Breast Cancer Now Forum

Heres to you SCACO......and heres to the rest of us.....onwards and upwards into the light ... View more

As one of the first people into the woods with SCACO I have fond memories....we got through the woods and out the otherside and now she is in the place where the nasties can no longer get to torment her and there will be no more dark scary places to go.....xxx ... View more

Hello! Somerset Cando is a lovely west country based support group! pm me for details. Musgrove dosent really have any specific support group for bc ladies except one that is really for older ladies! ... View more

Jaynek you had exactly the same age at diag and treatment as me for exactly the same 1.9 tumour....dunno if you had node involvement but i had microbits in one node...I also threw the book at it! My daughter had exactly same but no nodes and 1cm and decided to have the chemo even though it only gave an extra 1% so she could have herceptin....herceptin is an amazing drug and cannot be used without chemo 😕 However everyones choice is different and p-pixie what ever choice you make WILL be the right one for you x ... View more

Tell me about the stupid idiots you find in these places! (also the absolute angels) I have a good friend just diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer....her docs and oncs....if it wasn't true it would read like a a comedy horror.... 😕 ... View more

Chocci...I'm not a medic either but the tam is like a square and fits the square hole in oestrogen in all cells...coz as far as we know we have no cancer cells lurking...and its just in case some develop it will block them....thats a very simplistic explanation but its late xx ... View more

you made me laugh so much Chinook & Monica!!! You can just use the capsules....shove it up and wait...it will disolve!!!.....or find more interesting ways 😉 You will have lovely skin!!! For those trying to find 'PUR' I made a typo....its PJUR google it!!! ... View more

Just popping in to say I was a 36B/C and had TM to remove 1.9mm grade 3 in Sept 2010. I have a tiny almost invisible scar around the areola and a wobbly line underneath but no incision along the bra line. Everything had to be done twice as didn't get clear margin the first time. All healed up well and not a lot smaller...but loads neater! Could have the other done to match if I wanted but to be honest there is not a lot of difference in size and all my underware fits well....in face echocardiogram lady was gobsmacked at how good it was! I am very pleased as it would have meant very disfigured with WLE Good luck! ... View more

Not critisising anyone.....please don't think I am as that was not the intended! ... View more

No one should ever tell another that they are wrong or right to take something or not.... Tamoxifen may well be a life saver to some but could be a life taker to others and a life messer upper to yet others. Its a very individual decision as to whether or not to take drugs and they ALL have side effects some hidden and some very apparent. However we are intellegent beings and must sometimes take responsibility for our lives and happiness. To exist and be miserable is no substitute for living life to the full and being happy imho and if that means living a bit shorter life....so what, well no one should dictate. I think the number of bc patients on anti ds is possibly a result of the drug treatments and their side effects. Sorry if this is a bit rambling....I find tamoxifen addles my poor brain! ... View more

Very interesting reading all of the above....its very brave women who choose to stand up and say how it affects them. I have a 5% increased chance of survival from taking tamoxifen and I have been on it for nearly a year now. I hate the drug with a vengeance and it messes up my life in a lot of ways....and so am looking at brassicas and a substance called indole 3 carbinol....anyone else looked at this alternate route? ... View more

Well...when I started this thread....nearly a year ago....I wondered how many people had problems and wanted solutions...wow! A year on I can report back....! I am on tamoxifen and it has a lot to answer for...but so have we! My experience so far has been on the lines of no its not quite as good as before bc....but its not bad 😉 use it or lose it and keep your skin in good condition has been my motto! Aloe vera gel applied to 'lady bits' daily keeps skin in very good moist condition therefore no cracks! Vit e capsules as lube are very good and good for the skin, if extra is needed...and often none is some stuff someone on this forum mentioned called Pur is very good too...this sort of stuff needs to be used daily. So to conclude rather than ad hoc sex without a thought or a care is maybe not as easy...with some forward planning its possible! Its always interesting to me that we all booze away whilst saying nevermind the risk but are frightened of taking or not taking prescribed drugs 😕 Anyway good luck ladies....and the scream cream looks interesting xxx ... View more

Like this thread...some good stuff here You are all right about there being tons of support whilst going through the obvious....and for me sometimes that was a bit overwhelming...i wanted them all to back off and leave me alone. I have always been an independant 25 things on the go sort with 10 other things on the back burner...I love that sort of life! BC has totally floored me....I look ok now even if my straight light brown hair has been replaced with dark brown wavy hair....which reminds me of the whole episode...and means I avoid mirrors. I used to have soooo much energy and get up n go let alone mojo prior to this confounded disease. I felt fantastic....and now all the treatment has left me feeling a bit lost...and confused...and apt to suddenly burst into tears...like I did in the middle of the local shop...totally not like me! I don't think I'm depressed as often quite happy but I resonate with the PTSD....Sometimes I feel like a person whose house has been hit by a bomb, who is sitting in the rubble with blackened face and tattered clothes, with all they had broken around them whilst a cheerful soul walks past and says cheerily, 'Oh dear poor you....but look on the bright side and count yourself lucky that you survived'.....whilst walking on.... I for one feel a bit shell shocked, confuddled, not quite sure where to start to sort out the mess. As a result of this crap I have had to give up my successful business....and as a result of that I had to sell my tiny weeny but wonderful little house in France as I couldn't afford to keep it anymore....and use the proceeds to pay off any debts I had as I am no longer working....with a little left over to try and start again... So what I'm rambling on at is there is no wonder that any of us are not jumping for joy...we have just been in a war zone of our own... ... View more

I have had 17 and finished as number 18 due next week and it always makes me feel spaced out for a few days. Onc said it would not make any difference as some do 17 and others 18 xx ... View more

It is your body and your life and up to you to weigh up the risks! I don't agree that the only people posting on here are the ones with the problems! I am off getting on with my life and enjoying life etc however I, just like you, don't like the idea of taking stuff that interferes with my body....even though its my body going haywire that caused this in the first place!! I don't think anyone can say they have no side effects, mild side effects may be or even ones that go unnoticed or are masked by something else, but when you were a person who was healthy, happy and never even took a paracetemol before diagnosis it can be very hard to come to terms with taking a drug that alters ones body.....and it does alter your body! I have a 6% benefit from taking it and am going to review it every 6 months and if I feel it is causing a drop in my quality of life then I and I alone will decide whether or not to keep taking it. Its my life at the end of the day and its your life too. Good luck with your decision! ... View more

Hmmm its the women doctors and consultants that I also find look at you and say that! I remember when my oncologist for chemo said at our first meeting 'Well you are pre menopausal now but the chemo will sort that out' very breezily....she looks about 17 herself! .....add to that the young female surgeon who said gently before my surgery 'well its not as if you'll want to look like a 20 something.....after all you are 49'....wtf???? I wonder sometimes what they will be like in 20 years time! I also wonder what sort of quality of relationship some of these people have themselves...if their relationship is poor they will not be interested in nor understand those who have good relationships with their partners..... ... View more

I am determined not to suffer from this as a result of the tamoxifen and have found the following really helpful! Firstly keep all the skin in the area well hydrated as dry skin cracks....ouch! So aloe vera (pure) is brilliant on the outside skin as are vit e capsules .....inserted! (sorry if tmi).....my point being that skin care dosent only include the bits you can see!!!! ... View more