**Tamoxigang thread 51**... no more sangria, but maybe some mulled wine!

[MarthaCostello]

Hello all,

The old thread has nearly run out so I hope no one minds me making a new one. And am I allowed to mention the Big C... Christmas?! our last thread was started in July so I reckon this one might take us into December.

In honour of that, I will lay out some mulled wine, mince pies and I have wrapped myself in tinsel.

A warm welcome to jomidmum, but sorry you've had to join us. No one wants to be in this club, but this thread is a rather nice place to be. Wishing you a speedy recovery from your op, and hoping the pain eases soon.

Massive hugs to beccajoh

A big yippee for Marshy, what utterly fantastic news.

Sitting on the paranoia box for ConsiderablyBiggerBuns, I hope your MRI results are good - when will you hear?

Waving and sending love to everyone else.

I wonder if seeing as we are on a new thread, it might be worth just giving a bit of history for new posters? I will put mine anyway, and then others can if they want to. I am coming up to two years since my bowel cancer diagnosis (grade 2, stage 3c, T2N2M0R0). I had major bowel surgery and six months of chemo.

Having slept on it, I suspect that the Oncologist probably is thinking of reducing my dose of oral chemo next time round. But as we all know we tend to expect to hear the worst at appointments.
Amber I am currently being treated privately through work BUPA, so no BCN. Oncologist is very experienced (Head of Breast Unit and former head of cancer services at major teaching hospital) and is a very pleasant person but probably underestimates our capacities to expect the worst!

mom fantastic to hear that you are back to skiing. It sounds wonderful.

Speedy hope you are continuing to recover well.

malt can't wait to see dd. I've had that 'longing to see her' feeling the last week or two so I'm glad she decided to come home for reading week. Found it very hard to say goodbye to her after Christmas but with 6 more weeks of meds and counselling under my belt since then I'm feeling more robust now so hopefully it'll be better this time.

Malt I was wondering about the exercises they've given you at the lymphodema clinic. I'm trying to go to the gym a bit more, only x trainer and treadmill, but I've noticed my left arm feels quite heavy sometimes afterwards. I don't know if I'm doing right or wrong. Did you get any good tips? Only a week til half term then

lily I think medics certainly underestimate our ability to read all sorts into what is often a throwaway remark for them. It does sound as if everything has been going n the right direction for you though so I expect it's a positive move your onc is planning rather than anything else. Still a pain not to know for sure though.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend

So good to hear about you Skiing mom, so hard to see anything past the treatment at the beginning and all you can wonder is if life will ever be the same again. Still over a week until my op, time has been moving soooo slowly!!!

As my breast cancer is triple negative I've been referred for genetic testing, anyone been down that route? Don't eve want to think about what that could mean for DD

Salhal I haven't but I know it's been talked about here so I'm sure someone will give you some advice soon

Marshy the exercises were ridiculously easy, like the ones you get after surgery just flexing your hand and raising arms etc ! And very gentle stroking of the chest area etc. I'm sure I get more exercise just with general housework etc. She did say that if you start to do a new sport etc you must build up very gradually so I suppose don't do too much too soon at the gym. It is difficult to know.

salhal - like you, my cancer was triple -ve, I was tested although didn't have much family history. Turns out that I'm BRCA2 +ve, as is my dad (although he's 67, so has possibly dodged the cancer) and my younger sister.
I have three DCs, two sons and a daughter and yes, they have a 50:50 chance of the gene. Something they and we will deal with further down the line. Your hospital should have a genetic counsellor so they should be able to answer your questions.

Thanks for that malt. I've just started doing my post op exercises again as I was feeling a bit tight on the left. It's a pain to remember - gonna go and do them now!

Salhal I haven't been down that road but as malt says there are people here who have and hopefully they will be along with some info. I think you're in a tough spot at the moment. I felt much better when my ops were over. It's hard not to think miles ahead but much better for you if you can deal with what's in front of you. Easier said than done, especially when you're having a wait. Do you have a breast care nurse that you can talk things over with? I always found that helpful when things were getting on top of me. And coming here of course. Hugs for you.

There you go! X posts with wee

Hi all

Hope you've had a comfortable weekend Speedy

Malt Marshy interested to see your lymphedema comments - that's my background worry at the moment after meeting the surgeon and being given a 1 in 5 risk stat then reading chances are higher if overweight. Should I crash diet before surgery???

Now mid way through 5th chemo cycle (taxotere) and have had a tough week. Second time taking fluconazole to help my mouth but this time it is giving me one very red cheek and crampy bowels but it is clearing the fur from my mouth. Just wish I could taste something (perhaps this is the best time for a crash diet to start ahead of surgery in April) Throwing loads of food away at the moment as everything I fancy is a disappointment. Any recommendations? The only palatable food is chilli/rice, curry/rice.

Very conscious that I have few eyelashes left now. Not sure I'm going to be any good with false ones though.

Don't ask I wouldn't recommend crash dieting, I think with chemo you just have to do whatever you need to to get through it and that includes eating what you fancy. I'm not saying don't try to eat healthily but don't beat yourself up if you can't. On chemo I could usually taste marmite, fresh pineapple which is meant to be good for your mouth, scrambled egg and spicy foods. It's horrid when your eyelashes go but on the upside they do grow back quickly too.

Keep counting the days until you're finished, how many cycles are you having ? Chemo is horrid but it will be over soon and you'll start to feel yourself again x

Feelings not too bad thanks. Not particularly uncomfortable but trying to make sure I don't do too much.

Salhal- I was tested and am BRCA 1+. The test took a while to come back but my sister's results have been much quicker as they knew what they were looking for. Luckily she is clear but we just need to wait for my other sister. My boys can be tested when they are 18. The genetics team have been very good at answering questions.

Don't ask- sorry you are feeling rough. I ate lots of cheddars as I could taste them. Crash Dieting probably isn't a good idea. I tried to eat healthily but to be honest I ended eating what I could manage and what I fancied.
I never bothered with false eyelashes and they do come back quickly.

The sun is shining here. Hope everyone is having as good a day as they can.

Don't ask....I'm not sure dieting is a good idea. I didn't have chemo but echoing malt from what others have said I think you probably need to eat what you fancy. I was a bit more aware of my food intake before surgery but only ensuring my protein and iron levels were good to enhance healing but that didn't involve anything special - just a nice steak and salad here and there!
I am trying to lose a bit of weight now but I'm a few months post op. I don't think there's any rush.

Speedy...good to hear you're not uncomfortable. Don't let that persuade you to do too much too soon.

Afternoon all. Well tomorrow it is a year since my bilateral mastectomy. Seven months since my last chemo, and 5 months since last Rads.
I am feeling very well, been going to the gym about 4 -5 times a week, and go back to work full time next week (did a staggered return since Sep last year).

'Don't ask' ... a lot of people put weight on during chemo as you tend to be a bit less active: don't worry about that. (I certainly did - plenty of cake)

Saying that though, has anyone had a problem losing weight since treatment? I am eating healthily and exercising but no weight loss. Could just be my age and metabolism but its annoying. Am on Tamoxifen.

It's lovely to hear that you're feeling so well foo.

With regard to weight loss, I'm about to kick start a bit of a diet and exercise overhaul. As I stood in the very unflattering light of a shop changing room this morning I realised that things have gone far enough. There's no point buying jeans to fit now, I don't want to be like this. I have not had chemo but I have been on tamoxifen since last June. I think I'm at my usual mid winter weight, things are getting a bit tight.

I've been back at the gym for a couple of weeks, usually after about 4 weeks I'm feeling a bit firmer so I'll be interested to see if that still happens. I am wondering about the effects of tamoxifen combined with age (50) and am definitely getting a thicker waist, which I understand is not good for my sort of cancer. Unfortunately too much cake has been consumed and too much comfort food cooked. I'm not sure how much I can blame on the cancer and what could be just normal for me in winter. Would be interesting to hear the experience of others.

Hi all, will avoid dieting but try and move my mahoosive arse around a bit more. I've lost about 1 1/2 stone on chemo since start of November by cutting out almost all alcohol and sugary stuff because I didn't fancy it any more but the loss of almost all taste with the taxotere is cheesing me off.

Tried cheddars Speedy, like most things including bread they just tasted dusty. Melon and citrus fruits are good and pineapple juice too. Actual pineapple is all pretty bitter although the rest of the family tell me it is sweet and edible.

Happy one year Bilateral foo that is something to look forward to!

Malt I have one more lot of chemo to go in half term week and then I am done. Can't wait. Roll on surgery and a flat chest at last.

Wow foo, what a year, really good to hear you're so fit again. I can't imagine being anywhere near as fit as I was.

I must easily be a stone heavier now than in the summer and so unfit. I'm suffering from aching limbs and joints a lot and get so breathless. I'm not on tamoxifen but herceptin but the chemo plunged me into menopause so I guess that must be causing the problems.

Talking of problems (and I never thought I would be writing this on a public forum!) but has anyone else grown a beard as a result of their treatment ? I seem to have a lot of downy fair hair growing along my jaw line/lower part of my cheeks, much more than I ever have before. Is this a temporary thing or is it going to get worse?

Foo. Some year! So impressed that you get to the gym that much.

Minty- I have definitely noticed some downy hair on my face. Was wondering if it was due to the fact that my periods haven't started back yet; if they ever do. If it's hormonal then I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't get worse.

I noticed today that one of my eyebrows seems to be getting thinner again- surely they aren't going to fall out five months after my last chemo!!

Mrs- very impressed you are at gym too. Feeling very lazy lying on my sofa.
How long am I supposed to wait after implants before I can do that sort of thing again or go swimming?

Dontask I had problems finding much I could face eating on chemo apart from ginger biscuits, Haribo and pineapple. When I went shopping I would try to choose something that didn't make me gag but there wasn't much. I tended to have small portions of bland food. On the other hand a relative got through eating very hot curries !
Minty after I lost all the down on chemo it came back with a vengeance with some long dark hairs growing at a tremendous rate. Tweezers always in use! Now settled down hopefully.

minty yes, I'm looking a bit downy too!
And I hadn't thought that chemo induced menopause might deter weight loss.

Strange thing I noticed today, probably overstating but ... my hair on my head is growing back curly, but (other) hair is now dead straight

Phew! Glad it's not just me then. It's obviously just another side effect of the whole treatment, and not a particularly welcome one at that.

I'm a little self conscious about it but most people seem to be looking at the hair on my head as I'm now going scarfless at work. It's only half to one cm long but I'm fed up with covering up since sept and keep getting hot flushes all the time. I'm getting loads of compliments although someone suggesting I should keep it like this was a step too far!

Off for my rads planning session later. The seroma I have from surgery 5 weeks ago hasn't fully gone so I don't know if that will affect things, will wait and see

Waves to everyone and hope you're all having good weeks

Morning all
Hope the rads planning went ok minty did you get the lovely tattoos ? Luckily I'm freckly so can hardly notice mine now

Minty - I had enormous seromas when I went for my rads planning and it was fine.

That's good to hear wee. The seroma is shrinking so should hopefully be fine by the time treatment starts on the 23rd. just got to get through my mammo on the 17th to find out if I need more surgery first.

malt, yep I've now got my first tats :-). little frustrated that the one in my cleavage isn't in the centre - thats something that will always bother me but too late to do anything about it now......

Hi everyone, well the loooong wait is finally over and its only 2 days until my op. Thanks to all the great advice on here I do feel a little bit prepared, just want it over and done with now. Then it will be fingers crossed for clear nodes and clear margins. Feels like the start of it all though somehow as even though I was diagnosed right at the beginning of January nothing has really happened until now. Hoping for a day at the coast with DH, the kids and the dog to take my mind off things tomorrow, although stunned my toe this aft so walking with a bit of a limp!

Salhal glad your op is soon it will be good to get it out of the way. Of course clear nodes and margins would be great but if not don't despair lots of us didn't get such good news but it just meant they threw everything at it. Enjoy your day at the coast

Hope everyone else is doing ok