Cancer Support Thread #71 - here to help if you’re dealing with cancer in any shape or form, come in and say hello.

[Brassica]

Hi again everyone and welcome to the 71st new thread for cancer support.

All those who are currently being treated, have been treated in the past, have worries and concerns and/or are having tests are very welcome to pull up a chair and chat, vent, rant, pour hearts out, share milestones and anything else! We are a very friendly and all-too experienced bunch on here and there are no questions too small or silly to ask.

Our previous thread is here .

Anyone with any type of cancer (female or male) is welcome. And we will hold your hand if you're waiting to find out whether or not you have cancer at all.

If you've got a loved one with cancer then your best place for support is probably on the Life-Limiting Illness board.

Please can I invite current members to reintroduce yourselves below for latest situations and stories so far.

Skap above all for hospital I would recommend a sleep mask. Also, I find hospital blankets useless for warmth, and some of the wards I've been in haven't been warm at all, so if you are a chilly person, take a loose cardigan or shawl. And maybe a few dry crackers to nibble - you might not want to eat at all, though.
Brassica, they didn't give me injections last time, but I'm going to ask if I can have them after chemo 3. Hope you enjoy your Kent mini-break!
Good wishes and good luck with whatever is going on for everyone here. Thanks to you all for being such a great bunch, it is really helpful being able to read and post.

I had a guided wire excision on Thursday for DCIS and came home the same day .
Coping fairly well but am very sore today and DH says a bit flushed Altho I am not running a temperature .
Am I being impatient and expecting too much ? I still am dozing a lot .
Back to clinic Tuesday for dressing change and expect further histology results at the end of the week .
I have been told I will need 15 sessions of radiotherapy in October which will mean staying away from home Monday to Friday for 3 weeks due to where we live .
Has anyone else gone through this and can hold my hand ?

Trumpton I don't know anything about your condition or treatment (I did look up DCIS) but just popping on to say, I hope the histology report is ok. It will be tough having to be away from home so much, sorry about that.

Thank you .
Feeling very battered tonight and my girl goes back to London very early tomorrow . She popped home for the weekend .

I haven’t been through all that Trumpton - in fact I haven’t been through many of the things which other people are posting about (one of the reasons I dip in and out of the thread). But I do know all to well what if I’d like to be awaiting test results, and to worry about potential future treatments, whether they’ll work and how to get through them. It’s only a few days until the end of the week when you’ll know more from the histology - but that might as well be a lifetime away. We’re deadly serious when we say that the early days, when there are so many unknowns, are some of the most stressful of the whole damned shebang,

What will you be doing in the next few days? Do you have people around you can lean on for a while?

It was picked up very early on routine mammogram so I am lucky in that respect .

One girl is on her way home from weekend away and the other is back to London tomorrow .

Just feeling very vulnerable tonight .

Trumpton. Not exactly the same but I had similar surgery earlier this year. It is still early days for you not just to recover from the surgery but also to come to terms with the shock of diagnosis. Waiting for answers and test results can be so difficult to cope with.

I hope your results will be the best possible and that you can get in with your treatment. Having to be away from home during the week is going to be trying Will you be staying in the place treating you or will you have to find somewhere nearby?

I found Radiotherapy to be not too bad to cope with but very tiring.

Hi trumpton
Hope you got a good night's sleep and are feeling comfortable today.
I had widespread and high grade dcis in the past which meant a mastectomy for me. Like you it was picked up on routine mammo so a complete shock which left me reeling. The good news is that dcis is not invasive breast cancer and as such it will not have spread anywhere else. Surgery usually sorts it out once and for all and it sounds as if they are being super careful by giving you some radiotherapy as well, though the practical arrangements around that for you sound far from ideal.
I do think you're being hard on yourself to be expecting to feel anything else but sore and battered less than a week after surgery. Did you have lymph nodes in your armpit sampled as well? Ime this can feel very sore, but it will all get better. Make sure you do your exercises, gently at first, and take pain relief if you need it and just give yourself time to recover. Fingers crossed for your histology results. Do you have someone going with you for that appointment?
Take it easy

Thank you for your responses ...
Yes I probably am being hard on myself ...
I managed a shower this morning ,wrapping my chest in clingfilm ,like the scene from The Full Monty and feel a lot brighter .
No lymph node involvement at moment but until we get histology results to make sure there is a clear margin I won’t know if further surgery is required .
Living here certainly has its challenges ! But can’t fault the care I have had so far .

And yes DH is coming to get results with me . He wasn’t there for the first diagnosis as I wanted to do it alone and concentrate on me ( and was fairly sure after the vacuum assisted biopsy that there would be further treatment )

Hi Trumpton. I've only been on this thread a few weeks and it's all new to me but there is lots of support and advice here. I do hope you feel better soon. Perhaps you are expecting too much to feel ok after four days? I'm having a guided wire lumpectomy on Thursday though not for DCIS.
How far away is your hospital that you have to stay over for radiation? Will you have to book into a hotel or do you have any friends or family to stay with? My hospital is an hour away so somewhat further than I would like.

trumpton the cling film idea is genius It all seems really good for your longer term prospects. This bit is crappy though and no mistake. Hang on in there.

How're you feeling about your op on Thursday skap?

Hope everyone else is ok today. Ellen are you still leaking?

I'm just making some space in my garage as having a small chest freezer delivered tomorrow. Also wondering whether j can risk a trip to the shops as could do with getting a few things for my 2 nights away this coming weekend. Thing is, I'm not familiar with all the loo stops in my local town as I've never had to be before, and not 100% sure I can trust my innards!

Hi @Skap I live offshore and our hospital does not offer radiotherapy so we are expected to find our own accommodation ( partially funded) and fly home at weekends .
I will prob book a Premier Inn and see how it goes the first week .
DH is needed at home for childminding dgc although dd is adamant they will manage without him.
Skap It’s your journey that I have been following as it does sound similar to mine .
Let’s hope for a clear margin and a smooth road ...
I will be thinking of you on Thursday , the op itself and wire insertion was nowhere near as hard as I feared , I think the problem is me expecting to bounce back !

Thank you @WTF99
Just glad that I managed a shower .

Need to buy more cling film . It’s something I haven’t used for years and just happened to have a roll in !

WTF I love my chest freezer, there is no such thing as too much freezer space. We live in the sticks so I could survive a zombie apocalypse try not to run out of anything.

Plan your trip around loo stops would be reassuring. M&S usually have one, as does any cafe. Some places don't advertise them but have a loo on request. Libraries do. I remember all this from the days of potty training

I'm feeling good about Thursday. Getting the cancerous lump out is going to be a major step forward.

Trumpton Not sure about the mammogram after the wire insertion. I was describing the procedure to DH and DS(21) and they both seemed a bit meh until I liked it to having a wire threaded into their balls and then clamped into a motorised press over which they have no control........

Skap . Sent you a pm

Skap I bet that made them both blink a bit!!

Hi @Trumpton. I had lumpectomy in May 2017. The node biopsy caused me more pain and still does. Every now and again I still get some nork pain. Your body takes a while to get The anesthetics out of your system. You are not going to be up and bouncing but pottering about in between sleeps, rest for next few days. I stupidly decided to walk into town on about mid week 2 as felt ok at home. Oh dear..felt very squiffy. You will feel better once you can change your dressing - reccomend Boots waterproof. Unfortunately I became very allergic to Tegaderm ones they use and got a rectangular burn mark on my poor boob.

A cold compress under your arm is good. Tumeric really reduces the swelling as do arnica tablets.

The waiting for results is horrible. Radiotherapy is ok - no stress really but for the fatigue. It's ok for the first week but after that I was felled for about two hours after each treatment - Netflix was my best friend but then could get up and cook,etc. The fatigue hits worse a couple of weeks afterwards and mine was pretty bad. I now teeter on the edge of chronic fatigue and have to pace myself. I work full time and run a busy household.

I had three further ops to clear margins so I think that did impact on the fatigue front and I went back to work too soon after the fourth op in between that and radio. If you just have the lumpectomy, I am sure it won't be as bad but treat yourself gently and be kind to yourself. Also, you are now highly likely to be cancer free now.

@Flyingarcher
Thank you for that . I think I am naturally impatient and therefore a bad patient !
Had a nap this afternoon then DH and I went to local town for an airing and coffee . Bumped into a friend who looked shocked to see me out but I felt much better in myself to be out and about .
Hmm yes radiotherapy is a beast for me as I will be away from home Monday morning to Friday eve . My ability to watch Netflix has taken a beating but I am sure as the anaesthetic leaves my system I will improve .
So much love and support on this thread x

Dressings changed all looking good . Results will be another week tho .
Must.be.patient.

Hello everyone

I’m so very sorry to have to tell you that my friend in real life Madeleine ( known to you all as Twitterqueen1 and TQ) passed away earlier today.

I know she gained much comfort from the support on the Cancer threads and she was so kind and supportive herself in return.

She was just as fab in real life as on Mumsnet -caring, intelligent, thoughtful, funny - and just brilliant company.

She will be sadly missed
X

Sheloves. It is good to know that TQ gained support here but she gave much more. We will miss her very much.

Gutted to hear the news about TQ
I haven't posted for some time as I'm out the other side of lumpectomy/mastectomy/radiotherapy and chemotherapy which all kicked off may 2018; I am now on tamoxifen for 10 years and finish my Herceptin injections January 2020.
Twitter was a huge support over the first 12 months when I was more regular on the threads: so utterly sad she's gone, along with @purpleunicorns and @whatwouldleslieknopedo xxxxx

Delurking to say I hope TQ, Leslie and Purple are having a riotous reunion x
Condolences to Madeleine’s DDs and family. Her love for her girls shone through.

So sorry to hear this...a sad day...