Hi, I was diagnosed with bi lateral breast cancer last year. I had a mastectomy & reconstruction on right & lumpectomy on left at the end of September. I started radiotherapy in January & had 5 sessions for left & 15 for right side. Finished January 26th. I now feel so tired & lethargic I can’t function.
I am trying to move house & I have no energy at all & no appetite. I am trying to eat but have lost almost a stone.
is this normal & how long will it last?
Hi JWBee and welcome to the Online Community but I am sorry to hear about your diagnoses and the challenges you are dealing with.
Navigating the cancer journey can be such a stressful and challenging time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' cancer type can help a lot.
I have had a lot of radiotherapy for my type of cancer and the effects of the treatment can unfortunately last a rather long time.
The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) abd I do see that you have already joined our supportive Breast cancer support group. This is a safe place to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.
To connect in with the group click on the “Bold Link” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)
You can put up your own post and introduce yourself to the group by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post. You can also scroll through other members posts and click “Reply” to get involved.
Our Support Line teams are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm on freephone 0808 808 00 00, email or live webchat where you will find one of team there to help you out. We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Do get back to me if you need further help.
Hi JWBee and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I'm sorry to read that your lacking in energy and struggling to eat. I think everyone responds differently to treatment so it's difficult to know if what you're feeling is normal or not. For example, I had 10 sessions of radiotherapy and, apart from a slightly itchy rash which lasted for about a week, I didn't have any other side effects. However, I know others here have had far more side effects than me.
This information from Macmillan on side effects of radiotherapy mentions that tiredness can last for up to 2 months after treatment has finished. I was given a contact number for the radiotherapy department if I needed any help after my treatment had finished. Were you given a contact number? If not you could give your BCNS a call and talk things through with her.
The online community is divided up into different support groups, so I'm going to recommend that you join the breast cancer group so you can connect directly with others who have gone through the same treatment as you.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here, and join in with existing conversations by clicking on reply.
It would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
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