Breast Cancer Now Forum

Thanks for recommending this, have just had it sent to my Kindle. ... View more

Hi Kippy, I don't remember anyone telling me to avoid smoke, but I do anyway - very inconvenient as my husband's a smoker. Although he hasn't given up he's been great - he doesn't smoke in the car anymore and never smokes in the same room as me. As for worrying about every little ache etc, I think that's something we all do - as time goes on I'm getting a bit better at handling it! All the best, Squirrel ... View more

Hi, thanks for all your replies. I've heard that rads can cause side effects which only start months after you've finished treatment, and this thing started only about 4 or 5 months after mine ended, so it might make sense. I don't have difficulty swallowing, or even a dry mouth, just this strange sensation. What gets me down a bit is that you get through all your treatment and just want to get back to "normal" but then you have all these strange side effects that start you worrying again. I think a lot of things are down to the Tamoxifen too, but it's only through these forums that you find out other people are experiencing the same symptoms you are. I did mention this to an oncologist, and she agreed the best thing was to see the ENT specialist, and it did set my mind at rest when he couldn't see anything, so I don't worry about it as much as I used to, but it has been annoying me a bit the last couple of days! Otherwise, I'm doing fine, thanks, Diana, I'm learning slowly but surely to look after myself a bit better and take it easy. Just wish I could get some weight off! Treatment and Tamoxifen have thrown me into early menopause (not too early as I was 48 when diagnosed) but finding it REALLY HARD to keep weight stable and even harder to lose any! I've decided exercise is the key, but I'm a natural born couch potato, so I'm really going to have to make an effort! Hope you're all doing well and all these annoying side effects bog off soon! Squirrel xxx ... View more

Hi, LFTs are often raised following cancer treatment and can also be caused by Tamoxifen etc. I've had a few liver scans done; they normally check out your liver and surrounding area such as gallbladder. My scans have always come back clear and so far (touch wood!) they seem to have been accurate. Good luck with yours 🙂 ... View more

Hi Belinda, I really feel for you, losing those dear friends. Till the end of her life, my mum kept all the little gifts and trinkets she'd been given by the friends who had passed on, and I know she never forgot them. I consider myself to be very lucky. I had a mastectomy, chemo, rads and am now on Tamoxifen, but so far so good. I was drawn to this thread when I saw the word "inspiring" in the subject heading, and I really think we could all do with more of this! From what you say, you've been living with secondaries for a while now, and I really wish you all the best. Squirrel, x ... View more

Although not to do with cancer, this might help give some people hope. My mother had tuberculosis in the 1940s, when she was in her twenties. At that time very few people survived having it. She had part of her lung removed and wasn't expected to live for very long and of the 22 women who were in the sanatorium when she first went there, 19 had died. And then a drug, Streptomycin, was discovered. It was given to my mum and she pulled through and lived quite an active life until she was 80, eventually dying of heart problems. I was diagnosed with bc four years after my mum died. While I'm glad in a way that she wasn't around because she would have been so scared for me, I often wish I had spent more time talking to her about her experience, and how she never gave up hope. I must admit that I do feel hopeful about the way cancer will be treated in future. Perhaps there won't suddenly be a magical cure, but I do think it will become more and more controllable. ... View more

Hi DGW, sorry to hear about your lack of support. 6 weeks seems an awfully short time to be off work after all you've been through emotionally and physically. I was off for 15 months (although I did have to have chemo). When I went back things had changed at work too - many of the people I'd known for years had taken voluntary redundancy and they've been replaced by lots of young people whose names I can never remember (I put it down to chemo-brain!) To be honest, I don't think anyone who hasn't gone through this can understand what it's like. And I think people "out there" are just totally unaware of secondary breast cancer. I imagine if people see you walking around looking pretty normal, they won't imagine for a minute that you have such a serious illness. Anyway, that's not much consolation for you. I don't know if it would help at all to leave some of Breast Cancer Care's literature in a convenient place in your office to help educate people a bit, but if you haven't already done so I'd definitely recommend using BCC's helpline - I've used it a few times since my diagnosis in March 2009, and found it really helps to have someone sympathetic to talk to, and who really understands what you've been through. Anyway, all the very best, S x ... View more

I found the lump myself. I had a history of lumpy breasts and had had two or three benign lumps and when I went to my GP she said she thought it felt like another benign one, but referred me our local hospital. I still hadn't heard from them after a week so I phoned and was told I wasn't considered urgent and was on a 12-week waiting list! I phoned a private hospital that day and was seen two days later - I'm not particularly well off but I knew I would just worry if I didn't get it done. Lucky I did - had a mammogram and doc said he was concerned about it and asked if I wanted to switch to his clinic at an NHS hospital, which I did. They did a biopsy within days and when I went for the results a couple of days later the bcn told me I had "a wee cancer"! I had the lump removed and an SNB. It turned out to be multi-focal (more than one lump)with unclear margins and 1 positive node, so had to have mx, chemo, rads and am now on Tamoxifen. Private appointment cost £300 but well worth it - although, of course, it shouldn't have to be like that. ... View more

Thanks for your reply. I had assumed I wasn't getting periods because of the chemo and then the Tam, so I'll ask about this next time I see my onc. Since stopping chemo/rads, I seem to have one niggling symptom after another, but I guess this is just a combination of Tam and my age! Take care, Squirrel ... View more

Re. weight control, I had my first annual check-up today and was saying to the doc that I keep reading it's best to lose weight with bc, but it's so difficult when you're on Tamoxifan. She said that although the more fat you're carrying the more oestrogen there is circulating in your body, the Tamoxifen is blocking the oestrogen, so not to get too hung up on it. Will still try to lose some weight though. ... View more

Hi, I'm not brave enough to do it with diet alone, but I am combining it with conventional treatment (chemo, rads etc). I particularly like David Servan-Schreiber's Anti-Cancer book, and I believe in looking at your "terrain", so that you're also looking at exercise, coping with stress, etc. I do have a friend who overcame ovarian cancer through diet alone (she was diagnosed 7 years ago). ... View more

Hi everyone - this is my first attempt to post something here! I'm 49 and have just passed the first anniversary of my Dx. Since then (March 2009) I've had a WLE & SNB, followed by a Mx and ANC (1 pos node), chemo, rads and am now on Tamoxifen. I have my first annual check-up on Thursday, and am feeling quite jittery, especially as I've had a lot of weird pain in my lower right rib recently. I'm hoping this is just an after-effect of rads or something to do with Tamoxifen. I'm getting married in September, and would just love to have a relatively carefree few months to enjoy the build-up and the actual day - and the honeymoon, of course! ... View more