!  I've had a good few days since the blood transfusion - I'm sure it has speeded up the recovery from the last chemo. I'm trying to increase my activity, particularly walking, each day. I had a go at yoga - couldn't even sit on the mat properly and downward dog was a definite struggle!  Hope everyone is doing as well as possible and can enjoy the sun xx ... View more

Hello everyone,  @Erin 35 I am so sorry to hear about your Mum - what an awful loss and also unexpected. Nothing we can say on here will really help, but just remember that we will be thinking of you. My mum also died unexpectedly (many years ago) and I remember that it took some getting over. It sounds as though yours was also young, as she was working with you. It sounds as though you had a wonderful relationship, which, though lovely, will make the loss even harder to take, I would think. Take as good care of yourself as you can. In terms of Docetaxel, as @Mumboo says, it is very different for different people. I had no problems with the infusions, and probably my worst side effect was fatigue. I did have issues with constipation and was too slow to realise. @Mumboo seems to have got more organised than me, so good tips there. I felt better once i stopped pushing myself in the first week. I did lots of lie ins, watching easy tv and napping. There seems to be a real 'aura' around Docetaxel and, although it is hard on your body, it doesn't have to be too awful... We are all so different. But your team will want you to do well, so they will tweak things as needed. All the best. I've been a bit quiet on here the last few days - I have been feeling well and it's been my birthday which has been lovely, I've seen a few folk and been very spoilt with gifts, flowers etc. Wow, I find socialising exhausting! The unit of blood definitely helped, though I still have a lump on my hand, so I think the infusion may have finished off the veins in my left hand. I'm lucky that they made it through chemo...  Hope you have a lovely time with your pals, @Gelbel  - it's so much easier having people in the garden than meeting somewhere!  So this week would be my chemo week, so it will be quite weird when Friday comes, I think. I'm still having a blood test on Wedensday and a phone appointment on Friday. Then first lone herceptin jab on Monday, when I guess I will find out if it has its own side effects for me. @tennisgirl - sounds as though chemo is hitting home, maybe not too surprising, but still hard. Hope you can be gentle with yourself and rest well. Sorry, no advice re hair as I didn't cold cap. But mine is starting to grow back - I have a little furry covering... Hope everyone is managing as well as possible and being able to enjoy the light and sun, even if it's from the sofa. All the best xx ... View more