**tamoxifen the 13th**

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we are- anticipating halloween

and am feeling better now-thanks all- was a bit upsetting though.

Am I too late for and ?

Never too late amber, it's just that we tend to move on later to and nibbles

amber I'll be making in a minute, when I've finished my home-brewed stout shandy (I seem to be drinking it single handedly, - its a tough job but someone's got to do it )

Pass a glass of stout shandy Kurri, and I'll share the load.

I got the work I'd pitched for on Monday. Yeay! They want me to start sooner than they said - so on the date of my operation. G'ah!

Well done Smee, great news - Will they be accomodating about your op? - hope so.

mas..im glad that your feeling much better now,its such an emotional thing to worry about.your not on your own i think alot of us worry about our parents.

sparkle...what a great teacher.

love all the parrot stories.

right then guys my hands suddenly decided to swell on my mastectomy side,my hand and wrist have been aching over last couple of days and my arms gone tight(know it cant be another blood clot as im still having daily injections to prevent clots) didnt think much about it as im still having alot of bone aches.err should i panic

oh well done smee

pink - do you think it might be lymphodoema in your arm? is there anyone you can ring tonight to ask about it?

oh brilliant smee - clever girl !
Asian biscuits KK ? savoury or sweet ?
pink - not sure what you should do with swollen hand - - anyone any ideas ?

kurri..my arms fine no swelling its just the top of my hand.

its been 5/6 weeks from my mastectomy so my arm is still sore so its hard to tell whats what.

pink, my hand does that too. I have been mighty ostrich about it, but if it hurts definitely get it checked - give the unit a call tomorrow maybe? Not sure if this'll make you feel any better, but when I finished chemo I had all manner of aches and weird things happening round my body. I think it's normal - sort of your body going 'what the @8ck have you been doing to me?!'. It does pass, but just takes a time and it's probably nothing major.

Asian biscuits sound intriguing, Kurri. Can't quite taste them yet, so need description.

Not sure what to do about the work - they don't know about BC and I don't feel v.inclined to tell them if only because it annoys me to be defined by it to people who I don't yet know - does that make any sense?! Might tell them I've having a minor op, but will be out of action for a week to 10 days and see how they feel about it. Am going to sleep on it before deciding..

Oh sorry Pink- I thought it was whole arm (brain fails again!), i think Smee is right then, maybe get it checked tomorrow or soon

I think that's fair enough not wanting to tell them Smee, I know how you feel. They don't really need to know details anyway, just that you might be slightly delayed starting.

The Asian biscuits are sweet, and a sort of variation on shortbread but more crumbly and less buttery, they are quite pleasant - not terribly exotic, but I've still managed to pig quite a few

smee..thanks for the reasurance,must admit these daily bone aches are getting on my nerves especially in my legs and hips.as for work i would feel exactly the same.

kurri...no my arm is still sore anyway the swell is on top of my hand and knuckles.those biscuits sound like they make a nice change.

will see how i am in the morning,now back to bb

Pink -- how's the hand? If it is the same i would get it checked, I am thinking lymphoedema, my onc said we all have it a little bit, somewhere, it is inevitable once the nodes have been buggered about. Apparently that's why my butchered boob is actually bigger than the other one, As he told it to me, this doesn't mean you are going to have the full blown swollen arm thing, it is just that the lymphatic flow is more sluggish and it can gather. Can you do some gentle finger and wrist exercises and see if that helps to dissipate it while you wait to get it checked?

What a sod that I missed the beer and biscuits. just my luck [grumpy]

Smee - WAAAHAAAAAY!!!!! Good for you, well done! I wouldn't tell them about the BC either, none of their business, it is over now, you wouldn't tell them if you'd had flu last year, would you? Just say you need a minor op and will be out of action for however long you think you need. if they are impertinent and push for details, just say something vague about putting right some SEs arising from surgery for an injury a while ago. It isn't a lie, after all Your medical details are your business, and it's only right not to want to be defined by something like BC.

cakes...the swelling has gone down quite a bit over night but im going to see the gp tomorrow anyway as i still cant straighten my arm,the hospital told me i might need physiotheraphy something to do with damage to my viens in my arm caused by chemo.i have woke this morning with a cold so dont know if that has anything to do with it.

talk about boob butcher mine is just the same,i actually had them go through my notes to check id had a mastectomy obviously having a seroma didnt help.now things have settled down i still have a kind of boob with a crease that runs down the middle and the end of the scar curls.surgeon told me its going to take 2 years to flatten yet other people in hospital who had the same op said theirs was flat.

Ah vein damage too! Poor pink You are wise to get it looked at, I bet they will give you some physio to get the arm moving, and that will probably keep the fluid flowing also.

How depressing about the scar, too. I bet it will flatten by itself though, they get softer and more obedient over time. Possibly the other ladies' scars just aren't quite in the same area, and everyone's skin differs a bit as well. I had a bit of surgery on my arm last December (not BC related) and the scar is only just now getting soft and normal feeling, for a while it felt like a wire attached to my elbow and it twinged every time I bent the arm (which was often, its my drinking arm ). Keep smiling. Not always easy but you're a brave little soul

cakes...im lucky its my left arm feels like a big band running down my arm restricting it,at least its easing under my arm pit now,i dont intend to wait for 2 years i want reconstruction lol.

Very wise

That sounds like a bad case of cording.

pink - poor love,yes,sounds like cording

my surgeon did tell me i had cording under my arm pit that protrudes flipping throbs like crazy and causes alot of problems with bras,is it possible for it to travel down the arm?

I thinks so

Afraid so

But on the plus side, exercises help. Speak to the BCN. From memory it is something to do with keeping stretching it a lot

i think your right just googled when i try to lift my arm i can see it,damn