All the fives... Tamoxigang cancer support thread 55

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Welcome newbies and oldies to our 55th thread!

Our previous thread is here.

If you have any sort of cancer please feel free to join us. We are always happy to offer a hand to hold if you're waiting for test results too.

There are no stupid questions here, and there will usually be someone who can answer, or point you in the right direction.

I have wondered about the link between stress and breast cancer and had a conversation about it with a very experienced BC nurse last year. She didn't dismiss the idea at all. I'd had a pretty horrible two years before diagnosis, all family connected. Very difficult parent situation and an anorexic DD away at university amongst other things. I wonder how the chemical make up of the body reacts to long term stress. If the stress is causing physical symptoms goodness knows what else it's doing.

Mrs i find this possible link between stress and breast cancer very interesting and in many ways it makes sense to me too because of the hormone- stress link.

I can't find it now but I remenber reading some research which indicated that stressful events (deaths, divorces etc) increased the risk of breast cancer by about 50% (IIRC). I can't remember the timescale eithet.
[Sorry. Not much help]

Anecdotally, all the women in for surgery with me had had a long term partner/husband leave them in the last 6 months... (sample of 4. Not statistically significant. The plural of anecdote is not 'data')

Just catching up with everyone's news. Pepper glad you've had your last chemo and not surprised you feel emotional. I'm on my last week of rads and have started to feel really disconnected with everything in the last few days. Physically I'm tired but not too bad but emotionally I just feel shattered. Fresta hope your rads go well, I've had no problems with mine apart from the drag of going to the hospital every day but the weeks have flown by.
Hello to everyone else, hope the results of all the scans and tests come back quickly and no one has to chase for answers.

i have the biopsy results, the consultant chased them up and rang yesterday afternoon, the good news is its not cancer. its is most definitely pvns, a tumour, but benign. am back in on monday to talk surgery, as the lump is the size of an egg and still growing. sometimes pvns is also treated with a bout of radiation therapy, will also find out about that on monday. huge relief to finally have a diagnosis, 18 months after my knee first swelled up, and 6 months since i first felt the hard lump.

wishing the best of luck to you all on this thread x

That's great news nipersvest
At least you now know what it is and will have a plan to treat it. All the best.

What a relief nipersvest. Hope the rest of this is easier for you now.

I've had a long chat with my BC nurse about the benefits of a hysterectomy. She's made me an appt with the oncologist next week to talk if through from a cancer treatment viewpoint. It's now not just about the bleeding but working out how I can be best protected from recurrence.

Afternoon all, just popping in, nipersvest glad you don't have cancer! Hope the surgery and treatment go well for you.
I spent yesterday evening in A&E with a raised temp and feeling decidedly rough. Nothing came of it thank goodness but they advised to rest and increase my fluids. If I do much less I'm at risk of becoming one with the sofa frankly
On a positive note which we can all learn from lacies! I was advised quite firmly that staying at home and eating an ice lolly to try to bring my temperature down was not really an appropriate medical alternative to popping to A&E and should perhaps have presented a couple of hours earlier..

LOL pepper! Hope you are able to shake off whatever is giving you the temperature and general roughness.

mrs, it sounds like your cancer journey is far from complete too. That must be pretty worrying knowing that your hormones are still raging and they're the ones that caused the cancer. Hope you have a productive appt with the oncologist next week.

nipersvest, fantastic news! Not that you are getting off scot free but you must be so relieved. A friend of mine had a massive abdominal tumour investigated at the end of last year and at first the team thought it was a sarcoma. Understandably she was in pieces but fortunately, it turned out to be benign although she still had to get through some pretty major surgery

rover that must be good to be reaching the rads finishing line. I didn't suffer with too many physical symptoms but felt absolutely washed out for a couple more weeks after the treatment finished

interesting chat about stress and cancer. I guess we'd all love to know why we got cancer (although we'll probably never know) but I cant help but think that stress had something to do with mine. Those that knew me first time round will remember my 'arse of a boss' who had made my working life hell in the 6 months prior to diagnosis. He dealt me his final card of nastiness by making me redundant the day after my last herceptin dose in November..... so once again I've gone through the stress of finding a new job and settling in and lo and behold I'm potentially facing the cancer card again. added to all the work stress, my 9 yo DD has cystic fibrosis so I guess I'm never free from underlying worry and stress.

I went into work on Tuesday thinking it might distract me but the shere farce of discussing my work plans on a project and what I was going to be doing this week and next was just too much to handle. I have a much better boss now and he's allowed me to take the rest of the week off. I've found myself falling into exactly the same pattern as before - having coffee with my best friend yesterday and an afternoon nap and then today I'm going to be blitzing the house with the radio on loud :-)

counting down the hours.... in about 27 hours time I will have more idea of my fate

I'm sure I've missed plenty of folks but hope treatment and recovery is going well

Just wanted to pop in and wave and say hi to everyone. Still here, still getting on getting on. Next check up is August for a blood test as my onc doesn't want to scan me too much (had full PET/CT scan with all clear in April, which was 6 months after my all clear). If the blood test sparks anything then obviously scans will come next.

Most exciting thing is I am going to Secret Garden Party (boutique festival in July) before that. First year I went I was 5 weeks pregnant, second year I was breast feeding, and last year I had to cancel as it clashed with chemo! So finally after 4 times of trying, I will actually get to go and enjoy myself!

mrsrhod I'm sorry you've got this extra stress. I hope your team can guide you to make the right decision for you

nipers good news that it's benign, but obviously still annoying. I hope they give you a treatment plan quickly.

rover I hope the last week of rads is going well

pepper sorry your new medical technique didn't work out! Glad you were allowed home though. I hope you feel better soon

Lovely to see you Boobz. And good you've got some fun to look forward to! Enjoy making up for three missed opportunities

minty I remember your wanker boss. I'm glad you have a nicer one now. I hope your distractions help a bit and that the time passes as quickly as possible for you

Waving to everyone. I'm just plodding along really. Side effects are minimal. I think the antibiotics have caused me more issues than the chemo so I'm hopeful about next cycle

Morning all . I have awake on and off all night so plan on having another snooze shortly.
We finally told ds about my diagnosis as he has finished his exams and it was getting too difficult to keep hiding it. He has Autism so it was difficult to know how he would react to the news but he has been great. He was really positive that everything was going to be alright and appears really clued up about treatments too. It's such a relief.

The sun is shining here. Hope you all have a good day and weekend.

so its official. EXACTLY 1 year and 50 weeks since my original diagnosis, I have been told today that once again I have breast cancer. The biopsy still hasn't given a clear answer with regards to invasive cells but they do know that I have an area, roughly 3-4cm, of high grade DCIS. Because of the uncertainty and my history they want to run me through the standard staging tests so I am being booked in for a CT scan and a bone scan. Assuming they're both clear then I will be having a mastectomy in the next few weeks. If they're not, then there will be some drugs first for a while before surgery.

I know I want to go down the reconstruction route but because I have had radiotherapy, they do not recommend an implant as the muscle/chest wall/ skin etc in the area might not act in the normal way any more.

So I'm looking at using my own tissue which brings it's own risks and a longer operation and recovery time. But I might get a tummy tuck into the bargain :-).

Only after surgery will I know if I need to have other treatment but I'm so hoping I can avoid the chemo. I've started to get waves of sickness this week whenever memories of 2 years ago spring into my mind.

As to everyone else, chewing, I'm glad you were able to tell your DS and that he has taken the news well, that must be a big weight off your mind.

leslie, I'm hoping your having some lovely sunshine today to help with your plodding

boobz, the garden party sounds lovely, at least you can really enjoy yourself this year

Minty that is rubbish news. I'm going to cross everything that it is just DCIS and that you have clear scans. It would be great to avoid chemo and I really hope that you do. The tummy tuck sounds like a nice added bonus given that the mx is unavoidable.

Chewing I'm glad your ds has taken your diagnosis in his stride. Sometimes children just rise up to meet challenges that are presented to them. Do you know what your treatment plan is yet or are you still waiting for test results?

I had my planning scan for rads today, but I'm not starting for nearly a month because I have a holiday booked. It will be nice to have some hospital free time, just an echo next week then some time off. Unfortunately I will have my herceptin delayed by a week because of my holiday but hopefully that won't be too harmful. My big toe appears to be lifting off the nail bed and is purple underneath. Has anyone else had this happen? Don't worry I'll spare you the photos!

minty that is Fingers crossed that you avoid chemo.
silly I am awaiting a further biopsy result and treatment plan which I should get on Monday when I see the consultant. It will be good to get things moving.
Boak at manky toenail - I hate feet. Where are you off to on holiday?

Sorry to hear that Minty, fingers crossed it is only DCIS but it must stir up all sorts of memories for you.

I have my planning scan on the 1st for rads then start them on the 18th - 4 weeks. They're doing 3 weeks of normal rads followed by a week of a booster. Anyone else had the booster?

Meanwhile tonight I start the Tamoxifen. I feel like tonight is a turning point as it could be the start of a 10 year relationship with this poxy super drug. So I'm going to drink a nice bottle of wine, have quality time with the DH and hopefully not wake up like the hairy monster with horns that I'm afraid of turning into overnight

I'm off to Centreparcs. I'm probably uninsurable at the moment so we needed to holiday in the UK. I'm not going to do much but the children will be kept busy. I might try and book a massage because they have recently trained their therapists and allow cancer patients to have treatment.

Fly I start rads on the 19th for 23 days so we will be being cooked together . No boosters for me though because I've had a mx so rads are being done to the chest wall.

I didn't think about insurance. When this is over I wanted a nice holiday - how long are you generally uninsurable for? Is it just when having treatment?

fly, I think a bottle of wine is definitely in order :-). I had a week of boosters last year. Due to where my tumour had been the boosters ended upgoing right across my nipple so it got a bit sore but survived. Ironic then that this new mass I've got is right next to the nipple..... But don't let that scare you, I was ER- so a completely different type of cancer.

Silly, sounds like you'll have a great time especially if you can get a massage. I haven't had one for ages, note to self to treat myself to one when this is all over. I had one of my herceptin doses moved back by a week... and I was going to say that it didn't seem to cause a problem..... but now it feels as if I'm the harbinger of doom! Maybe best not to share my experiences!

Evening Fly I've just finished 3 weeks of rads plus a booster week today! The booster week seemed to take a little bit longer each day to set up (only maybe 5 mins) and I'm pretty sure they said they blast the tumour bed. I've been plastering on the Aveeno and so far only have a very small amount of slightly pink skin and once or twice over the last 4 weeks its been a bit sore but ibruprofen sorted it out. Hope it goes well for you and can you give an update on the Tamoxifen please as I'm starting that in about 3 weeks!

FlyChickie, I have my first box of Tamoxifen in my cancer cupboard (where the scary things live) waiting till "after chemo" which I finished last week I planned to start it after my rads as the BCN suggested it made no difference to wait and I may wish to isolate my side effects. Then I had an appointment through for an oncologist apt on Day 3 of rads and I'm worried he may tell me off for not starting it.
I'm also irked that the onco appt and rads are in different hospitals a good half hour apart, before the parking nightmare, and they can't tell me what time the rads appts are except the first one... Onco always runs at least an hour late so they may well clash.
minty sorry to hear your results and that you have to go through the full staging and waiting stress all over again
mysilly I had my rads booking yesterday and found it a very surreal experience, I had no idea about the beanbag pillow thing they mould round your head and arms. I have decided though that I would never be brave enough for a proper tattoo as I found the 3 pinpricks very sharp indeed!

Sorry to impose but my mum has just been diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal cell breast cancer. Plan is partial mastectomy, radiotherapy and then hormone treatment. No dates yet and I'm obviously worried. I don't know what to expect or how best to support her and my dad. Only child so no siblings.

Sorry if I'm in the wrong place.

Hi iklboo sorry to hear about your mum, very tough time for everyone.
Stage 1 is good as they've caught it early and she clearly has her early plan in place. I think just being there and listening to her worries is a good start. Are you close enough for practical stuff like help with getting to appointments and perhaps going with her if she wishes, to write down notes and ask extra questions? MacMillan have a cancer support line that anyone can ring for support - I know my DH has called them over the last few months. There's usually someone here who has done/had whatever gets thrown at you! And just try to do normal stuff, there's way more to life than cancer. My MIL rings and sobs about how awful life is for us so we don't take her calls!
Sometimes it's helpful to have someone to field concerned friends and relatives, so my sister does a sterling job keeping aunts and uncles in the loop without me having to re-hash details with people who don't need them.

Hi pepper - unfortunately I don't drive (own health) and work full time so helping with appointments is hit & miss. I work in a medical related field so I can probably think of some questions that might not have crossed her & dad's mind yet - and maybe understand what the doctors are saying a bit more? I think maybe being a sounding board for her as well if she needs to talk.

Good morning lacies:)
Pepper and fly, I can relate very well to your pre Tamoxifen jitters. I delayed starting on them for a week! So far I am doing much better than I has expected but of course this is a long term commitment, so no guarantees about future SEs etc.
Iklboo, so sorry about your mum. Having been caught so early is a massive bonus. You are welcome here to ask and seek advuce and support.
Minty, don't know what to say . I hope it is nothing more than what it seems to be. I know all of us here worry about recurrence whether we have just finished our treatment or, like you, have been assumed cancer free for some time. Wishing you nothing but reassuring news and no chemo this time round.
Rover, congrats on completing your rads sessions and good to hear no major issues.
Good luck mysilly with your rads and do really enjoy that holiday beforehand.

Waving to everybody else.
Have a great weekend.