Tamoxigang thread 49 when Sumer is y cumen in and we get out the Pimms

[Lilymaid]

New thread!

thanks traviata have just read artiicles and found them very interesting.saw consultant today and she says she will refer me for physiotherapy once chemo has finished.so will continue with exercises.had lumpectomy but cording has occured in chemo arm i was not even aware that this was something that could happen.will ask bcn about massage techniques .hope all goes well when you have port fitted ,wish i had made the fuss and got one.

Well, have my ondansetron so feeling better. Seeing oncologist tomorrow as chest is so full it's like reconstruction has already happened. If rads are delayed then so will our holiday be .

Foo Ds2 is only 14 years old and is an Air Cadet, he is having an amazing time in Normandy.

Wee lets hope you don't have any delays.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather

What a beautiful sunny day :)

Mummy wheel yay to finishing chemo :)

Foo hope your appointments go well

Really when is your next appointment ?

Wee hope you're feeling ok today

Love to all

Hi malt had appointment with Radiotherapy Oncologist yesterday. Have appointment with other Oncologist in 3 weeks. Hope you are well!

Question for anyone who is taking Tamoxifen, and had a lumpectomy. Did you notice any changes in your healthy breast?

I'm fine thanks really I was surprised I didn't get a follow up after rads most people seem to. I haven't noticed any changes in my other boob, I did have that lump under my arm but that was a skin infection are you worried about yours ?

Mummy- definite hurrah to finishing chemo.

Wee- hope nothing is delayed so you get your holiday.

Malt- it was indeed a lovely sunny day and I have just watched T20 cricket with the family which was lovely and I could easily ignore feeling sick hope you are not too bogged down with reports at the moment.

Hi to everyone.

Just having a paranoid moment I hope Felt something odd in my healthy breast, so saw GP she did a breast exam (although I would question her technique) She then told me I had lumpy breasts but she couldn't feel anything unusual. I know I felt something so asked for a referral. I don't think it's anything sinister, but would like to check it out for my own peace of mind! As I tried to explain to her, I can't compare my breasts anymore! So how do I know what's normal and whats not! After the appointment I was thinking about her saying I had lumpy breasts, I know I didn't before I started treatment! So wondered if the tamoxifen/menopause might cause changes!

Hi all,I wrote last week saying I had received a letter saying my case was going to be discussed in a MDT meeting and that that worried me.I was given a diagnoses of DCIS in the left breast on Tuesday As I have 2 lumps which are sizable (3cmx4cm and 2cmx2cm) I'm going to have to have a mastectomy. Spend the rest of the week telling family and important friends I'm letting the grapevine do the rest. Had my pre-op tests today and now feel utterly exhausted. Not really sure what to expect next tbh. Anyone with any experience or handy tips out there?

nelson - I remember your previous thread and I'm sorry to hear your news. I had a bilateral mastectomy three weeks ago, I suppose my main advice would be to keep doing the exercises you are given by the physio. I'm sure others will be by with more useful advice soon.

Speedy don't mention reports I haven't started them yet ! Were changing how we do them but haven't had the format yet. Thankfully will only have 10 to do so not too bad, I was moderated this week which was fine

Really I think you're right to get it checked out but we will be paranoid about every little thing now. Hope the referral puts your mind at rest

Nelson I had a lumpectomy so can't be of much help but I'm sure someone will be along soon.

Hi Nelson. Sorry to hear you are having to have a MX. Hopefully it will only be dcis and you will not need chemo or radiation. It is a shock but the op is really not as sore as I expected and there are lots of reconstruction options. When you need to ask about anything someone on this thread will have been in your shoes and will be able to give you the low down.

Dcis is pre cancer so you are lucky that you have caught it early.

Thank you all and trice I know,and I count myself lucky,I really do. They will obviously have a look at lymphenodes " while they're there" but hopefully it should have been nicely contained and I shouldn't be facing radio and chemo which i was dreading the most. At the moment it's telling everyone that I find the hardest bit but I do say almost straight away that it's been caught very early and should be very treatable. I've had a lot of offers of post op help so I'm a lucky girl really.What sort of help should I be asking for though,just trying to be organised possibly trying to get back some control.I'm losing too much weight at the moment so any tips there would be good too.

Hi nelson I had a double mastectomy 9 weeks ago. The op itself is not too bad, I know a 78 year old who was sent home on the same day. I had 2 nights in hospital but the second was in the hopes of getting the drain out before I went home - didn't happen in the end. The worst thing for me was awful indigestion as a reaction to the painkillers. If anything like that happens don't suffer in silence, there is always something they can do to help with any discomfort. You will get a tube put in to drain fluid from the op site. On the side where I had not had a node clearance ( you shouldn't need a clearance if it is DCIS) this came out the next day. Ended up having the other one for nearly a week which was a bit of an inconvenience).

You will probably be visited by the BCN in hospital who will give you a pad to put in your bra. If you are not needing rads or chemo I guess you will be allowed reconstruction fairly quickly? If you are having at the same time, I don't have any experience of that. I didn't have any major pain from the removal site, but the soreness did last a bit longer than I expected ( probably about 6 weeks ), again most if the discomfort was the node clearance not the BMX. I was up and pottering around as soon as I was home from hospital but don't underestimate both the effects of the anaesthetic which can hang around for a few days, or how you will be feeling emotionally. Losing my breasts wasn't a massive deal for me but I realise it is for most people and actually the lack of symmetry when losing just one is possibly in some ways harder than them both being removed. I was driving within 10 days, again, this could have been sooner if no node clearance.
Good luck and please come back with any other questions.

Hi nelson, I'm really sorry to hear you are facing this but hopefully once it's over you will not need further treatment. I had my diagnosis a month ago and had a lump removed and 3 nodes, I need rads shortly, so I'm also quite recently post surgery.

In terms of help I would suggest someone who will drive you around for a few weeks afterwards if you're not confident to drive. I took several days to get over the anaesthetic and had visitors who were very keen to see me. I did find that talking, nodding and shaking my head and following a conversation around the room did make me feel a bit queasy in the first week, so maybe keep visits short.

I did a lot of cooking and freezing in advance so DH and girls could prepare meals without getting stressed. They wanted to look after me but also still have jobs/school to get on with and it meant they felt a bit more in control. If anyone offers to cook for your family accept the offer.

Although I had a different operation I found that the breast surgery was less painful than the node removal. I think that seems to be quite common. Saying that it was fine with paracetamol/ ibuprofen. Make sure you do the exercises or you may get quite stiff.

I found all the medical staff I met treated me with extreme kindness. Is your surgery next week?

Hi,thank you for taking the time to reply to me I have been told that unless they come across anything untoward they will start with reconstruction straight away.They will put a expander in to gradually stretch the skin while it heals. I am meant to have only 2 or 3 lymph nodes taken out and have been warned that could be the most difficult part of the recovery. I haven't got a date for surgery yet.Going back on Tuesday for final audit and signing consent. Any ideas what kind of bra I should wear afterwards,while I'm healing?I'm only a cup size A as it is originally,so even with one breast missing so some kind of symmetry shouldn't be too hard to achieve. How long after your op did they tell you you needed rads mrsrhodgilbert

Hello again. I knew on the day of diagnosis that the plan was surgery, 3 weeks of rads and hormone treatment for five years in the form of tamoxifen initially. It was very reassuring, after hearing the news, to have a definite treatment plan. If they had found cancer in my lymph nodes things would have changed and more surgery and/or chemo would have been necessary. That didn't happen.

I found I was more comfortable wearing a bra at all times, but I'm an E cup, and found that my scars pulled as I moved around. The weight of my affected breast was definitely better when supported, in bed too. I don't know how it will be for you because you will have a flat scar, but no weight behind it. I'm sure one of the mx ladies will offer advise on that. I bought some non wired bras in a bigger back size. Perhaps the short crop top styles might be comfortable, for me they weren't supportive enough. You might need help getting them on though as you will be stiff and sore initially.

After surgery I felt like I had a brick in my armpit, that's the best description. My node scar was quite sore for about 10 days, but I think that was the knot at the end. I have a strange pain sometimes which I think is nerve pain. It's irritating rather than agonising, I find I can't have anything touching my skin, so now the bra comes off when I get that.

After a week I could lift my arms in the air with care. Now two weeks on I wash my hair without thinking about it.

Hi nelson to add again to mrs's comments. I couldn't bear the thought of wearing a bra for a couple of weeks, and as I had had BMX that wasn't an issue from a support point of view. Also it was the armpit that was the main problem. My friend bought me some cropped vest tops from M&S which were perfect when I needed something in the early days and had the added benefit of covering the lack of cleavage. When I did get a bra I got a special mastectomy one, the Anita Natasja, model available from the silima website is really comfortable and has pockets for the pad you will be given, not sure how this works with the chest expanders. By the way, they must be pretty sure that you will not need any further treatment if they are discussing the reconstruction already. I still have restricted movement in my arm, mostly affects putting my hair up which won't be a problem for me much longer, but I did gave a full node clearance and wasn't as diligent with my exercises as I should be.

bigger I feel for you having full node clearance on both sides. I was quite sore after just three and i have had quite a painful armpit at times. I did find if I missed the exercises I got quite stiff. I hope that improves soon for you.

Can I ask a question about diet? DH has spent a bit of time in the last couple of weeks reading about what I should and shouldn't be eating to give myself the best chance of avoiding a recurrence. Nobody has mentioned nutrition so far, but from a bit of research it seems to be very important.

Have any of you been advised by your doctors/nurses? Have any of you made changes? There seems to be uncertainty about dairy, red meat, alcohol etc and whether to avoid completely or just cut down.

We have bupa cover (which we haven't used, yet) but the people there have told us how important diet is and are sending out literature. I'm very conscious of what I put in my mouth all of a sudden and worry about poisoning my body. Maybe I'm at the stage of wondering if I brought this on myself.

Mrs
My Onc, top man at top cancer centre seems fairly relaxed about food (i.e. favours a balanced healthy diet) but keen that I try to keep within normal weight boundaries, probably because I have secondary bone cancer. He told me to keep off the cake! He also told me that he had done some research into vitamin supplements and found that there was no real benefits to taking supplements, unless it is a prescribed vitamin such as B6, but they wouldn't do any harm.

My treatment (chemo) has been via BUPA and there have been advantages as I have had some drugs/procedures not immediately available via NHS and nice lunches whilst having the chemo. And you see the same consultant every time. Not much use for rads though as you need to go to a big (i.e. NHS) hospital - perhaps going private might mean you get more choice on timings?

I agree with lily I haven't been told to avoid anything, just to try and eat healthily with plenty of fruit and veg the same advice as people without cancer really. Certainly not giving up wine !

mrs, first of all, you didn't bring this on yourself. It's normal to go down the route of trying to pinpoint a cause/ thinking 'if only..', but it's fruitless give the complexity of causation around breast cancer. Bonkers dietary advice for cancer abounds; don't let yourself be terrorised by it. The very nature of many nutritional studies mean that much of the evidence is not very strong. What lily and malt say makes sense: the standard oncologist advice is to stick with a balanced diet, with lots of veg and fruit. Keeping weight within sensible bounds is common advice. There are leaflets published by (?) Macmillan/ Breast cancer care. Also the Breast Cancer Haven does a more detailed healthy eating booklet which looks sensible.

Mrs, I agree with Wren, it is completely natural to search for a cause - a smoking gun if you like. I often wonder if I would have escaped if I had been thinner or tea total or not taken a particular brand of contraceptive pill! I am fairly sure that if we ever find the cause it will will turn out to be a combination of genes and environment and totally beyond our control.

Regarding diet - I follow a variation of the Bristol Cancer Diet. It advocates a lot of colourful vegetables and nice berries. I figure even if it doesn't help with cancer it is tasty and i enjoy it. I also take a vitamin d supplement as women with bc are often low in vit d.

Eating a healthy diet helps me feel as though I have some measure of control over my health and I feel happier and calmer mentally. I just want to do something rather than be a passive victim of this sodding disease. I wear a pedometer and attempt to do my daily ten thousand steps too. At least my kids will know that I tried!

Thank you for your posts. I do eat fairly healthily and love cooking, but have a love of quite rich food so I'm going to steer towards more healthy options. I have also enjoyed a drink 5 or 6 nights a week so I am wondering about the wisdom of that. The food thing will be absolutely fine and DH is very keen to make a slight shift too.

trice I do feel like I want to have some control over what happens fom now on and I have to believe I have a future. Four weeks ago I very much doubted that. Your last sentence really touched me. I wonder if we might have treatment at the same place, I'll be going to Jimmys, after seeing an oncologist in my own town, is that where you go? If so, how have you found it? It's a relatively new centre.