Breast Cancer Now Forum

@GreenBird @Watcher72 @Dimpled @Pollyannasglad  Hi there, so good to hear from you! @Dimpled sorry to know you have suffered severe side effects from EC. EC was very tough for me too. You should be very proud of yourself that you have gone through it.  I have done my radio a week ago. It didn’t cause me much troubles apart from the fact I have to travel to and from central london everyday for 15 days. The travel itself exhausted me so much. I am also on hormonal drug which causes my joint and muscle pains. I feel like I am 90 year old when i wake up in the morning. I also started to feel numbness in my fingers. My oncologist said it is probably the side effect caused by Taxol but I didn’t have the neuropathy when I was receiving taxol treatment at that time.  My life was gradually back to normal. I am going to office more days than before, though I never stopped working since my diagnosis and throughout the treatments, which I was always so proud of.  I agreed we have been through so so much, must be kind to ourselves.  ... View more

@Pollyannasglad  Well done for the long walk. I feel I should go out to jog or walk too, the weather is miserable. Good news re seroma. Did you have a drain following the lumpectomy? I didn’t have the drain even with the mastectomy.    ... View more

@Dimpled  Great to hear from you. I’m glad to know you are coping well with EC. I found EC really challenging. Please continue to be positive and just 2 more to go!  love    ... View more

@Watcher72  Thanks my dear. My zoladex injection is every four weeks I believe. Oh dear, 6 weeks waiting for the result I could imagine.  Enjoy your back to normal life now. All the best    ... View more

@Pollyannasglad Soooo glad for you. A great result with complete response. Hope you continue to get good recovery from the surgery.  @Watcher72 It is so good to get your normal life back and move on. I found your radiotherapy tips are so useful. Thank you. Your surgery was done in Feb, but chemo started in July? That was a long gap though. I started my hormone drug(Exemestane) last week and my first Zoladex injection is scheduled coming Thursday.  ... View more

@Watcher72  I’m sure 2023 will be a much better year for us. Have you finished your radiotherapy? ... View more

@Pollyannasglad  Hope you are recovering well. Very strange that the sentinel nodes were not lightened up. Fingers crossed for your histology report on the 11th @Dimpled  Hope you are coping with EC ok.  I’m meeting the radiologist on Monday to go through my radiotherapy plan. Hopefully I am able to spend Feb half term with family aboard.  All the best  ... View more

@Pollyannasglad  Great news of the calcification. What a relief. Lumpectomy is supposed to be straight forward. Are they going to remove the sentinel nodes first?  @Dimpled  Hope the nauseas are improving and your appetite is gradually getting back  ... View more

@Dimpled Hi dear, 1/4 ticked. Nausea was my biggest challenge during EC, despite I was given stronger and stronger anti sickness each time. Try to take a walk outside, it will help you. I know it’s freezing outside at your place.  Really hope you will get better before Xmas.  ... View more

@GreenBird @Shi   Thank you my dear. Just 5 sessions to go, this is great! Your information is so important - shouldn't take breaks in between. So I can’t book anything yet until I will be seen by radiotherapist. It’s also good to know radiotherapy doesn’t cause us too much troubles.  Thinking of you all    ... View more

@Shi @Watcher72 @Pollyannasglad @Dimpled @GreenBird  Hello dear sweeties, How have you been recently. I’m recovering well from surgery. I am glad to have opted for immediately implant instead of DIEP FLAP. My recovery is much faster. I didn’t have the drain inserted which also helped.  I have a question regarding radiotherapy if anyone knows the answer. I don’t know my radiotherapy plan until early Jan. It will probably starts in mid Jan. I’m planning a trip during half term 13-17 Feb and needs to get the tickets/hotels booked ASAP. Can I have a week break during my radiotherapy treatment?  Best wishes to all of you    ... View more

@Dimpled You are right. Let’s not google it. My surgeon also says we are not using the old staging system any more. It’s TNM instead of stage. You certainly had a good response to neo-adjuvant chemo ( 80mm -35mm), I don’t understand the rationale of RCA given.  @Pollyannasglad  Really you shouldn’t worry about the calcification please. I did quite a lot research in June. It’s within the breast and it’s local. Certainly it’s not secondary. I have both DCIS and ICS in my left breast, therefore I had a mastectomy.  ... View more

@Dimpled  Oh, this is the first time I’ve heard of RCA. I’m nervous now in terms of my report. SO RCAiii indicates that more chemotherapy is needed? I can’t remember if you are Estrogen positive? Mine is Strong ER positive , this sub-type of BC doesn’t usually shrink tumors much. I always wonder why I was given neoadjuvant chemotherapy first instead of surgery.  ... View more

@Pollyannasglad my cancer was picked up from micro-Calcification on the mammogram. It indicates DCIS might be there. DCIS is non invasive which categorized as stage 0 BC. Unfortunately I had both invasive lumps and Non invasive. Please don’t panick. It is very possible the calcification is the benign change. Even if it is the DCIS, this doesn’t count as secondary. Fingers crossed for you for the 14th.  ... View more

@Pollyannasglad @Shi  I was blessed by your kind words. It went well. I’m in the ward relaxing and watching dramas on my ipad 😀😀  Thank you so so so much  Angela  ... View more

Hi @Dimpled  good to hear from you. Hope you have recovered well from the surgery. Sorry to know you have to do the chemo after the surgery. I’ve had 4 rounds of EC which was quite tough. Fatigue is a definite, but it’s manageable. I couldn’t tolerate the nauseas and the taste changed completely. I couldn't drink any water at all. I could drink some Lemon, honey mixed with sparkling water. The nauseas will go after 3 days, but taste changes stay for longer. I would suggest you to take the anti-nauseas medicine before you leave the ward on the day of chemo to prevent the nauseas kick in. Just ask questions here when you start the EC and we can advise based on our own experiences  I am waiting in the ward to be called for going to the theater. My surgery is scheduled for 11:40. It’s good to know the mastectomy isn’t painful😀 The uncertainty with regard to my lymph nodes procedure make me a bit unsettled. The surgeon will take the sentinel lymph nodes out and do biopsies while I’m sleeping, then decide whether to do the clearance or not.  Hope you can enjoy your bath time pretty soon.    All the best to all  Angela    ... View more

@Watcher72  Thank you so much for the wishes. I’m positive 😁 I’m on my way to Heathrow to pick up my mum, she will be staying with me for a while and I’m so happy.  You are half through the radiotherapy. Hope it goes well.  Thinking of you all   ... View more

@siag  You are having lumpectomy, you should get recovered faster than mine. Sorry to hear that you are losing nipple and areola, which must be a decision from the surgeon to prevent it’s coming back in the future. Good luck to ourselves. Stay positive  ... View more

@siag @Thanks for the post. Good luck to you too. Is your surgery just the day case?  ... View more

Thanks so much for your kind words @Tili @Chrissy H fingers crossed for the best result @Chrissy H  I wonder how soon I can walk after the surgery?  ... View more