Breast Cancer Now Forum

I too remember Lara/Sharron and her funny, feisty posts. Very glad to hear that your life is now feeling positive, Taz, thugh it's obvious you still love and miss Sharron very much and always will. ... View more

Ginny, so sorry to read how worried you are. I'm afraid I don't have any relevant experience to help, but just wanted you to know that someone had read your post and will be thinking of you when you go to see the surgeon on Monday. Just one thing - has anyone suggest you go to see your oncologist rather than or as well as your surgeon? In my experience it's been the surgeon who has dealt with the operation site and the oncologist with other symptoms (I had a mastectomy for a local recurrence). Hope someone with more relevant experience will be along to help you soon. Kathy xx ... View more

So very Jane. Thinking and campaigning to the last and, as always, telling it like it is. I will miss your intelligence and clear-sightedness very much. No soppiness, Jane, just affection, gratitude and respect, and my deepest sympathy to your partner. Kathy ... View more

Lisa, I'm so very sorry to hear about your secondaries. You may not remember me, but we were mastectomy "twins" back in 2005 and I've followed your posts ever since. I don't have secondaries myself, but a friend of mine did very well for a long time on Capecitabine and was able to work part-time whilst on it. Wishing your onc success with her efforts to get Lapatinib for you. Kathy xx ... View more

Ann, I was told 4 to 6 weeks, or longer if your work is very physical. I went back after 5 weeks, though I still got tired and had to rest more (not as young as I was) ... View more

The trouble is we keep getting contradictory information. This is a more recent article from the Telegraph, saying something completely different from the Mail: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2262150/Red-wine-could-help-prevent-breast-cancer.html I know which I prefer to believe, but how can we really know? ... View more

I'd been on Arimidex for more than 2 years after a recurrence when (back in January) I asked my GP if he would check my cholesterol level (never had it done before and I'm 62!) It came back as 5.6, but as the ratio of high-density lipoprotein to low-density was a healthy 1:3 he was perfectly happy with the result. I'd read that oats and some other foods can help to reduce lipid levels in the blood and we'd been having porridge for breakfast every day for some time, so I'm hoping that is continuing to help. After almost 3 years on Arimidex I'm still getting the odd hot flush, but nothing like I was at the beginning. The worst thing is that my joints are starting to be much stiffer and often ache, a side-effect I'd thought I was going to escape :-(( ... View more

Sue, Like everyone else I am so shocked and saddened to hear of Lisa's death. Yet another lovely young woman gone far too soon because of this cruel disease. I have followed your posts with deep admiration for Lisa's courage and determination and for your devoted care for her and had hoped that she would have had much longer with you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Simon and all who love Lisa in your sorrow and loss. Kathy xxx ... View more

Hi Rachel, No, you're definititely not going mad! I haven't had chemo, but have been on Arimidex for nearly 3 years and my memory and concentration are much worse than they used to be. At 62 I would expect them to be less acute than when I was younger, but this is much more than that.and it can be very annoying at times. I find lists and notes of things I need to do or remember make a big difference. I do sympathise. Kathy xx ... View more

Hi Peacock, I'm in the UK (though with a holiday cottage in Normandy) and had all my treatment here. I recently came across the following English-language support group in France, which was set up for people like you. http://www.cancersupportfrance.info/ Hope this may help Kathy xxx ... View more

Hi Withajay, Very sorry you now have all this worry again, Seven years after my first bc I found a lump right under my lymph node scar and at first I was told it was scar tissue, When I said I was sure it was new and that it felt like my first lump, I was finally given an ultrasound, followed immediately by mammogram and core biopsy. It turned out to be a small local recurrence and 3 years on I'm doing well. Is your consultant actually planning to investigate this lump? Sometimes you really have to push as I did, but it's better to know, so that if it is a recurrence, it can be treated. Wishing you the best of luck Kathy xx ... View more

Oh Ann, so sorry your suspicions seem to be well-founded. I would guess that this probably counts as a regional recurrence, but I'm not an expert. I understand that it needs to be in the bones, organs or skin to be counted as secondaries. Your tablets are capecitabine or Xeloda, which I believe is one of the easier chemos, though I haven't any personal experience of it. All good wishes Kathy ... View more

Hi Ann, I was offered another WLE and more radiotherapy, but had already made up my mind before I saw the surgeon that I wanted a mastectomy. I knew that the lump was small (turned out to be 12mm) but I didn't trust that breast any more, if you can understand that. I wasn't interested in having a reconstruction, but have never regretted opting for the mastectomy. I know that lots of people have 2 or more successful WLEs in the same breast, but that wasn't what I wanted for my own peace of mind. Mastectomy also meant no more rads which was a bonus. I'm now on Arimidex as I'm highly ER and PR positive. Kathy xx ... View more

Very sorry you now have all this worry again, almas, but well done for persevering about your lump. It seems very wrong that you've been mentioning it for so long and yet it's only now that it's being taken seriously. My recurrence was under my lymph node scar and at first I was told it was scar tissue, When I said I was sure it was new and that it felt like my first lump, I was finally given an ultrasound, followed immediately by mammogram and core biopsy. Guess who was right! Good luck with your biopsy and I do hope your worries prove to be unfounded. Kathy xxx ... View more

I had a bone scan last month for rib pain and tenderness on my mastectomy site, but it was clear. I had WLE, rads and tamoxifen for a small Grade 1 IDC (no lymphs) nearly 10 years ago, and then a mastectomy 2 and a hald years ago for a small Grade 2 recurrence under the ANC scar. I'm now on Arimidex. I still have some rib pain and tenderness, which is likely to be due either to my age or to the affer-effects of the mastectomy. Try not to worry. Kathy xx ... View more

Very sorry you're so worried, Phardy. Hope your team can see you very quickly. I had a recurrence nearly 3 years ago, but in such different circumstances that I'm not sure my experience would be helpful. Try to hold on to the fact that even though you've had cancer, it's still quite possible for you to get a non-cancerous breast lump. I've seen plenty of posts from people who've found new lumps after bc only to be told that they are benign. I'll be thinking of you and hope to see good news after your appointment. Kathy xxx ... View more

Linda, just wanted to say that if you're on tamoxifen, you shouldn't need to worry about osteoporosis. It's Arimidex and the other aromatase inhibitors which are bad for bones. Tamoxifen is actually good for them from all I've read. Kathy xxx ... View more

So sorry you're having symptoms again, Birgit, and like Jane, I hope that there is an innocent explanation. My recurrence was under the ANC scar, so no helpful experience to share, I'm afraid. Wishing you all the very best Kathy xxx ... View more

Hi Sarcath, Sorry you're worried about the chances of local recurrence. I can't help about radiotherapy versus node clearance, as when I had my first bc over 9 years ago node clearance was the norm. I had a small Grade 1, Stage 1 (i.e. no affected nodes) very ER+ tumour and was treated with WLE, ANC and rads, plus 2 years of tamoxifen. Had to come off tamoxifen because of a rare side-effect and was considered so low risk that I wasn't put on any other hormone therapy. Five years later I was diagnosed with a small Grade 2 recurrence under the ANC scar. This time I chose to have a mastectomy to avoid more rads and am now on Arimidex. It was a shock to have a recurrence after my very good prognosis (my surgeon said I was just unlucky) but my second prognosis was also good and i'm trying to get on with life without worrying too much about the possibility of anything else happening. Hope this helps Kathy xxx ... View more

I too feel I have received first-class treatment on the NHS both times. With my first bc in 1998, I found the lump on Dec 6th which was a Sunday. Went to see GP on Monday morning and had an appointment at the one-stop clinic at Shrewsbury on Dec 15th. The only reason I didn't get the results that afternoon was that the pathologist was away and couldn't analyse the biopsy that day. Instead the consultant rang me at home with the results on the 18th. Because of the Christmas/New Year holiday I couldn't have my op until January, but was at the top of the list on January 10th. 5 weeks from finding the lump to surgery seemed fine to me in the circs. Didn't have chemo but rads started as soon as my WLE scar had healed. Second time round I was treated at the Churchill in Oxford. Found the lump under my ANC scar on holiday, rang the hospital as soon as I got back and was seen the following Monday, August 1st. Unfortunately the lump felt like and was thought to be scar tissue (except by me) and therefore the precautionary ultrasound was scheduled as routine and it took over 3 weeks for me to have it. The ultrasound was inconclusive so I was given a mammogram straight away and even then the lump didn't look like cancer. As a precaution I had a core biopsy and got the results straight after the Bank Holiday. After that things moved quickly, with full scans and tests before I saw the consultant breast surgeon, and I had my chosen mastectomy at the beginning of October. Given the fact that breast cancer is very common and resources are inevitably never as generous as we would like, I think the NHS does a very good job in difficult circumstances. ... View more