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Original poster

CHECK YOUR BREASTS!!!

739 replies

FiveSoloRings · 20/12/2009 13:37

I got news this morning that one of my friends died yesterday. She was in her very early 30's, two young children and everything to live for. Despite a mastectomy a couple of years ago, the cancer spread and she is gone. I can't tell you how dreadful I feel.

It is so important that we check our breasts regularly. It takes a few minutes and could save your life.
One of my best friends had a message just like this one, but it was face to face and by her boyfriends exgf who also had just had a mastectomy because of breast cancer. This message from such an unlikely messenger almost certainly saved my best friends life.

Pass the message on please ladies. Make sure your friends and family are nudged into remembering to check.

OP posts:
ifancyashandy · 27/05/2010 11:02

Amapoleon - that is truely awful. I can't imagine what that must have felt like...

Thank you Smee and MAS - I will call on the Breast Nurse if I need to. The one I met was the Nurse Practitioner and she was with me and the Consultant. I think I may love her already.

And I cannot wait to start exercising again -I've had to have 6 weeks off it as I had my gall bladder removed (it never rains... what with that and my mum being in two weeks ago and my dad this weekend, I think the NHS would go into melt-down if one of us weren't being medically treated!). But I've got a check up on that this afternoon when I fully expect to be told 'get thee to the gym!'

ps. I promise you I do not have Muchausens!

MaryAnnSingleton · 27/05/2010 11:04

ifancy ! hope check up goes well. I totally love my bcn.

Amapoleon · 27/05/2010 12:29

Good luck with the check up!

It was a nightmare but at least the result was good, I dread to think what would have happened if it wasn't.

My breast nurse is fab as well, I think they are a certain breed, hehehehe.

posieparker · 27/05/2010 12:32

bump.

silentcatastrophe · 27/05/2010 15:56

I hope your wait is not too excruciating. It sounds a bit familiar to what happened to me. A doctor in A & E found the lump and despite test after test they couldn't see anything. They couldn't do a mammogram in the beginning because I was pg, so they hummed and haaaed and said come back if it's still there when the baby arrives. I went back when dd was nearly 1. I had sort of put it to the back of my mind, and put things down to feeding.

ifancyashandy · 27/05/2010 18:26

Thank you Silent. Am ok - kind of resigned to the wait. Although I have discovered I am very close to tears quite a lot of the time. Was just in the supermarket and saw a little girl (aged about 9 I guess) go up to her very cute, smartly dressed little brother who has Downs and give him the biggest kiss as he sat in the shopping trolley. Had to seriously bite my lip not to burst into tears at the sheer loveliness of it!

Other check up was fine - although the Doctor had seen my notes on the lumps and asked if she could feel it! Was so surprised, that I just whipped me top off and let her. She is a renal doctor!! The bonkers-ness of this is only just beginning to dawn on me!

MaryAnnSingleton · 27/05/2010 19:13

at your doctor !

ifancyashandy · 27/05/2010 19:28

She said she used to deal with breasts. I think she missed them!!

shantishanti · 27/05/2010 19:40

Oh dear Ifancy, it's so hard not knowing isn't it?
Keep busy, and FORCE yourself to think positive. Don't let yourself do too much of any quiet, reflective things, spend too much time on your own, or listen to melancholy music. They are my top tips from the time when I was waiting to find out if my cancer last year had spread or not (it hadn't ).

ifancyashandy · 27/05/2010 21:56

So pleased to hear it hadn't spread!

Am feeling ok this evening - very very very tired but not stressed. Just all feels surreal and as though yesterday happened to someone else. You're so right about putting it out of my mind and about avoiding certain music (my God, that sets me off at the mo!). JUst going to focus on the family this weekend and try to forget that I've got to go through it all again in 3 weeks...

Amapoleon · 27/05/2010 22:12

Well I think I am going to have to have my breast prodded once more! I am still bleeding, although not as drastically and I think my wound is infected!

ifancyashandy · 27/05/2010 22:24

Oh Amapoleon, that's just beyond crappy - I feel for you. Make sure they look after you well

Amapoleon · 27/05/2010 22:45

Thanks, i bet you all thought you had got rid of me and my moaning

MaryAnnSingleton · 27/05/2010 22:53

aww Amapoleon -that's rotten for you

cupcaked · 28/05/2010 00:07

Wanted to pick up on 2 points that were mentioned ages back: 1. If u feel well mustn't be malignant lump, and 2. Very small needn't be so worrisome. Can't find the posts now but think that's what someone implied, apologies if not. Both wrong of course. I found a tiny lump (6mm across as it turned out) 3 days after running a half marathon in my best time ever. It was high grade malignant , operated on 7 wks ago and I started chemo 2 wks ago. Had never felt better in my life when I found it so don't let feeling well deter of you from getting anything at all investigated asap. Can't emphasise enough- know your own breasts, so u recognise anything out of the ordinary. No doctor can ever know them as well u can.

MaryAnnSingleton · 28/05/2010 07:31

very good points cupcaked - am very sorry too about your diagnosis,hope the chemo goes well - if you are feeling in need of chemo buddies there are some going through it now on the Tamoxifen thread .
Small can be as aggressive as large - large lumps could have been growing slowly for a long time - there are no rules on this- plus most people are feeling very well and healthy when they are diagnosed - so as cupcaked said - check any lump or bump out.

ifancyashandy · 28/05/2010 08:17

Hope you're chemo goes well for you and come back here if you're in need of a virtual hug / hand holding.

And absolutely agree on your points too.

cupcaked · 28/05/2010 09:35

Thanks ladies, started well but devastated this week with the hair thing. Dying to shave it all off but holding off as son has rotten GCSE week this wk. Also dh says 'but it looks fine'! Meaning he has not got head round hair loss yet. It looks terrible (imagine 100 yr old lady with shoulder length blonde highlights), could not be worse bald so biting the bullet tomoro morning.

Sorry, will take these woes to the tamoxifen thread, wrong forum here maybe.Thanks for pointer MaryAnn. All the best to all of you awaiting tests and results. It is interminable (and I did not have to wait long at all).

MaryAnnSingleton · 28/05/2010 11:00

cupcaked - it must be really hard,the hair bit - see you over on Tamoxifen

ifancyashandy · 28/05/2010 20:56
cupcaked · 29/05/2010 00:45

Thanks ifancy and good luck to you , try to stay sane in next few weeks, I know u will be in survival mode as hard to make plans when u have no idea what life going to throw up. Hope and pray all will go well for u.

solo · 29/05/2010 00:56

Just saying hello all!

MaryAnnSingleton · 29/05/2010 08:48

hello solo !

ifancyashandy · 29/05/2010 10:26

Morning all! And thanks for post CupCaked - hope you're doing ok this morning?

You're not wrong about the making plans issue - my job means I'm freelance and I wondered if there was anyone else in a similar situation and whether they told any potential employers that they might be ill? I can't afford to turn down work but am worried about the legalities of accepting a contract knowing that I might not be able to see it through due to potential surgery / treatment.

MaryAnnSingleton · 29/05/2010 10:48

ifancy - I am freelance - I didn't have any work on during surgery time but just before I accepted a job which I could do quickly and was a good diversion - I told my clients what was happening and they were very understanding (it's a long standing client) and I also worked on a project during radiotherapy which was good for me too...obviously it depends what your work is ! I also look after a friend's dc one or two days a week for a couple of hours and carried on doing that,though not during rads as I was never certain whether i'd be back in time.