Breast Cancer Now Forum

Happy New Year Soosie_soo! I didn't have a wobble this year, as I have started my very own "law of attraction" resolution. I try to always think positive things about my life, regardless of what it was or could have been. I got to celebrate another year with my children and extremely grateful for that. I hate the impact that treatments have had and still have on my looks, but have decided to make the most of it too. I used to be an attractive woman, now I am going to be a patient and wise woman. Those are long lasting and more attractive than good looks to people who have a soul! And as far as your aiming for 95% wellness, you can be 120%, if you so decide! You can get there! Hugs Daniela xx ... View more

Totally agree Soosie_soo, although 2.5 years down the line -hear hear- I am playing rugby! Stiffness gone, thanks to Pilates. Yes, I have been told by the Italian breast cancer consultant the surgeon "killed an ant with a missile", as I probably didn't need the TWO mastectomies with LD flap... if I could go back, I would not have LD flap. In the end, it is true, a woman without a breast is still a woman. And as far as nurses care etc., I guess the "stiff upper lip" thing might be to blame. British ladies, from a foreigner's perspective, are expected to "hide" their fears and need for reassurance, so I guess the nurses do not have expertise in empathy and reassurance? ... View more

Hello Soosie_soo, Poppy3 and everybody reading this, please try to stay positive as much as you can 😊. I thought I should share I went back to Pilates, dragged by a friend who is a nurse... well it was somehow more like hatha yoga... nevertheless, the shoulders are much better... there was a funny contraction in my chest with certain movements which involved using the latissimus dorsi, but the overall feeling was great. And also getting out there, forgetting for an hour about all the stress, fear, pain... wonderful! Nothing helps more than a good laugh with friends! ... View more

Hello again! Re: stiffness in the ribcage, I have the same issue, when I am tired...no idea of why. Just last week was at a work meeting, sat on the sofa and when the time to get up came I struggled to pish myself up... mortifying really, cannot explain why to my colleagues! and I always dreamed I would so cross country skiing one day 😞... these little things are reminders of the "new" reality, I swing between a sense of defeat and a willingness to get old self back, which is not going to happen. I went from being quite young for my age to aging ten years in a few months. But I don't cry, perhaps I should do it more. ... View more

It's one of those things... I couldn't wait for the nipple reconstruction, gave me something to look forward to while I struggled with numbness, pain, drains, post-surgery "bras" etc... I can say -I keep saying- having that little bit of skin projecting out of the reconstructed breasts has made a big diffrence in the way I perceive my breasts. good luck Soosie_soo whatever you decide xxx ... View more

Hello PoppyJ! You are an inspiration, I will get out there more 🙂 although I guess part of the issue is not the LD flap but the menopause and injections and tamoxifen's side effects... Nipple reconstruction was a really quick recovery for me, no need to stop doing anything. I went to work etc... although the seat belt rubbing against it did slow down the healing (I drove 46 miles either ways to work though)... and I admit, breasts feel and look better with a nipple, you can even occasionally forget the scars, as the focus is on the nipple if you know what I mean! With the tattooing (areola and nipple) it just looks natural really - plus the specialised nurses who do the tattoing are so nice (well the one that did mine at least!). When going to the swimming pool, if there is a common changing room (has happened to me at a Spa in Budapest and somewhere else) having nipples/tattoing also makes the "stares" less frequent/visible. I would be much more self - conscious without them... xx ... View more

Thank you so much FizzB! I'll give it my best shot. Shame about nipple reconstruction... What about the tattooing? It seems pretty good, and it should be covered... Anyhow, great to know we are there for each other. I did want to say though that sometimes saying things in a nice and quiet way not to make a fuss doesn't get you heard... I am Italian so apparently less worried about how other people will feel if I am outspoken about my needs/opinions... I guarantee that it feels really good to speak up, sometimes, instead of apologizing if someone steps on your toes... 😉 ... View more

Good morning ladies! Just wanted to say that "me time" has taken a whole new meaning after cancer for me... I have spared some time for a long walk in the evening and it does help... As for the nipples, it makes a huge difference to one's self-image to have them reconstructed, and "coloured in". I found that the nipple surgery wasn't too bad, perhaps because I had everything done in a relatively short time, so I look back at 2013 and 2014 as if it was someone else's life which I witnessed through their life... Not sure it makes sense. What I really find difficult is matching my identities before and after. And in that respect, no one - nurses, consultants, counselors- have even gone near meeting my needs. It is a work I am doing on myself also trying meditation (mindfulness)... A friend suggested a book, called "Feeding your demons" by a lady called *something* second name Allione, it seems silly when you read it but actually works... Have a great day everyone. We can make a choice to accept who we have become (with, in my circumstances, many extra layers of chub due to medically induced menopause 😞 ) which I hope will not sound patronizing to say. ... View more

Thanks Soosie_Soo! Agreed. I will try breast stroke 🙂 No more self pitying. Spot on with the need of actually following up properly with early diagnoses and correct treatment. xx ... View more

It is hard. Every evening I feel exahusted, and I had my LD flap(s) done 2 years ago! The fact that they moved those muscles to me has meant shoulder and back pain, intense at times. I used to be a great front crawl swimmer, I am now slow and heavy like a rock, in the water... and besides every time I do some physical activity involving the back/shoulders, my "breasts" go hard like rocks! Even yoga is painful (!). I have been referred to a consultant for one of my implant seems to have gone really hard, but the appointment is months away, and besides, what can he do? Leave me with an empty sack?  I would probably choose a different procedure in hindsight. I was in shock when I decided for a double mastectomy which was not "necessary" but elective... and perhaps I could have waited, or saved the skin at least in the breast which was not affected by the cancer. I was a private patient (thanks to husband's good insurance), and I now wonder if the surgeon offered me what was really for his advantage (£8400 a breast...)? I feel like saying to those making the decisions now: LD flap is painful, apart from where you have no sensation (breasts, back where the muscle was moved, back of your arm)... the breasts do look good enough, but perhaps there are other ways?   ... View more

Hello everyone. I would think that as long as the endometrium is checked regularly, it is fine. I didn't have my ovaries removed in the end, I have occasionally periods or period pains, but my endometrium is less thick than it was when I had my first bleeding last April. I have no medical knowledge, so really cannot say what causes this. I can only repeat what the gynae told me, which is that the tamoxifen interacts with the hormones produced by my body causing changes in the endometrium. I too thought I had had menopause, as my periods stopped during chemo and I had hot flushes, but I noticed that I have all the hormones back. Bad I guess as my bc was hormone-fed... I don't think ther eis a universal answer, as every medical history will determine the risks and benefits of tamoxifen etc. Just be positive, and get checked regularly! It is scary, but better than leaving it until too late. xxx   ... View more

I have the same problem, my line manager ignored me while I kept saying that I am disabled, and indeed she laughed and said "you are not disabled!", took me eight months and had to involve a senior manager to have a second OHS referral. To be fair, it took me some time to admit to myself that indeed cancer had a devastating impact on my life, I thought I could just resume being myself (the self I was before), and after all I did carry on working throughout treatments. But the person I am now has got pain, tiredness, chemo brain, menopausal symptoms, tests to be carried out every six months, and when my line manager changed, I was just discriminated against. She had the nerve to zay that she too woild get a "boob job" some day... As if having two mastectomies compares in any way! It sucks. ... View more

"In some cancers, hyaluronan levels correlate well with malignancy and poor prognosis. Hyaluronan is, thus, often used as a tumor marker for prostate and breast cancer. It may also be used to monitor the progression of the disease".... thanks! ... View more