Hi, I'm new here too.

I understand your worry, but there is a special breathing technique they teach you which lifts the heart and lungs out of the way so the risk is minimal. They got me to do that even though it was my right side. You just have to hold your breath for a max of 30 secs or so at certain points - but it also doesn’t matter if you can’t do it in one go, the machine cuts out if you breath out early. The staff talk you through it each time, telling when to breathe in and when to breathe out. 

it must be so much harder to cope being on your own. It’s where boards like this come into their own - there’s someone around to listen x

I do hope it’s only a short course, before I knew I would have to have chemo they said the radiotherapy would be every day for four weeks but that could have changed and I guess I won’t find out until I’ve finished this treatment.

thank you for your reply x

Fingers crossed that the chemo will mean you can have a shorter course then! X

It really does help that people  are there to listen and that you have been there so understand and are able to share your experience, it’s reassuring so thank you x

I hope so x

Have you finished all your treatment now?

 I’m on monthly implants to make me menopausal - this was because I was border-line with my age and Oncotype  score for possibly benefitting from chemo but my oncologist said that any chemo benefit would actually have been from being put in the menopause . I’m just switching fromTamoxifen to Letrozole now that my hormone levels are down and I’ll be on that for the  next 4 and a half years. To help mitigate the osteoporosis risk of Letrozole anD the menopause, I’m also having bisphosphonate infusions every 3 months for 3 years - apparently it will also help cut down on the risk of secondaries in the bones. So, I’m still having quite a lot but nowhere as time consuming as the first few months after diagnosis in June x

morning sorry for the late reply,

ive been having problems with logging on and looking at messages possibly because I’m a bit of a technophobe.

so you still have some way to go by the sounds of it and I wish you all the very best x

The one thing in common is we are all on this journey and although there are similarities each one is different.

im not really up to speed with the endocrine  drugs yet as I still have some way to go before I get to where you are.

I know that both my sister and my mum were given tamoxifen, my sister was ok but my mum did get osteoporosis bless her.

I know that in my treatment plan it mentions I will be given Letrozole but that is some way off for me at the moment so won’t be looking at side effects of that until I finish with the ones I’m getting at the moment

x

It’s one step at a time isn’t it? You just want to concentrate on what you have to do at each particular stage, I found and deal with whatever the next step brought then!

I’ve been side-effect free pretty much on Tamoxifen and have my fingers crossed it stays the same on Letrozole. Xx

You are right it is one step at a time. Pleased to hear you haven’t had too many side effects and hopefully Letrozole will be the same x

take care x

Hi, I'm so sorry not to have seen all your lovely messages and the very reassuring conversation with others here - so I'm glad that they have been able to help you through some of your fears/worries. I'm ten months down the line now, six months post radiotherapy and had a little scare a couple of weeks or so ago when I found another lump under my left armpit, very close to where they removed a couple of lymph nodes back in December last year. My breast care team were amazing again - took me straight in an hour and a half after I phoned with my concern, checked it out with a physical exam, followed by a sonogram and finally a biopsy. Then we had to do the waiting thing again... that's the worst part, isn't it? Anyway, it was negative and after doing my 'whoopee' dance, I'm glad to say that everything is back on track. 

I am still finding, even after all this time, that when I wear a proper bra (ie one that has hook-and-eye fastenings, rather than a soft-pull-over-the-head kind) the bottom two ribs on my left side  - where the radiation was most intense I guess -  still hurt. Not pain as such, but sore to the touch.

How are you feeling now? Is everything OK with you? I do hope so x