**tamoxifen the 13th**

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we are- anticipating halloween

Am listening to Miranda Hart and Jon Holmes on iplayer on for chris evan's breakfast show.....very good and keeping me out of the said pit today!

Have started the day having a row with road crew diggin up raod for new water main, after they blocked us in, so I couldn't get out to get to ds if needed, and no ambulance could get in if needed! Had a to regain my composure!

Oh that does sound good. Sadly if i listen to anything at all while I am working I get nothing done at all. So it is just me, the candle and the silence today. Again.

On the positive front, i think I have finally got the PTA books up to date (all yesterday, it took ) but with any luck I can now hand them over and think about it as just a bad dream. Yee- hah!

Yeahh well done, I will pu the kettle on for you as a reward!

I love Miranda she is so funny. I am only cleaning today and amusing dd2 so I can have it playing away...lucky me.

I love Miranda too. Some people seem to be put off because she is a bit 'posh' but for me that's a large part of her charm. I just love the way she says things.

Guess it depends on their definition of posh...if it is just because of her accent, then more fool them because there is no basis for that. If it is because they don't find her "brand" of humour funny then fair enough. I love her mannerisms and things like "such fun"....just bound to make me smile (plus no swear words!!!!)

Mind you people have called me posh in the past, because I don't have an accent as such. I find posh a bit because I don't know what to do with it....think I might just say "thank you" next it is said to me....that way if I take it as a compliment when it is meant as an insult...they have nowhere else to go with it....!!!! What do you think?

I get the very same thing, for the same reason. I have no accent, I don't think.

Treating it as a compliment would be very disarming. Also, I certainly don't find it insulting, even if it is occasionally meant that way.

mm,interesting thing that- I don't have an accent either , so have been told I'm a bit posh ! I once said that something was beastly or very similar and got teased a lot. Righto-I have plain choc caramel digestives and 2 bars of Milka (buy 1 get one free at Sainsb.)

FBS!

I just had to thick slices of fresh white bread with lashing of mushroom pate.....my fingers are in my ears in respect of the number of calories...

oooo"lashings" very Enid Blyton, I have been listening to ds read too much

'lashings' is posh !

ahh mumsnet is being a pain for me today and keeps swallowing my posts so will start by waving hello to everyone i have missed.

kurri..hope you have a fab time.

amber..hope you get your cough sorted.

sparkle...kitties are just sooo cute and so are your children.

mas..poor smog,heres hoping the vets get everything under control and he gets back home where he belongs.

ILgc...oh your poor girl i cant imagine what your going through,will say a prayer for your daughter,you and your family.

earth.. i had chemo first to shrink my tumor. i was told because my tumor was on the big side they didnt want to risk shreading cells.it was explained to me that the chemo will help to mop up any extra shreaded cells so it is well worth doing and the radiotheraphy will help to prevent it coming back.

topsy...you have every right to feel fed up chemo can be really hard going, i got to about chemo 4 and fell apart was so sick of it then had a really bad reaction to taxotere and really didnt feel very well the side effects was horrific it all got to much they also had to stop my chemo was told if they gave me any more it could kill me as i was already overdosed that was a real downer that and also being told because of my type of tumor that could be no follow up pills as they would all be useless.you will get past this stage we all do,you have coped brilliantly up to now and its only natural to slump now and again. but you will get through this and also everything else thats thrown at you.stay strong girl.

i have cording in my arm pit its very visable and sticks out,damn thing has now travelled down my arm causing pain and restricted movement and now have to have physio theraphy.can you see or feel anything?

aww your poor son bless him i guess its a lesson learned and a part of growing up learning how to handle things.but the good news is you now know and he opened up to you and you handled it beautifully,he knows you have his back and are there for him.why didnt the school let you know as it could have been sorted much earlier.if its any consolation my son is also a pain in the arse when it comes to homework his favourate trick is to let the wind blow it away,but me and the school are wise to him now and he has a special homework folder.

dd1 came home friday for a flying visit as her and her b/f went to a gig in birmingham as it was easier to come home than get back to her uni town, they went back saturday as they had a party to go to. next weekend her and her gang of old schoolmates are off to Derby then weekend after coventry to visit friends studying there.wish i was a student sounds so much fun. miss her but chuffed to bits shes living her life and enjoying it.

had a rotten cold all weekend including headache,seems to be lifting today thank goodness.

my big lump of a dog is such a wimp the wind blew a door shut and he charged to me to protect him,told him he has it wrong he should be protecting me.what a wuss.

Hi, I'm new to this thread, how life can change in the space of a week...

I've just today had a diagnosis of grade 1 breast cancer - off to see a consultant tomorrow. I've been told I'll have a lumpectomy, then radio, and they think it's unlikely to have gone into the lymph nodes.

Any tips on what I should be asking the consultant tomorrow please?

[can't quite believe I'm asking these questions... shock] Thanks.

Hi DeeScent

Sorry you had to come here , but you are very welcome .
I am a mastectomy girl myself , but some of the other ladies are lumpectomy girls and I am sure they will be along shortly to fill you in .

Questions to ask ? Maybe when you will be having your surgery ? How long you will be in for ? This seems to change from area to area .
How long for your pathology to come through after surgery ?
Are they going to sample any lymph nodes to see if there is anything further in there ?

Mostly I will bid you welcome to this wonderful roller coaster that is Breast Cancer
Any questions you have , even just for a bit of support , feel free to ask .
Someone here will always have an answer for you .

Thanks Topsy. I've seen this thread and never thought I would be posting! Great to have the support.

I wonder if anyone has info about how to check whether your hospital has good outcomes in a national comparison. I've been given a choice of three and anecdotally my local one is fine, but it would be good to do some research.

Also, any info about what vitamins etc to take to promote healing please. Any super foods that people eat?

I feel quite positive at the moment - I know other ladies face bigger challenges. My "patch" is small and caught early - am really grateful for the screening programme that caught it so early.

Hi DeeScent - sorry to hear your diagnosis, but you are very welcome here.

I am not the person to answer any sensible questions because i spent my whole treatment time in denial and have now forgotten anything i ever knew (and it was only 2 yrs ago ). I am not sure how you go about comparing hosiptals but i know there is a website called NHS Choices which might be a starting point.

personally I'd ask your consultant whether you will have an sentinel node biopsy - this is the gold standard and I would opt for a place that offers it - and if they will do the blue dye thing. (You can see I am an expert with terminology, can't you ) The node biopsy samples just the lead few nodes under the arm and gives a good indication of whether spread has occurred. The blue dye stuff, I am less sure about but, as I understand it, it helps them to do the node biopsy with less damage to other structures so that you are less likely to get complications in the arm later down the line.

Personally, all other things being equal, I'd stay as local as possible - going for radio every day for three weeks or so is a right royal pain even if you don't have to travel far.

Your diagnosis sounds very early and positive - take heart.

I also had a lumpectomy but also had to have chemo: so far I am still here to tell the tale, and I feel fine.

hello DeeScent -am sorry that you have had to come here but you are very very welcome -hope we can help you over the next few months - you must be feeling very shocked so do ask anything ! I had a lumpectomy (2 years ago) and a sentinel node biopsy -I'm guessing that you will have some nodes tested ?
Am not sure about hospital league tables ! I guess they exist,but not sure how you find them..you could check up on your consultant (Dr Foster guides i think).Does your local hospital have a dedicated breast unit ? I suppose I'd go for the one that treats the most patients. I just went to my nearest hospital (where I was diagnosed) and am very happy with my treatment.
As for diet- hmm,don't think I did anything to prepare for treatment really ! no special supplements or anything,but others might have some ideas. During radiotherapy it's important to take care of your skin and to be well hydrated.
I have been eating lots of watercress and drinking green tea because I love them both- did that before diagnosis too - but I think just a good,balanced diet with treats is the best thing
You might want to ask your consultant things like what kind of bc it is & about node testing.
Generally one step at a time is the best plan !

Hi DeeScent
Welcome from me too, though sad you're joining all of us. As you can see, there are lovely people here. Me, I had a 2.3 cm lump removed by lumpectomy a couple of weeks ago, after having chemotherapy. Mine was a grade 3 rudely behaved sort, but it hadn't spread (hurrah). My surgeon was absolutely fantastic - there's not a sign of the surgery! No really, not a dent, not a change...just one fine line round part of the dark bit round the nipple.

If I can be v nosey, how big a lump do you have?

Hospitals - have a go at www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/ServiceSearch.aspx?ServiceType=Hospital which is the NHS find a hospital thingy that allows you to put in what you're looking for e.g. breast cancer and it seems to list them with some clues about how good they are. I don't have any idea whether those numbers relate just to that specialisation though - may vary naturally because of hospitals being in areas of social deprivation/posh leafy areas etc.

Vitamins...having gotten through 8 lots of chemo and found it worked (yippee) I took a good vitamin/mineral supplement every day, made sure I was eating healthily including blueberries, raspberries, watercress etc and also took Lactoferrin supplement and manuka honey. Some research suggests that some of those things might help, but there's nothing that a doctor can point to and say "aha - that's it!".

(PS if my calculator graph is right, with a small early-stage grade 1 cancer that hasn't spread, only 1 out of 50 people would not be around after 5 years, which isn't bad odds)

Hi DeeScent, welcome, but I am sorry to find you here. I too had a lumpectomy, but the pathology on mind showed it to be precancerous....in other words a mass that shouldn't have been there and if left ......
So I just had the mass removed. For me the mass was behind my nipple, so it caused quite a bit of damage to the nipple to remove it, but I didn't have either chemo or rads after. Therefore I can only help with the surgery bit..... I was first into theatre at about 9.00am, and I was told I could go at 6.00pm that evening, but I felt awful I had a bit of a reaction to the GA. It took me 3 days to stop feeling like that....but I am pretty sure that was just me.... The wound was painful for quite a while afterwards, but managable, and I am allergic to NAIDs so I just had paracetamol and codiene, you can have ibruprofen as well so the pain will be very minimal. Pathology took two weeks to come through for me.

I would ask all the questions which cakes and topsy have suggested...I think they covered everything I could think of.

It does sound a very positive dx, in the scheme of things, so fingers crossed.

agree with cakes about the gold standard sentinel node biopsy- it means fewer nodes are taken and therefore less chance of lymphoedema - small crescent shaped incision under the arm - I had blue dye and radioactive tracer thing- look out for turquoise wee afterwards ! My scar is nicely fading but theres a dent in my breast,simply because of where it is (right beside nipple) and a 2.4cm lump was removed -but really it's ok.

Hello DeeScent, sorry you've joined us. Not a thread anyone wants to be on really, but honestly a sanity saver when you're up against it. I'm 18 months past diagnosis, grade 3, nodal involvement, so had a mastectomy and nodes removed, chemo, rads and now Tamoxifen. Like Cakes I can't remember much. One thought though is apart from the nodes question, that might be something else to ask your Consultant about - ie was the tumour hormone positive or not. They might not know the answer until after your op. If I think of anything else, I'll post later.

Sorry DeeScent, that made little sense! What I meant to say is ask if they know if the tumour was hormone positive or not. If it was, then you might be advised to take Tamoxifen or similar, which they say can help help prevent recurrence, so is generally seen as a good thing to take. There's another marker for Herceptin, but I don't know much about that one as it didn't apply to me.

Topsy, how are you? Were bloods okay in the end?

Pink, I like the sound of your dog. Hope the cold's definitely on the way out.

I nearly need to wear a jumper. Weather must be finally turning. Chocolate raisins which MAS made me buy are calling me from the kitchen..

Hello Deescent, welcome to the thread - the ladies here are a mine of information and are always ready to listen to your worries, fears and rants as well as dispensing copious amounts of and . I was diagnosed in early Feb, had my chemo sessions first, my mx and node removal on 5th August and have just started my radiotherapy sessions. Oh, and I take letrazole, a hormone therapy similar to tamoxifen but for post-menopausal ladies.

ILGC, I am so sorry to hear about your DD and can't begin to comprehend what a worry it must be for you to see her suffering. I will light a candle too and will say a prayer tonight.

Topsy, thank goodness your son opened up to you and it's all sorted now. My eldest, when he was at school, was well known for his excuses for not doing his homework and I used to dread open evenings. Apparently he was renowned in the staffroom for the ingeniousness of his excuses. I hope your next chemo goes well. I'm not surprised at how you're feeling - I remember very well the feeling of "I'm not going" for the last two sessions as I'd had enough but of course I got through it, as you will too.

Pink, the cording sounds horrible. I hope the physio sorts it out. I really must google about it because I have a hard swelling under my armpit (looks like a rope under the skin) which is quite tender especially when I have to stretch and lean my arm back for rads. It feels like it's going to split.

Had a restful weekend but a manic Monday at work. Then rushed to hospital for rads appointment. But DH and I had a lovely lunch out. I managed to get some ironing done before making dinner but am pooped now and bed is calling. I haven't felt this tired for a long time.

Gosh,thanks for all your responses. I feel like my head has hit a brick wall - shock causing tiredness - but hope to sleep well and be on the ball for the consultant tomorrow.

cakesandale - I wonder if that's how I'm going to handle it - I feel quite emotionally detached, like this is happening to someone else... They will do the sentinel node thingy so that's heartening to know that's the best option, thanks.

Amberlight, I had a look at NHS Choices but our local hospital has a lot of data "unavailable" for some reason. It has a good reputation locally so unless I can unearth some other facts about it I will probably just go with the flow. The patch I have (not even a lump apparently) is 1.2cm so quite small. The doc looked chuffed to pieces that they'd spotted it - that's job satisfaction for you! I'm very grateful to them.

MaryAnn I will look out for the turquoise wee .

I can see from the thread that many of you have been through a heck of a lot. I don't know your stories but wish you all the best. Will update when I have more info.

1.2cm sounds excellent - well as excellent as these things can be! Good luck tomorrow with your Consultant DeeScent. Will be thinking of you.

Figgy, that's cording!! Honestly get going with the exercises. Start gently, but make yourself do them at regular intervals throughout the day. I got away without physio, but had to be v.strict with myself.

deescent...so sorry to hear about your diagnosis there is not much i can add as the other ladies seem to have covered it all other than take someone with you to see the consultant as its hard to take everything in and another pair of ears helps.

figgy...my armpit was like that at first it felt like i was going to tear in two,funnily enough its eased under my armpit but has travelled down my arm and wrist feels like a thick band of elastic thats resticting movement thats going to snap and when you try to stretch causes pain.sorry to hear your feeling so tired hope a good nights sleep helps you.

oh and fiiggy smee is right step up the exercises,i have also been doing alot of finger stretching in and out as my arm wont do much but its already taken the swelling out my hand.