Hi everyone, just thought I'd give you an update, as I had my post op assessment today. It was the best possible news I could have had. They took 20 lymph nodes out, none of which had cancer showing. There was no sign of either tumour and no cancer cells in any of the breast tissue. They still want me to have radiotherapy as a precautionary measure and to reduce the risk of cancer coming back. Hope you are all OK. Xx

Hi Pippin24   That's amazing news!  Well done you!  Radiotherapy will be a breeze after everything you've been through.  Do you know how many sessions you will need? 

All good here thanks.  Had a poorly pup for a couple of days but she seems to be much better today.  My last immunotherapy session is scheduled for 21 November - all being well (e.g. bloods are ok and they can find a vein for treatment!) I will be ringing that bell!  

I'm meeting up with the "Moving Forward" ladies on Monday evening for dinner and a catch-up.  I'm looking forward to that.  Am also out to dinner tonight lol. Thank goodness for my PT to help me work it all off!  He's gradually increasing what I do and I am definitely feeling better for it.  Yesterday he introduced light weights and I found out I couldn't quite straighten my left arm directly in front of me!  That was a new one lol.  So I'm working on that in between sessions too. 

Hope everyone is doing well.  

Carol xx

Hi Pippin,

Talk about hitting you when you're down. I am so sorry to hear about your mum. Have they told her what type, or stage of breast cancer, that she's got? This happened to my mum too, only she had hers' first and we sadly lost her, just before I was diagnosed. I can understand your mum wanting to get Christmas out of the way, before she considers whether or not to have surgery - sounds as if you'll al have some difficult decisions to make, yet again.

On a brighter note, I'm glad to hear that they were happy with your wound today. Was it possibly silver nitrate that they used to seal the wound?

Thinking of your family and hoping and praying for a less prolonged treatment for your mum, than you've had.

Jolamine xx

Hi NGS,

I'm really hoping so, as I have lost confidence in going out on my own, in case I collapse.

I am so sorry to hear about the pain that you're having in your joints and the pins and needles in your hands and feet. Have you mentioned these effects to your care team? I hope that you can find something more effective than  Amitriptyline to help.

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, still not consistently getting notifications, which is really annoying. Unfortunately my mum only got a message on her phone, which asked her to come to the hospital that day. She got in a cab and went on her own, normally someone would go with her. She doesn't know what type, of cancer, just that it is low grade. Myself and my brothers have recently got poa, so I just need to register it and will be able to make some phone calls to the hospital myself. She is insistent about not having any operation before Christmas and they said there is no rush. This works better for me, as my radiotherapy will be finished then, so will be able to give her the support she needs. It was silver nitrate, thanks for that, I'm hoping this will help it heal a bit quicker. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers, it really is appreciated. Xx

Hi Pippin,

I am delighted to hear that  you and your brothers all have Power of Attorney. This makes a huge difference when dealing with these matters. Make sure that you register it as soon as possible, as there can be quite a difference between organisations in getting this put in place.

What a pity that your mum was given this news when she was on her own. It is good to hear that the cancer is low grade, as delaying her op until after Christmas shouldn't make any difference. It should also be easier for you to support her then, when your own treatment is finished. Depending upon the strength used, Silver Nitrate can look black when it dries, so don't panic if you see this when re-dressing your wound. The discoloration soon fades away and it is good for drying wounds up.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Will be redressing the wound in the morning, so thanks for the heads up about the discolouration, always good to know what to expect. I thought the oozing might have eased up a bit, but doesn't seem to be much of a change. It's still seeping through the dressing. I've upped my protein intake, as this apparently helps wound healing. Hope you're feeling OK  take care. Xx

Hi Pippin,

I hope that the wound looks a little dryer by morning.

Jolamine xx

Thank you  think it's going to take several weeks to heal. It's a shame because they have told me not to do my long walks with hubby, which I really miss. Especially as he's still going on his own. Have a lovely weekend, hope you're doing something nice. I'm off to see mum and dad over the weekend, think my mum needs a big cuddle. Xx

Hi Pippin,

Hubby and I are going out to lunch with my son today. What a pity that your walks are 'on hold' for now. I'm sure that hubby is not enjoying them as much on his own either. It's definitely time to give your mum a big cuddle - enjoy your visit.

Jolamine xx

Hubby definitely misses me being with him. Enjoy your lunch out with your hubby and son. Xx

Thank you Pippin.

We had a lovely lunch and I even managed a little Christmas shopping after that!

Jolamine xx

Thank you Pippin.

We had a lovely lunch and I even managed a little Christmas shopping after that!

Jolamine xx

Hi Jolamine, pleased you enjoyed your lunch and got to do some Christmas shopping. I haven't started mine yet, really must get onto it soon. Would like to get sorted before I start radiotherapy,  as won't get the chance to do it then. Might have to do online shopping this year. We went out for a curry last nice, which I really enjoyed. It's lovely to get back to doing normal things. Xx

Hi Pippin,

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your curry last night - it really does does good to get back to some normality in our lives! I still have a few presents to buy for Christmas, but want to get them in early this year, as most will have to be posted. Why not do online shopping this year? You have enough going on in your life at present and there's no reason why you shouldn't make things as easy as you can for yourself.

Jolamine xx

Hi everyone,

So sorry I have been mising in action.

How are you all? Not sure i've managed to catch up on all the messages over the last few weeks so sorry if have missed something.

 Pippin24  I'm so, so sorry to hear about your Mum. That must be hard for you all to process and deal with so i'm sending you a big hug. "Im so sorry you've had another blow to deal with...but you sound like a super close family so i'm sure you'll support each other through it all...and we are here too!..How is your scar doing? Hope it's starting to heal a little. When you do you start Radio? That honestly will be a walk in the park after op and chemo.

 Jolamine  How are things with you? Great news your have your tilt test booked in....not too much longer to wait and really hope that gives you some answers. . Hope you're ok.

 NGS  Are you still in a lot of pain? So sorry to hear that. Have you tried acpuncture? I've heard amazing things about it and how it can relieve a lot of symptons. Might be worth investigating if you haven't already? Have your team suggested anything else to help?

Carol1964  how are you doing? Are you still feeling pretty wiped?

ROBIN71  How's it going on chemo. I don't think we've chatted since you joined the chat so just wanted to say that i hope you're doing ok and that they've given you something strong to stop the nausea etc on chemo. how many rounds do you have? What drugs are you taking?

I'm doing ok....started abemaciclib last week and so far that seems to be ok. What i'm finding really hard is the emotiona/hormonal side of things. I am totally emotionally unhinged at the moment!! !!!..so teary all the time. I know it's the hormones and my body being plummeted into menopause but the mental ride has been pretty wild these past few weeks. The oncologist said all totally normal and that it's the zoladex injections making me feel this way, shutting down my ovaries and getting rid of estrogen and he said by body should settle in 6 months or so!!....but yes just feeling very low, joyless and just finding eveything really hard, i'm usually so excited about christmas but i just can't find the joy this year..rubbish!....iv'e actually arranged to see a therapist and my first session is on Friday so hoping over time that may help process the past 12 months and help with dealing with the new me! Feel like i've totally lost the old, happy, positive me! Feels very odd to be so down and negative which isn't like me at all...but hoping it's just a phase...it also didn't help that sadly my husband was made redundant a couple of weeks ago...not ideal!...i'm sure he'll find something else but just a tricky time at the moment...BUT i'll get through it and will be grabbing life again soon i'm sure!!

Anyway, just wanted to check in to see how you are..and give you a little update. Sorry mine is slightly neggy!!!!

xx

Hi Greeny80, so lovely to hear from you. Sorry to hear that your emotions are all over the place at the moment due to hormones, hopefully this will settle down with time. I think therapy is well worth doing, after going through so much for so many months. I think it's quite likely that we'll all have times when we feel a bit down, towards the end of treatment. Especially as we've all tried so hard to stay positive so and strong throughout treatment. Such a shame that your husband got made redundant, this probably hasn't helped how you feel. How did everything go with your appointment, at the beginning of November? 

Thank you for sending me a hug, I need all I can get at the moment. Still attending the hospital weekly for wound check. They are now using a dressing that goes into the wound, which absorbs any leakage and turns to jelly. Luckily hubby is able to change dressings in-between hospital visits, don't know what I'd do without him  Going for my scan and markings on Thursday and should start radiotherapy two weeks later. Have 15 sessions and not looking forward to having to go every day. The journey to this hospital isn't the best! I've also started on letrazole for the next 5 years, which has caused my hot flushes to increase again. I have got the option to up my venlafaxine, which the GP gave me when I had to stop my HRT. I chose not to go onto the higher dose at the time,  as I new I would be starting the hormone blocker. This gives me the option to up it now if I want to. I'm going to wait a little while, to see if it settles down without the extra medication. 

Good luck with your therapy on Friday, I'm sure you'll soon be back to your usual self.  Sending love and don't forget we are all here if you need to chat. Xx

Hi Greeny,

It's great to hear from you, although I'm sorry to hear that your emotions are all over the place. This won't have been helped by your hubby's redundancy - I hope that he manages to find other employment soon.

I am glad to see that you've got an appointment made to see a therapist on Friday. I found that attending some of breast cancer now's courses on Moving forward, were very helpful. Maybe you would benefit from them too?

Jolamine xx

Hi Greeny

I'm so sorry to hear you're all over the place at the moment, and double whammy with your husband's redundancy.  I was made redundant last year so I know how devastating it can feel.  Mine turned out for the best though as I now work for an amazing company who have supported me so well during my diagnosis and treatment, even though I'd only been with them for 3 weeks when diagnosis was made.  I really hope your husband find's something soon.   Same as Jolamine, I found the Breast Cancer Now Moving Forward courses really helpful and met some lovely ladies who have been (and continue to go through) similar or same journeys.  I hope you manage to find your way back to your normal self soon.

I'm doing ok thanks, I was wiped after my first Zoledronic acid infusion back in August, for about a week, but it improved after a while.  I had my final immunotherapy treatment on Thursday and got to ring the bell!  It was quite an emotional moment.  So I'll probably be a bit tired this week, but hope to be all good and ready to prepare for Christmas soon!  At least this year I get to see the family.  Woohoo! 

Take care of yourself and speak soon.

Carol x