Thank you your reply. 
it sounds like you've gone through so much.

I'm definitely struggling with the whole 'new normal' at the moment. My heads also all over the place.

Think I'm feeling sorry for myself and need to sort myself out. Xx

My wife has been back once after the op and radiotherapy as she found lumps, but luckily it was scar tissue. She's back this Thursday as she found a new painful lump, away from the scarring. But the nurses were quite reassuring, as was the surgeon who said, this is common and the fact it's painful is a good sign.

I think the point is, these things are gonna happen, and will never go away, and it's gonna be a case of her having to just keep on top of changes and get them seen to as and when something new arises.

She's had a host of issues lately. She's on tamoxifen, but had a very, very small bleed a few weeks ago. So she's to get an US on her ovaries etc. The chemo also damaged some ducts inside her liver, so she's on lifetime meds for that. Luckily the meds work (they don't always), so she won't need a transplant within the next 10 years.

Hear so many people getting heart issues, but that's about the only thing she body swerved.

Before this touches you first-hand, you think once it's outta you, and chemo is done, that's it. All over. Only a new normal sets in and you realise this stuff is with you for the rest of your life. She's about 6 months out from the op. Radiotherapy (radiation) can cause changes for months and months after the event. Makes sense when you consider past events involving radiation still take their toll on people decades, and even lifetimes later.

Hi ProfBraw,

I hope that all turns out well for your wife on Thursday. It is difficult to differentiate between scar tissue and something more sinister. I have had a number of checks in the past 13 years. Fortunately, only one of them was cancerous. I sometimes feel a fraud, insisting on further checks, but that one positive find, makes me glad that I do it.

There are so many changes associated with this disease and the new normal for me, keeps evolving. As you said, 'this stuff is with us for the rest of your life', but 'what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger!

Please let us know how your wife fares on Thursday. I'm keeping everything crossed for good news.

Kind regards,

Jolamine

Hi JYM669,

Myofascial release is well worth a try. Please keep in touch and let us know how it helps, if you do decide to go ahead with it. There are many of us living with cancer now and you can take solace from the fact that the earlier it is caught, the better the outcome usually is.

I hope that all goes well for you when you see the surgeon again.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Bettyjayne,

You have been through a lot in a relatively short time and it takes some getting used to. My breasts were my pride and joy and I can't say that I like being totally flat chested, but it is what it is and I've had to accept it. I feel so grateful that I'm still here 13 years on and every new day is an added bonus. You will gradually come to accept the 'new you', but it does take time.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx