Breast Cancer Now Forum

reading Choccimuffin's poetry post,humour is such a valuable asset looking forward to two weeks of school holidays,yeah!!!! ... View more

temporary energy burst blood pressure low racing heart why? then peaceful sleep ... View more

arriving early for my appointment,waiting for three hours to be seen only after the clinic closed .and then being told they didn't have my mammogram and ultrasound for review(the whole purpose of the appointment in the first place) AND THEN BEING ASKED TO COME BACK IN THE NEXT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ... View more

it has become my full time job just looking after my health so I can go on living,being made to feel lazy and useless( admittedly because I have heart failure as well as having had breast cancer treatment ... View more

I planted my chilli seedlings into pots today ,next will be chives, basil and sage ... View more

Kulakatz, I have just found your jokes ,thanks so much I haven't laughed so much since I can't remember when.love the one about turning blonde,no offence as I used to be blonde too until chemo zapped me and I ended up with very dark hair ... View more

peoplebeatingcancer, thanks for sharing your experience and information.I have learnt that quite a few people have substantial improvement as long as they can find medication which suits them. I also always exercise within the limits of my heart function and am eating heathily now,lots of vegetables and fruits ,and have dramatically reduced meat although I don't think I can be a vegetarian because there are quite a few foods I can't take ... View more

thanks my bp is around 110 over 70 now so hopefully that is high enough I'll email my cardio and ask his opinion(don't want to wait a few months for the next appointment) ... View more

yeah I liked some of this but it wasn't really much about cancer anyway,i didn't see that she had any symptoms at all ???the paintball scene was good though ... View more

cmw,could you tell me what your bp was ?I am hoping mine may get high enough to use beta blockers Hi piglet ,I didn't use the forums for a while,but remember your name too well despite everything we are still going ..... ... View more

well I am thinking of asking my cardio if I can be considered to try beta blockers.my bp has been very low which is why I couldn't have them ,but now has improved/.and I am not getting better on the treatment I am already on,so why not try?I know they used to never prescribe beta blockers for congestive heart failure,but apparently they can be helpful sometimes as they also help to get rid of some excess fluid and slow the pulse rate which might help the heart to work more efficiently......... ... View more

hi Piglet , thanks for answering,last year my ef increased from 20 to 30 .now recently went down again i am on frusemide,spironolactone,potassium supplement,diovan ,digoxin and isosorbide dinitrate thinking back maybe the decline was because I listened to one junior doctor who told me I didn't need to use my oxygen machine (used to use it to sleep every night)so a few months later I have got worse again.so going to start again,it really did help last time some other drugs ace inhibitors the doctors said I can't have because my blood pressure is too low I just feel i'm not getting as much improvement as I used to be getting ... View more

Hi cmw, your doctor said it would repair itself? maybe my condition is different,I have dilated cardiomyopathy and the whole heart is not moving as much as it should .basically the doctors say the damage to the heart cannot be repaired,we can only control the symptoms.I think mine was caused by adriamycin.what range is your EF if you don't mind me asking? mine is 25% now ... View more

am I too late for a rant?? going to bed wishing it was morning waking up wishing it was night time feeling like an old lady running out of energy half way through the day losing the thread of my own words half way through struggling to open heavy doors in public places forgetting the word I need ... View more

visiting a new clinic out in the middle of nowhere,I had to wait over lunch time for the pharmacy to open,so I enjoyed a leisurely wander around in the sunshine,no rush and no stress watching the clouds being blown by the wind feeling the sunshine on my skin feeling a cooling breeze ... View more

cooking some delicious and healthy food ,well eating it ,really ... View more

I am two years post chemo and radiotherapy,and having all the same problems.I keep introducing myself to people I have met before,and unfortunately my husband doesn't have a sense of humour about it.I also go into rooms and forget why I went there.I do believe that we can improve given time ,patience and practice,since straight after chemo I would stand looking into the wardrobe and couldn't decide what to wear,as though it was such a momentous decision,now I am not bothered by that any more.some handphones are a great help,mine has lists of things to do and can set reminders so now all my appointments and everything I have to remember is saved on there and buzzes me to remind me. I am also inspired by a doctor I saw on tv who had suffered brain damage and through persistence recovered all of her function.I think she had a stroke ,couldn't talk or even recognise her own mother,but by persistence and never losing hope she has made a remarkable recovery we have to be as patient with ourselves as we would be with someone else as stress also makes learning harder ... View more

Hi Puggley,sorry to read of your heart problems,I just wanted to introduce myself because I also have heart failure which is thought to be due to adriamycin.I can't help you with the heart specialist as I live in malaysia,my EF was 20% when diagnosed in March,now 30%.I go to a hospital cardiac clinic where most of the patients have coronary artery disease,and haven't met anyone else with this type of heart damage.My private cardiologist who diagnosed me gave me some info about chemo induced heart failure,sorry to say it sounded pretty depressing,and not sure it is up to date. Is there any alternative medication you might be able to take?my medication was not doing much for me so I made a fuss and managed to get different drugs which do help,eg digoxin and isosorbide dinitrate,also one called diovan. HOw long is it since you were diagnosed? ... View more

one that I find helpful to deal with any type of stress is one which I think was mentioned on another thread but of course I can't remember where! anyway as you breathe slowly you imagine yourself breathing out a dirty or nasty unattractive colour which is the stress .for me I imagine a dark black brown or grey,then as you breathe in you imagine the colour of the air being a refreshing,healthy or invigorating colour such as silvery,blue,turquoise,any colour that seems to represent health ,life and vitality,as if you were inhaling a good long breath of sea air. ... View more