forgot to say, the reconstruction implant and mastectomy were in December 2019, so just over 9 months ago.

Hi Poland,

How did your appointment with the consultant go - did the ymanage to give you any reasons for your rash?

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine and thanks,  Consultant was great, agreed it was odd, reassured it wasnt sepsis or shinkgle or any sign of infection, so he said he would ask my gp to refer me to dermatology for an opinon, because apparently if he refers me himself theres a high risk it will be thrown out and its better coming from GP.  The rash has calmed down a bit, but this morning I had a "ghost" purple scar line on it, which had a yellowing tone on the skin, like when a bruise is healing and goes funny colours. It also got prickly again. SO what it is or was I still  have no idea, but he gave me a thorough once over and says its not connected to my surgery, and I know from recent CT and nuclear scans that he has checked out underlying stuff. wondering now what colour I will be tomorrw!  Good news is I foreced myself to drive alone to the appt, and managed a complex journey over tiny country lanes and a motorway I DONT like, using a satnav which I havent done before. I aced it. got some confidence back as a result.

Hi Poland,

I am glad to hear that your consultant was so helpful. It didn't sound like shingles. It might be a good idea to take some pictures of the presentation to show the dermatologist. If possible, take it at different stages and, take a note of how it feels on certain dates. I hope that you don't have too long to wait before you get an apointment with the dermatologist.

Well done for driving to the appointment on your own. I'm so glad that you aced it. Every little bit of confidence regained is another milestone. I just couldn't manage without my Sat Nav now, as I have an abysmal sense of direction.

Please let us know how you get on and, I hope that the prickly sensation dies down soon.
Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hey ho, months on, and the rash just went away, faded, and touch wood hasn't come back. Consultant had said it would take ages if he referred to a fellow consultant so to ask GP to do it, GP then said that he'd prefer to do a watch and wait and see if it came back, in which case he'd consider referring me. Since when nothing to report, except I had my first annual mammogram this week, and a synacthen test to see if my adrenals still function. Still waiting on results, and waiting on yet another occ health thing to see if my underlying disorders still mean remote working only, As I've been told to avoid public transport, and too disabled through inactivity and arthritis to walk two miles carrying a rucksack work pack, I'm at risk of having to stop work. why knock myself out any more. I have a pension from the job that retired me on medical grounds when I was just 45. Hate to say it, but it's just too stressful, all the admin systems have gone computerized, I've had no training of any meaningful use, and am now supposed to spend my break doing online training alone at home. I can cherry-pick bits of other occasional work at work that are better paid, and which use my professional knowledge base from my former career, and which get positive remarks. Just feels wrong to me to "give in" to disability, let alone cancer,  How have other people coped with making the change from work to retirement?

Hi Poland,

I am so glad to hear that the rash has finally disappeared and sincerely hope that it doesn't reppear at a later stage. Has the prickly sensation subsided along with the rash?

I hope that all goes well with the tests taken this week. When are you due to get the results? It certainly sounds as if retirement would cause you a lot less stress. You don't have to give in to disability by doing this. If this past year has taught us anything, it it just how important our quality of life is. You can still live life to the full, but within the limitations that cancer and your disabilities have led to.

I hope that it all goes well for you.

Kindest regards,

Jolamine xx