Breast Cancer Now Forum

Good to hear from you all. I've just returned from a very pleasant cruise to the Canaries - never been there before, and liked it all very much. Came back with a cold (about a third of the passengers got one - I think the germs just go round and round in the air conditioning!) which is a nuisance, and haven't dared get on the scales yet... Got cold feet at the last minute - something about leaving the 'safe space' of home and heading into the unknown, not to mention the memory of my last cruise 2 years ago when I returned to find a summons to the breast clinic waiting, and subsequent diagnosis... but very glad I went. Very relaxing to have people doing everything for you for a couple of weeks! 2-year mammogram next month - trying to ignore that at the moment. Love to all, Axx ... View more

Great to hear from you both -   Hazel, glad to hear you are doing well. Pilates is great for you (I did it for years until they closed the local venue) and always found it very adaptable for the bits that don't work quite as well as they should...   Sue, I shall have to investigate those shoes - I'm a great fan of comfy footwear. Can't blame the chemo for my arthritic knee, but bet it didn't help... at least, the steroids did wonders for the knee, but don't want to go back on those! Am starting to suffer from low back problems, but that's more to do with having turned 70 last month...     Love to all, A   ... View more

Sal, greetings from the Feb.14 group: I think you live in  West London? Have you thought of going to the Maggie's support centre, next to Charing Cross Hospital? I've heard they can be very helpful. https://www.maggiescentres.org/our-centres/maggies-west-london/   When I was going through treatment I was also told about The Haven which has a centre in Fulham. http://thehaven.org.uk/   I haven't used either, as things have (so far) been pretty straightforward for me, but have heard good things about both.   Good luck, anyway, hope things improve for you soon. Alice           ... View more

Greetings, ladies, I hope our long absence from the front page means that we are all well and getting on with life. I know there are times when I think 'it never happened, and if it did, it never will again!'. Then the stiffness and aches around the clearance area remind me that it did... I had my regular checkup with the oncologist this morning and all was well; I quizzed him on the bits that still hurt, and he agreed with my tentative diagnosis of a mixture of clearance surgery and the subsequent major nerve damage, and the after effects of the radiotherapy, which he said could last a year or more. I finished rads at the end of July last year, so if it's still hurting in 6 months time, won't be best pleased...Anyway, next mammogram and appointment with him booked in today for next November. In the meantime it's back to 'it never happened' mode!   Do hope you are all doing well. Hazel, how is the exercise going?   Love and best wishes to all, Axx ... View more

Hazel, what good news! It's a lovely feeling, isn't it!   ... View more

Dear ladies, didn't know so many of you had also had full node clearance - it's good to know we can compare problems/fitness regimes/recovery techniques.   Kess, your exercise regime sounds great, no need to add the gym if you don't want to. I only go because I prefer working out alone to a class, though I must use some of my Pilates DVDs which are just gathering dust at home! I seem to have developed some lower back problems for the first time in my life: I blame the chemo for destroying my body...   Hazel, weren't you due a mammogram? All clear, I hope.   Love to all, A ... View more

Hazel, I had full clearance on the left and now exercise at the gym, using all the resistance equipment I used to before all this happened. Have built back up very slowly - increasing repetitions at first rather than increasing weight, and stopping if anything hurt. I had a friend who suffered with dreadful lymphedema which pretty well disappeared once she started exercising at the gym, under the guidance of a knowledgeable fitness trainer. Why not work with your trainer to see what you can and can't do, avoid what hurts to start with, and start at the lowest weight and a small number of reps. Then build up as you get stronger. I can certainly do things I couldn't 6 months ago. I agree with Kess that it would be the unexpected and uncontrolled application of stress on the arm (like trying to pick up something heavy, or move a large piece of furniture!) that is more likely to cause damage. I still carry shopping, but with equal bags if possible, or the heaviest on the undamaged side, or shifting one bag from arm to arm as I walk. Good luck! Ax ... View more

Morning, ladies - was hoping to enjoy the partial eclipse today but here in London it's just been an ordinary gloomy spring morning, very chilly, too!   Glad to hear all the positive results news. I've now had an all clear from bone scan, ultrasound and blood tests, so have to come to terms with the fact that all the bits that feel 'wrong', that still hurt or don't work properly, are all part of the new normal and have to be lived with...  They're still keeping a close eye on things - I see the oncologist in May and the surgeon again in July, which is reassuring - but must now try to get on with life. One thing I want to raise with the oncologist is the series of red patches that recently appeared on the irradiated breast - very odd 8 months after radiotherapy finished, but I suppose anything is possible with the treatment we've had. At least they went away!   Hazel, hope you manage to resolve the hot flushes - sounds horrible. And Cath, do hope your husband's problems can be sorted.   Best wishes to all, Axx   ... View more

(Off the front page again...) Hazel, how great that you made it to Australia - hope you had/are having a wonderful time. Anyone else off on their travels yet? Kess, have you had your first check-up? Hope all was well. Sue, hope the joints aren't too troublesome and that you are feeling brighter. I've been on the grumpy step (as the April ladies put it) from time to time, but a bit of sunshine does wonders. (Waking up with a migraine this morning was no fun but the weekend was lovely!) Jilly, sorry to hear you are in so much pain. Do hope they can help you with it. It is horrid to see so many folk going through what we experienced this time last year, isn't it. I've a friend just diagnosed with BC - we're hoping she won't need to have chemo. Hayley, hope your little one is thriving. Are you/have you resumed treatment yourself? Cath, has the acupuncture helped with the hot flushes? Hope the hair is flourishing. My fringe is almost down to my eyebrows now - woe betide the hairdresser if he takes too much off on my next visit. It's wonderful when you can actually run your fingers through it! Best wishes to all (and apologies if I've missed anyone), Axx ... View more

I hate it when we fall off the front page - it feels like losing touch with you all! My bone scan results showed no changes since the previous one (just arthritis) and ultrasound revealed lots of scar tissue but nothing else. So I guess the bits that feel 'wrong', still hurt, or don't work properly are just part of the 'new normal' and something I have to learn to live with... Blood test just done to check on thyroid function - recent weight gain and tiredness might be thyroid mal function, or alternatively just me trying to do too much, and rewarding myself with cake! Roll on spring - although I go to the gym regularly I hate this damp and cold weather and need to get out and about much more.   Hope all goes well with you all. Axx ... View more

Hayley, how good to hear from you, and what lovely news. Axx ... View more

Hi Sandie, just popping in from Feb'14 to say how great it was to have a portacath. So many other ladies had problems with veins and PICC lines, and administration of chemo through the portacath was so quick and easy. Having it put in and taken out afterwards was no great problem, and for the duration of chemo you can bath and shower without problems. Leaves a nasty little scar behind as they have to make one incision on top of the other, but treating it with bio oil seems to be making it much smoother. Takes a little getting used to (little hard lump under the skin) but highly recommended.   As for side effects - don't worry till it happens. I didn't have a good time, but most of the ladies last year did much better. As they keep telling you, everyone reacts differently. Some folk even managed to work through it all! My mantra was 'one day at a time'. And eventually it ends. Good luck. A xx ... View more

Well, ladies, be careful what you wish for... I saw the surgeon on Thursday expecting reassurance and 'go away, I'll see you in 6 months time' and found myself booked in for a battery of tests! Probably just to be on the safe side, and serve me right for going in and having a bit of a moan instead of my resolutely upbeat normal. Had a blood test there and then (testing for various possible deficiencies, results yet to come) and an ultrasound yesterday. That was good: she was able to tell me immediately that the various bits that feel wrong are scar tissue from the lumpectomy and lymph clearance or hardened flesh from the radiotherapy, things we just have to get used to. Bone scan booked for next week which I suspect will just reveal that I am riddled with - arthritis! Perhaps I should start taking the glucosamine again... Do hope you are all doing well. I've had my hair cut for the third time and coloured, but no one has complimented me on the new colour, so perhaps it's all a dreadful mistake. I like it, anyhow. And it's not nearly as curly as it was! A xx   ... View more

Well ladies, we've (temporarily) dropped off the front page - must mean something! Hope it means all is going well with you all. I've a routine check with the surgeon on Thursday and have a couple of niggles to raise with her, things that don't feel/look 'right', but which may well be part of the 'new normal'... She's the hands-on person, though, and will check various areas for potential problems, so it always makes me nervous. Daft, isn't it - you're worried when you have to see someone, and worried when no one is checking up on you, too! Roll on spring/summer - I'm sure things will be better when the sun is shining and it's not quite so parky... A xx ... View more

Sky, good luck with the rads. I would agree with all the advice you've been given by others. Moisturising is so important: I was told to use the moisturiser (aloe vera in my case, though all hospitals give different instructions) all over the breast, and for a couple of inches around - well below, and into the underarm area. I didn't blister or peel at all, though did have to endure the itchiness for a while... The skin problems are likely to continue for a couple of weeks after rads stop, so don't be worried about that. And tiredness isn't inevitable: although told by everyone that it was, I didn't suffer at all, though I did have an easy daily journey. I think if your journey to and from hospital appointments for rads is a long one, that can cause considerable fatigue. Best wishes, A   ... View more

MrsMushroom, my sympathies. Especially when you're coping with losing your ex so recently, too. I don't think there is any reason for these wobbles - and we just have to cope with them when they come. I am 13 months on from diagnosis (treatment finished in the summer) and recently had my one-year mammogram. I had 8 days to wait until the oncologist appointment that would give me the results. That was fine, shorter would have been better, but was coping with that. Then a phone call: he could see me a couple of days earlier if I wanted. Sure I wanted, that would be good. But then I spent the next 24 hours feeling sick! How crazy is that?! (Results were fine...)   I think whatever the time gap since treatment, we are never the same again and have to expect the unexpected. Best wishes to you and all other wobbly folk out there...     ... View more

How interesting! Just discovered this thread: I finished treatment (6xFEC and rads) back in the summer, but since then have definitely noticed that the body's temperature regulation mechanism is not working properly. I'm also triple neg with no further meds, but the new normal certainly involves feeling unreasonably hot or cold at times. I also have some mild neuropathy in one leg, though didn't have taxotere so my oncologist denies all responsibility... I guess anything can happen after 5 months of poison, whatever it was!   ... View more

Oh Jilly, how sad. What a way to finish a rotten year... thoughts are with you and your family. A xx ... View more

Morning ladies, and a happy new year to all. Sue, glad to hear of your holiday planning - I'm going to the Canaries for the first time later in the year. After 2014, feel that a bit of sun and pampering is called for... Best wishes to all still waiting for that first mammogram. Axx ... View more