Told today mastectomy of my right breast

[Deleted User]

@Michelle49 that's so funny! 

Michelle49

Isn't it all the nurses at the hospital asked where I was from to which I pointed out the window and said " see the side of that house there with the cream verandah well that's my house " lol

Hopes_and_Dreams

Great to hear you are home @Michelle49.
My trick for taking horse tablets (that's my daily calcium and glucosamine!) is to pop it in a spoonful of yoghurt. Sorry to hear you have had such a tough time. Look forward to your special day in a couple of weeks. Take care, Jane xx

primek

Well great no infection and yes ...normal for white cell count to be that low 2st round ...think of it knowing the chemo is doing it's job.  Yes...re hair hurting...like having your hair in a bun too long...who would imagine your hair would hurt hey? It feels much better gone. My scalp was very dry so I washed with sorbolene or cetaphil and moisturised after. It helped a lot. Take care and nurture you. Round 2 should be better. Kath x

Brenda5

I couldn't live without my laptop and Netflix movies. Glad you are on the mend.

MKitty68

First of all, Happy Birthday for 23rd! I hope you have a fabulous time for your early birthday with your family, how lovely!
Must be handy to be so close to the hospital, although i imagine it would drive you crazy being so close to your own bed, yet stuck in hospital. So sorry to hear that you've had a rough time of things though, I hope things get much better for you from here on in. 

SoldierCrab

hi @Michelle49,I am from Bathurst have you connected with Marita Tipene the Breast Care Nurse at Bathurst - Daffodil Cottage ? 
I do our newsletter for Bosom Buddies would  you  like a copy ? 
stay rugged up in this cold weather you will find your head needs a beanie or the like to keep the heat in. 
Hugs 
Solider Crab

Unicornkisses

Sorry to hear you have had an awful time @michelle49.
You will probably have the Neulasta injection each time from now on to get your white blood cells up.
If you do go into hospital again, tell the nurses you had the Neulasta injection after chemo because your white cells can go way up and they panic that you have an infection. Mine went from 0.2 before injection to 30 a few days after it.
My Oncologist prescribed antibiotics for me to take on day 4 after my last round of chemo (Docetaxol) because for each of the previous two rounds I ended up in hospital with high temps.
Taking the antibiotics stopped me having to be admitted, they started to climb on the evening of day 4 and day 5, but 2 Panadol kept them down and they didn't go up again.
Like you nothing showed as the cause in the CT scans, multiple blood tests, urine tests and faecal tests they did while I was in hospital.
If your temps go up again next time, perhaps suggest it to your Onc, it might save you a trip across the road for the following ones.
And beware of vaginal thrush infections after the strong antibiotics they give you in hospital.

I don't know if my following side effects were better in the second and third rounds, or whether I was expecting them and managed them better, but it did get a bit easier.

Good luck with your next round and keep telling them what side effects you are experiencing. 
My Oncologist got a foolscap list on every follow up visit.

Michelle49

Thanks guys, I had a wonderful time out with my family for my early 50th couldn't eat as much as I normally would but that was alright my husband ate what I left ,lol and it was great as everyone brought all my great nieces, nephews and grandkids so we had 9 kids running around ages fron 7-2 it was normal and I loved every minute of it . My brothers and sisters gave me a voucher to get a massage and get my eyebrows tattooed best gift every. 

Yes soldiercrab Marita is my breast care nurse I didn't get to see her last time but she will be there for my next chemo and I'll have a good talk to her .

 Unicorn kiss thank you that was very helpful information, I have to get my blood tests done tomorrow for my next chemo so I'll see whether the antibiotics that they have given me after leaving hospital changed anything as I feel a bit better now, still get tired but no headaches or dizziness 

Michelle49

I've had the injection to boost my white blood cells , now I'm sore all over and I don't know what's worse having low white cells or having the sideffects from the needle. Symptoms showed up seven days after the needle  and I'm having strong panadol to just get to move around . I can't stomach most food only salmon rissoles and zucchini slice are the only foods that I don't feel like I'm nauseous after eating 

primek

Apparently claratyne can help with that pain from neulasta. I had the pain 24 to 48 hours after the injection for 1 day only. The rest I put down to chemo. I had a thing for tuna patties. Take the pain killers. Rest when you need and keep up the fluids. Kath x

Michelle49

Thank You I've just taken panadol osteo which is 675mg compared to normal panadol 500mg woks pretty good and keeping up fluids mostly flat lemonade seems to work and sarsaparilla as well which I love. I'm eating and drinking what I like just to get by but there's not much I can stomach so I'm going to talk to the nutritionist next time to see what can be done because I know I'm not eating enough 

primek

I needed to take stemitil 3 times daily and then half hour before meals I took ondasatron wafers (with a sugerless mint) so I didn't feel ill. I lived on toasted cheese sandwiches and orange juice with soda water. I managed a normal meal at night. I saw a dietitian as I was still gaining weight...lol.  Make sure you take regular medication to help with nausea. I also had terrible reflux so I ended up on nexium twice a day also. That really helped.

Michelle49

Just got off the phone to my (biological)aunt , as I was adopted I didn't know a lot of medical history of my biological family, since I found them in 2000 I found out that my biological mother , Margaret had breast cancer and died from a bleed on the brain after a fall. My aunt talked to one of her sisters and got the full story , apparently Margaret was hobbling around on a walking stick for 3 months while Pauline, sister , badgered her to go to the doctors. After 2 weeks of tests they came back with metastasise breast cancer ,which had spread to the brain,bones,liver and lungs and she was given 12 mths. She was placed into a hospital 2 months later, she fell over and got a bleed on her brain near the cancer and died 6 months after diagnosis .

 both of my aunties are so proud of me that I didn't take after Margaret and as soon as I noticed something wrong I got in and seen a doctor and got it sorted, they are now tracing all her medical records up for me so I have it there if needed for reference if needed . 
I must say they are very special ladies to do this for me as even though I talk to Susan more than the rest of the family they are given me even more support than I already have with my family here and I've got to say that I'm lucky to know them

Hopes_and_Dreams

Thank goodness you were able to find your family in 2002 - learning about your biological mother's cancer would have given you an increased awareness you may not have had.
How wonderful you now have contact with your aunts, it has been a blessing in more ways than one! Meant to be.  Hope you are doing OK @Michelle49.  Jane xx