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Barbwill
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since
01-05-2012
237
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18-01-2018
09:48
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I was diagnosed in Feb 2011, aged 41, with stage 2, grade 2, 3.5cm cancer + 2 lymph nodes were also affected. I also found out I carry the BRCA2 gene mutation. I had neo-adjuvant chemo, bilateral mastectomy, rads, ovaries taken out, and hormonal treatent (tamoxifen at first switched to Letrozole). I have had no evidence of disease since. I think about my cancer every day and I have to manage my anxiety of a return of the illness. My twins were only 3 when I was diagnosed and I don't want them to lose their mummy too soon. Also, I had loads of other medical procedures unrelated to the cancer and I really dread being put thorugh surgery and harsch treatments again ... but so far so good, and may it continue.
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18-12-2012
10:25
Hi thank goodness it isn't bone metastasis. Going to see orthopspecialist tomorrow. It's very unpleasant but not life threatening. Thank you all
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02-12-2012
02:02
Thank you Wendy and Jean, your messages are reassuring. I have corrected my post because there was a mistake with the dates. I finished my rads over a year ago and the frozen shoulder happened only now. I was fine in the months after the mx and rads, this started this summer but didn't get bad until 2 weeks ago.
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02-12-2012
11:19
Thank you Louise, I saw my GP on Friday. He categorically excludes that it's cancer but gave me a request for an X-ray which I have done on the same day. He should call me tomorrow with the results. I also left a message with the oncologist's secretary and they have given me an appointment for Tuesday morning. I'll let you know my news tomorrow.
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29-11-2012
06:58
Hi, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Feb 2011, had chemo, double mx, rads and finished that phase of the tratment in Oct 2011. I had a few MRI scans of my bones up to Feb 2012 and nothing else after that. In the summer I started to have pain and restricted movement in my shoulder. Both oncologist and surgeon said I needed physio because I had become "unfit". I started physio in October, things did not improve, in fact they got worse. In the last two weeks I had a major worsening of the condition, going from being able to lift my arm up by 90 degrees to being able to raise it just by half that. Not only my movements are severely restricted but I am also in a lot of pain which is in the shoulder and arm as well. And this sudden worsening happened despite me doign all the daily exercises reccommended by the physio and using the ice pack every day as reccommended. When I saw the physio today he was very alarmed by this sudden worsening and told me to go back to the GP and push for a referral and said they would do X-rays and further tests as well.
Now, frozen shoulder is very bad of course but what I am really worried about is if this is caused by bone metastasis. Can anyone tell me if the symptoms of frozen shoulder and those of bone metastasis can be similar ? I need to know whether I need to push my GP to give me a referral to an oncologist and not just to an orthopedic doctor. He has been very reticent to write a referral in the past (I had to go back to him twice before I was referred when I had breast cancer, despite a lump in my breast, one in my armpit, and a known history of breast cancer int he family). I want to go to the appointment knowing if it is possible that bone metastasis give the symptoms I have described ?
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30-10-2012
10:08
I also had my ovaries and tubes removed because I have the BRCA2 gene mutation which was found only after I was diagnosed with BC last year. I was 42 when my ovaries were removed a year ago. I think your age is a big factor here because you are going to go into surgical menopause, with all the side effects that that brings. The op in itself was really minor in the end, and I felt fully recovered after a week. The hot flushes are horrible. Vaginal dryness and risk to bone health not great either but there are things that can help. Personally, I'd put up with a lot to avoid having cancer again.
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13-10-2012
10:22
I stopped fluoxetine after reading your posts. I then met my oncologist who told me that actually the latest studies exclude a risk of interference between fluoxetine and tamoxifen. I haven't gone back on it because I have decided to go without now that summer is over.
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13-10-2012
10:20
I stopped fluoxetine after reading your posts. I then met my oncologist who told me that actually the latest studies exclude a risk of interference between fluoxetine and tamoxifen. I haven't gone back on it because I have decided to go without now that summer is over.
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09-05-2012
07:42
Thank you all. After a chat with my GP I have today started to take the drug reccommended to me by the hospital doctor: fluoxetine 20mg, none other than Prozac ! I never thought I would be taking Prozac in my life ! Anyway, the GP said that it's a very safe drug, very tried and tested as it's so well known. I'll give it a go and see. I'm off to the very south of Italy for a month soon so I hope it will help me cope with the very hot weather.
Also, I am in surgical menopause after the removal of my ovaries as a preventative measure. The gynaecological oncologist told me that the hot flushes should settle after 6-9 months from the operation. I am not sure I can believe that as I know that most people struggle with hot flushes for years. And I am on tamoxifen anyway for another 4 and half years. does anybody thing that my hot flushes are going to disappear naturally any time soon ?
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25-04-2012
09:16
A doctor yesterday told me that there is a class of antidepressants (SSRIs) that has been shown to be extremely effective for hot flashes. She said that I would see a massive difference after one or two weeks. Now I don't suffer from depression and I've never taken antidepressants so obviously I am worried about the side effects but this doctor said that they are not significant. I am not sure if this is because they are taken in small doses for hot flushes, or what. I was wondering whether anyone here had experience of this or more knowledge to share.
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23-03-2012
08:06
Hi girls, I had my expanders put in last July after double MX. They were really uncomfortable to start with. Now I sort of got used to them but I am sure that if I replaced them with normal silicone implants I would feel the difference and be more comfortable, especially because the ports wouldn't be there. The problem is that my surgeon thinks that the cosmetic result is unbelievably good right now and told me that it will never be this good so strongly dissuaded me from changing it for now. I agree with him that the result is stunning but is it worth it ? Not sure ...
I have a ultrasound scan planned for July when they will see how the implants have settled after one year. I will them see him again in September and that will be my first chance to discuss the issue again. I am 42 so young but I feel that I would prefer to look slightly worse but be a bit more comfortable ... on the other hand, after all I've been through last year, I am quite pleased that I am not going under the knife again any time soon.
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03-01-2012
07:23
Clare, I am so so happy that you had a wonderful Christmas and that you are feeling good. Keep us posted, we're all thinking of you.
Happy new year everyone
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30-12-2011
08:29
Ruby, I had a salpingo-oophrectomy (tube and ovaries) a week after the end of my rads in October. I stayed in hospital one night and after about 4-5 days I felt pretty back to normal. I had the op because I am BRCA 2, so susceptible to breast but also ovarian cancer. I am 42 and was diagnosed with BC in February. I discovered I was BRCA 2 in June and decided to take everything off (other breast as well). The oophrectomy was really easy compared to the rest. Good luck !
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19-11-2011
06:02
Ninja, I am so sorry to read that you've had some much hardship in your life even before BC. I guess that injury inflicted by other human beings has a different nature compared to cancer. At least no one is responsible for our cancer, no one has caused it, we were just unlucky ...
I feel that other hard things I had to contend with in the past and that were just back luck rather than caused by someone have shown me, as lizzyship says, that I am stronger than I thought. Whether I will be able to hang on to this thought when people and situations will make me feel inadequate in tiny easy insignificant things ... we'll see ...
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19-11-2011
12:55
I was told from the start because I was going to have neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (ie chemo before surgery), I would have to have rads.
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19-11-2011
12:37
Ninja, I also think that the scars never go away, but whether such an experience makes people able to laugh at the small things that are perceived as big problems by people who haven't been affected by something this serious - or whether it makes us feel more vulnerable is not clear to me. A month since the end of rads I am feeling pretty vulnerable and still quite wobbly, both physically and mentally. And I feel that I am sinking back into a mode of thinking where small things get at me as much as they used to. The ultimate test will be when I will go back to work in the new year. I put my heart and soul in everything I do but this is the reason why I get so upset when things don't pay off. I hope I will be able to use this bad experience to maintain a more healthy perspective on things, I don't know if I will be though.
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19-11-2011
12:21
Hi girls
Amber, how frustrating to have to wait longer for commencing rads. Have you started now ? How are you finding it?
Jo, so sorry the post-treatment blues hit you .... are you able to get some counselling or support over the phone from here or McMillan ? Concerning rads, I was told that because I have chemo before surgery, rads always follow. And I was told that it prevents 25% of recurrences even though there are increased long term risks. If I heard correctly the doctor told me that long term it increases the chance of cancer by 5%, which is not small. So I guess they always have to balance the pros with the cons for every case.
I am doing fine, I had another MRI scan of spine and head last week because of a stiff neck and it came back fine. They said, however, that there some pictures that they don't understand in some of the pictures lower down along my spine. They said that it doesn't look like cancer and they are not there in all the pictures and said it might be an artifact of the machine. So I don't to do anything for now but probably they will give me another scan in two months time, just to make sure. So I feel I can never put an end to this story, and I guess that the nature of this illness. It will never be behind me. I am trying to accept this as part of the baggage that I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life as the price to pay for living much longer than I would have lived without the treatment. I am only 42 and have bad hot flushes, insomnia, pain in my joints from the tamoxifen, physical disfigurement, no more ovaries, and I generally feel 20 years older than I am. And I have some permanent anxiety about the future of me and my family. I am trying to digest all this a little at a time - not easy.
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30-10-2011
03:06
Hi I'm 42, have young children, and was diagnosed with bc in Feb. I've just finished my cancer treatment, 8 gruelling months of chemo, surgery, rads, and more risk-reducing surgery at the end. I am doing fine physically and mentally but I know I'm only fresh after the end of treatment and don't know what to expect once a more normal life resumes. I would like to think that I will be a stronger person as a result of what has happened, just so that I can take something positive from this life-threatening situation. But I also think that this experience can potentially make people feel more vulnerable and weaker than before. I am interested to know your experiences and whether there are strategies to try to manipulate our mind to make us believe that we're now stronger.
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30-10-2011
02:58
Tillybob, I was told that rads prevent 25% of reoccurrances, so definitely worthwhile. I normally was in and out for the treatment in about 10 min, and I had the rads to three areas (axilla, chest wall and collar bone). I think my planning appt took about 20 minutes. Tha radiologists were so nice that I found it hard to adjust to the normal level of niceness of other health professionals after 5 weeks of being treated really really really wonderfully.
Elttks, I am so sorry to hear that it's so painful. Perhaps you need to see a physio if it is that bad? In my case it did feel tight but not really painful.
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