Hi All,

The Good- I received news from work yesterday that they will support me as much as they can during the treatment period i.e. paid my salary in full. I am so very grateful with this as we i dont have to think of financial issues during this bumpy journey.

The Bad- MRI found another 2 new suspicious lumps and last night me and hubby decided we are not going to go through with egg/embryo feezing. The toughest decision we have to make so far in our 13 years together. I've been strong(ish) since i was diagnosed but last night i broke down and cry. We are supposed to go through our IVF treatment ( received dates and all) but found out i have cancer 2 weeks before procedure :(

Thank you [@Sandra123]‍ for creating this discussion thread.

SC xx

I am sorry to hear this,  cancer has such a ripple effect. This forum has been a god send to me, everyone on here are immensely supportive.....I wish you well on your journey......and I echo your thanks to sandra123 for creating this thread......xxxx

Hi ladies,

Like jbains, just been reading through the posts. Welcome to the new ladies :-) and hope everyone is doing ok.

Well it's been continual drama my end. Not only did Jamie move out on new years day and had to cancel my whole wedding, was rushed to hospital with infection where I had surgery. It started to clear up then last week my boobs literally swelled up to the the size of a football. My skin was so stretched, red and thin I had to have a massive needle put.in and had 600ml of fluid drained. Was so painful. It's a normal size again but got to go Monday to get results of the fluid tests. If it shows bugs, I've got to have my implant removed. Not ideal but I'm fed up now. Been on anti biotics for 3 weeks. Grrrrrrr. One good thing though is Jamie came.to the hospital and we talked for hours about everything. The wedding is still off as we both agreed with everything going on it was far too much pressure on us both..and we are still living apart but we speak all the time and he came round for dinner today and he's taking me on a date next week. Think the events of new year is the kick up the bum we both needed. We've both agreed to take it slow but he has still said he will continue to be there for me. Well that's good for me. Absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder. I am definitely a happier Dizzle despite the football boob :-) xx

Oh Dizzle - you truly are a soldier. I'm so glad you and Jamie are talking again and he's there for you. This cancer does give every relationship a kick up the backside. Long may it continue that the both of you find even more depth to your love.

Not great about the agony you must be suffering with your implants. Hopefully they get you sorted quickly so you feel better. We are all here for you. Life throws many curveballs- we just have to catch them and deal with them. You got this.xx

Dizzle so good to hear from you.

Pleased Jamie is back on the scene. He obviously needs time to get his head round all of this. It is hard for the partners. Men like to fix things and this is impossible for them to fix. 

My husband of 50 years has had a bad back for 3 weeks now. He has had strong painkillers and I think he is getting a little better because he is saying he is bored. But he sleeps all the time and I am waiting on him hand and foot - it is driving me mad. I cant help feeling that part of this is my diagnosis. It certainly hasn't made things easier. 

Strangely I am feeling quite calm about it all as I think the Anastrozole is working. I am not sure about the other tumour although it is very small and I am told slow growing I will have to wait and see the oncologist when I get an appointment through.

Keep posting Dizzle and let us know how you are. xx

Welcome home lass... hope the celebrations went well and the family get together heartwarming ️

Sounds like u nd daughters been in the wars bless. Hope the swelling is going down nd daughter on the mend too. Not good for either of u on a long haul flight! 

Back to home nd hearth so snuggle up nd keep warm nd chillax. Good to have u back ️

Blinking heck lass... u do nothing by halves do u. Hope u are on the mend nd sorted soon .

JAMIE NEWS... wooo hoooo. Oh my soooo glad he has spent his time rethinking  and regrouping ️ Dragonfly fly is right it is so hard for any partner to watch from the sidelines feeling helpless that sometimes they need to walk away to get themselves in a better place to support you. I am sooo delighted to hear he has recognised that he needed some time and now back with you in a better place. Keep up the talking lass... don’t want it to ever get to blow point again. I smiled when I read your Jamie news... love happy endings ️ ️ ️ X

Hi dragonfly 

so glad u have the positive vibe( as indeed u should).  Hope the appointment with oncologist comes through soon ... my consultant said up to 3 wks for mine but chuffed when it came through for following wk :-)

bless no time to think about yourself with all the running around you need to do for your hubby. Hope u are trying to get away for short bursts even for a cuppa at local coffee shop...u need to recharge batteries a little to keep going. Oh nd cake have cake too ;-) ️

Morning peeps 

bad:- none yay

good :- been the look at kitchens....again. Sundial... had a lovely Costa coffee mmmm. Dinner at daughters.... now what t do... finished rabbits nd waiting for styrofoam eggs f b delivered to do decoupage.... think I am keeping China’s economy afloat lol. So... meet bling rabbit, flower rabbit, embroidery rabbit and pompom tail rabbit.... really enjoyed making them .. sooo relaxing ️. Have as good a day as u can peeps x[[]]

Sandra you always make me smile and love the bunnies!

Morning ladies. Hope everyone is doing ok.

Sandra - love your creativity. Anything one loves doing is a great distraction.  I remember I did colouring in an adult colouring book thruout those 6 weeks of treatment. Very therapeutic and passed the time. Helped me to feel some sense of accomplishment.

Stay warm ladies.

Afternoon peeps 

bad :- so cold it looked like my car has been dropped in water the shoved in a freezer. Can’t even open the doors cos they are frozen closed!

good :- can stay in all day as child free day yay.

ah jbains how right u are.... can’t beat a bit of distraction whatever it is that works for you. 

Done my mini cloches ( did 2 of them yesterday). Empty glade glass candle cup, old coaster nd tea light holder. Chuck bits nd bobs in then top off with 4 rusty washers nd a chess piece  ( got given loads of knobs but all a bit big so improvised lol ).  Now where t put em lol.

love to see anyone else’s distractions and or projects :-)[[]]

have as good s day as u can peeps. X

Afternoon peeps 

bad :- so cold it looked like my car has been dropped in water the shoved in a freezer. Can’t even open the doors cos they are frozen closed!

good :- can stay in all day as child free day yay.

ah jbains how right u are.... can’t beat a bit of distraction whatever it is that works for you. 

Done my mini cloches ( did 2 of them yesterday). Empty glade glass candle cup, old coaster nd tea light holder. Chuck bits nd bobs in then top off with 4 rusty washers nd a chess piece  ( got given loads of knobs but all a bit big so improvised lol ).  Now where t put em lol.

love to see anyone else’s distractions and or projects :-)[[]]

have as good s day as u can peeps. X

Hi,

Hope you are all well and coping with the ups and downs that treatment is throwing you

I won’t even try to pretend to have read all 247 pages of this lively discussion so will dive straight in with a question: 

does anyone have experience of mastectomy? I had my right breast removed last week, without reconstruction, though that is an option for the future.  The surgery is healing ok, though I have a drain in which seems to be taking forever to reach the required 30ml level (when it can be removed).  I am doing tree exercise and have much more movement than I thought I would BUT the back of my arm and my armpit is numb except for the odd  tingling sensation in my arm ... any tips for getting the sensation back? Is the tingling a sign the numbness might pass? 

ps - Sandra that playhouse is amazing! Inspirational as a proper garden playhouse is on my to do list for this year (for my 4 year daughter - not for me, honest!)

[@Chriss]‍ has! She’ll be along shortly!

Meltdown day today. Lost it with hubby - so sick of waiting on him hand and foot. He doesn’t want to help himself. Should have been going to Madeira today but his back prevented it. Hope to god he is better before I need chemo or mastectomy. Blue Monday it certainly is.

I’m massively behind on this thread Alison but just to say I had similar problems after my mastectomy. It’s because they had to cut some of the nerves. It’s worse if you have lymph nodes removed. At first I had numb and jangling sensations and a raw feeling on the skin under and on the back of my arm. The nerves will regenerate over time though (which was not explained to me so I thought I’d be like that permenantly!) Now it’s pretty much gone four months on apart from a little bit of numbness which I can’t notice unless I touch the area with my other hand.

Evening ladies, hope your all keeping warm on this cold night! Did any of you watch Cold Feet tonight? They are doing a breast cancer story and it really did bring back all those feelings to me. The not knowing and how to tell family members there could be something wrong. I thought it was well told!

The good got my moonwalk pack today! Feeling excited about it seems so real now!

The Bad none!! 

big hugs to whoever needs one xx 

Someone’s been busy Sandra!

I've been down the chemo rabbit hole again so not been on here much. Today I’ve started the double dose of steroids for round 5...hence I’m back (last time I was awake all night. Cupboards were entirely rearranged and all sorts of crazy insomniac stuff).

Round 4 knocked me out good and proper. It was the first T after the fec. I was alright on fec but T, oh my word! Horrible bone pains. I had a fever too so back into hospital and by the time I got out the bone thing and sore feet was so bad I couldn’t walk! My MIL was threatening to buy me a wheelchair, but thankfully after a few days it passed. I had a couple of days in bed and on the sofa sleeping way too much...no energy...presumably making up for my raging insomnia. Anyway, I’m being given codeine during the next round for the bone pain. I’ve tried to avoid it as it has terrible effects on the bowels, but needs must...

So tomorrow is no 5 and then only one more to go. Woohoo! Whatever happens now I don’t care. It’s all doable, just a case of pushing through.

Ive got so many pages on here to catch up on now. Bit of reading for me at chemo tomorrow if the internet is playing ball. Hope you’re all well folks xx

Wishing you all the best for your last couple of treatments.

My husband was put on codeine for his back and it completely stopped him up.

if he had it again I would give him low dose senna every evening.

Best wishes Mrsfingers

Hi Alison, and welcome to the best thread ever ... you will get all the support you need and a few laughs along the way here ... I've seen lots of award shows on t.v .. and the shows put up for them .. like loose women ... well if there was one for inspiration and help these " Amazon women" would be top of the list .. 

Yea I had a full right masectomy in July 2017 ... and lymph nodes taken as well ... yes it has lots of funny feelings and tingles even now .. I had to have it drained and restitched a couple of times ... but slowly it started to look more normal ... well as "normal" as it could  ; ))  it left arm a lot weaker and still can't carry shopping on that side .. but all in all I'm pleased with how it looks now .. although was really scared to look first time ... but honestly, now its my mark of the journey I've had and will be on ... and I'm pretty proud of it ... but I'm 64 and can understand it feeling different if I were young ...but I really believe a sense of humour got me through .. cancer took my breast, but I held on to my love of life, and wouldn't let it change or take my humour away .. although we all get down days ... then these ladies spring into action to help everyone through those ...

Big vertual hug to you , another brave lass to add to this wonderfull bunch ... Chrissie

Anything 

Hi Alison and a warm welcome to the thread :-)

Off the top of my head....As Rileyroo mentions Chrissy had mastectomy as did [@Jolamine]‍, [@Dizzle82]‍ and mrsfingers ( who has already commented. 

Although I had lumpectomy and node removal... I too had numbness on my under arm and especially by my node removal scar ( mrsfingers mentioned this too). My tingling and numbness subsided over time. I’m just over a year and my node scar has a weird feel when I touch it ... not quite numb but not quite full feeling. It’s not a problem cos I have little reason to touch other than curiosity lol. Mrsfingers is right the nerves can b damaged but usually recover.  Hope yours does too :-) I like to say -  how well are u doing lass :-) you have been through a lot well done lass. You will get there.

ah the playhouse.... it’s been up coming on 4 yrs now and can confirm .... it never gets old for the little ones.... only last night 2 of their friends came to play after tea and all 4 went straight to play in the play house and stayed there till it was home time :-) it’s at the bottom of a pretty long garden so from day one a WiFi camera was put in...makes it easier to have a quick look to see all is well with everyone.  The lil ones are 3 and 5 and have played in it from very young. Gotta watch when boys come cos they are more apt to climb when out on outside balcony.... girls don’t seem to do this lol. 

I’m sure your lil ones will get as much joy out of one too x

Bless dragonfly... gotta b honest could almost see a perfect storm brewing. You should be getting all the love, time, affection and the looking after but sadly you have been double whammyed in the unexpected stakes. 

Not to get away to warmer climes while waiting for your next step .... sigh.... gutted must be gross understatement! 

Hang in there lass. Walk away for a bit of u time if you can. I could almost touch the feeling of your batteries depleting in your earlier posts :-( 

hope things pick up nd hubby gets better soon.

thinking of u ️ X