Hello my name is Heather I have just been diagnosed with brest cancer last week for the first time (and last I hope) Both my sisters have had cancer,one died seven month ago Im a bit scared of what to expect with the chemo. Can anyone tell me how soon after the treatment do you start to feel ill? How soon do you lose your hair?
Marigold (and others) - how do you manage to remark on everybody's posts? That kind of memory left me long time ago....
Hope everybody is OK. I was due to have the Hickman line in today at Christies, but when they took my blood it was not good enough yet for the scheduled chemo tomorrow, so will have to wait until next week.
Husband shaved my head today. He did not want to do it until now as it did not fall out and leave patches. But it really came out in the shower this morning. When I first looked at my bald head it suddenly hit me that this is my new hairdo for the next so many months! Everybody can see that I have got cancer! But brave as we are - I used my Silverstone cap when we went to Asda and felt quite brave doing that! I think Jade Goody did a lot of good for us being bald all the time.
hello all, well i had my op on friday, double breast reduction, removing the tumour cavity and also lymph nodes too. the op took 7 hours!!!! my surgeon came in to see me on the sat morning. he told me there was no tumour left just an empty cavity. the breast reduction op was complicated but went well. my boobs look great!!! ive just got one drain left in, should go home thursday i think. im recovering very quickly with little pain relief. first 2 days were the worst. thats another hurdle out the way. just got radiotherapy to go now in about 7-8 weeks. thank you for all your good luck wishes b4 i went in hospital. so glad ive got tv, internet and air con in my own room. on the nhs its gr8 so grateful.
Its been a few days since my last post as it’s been a whirlwind here. Since we last spoke this is what's been happening:
I met with my Oncologist on Thursday who then sent for what felt like a gazillion tests, ECG; Xray to chest, spine, hips and pelvis, full body bone scan, blood tests, liver ultrasound and a radioactive heart scan!!
Chemo is scheduled to start tomorrow but I’ve come out in a head cold so it could be postponed will have to wait and see what my temperature is when I get there! I’ve found out that I’ll be on FEC, 3 sessions every 3 weeks, then the same course with, I can’t remember the name of it. 18 weeks of treatment in all so should be all done by November time, then surgery in time for Christmas J
Blossom, great news about your op and your fab new boobies J Glad to hear that the pain’s not too bad either.
I hope everyone is feeling good today, despite the weather!! Lol I don’t know about you but I’m not a happy bunny in this weather, me and the heat just don’t get on!! Lol
Must dash am off to my next hypnotherapy session in preparation for tomorrow. I’ll see if I can get any tips to hypnotise you all via posts!! Lol J
Hi, everyone, I've just finished reading the whole thread - I started before I had my first FEC on 15th June. My breast cancer was picked up at my first scheduled mammogram and I've been SO lucky! I don't turn 50 till next month so I'm definitely counting my blessings. Had a wide local excision - my nipple now has an eyebrow!! and also sentinel node removal (3 in all). I too was one of the unlucky ones who are "sensitive" ! Consequently, didn't eat for about a week, bar ginger nuts and cubed/ sliced pineapple - oh, and Vimto - the only thing that tasted good! When my throat and tongue were sore, sucking murray mints nearly constantly helped. I was given chlorohexidene digluconate (tarodent) to gargle with, but found it burnt my tongue so badly it brought tears to my eyes. I've found that Holland and Barratts Organic Tea Tree Mouthwash (with aloe vera amongst other things) was much much better, and my gums and tongue stopped bleeding. I'm off for my 2nd chemo on Monday, provided my bloods are good enough on Friday, hair very much thinner (started coming out in handfuls on Sunday) but wiggie already here ready! Thanks everyone for helping me through the early days, your advice has been priceless ;-)
I know how it feels to be living alone and fretting about the mortgage and bills. I’m Sam, and was confirmed breast cancer two weeks ago. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of hospital trips. I start 18 weeks of chemo tomorrow (see earlier post for all the gossip around that).
Getting back to the point, I was made redundant end of February and haven’t worked since, despite looking for jobs and going for interviews. Anyhoo, I have no mortgage protection, no health insurance, no savings…………..getting the picture? Lol I do have Job Seekers Allowance, I’ve spoken to my mortgage company who have agreed to a payment holiday for 6 months and then I can go interest only plan for as long as I need to. My advice would be go and talk to your mortgage company, explain the situation to them, they will help you as much as they can. If not, then get in touch with your local job centre and speak to them about the situation there is form you can complete for the Government to pay the interest on your mortgage, also tell them that your going on the sick and the situation with your employer, I’m sure there is something like employment assistance benefit to help you and your employer due these tough months. With regards to your employer, speak to HR they will know what can and can’t be done to help you. If you get sick pay which is related to your length of service, find out from HR or Payroll to see what your entitlement is for the year. Then deduct the number of days you’ve had sick this year to date and they will pay the outstanding, after that you will have to go on SSP at about £79 a week which is payable for 28 weeks before they can stop paying you at all. If you don’t have a company sick pay scheme, then any full pay you receive will be discretional and therefore can stop at anytime, but SSP is your right. What about using holiday? You can’t combine holiday days with SSP but it’s a way of keeping the finances up for as long as possible. I would also advise you going to your local citizens advice, they will know what benefits are there to help. You might even find that you’ll be entitled to council tax benefit too which will help you.
I hope I’ve been of help. Please let me know how you get on and if there’s anything else I can help you with, give me a shout.
Hey Marmalade it's great to hear from you :-) and with fab news (fingers crossed) very soon for your sis...about time!! Thanks for getting back to me about your sister's info, i was just wondering about carrying genes and if i don't then why my daughters high risk!! Also i am curious how it presents itself. I have heard that cancer cells can mutate and grow differently to before, so maybe her cancer was different last time round? Loved the cartoon, thanks for your lovely message, take care x
Jaylyn, Wow! as if you read the whole thread..go girl. I'm just so pleased it's been so helpful to you. I've found everybody here so lovely and comforting. We help each other through the highs and the lows. Sorry you have to be here, but welcome to our club :-). What a relief they picked it up when they did! You've also had a rough time of it on chemo, i don't like the sound of your mouthwash burning and your gums and tongue bleeding...ouch! :-( Losing my hair wasn't half as bad as i thought it would be, hopefully you will feel the same. Good luck for Monday x
Sam wouldn't it be great if you could hypnotise us lot. I'm sure we would get you sorting out some strange things. Lol!! Doesn't it feel better when you know whats happening and your treatment plan is in place? Good luck for tomorrow, i really hope you feel better and your temperature is ok. It's just pants that you get a cold at this time :-( Think the weather is going to cool down a bit for the weekend x
Blossom...woo hoo. Your boobs sound amazing. Now i'm jealous that i just had the lump removed, so no new boobs for me (and i could really do with some!!).Lol. It's great to hear everything went so well and you sound so positive. The end is in sight :-) x
Laila you were very brave today..well done it's not easy leaving the house for the first time, knowing you have no hair under what your wearing, and yes we definately have that banner...'we have cancer' now we're bald! However it soon becomes natural and you think nothing of it. I think your right about Jade goody helping us baldies :-) I'm gutted for you that you have to wait another week for chemo...boo! That's something i dread everytime. Oh well i guess we just have to go with it. What's a week to wait so it can do a proper job without harming us and gets rid of this horrid disease x
Hello to all you girlies, we're not all girlies here you know. Just want to say hi to you all. Don't forget to get your Disability Allowance which you are entitled to. I will be thinking of you all while you are going through this awful disease. There does seem to be more and more people joining which is so sad for me to notice. This site is great for people like me who have lost someone due to cancer, so if I can be of any help then fire away. You all be strong now but then again you know you are.
Morning ladies and gentlemen. Jean, you woke up! Good luck today with your chemo, on the home straight now!! Your hats sound fab. I couldn't live without mine when my head gets cold. You have your hot chocolate buddy back as I will stick to the steroids next time, it may still be worth speaking to your oncologist about them as I only suffered due to my stomach injections, if you are not on these it may work for you. How are you coping with chemo once a week Jean? After my next one I go to weekly too. Hi Chelle, your pool sounds great, just the thing in this weather. No hair to worry about either. My sister has a private appointment on Thursday with another surgeon so she may be going down that route, what a pain but needs must. Nice to hear from you Marmalade, thinking of you and your sister, I know how you feel at the moment, fingers crossed for her treatment. Sam I hope your cold goes away so you can get on with your treatment, what a pain when you are all ready to go. Hi Jaylynne, you're sounding very positive which is great. Keep posting and let us know how you are doing. Stavanger you have now joined the bald gang lol It's not as bad as you think is it? Actually in this weather it is so much cooler. Hi Kevin, great to have a man on the site. Very sorry for the loss of your wife and Mum, how kind of you to come back on the site to keep us positive. Your son sounds a strong young man, you must be very proud. What is disability allowance Kevin? I have never heard of this. Good news is I have been cream free this time so no rushing to the bathroom to wash preparation H from up my nose lol I have also had no mouth ulcers or sore throat, the oncologist gave me anti fungal tablets which I think may have stopped them. Have a great day everyone xxxxx
