Breast Cancer Now Forum

@JessicaB wow - what a long journey for you. Sorry you have had to go private to get the op that you need and that you got Covid. I am keeping my fingers crossed for 1st December! Siân xxx ... View more

@Fairie so lovely to hear your news too. I’m glad you are doing ok. I live near Guildford in Surrey, so not a million miles from you. I’d love to meet up at some point. Shall we see who else is interested and we could then send a private message to each other to get contact details etc.? Xxx ... View more

Hi @Louise65  So lovely to hear your news and huge congratulations on your grandson’s arrival! I can imagine how much joy he brings you. Wishing you all the best with the scan. Hopefully nothing to worry about and great that they are checking it out.  I met up with Anabel a few weeks ago which was so lovely. We compared our hair regrowth - getting there but slower than we would like!   All is pretty good with me. We are in Crete right now having a week of eating well, sleep and a bit of exercise. The weather is good so topping up the vitamin d too! I am back at work for three days a week during term time which I am finding manageable so far. I was glad to have finished my targeted therapy at the beginning of August and am now just in the Tamoxifen for 10 years. I only have one annual check with my surgeon now which doesn’t seem like much. I do worry about recurrence but think that after a few years I will worry less.  Hoping everyone else is doing well and sending you all lots of love.   Sian 😘     ... View more

  @Gelbel how lovely to hear your news! It is wonderful to hear how good you are feeling and how you feel the old you is back. You look fabulous in your photo and I particularly love the colour.  I have also been feeling like the old me is coming back. I have gone back to work two days a week and am going up to a maximum of three as I don’t want the same level of busy-ness and stress as pre-diagnosis. So far it is going really well and my colleagues are being very supportive - hope that lasts!  I am still having my targeted therapy (Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab) which leave me a little tired for a few days after each injection but totally doable. I started Tamoxifen in January which I tolerate fine and doesn’t give me any aches, thankfully. I am now post-menopausal as I had my ovaries out in January (for a different reason - a large cyst was there, thankfully not cancerous). I was warned about surgical menopause being very harsh and sudden but I didn’t feel any different. If the Tamoxifen gives me side effects I now have to option to change to the aromatase inhibitors but so far so good.  Wishing you all the very best, hoping all is going well for you. Siân xxxxx ... View more

London would be great. We might be going to Snowdon and West Wales in the summer though so if Wales is better, we could do that. Xx ... View more

@Heels to walking boots I would love that! I am in Surrey but prepared to travel. Whereabouts are you?  ... View more

@Heels to walking boots thank you for posting this. It is wonderful to read and I am delighted that you have had such a good outcome. Clear margins are wonderful and a clear scan too. Fantastic news. I think it is normal for the anxiety to linger a bit after such things. I feel that I will still be processing it all for some time to come.  You are right - I did have my ovaries and tubes removed and it all went really well. Very smooth, tiny scars as it was keyhole. I was warned that I might have a horrible time with surgical menopause but I’ve been fine, so a huge relief all round.  Onwards and upwards as they say!!   Lots of love to all. xxxx ... View more

@Heels to walking boots I was just wondering how it has all been going and whether they have now managed to get clear margins. Thinking of you and wishing you well. xxx ... View more

Dear Anabel @Heels to walking boots , I am sorry to hear what you have gone through. I had a mastectomy and my hospital was able to have the sentinel nodes analysed during the op, so were able to do the full node clearance there and then. I had cancer in one of my sentinel nodes and so they took out all 21 under that arm. None of the other had it in, which was a huge relief. If I had opted for a lumpectomy I would have had to have a second op as the cancer was larger than they thought and they only just managed to get clear margins with the mastectomy. I think you are doing absolutely the right thing. I wish you all the very best for your second op and pray for clear margins this time and no spread into further lymph nodes. Love, Siân 💕 💕 💕   ... View more

Dear @Teagold , so lovely to hear your news. It's good to hear that getting back to work does get easier with time! I am starting back just one day a week from 9th Feb and hope to continue like that for a few months, working my way up gradually. I hope your foot heals up soon. I can imagine how frustrating it is, as I was really progressing with my strength and fitness until my op to remove my ovaries last week. I am now back to lying on the sofa and doing a short, very slow walk, which is very frustrating! I'm so glad the op went ahead, though, and that is the last big thing now for me (I hope!). I had them removed as I had a large cyst on one of my ovaries and was offered complete ovarian removal to put me into surgical menopause. This means I will have a wider choice of hormone therapy drugs going forward (I have to be on those for the next 10 years). It also eliminates the risk of ovarian cancer obviously and my oncologist thought I should go ahead with it as it will also ensure the oestrogen is minimised in my body (I was triple positive). So, it feels like a proactive move. I was warned that the surgical menopause would 'hit me like a truck' but so far it has been no worse than before the op. Chemo turned me menopausal anyway, so I think I went through the menopause in March. I have a couple of night flushes, but they are not too bad and I certainly don't need to change sheets or anything. Perhaps the Citalopram is helping me - it is often prescribed for women who are not able to take HRT to help with the hot flushes. Anyway, I just thought I'd share all of that in case it helps anyone! I hope you are all well and look forward to catching up on your news.  Wishing you all a far better 2022 than 2021! Love Sian xxx ... View more

@Louise65  @Flower123  @Impatience  @simplyeve  @GonnaGetThruThis  @Mum2boys  @Heels to walking boots  @BabyBunting  and everyone else, Just wanted to wish you all a very happy new year! Yesterday was the anniversary of the day I found out I had cancer (one of the worst days of my life), and I spent it in London with my sister-in-law, my daughter and nieces. It felt wonderful! I am so grateful to be where I am now, having had so much treatment, and I am feeling cautiously optimistic about the future.  Big hugs to you all and I hope we keep in touch next year. Love, Siân xxx ... View more

Dear all, I’m sorry I haven’t been on for a while but wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas. You are all amazing and I take such comfort from your posts. Like @Teagold said, I wish we all lived closer so we could go out for a drink. I wish you all the very best for a much happier 2022! Love, Siân xxx ... View more

@Flower123 I can understand why your head was all over the place. I didn’t have radiotherapy so can’t help on that front, but sending you gentle hugs. xxx ... View more

@Louise65I feel like that too from time to time. It just seems to hit me and then can last for a few days. It all still feels very raw and I know it will take time to move on. I think Covid has made it worse for me as I get anxiety around going out at the moment. I have had some lovely times lately with friends but sometimes forget what I’ve been through, overdo it physically and then have a bit of a crash. As Yvonne says, do keep in touch on here. Love, Siân xxx ... View more

@simplyeve I’m so pleased to hear it is going smoothly and congratulations on being halfway through your injections. I will have my 9th one on 30/12. I don’t find them bad at all and have virtually no side effects, which is a relief. The portacath removal went well and it is a great relief to have it out! I am actually having a fourth dose of Pfizer as I had my first two doses back in Jan and April, my third one on 24/09 and so am now due my fourth!  Love, Siân 😘   ... View more

@Mum2boys I will keep everything crossed for you with regard to your scans. My sleep suffers whenever I am worried and I found that Nytol helped me. It is herbal and less strong than sleeping pills but it just helped me get off to sleep and I also took a tsp of it if I woke up. I used the Sleep and Calm Elixir. It was not addictive and I stopped taking it as soon as I stopped chemo. My sleep has been pretty good since. Just in case you need something to help! Sending lots of hugs. Siân xxx ... View more

Congratulations @GonnaGetThruThis ! I am so very pleased for you. It will be a good Christmas this year!  I continue to have my Herceptin and Perjeta injections and have virtually no reaction to them, which is great. I am having my portacath out on Thursday. I’m feeling really good at the moment, so hoping that continues.  Sending love to you all. xxx ... View more

@GonnaGetThruThis So pleased to hear it went well. I too had a long wait for mine and my op was from 2 till 6pm. I took 2 hours to come round so it was 8pm before I saw the surgeon who was very ready to go home by that point! I wish you the best recovery possible. I did the exercises they recommend and have had no ongoing issues with full movement in my arm (I had mastectomy and full lymph node clearance).  I hope everyone is well. I have nearly completed the Couch to 5K (one more run to go!) which has given me a real boost and I have the time and inclination to cook for myself now so am focusing on eating really well to feel good and I really notice the difference. Love to you all. xxx ... View more

Dear @Heels to walking boots , I am glad to hear all is well and I am sure it will be nice to have a good Christmas before your op.  My 6 month check went well and the surgeon was really pleased. There is no evidence of any recurrence too, which was nice to hear. I am feeling really pretty good at the moment and have upped my exercise which is making me feel good (although not today due to the horrible weather - I’m lying down next to the fire!).  I will be starting hormone therapy at some point but I am having an op to remove my ovaries so it may be after that as Tamoxifen can cause DVT which apparently is risky for an operation particularly in the pelvic area! You learn something new every day.  Wishing you and everyone else all the best. I hope you are all doing well. Love, Siân xxx ... View more

@Flower123 I’m so pleased to hear your op went ahead in the end and wish you all the very best for your results. I hope you have some nice distractions to take your mind off the wait! @GonnaGetThruThis My thoughts will be with you next week. I found the operation quite doable. I found it hard not doing much physically after it but got used to that. I am seeing my surgeon on Wednesday for my 6 month post-op check. Can’t believe that!  I have been feeling really good lately and my Phesgo injection didn’t give me any side effects, so I am feeling happy for now. xxx ... View more