Friday update 30 August 2019
Hello everyone and welcome to our Friday update, my apologies that it wasn't posted Friday.
A big welcome to all of our new members who
joined our online community over the last few weeks. It’s a big step and can be quite daunting for
some. We acknowledge that and thank you for taking the first step. As our members say ‘it’s the club that nobody
wants to join’ but once you are in, you will find great support from our community
members. There is lots happening in the
private groups as well and we wanted to share the following comments with you.
Choosing Breast
Reconstruction group
@Ebb ‘I loved seeing the difference between expander and
implant, I'm relieved that the implants look softer, rounder and natural
because these expanders look weird and angular, glad its winter and I can cover
them with clothing. You look amazing Cath, congratulations! I am so grateful to
you, thanks so much. ‘
Living with
metastatic breast cancer group
@Kats162 ‘Thank you so much. It is reassuring to know
there are others travelling this path and even better to be able to talk to
people who know this journey.’
BCNA Metastatic Breast Cancer Advisory Group
BCNA has recently formed a Metastatic Breast Cancer
Advisory group consisting of people affected by metastatic breast cancer to
assist BCNA in the revision of the Hope
& Hurdles hard copy guide and to inform BCNA of emerging issues
affecting people with metastatic breast cancer.
If you would like more information or would like to be part of the advisory
group please contact
Riki on rlong@bcna.org.au
Community highlights
1.
Adjusting to bad news, staying hopeful,
changing habits Thread
commenced by @kabash who has had a whirlwind diagnosis of breast cancer only to
find herself still reeling from the news.
With 2 young girls aged 3 & 7 and good family support, she is trying
to learn as much as she can and make some lifestyle changes. Amazing support provided by our community members
as this time can be quite overwhelming.
Wishing you all the best with your chemotherapy @kabash. Good to hear you
have a plan in place and getting treatment underway.
2. Feeling lost Thread commenced by @Felicia29 who said
‘Hi, I’m not sure how this
network works yet so I'm hoping I can connect with some support, but really I
want to let out what is inside. I therefore doubt this will make much sense.’ You have certainly found the right place
@Felicia29 to talk about your feelings, it can be such a roller coaster of emotions. As @Blossom1961 has said
Felicia29 Never feel alone sweetheart. You have a whole band of sisters here to support you and give you virtual hugs. Stop the guilting. Nothing you did or didn’t do caused it. The thing is, it has been found and can now be dealt with. Once a plan is put into place by your medical team you will feel so much better. In the meantime, don’t google, ask all the questions you want to here, and try to focus on other things. Huge hugs.'
3. Treatment sillies Great thread commenced by @Blossonm1961
who can see the funny side of things and posted
‘I lift my hair off the
back of my neck every time I get a hot flush. Except I don't have any hair, it
fell out six months ago due to chemo yet I still continue going to lift it.’
And this post from @Zoffiel
‘I had an episode during
chemo when I came home from my walk, put on the jug and then had a panic attack
because there was something wrong with the side of my head. I thought I was
having a stroke, weird numbness and I seemed to have lost the hearing in one
ear. Turn out the little foam thingy had come off my earplugs and was stuck in
my lughole. Glad I discovered that before I hauled myself into ED.’
Community News
Gold
Coast Together Towards Tomorrow Survivorship Conference.
We're excited to
announce our next Survivorship Conference will be held on the Gold Coast on
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October 2019. Join us to learn about the latest in
treatment and living well after a breast cancer diagnosis. For further information and to register click here.
Webinar - How do I live well with advanced
cancer? Hosted by Cancer Council NSW Thursday 19 September 2019.
In this webinar, they will look at the way you can manage
your daily routine and communications with friends and family so that you can
live well with advanced cancer. They will also provide information for Health
Professionals to assist them to holistically support people living with
advanced cancer. To register for this webinar click here
Cancer Council NSW Podcast: The Thing About
Advanced Cancer - Information and insights for challenging times hosted by
Julie McCrossin.
In The Thing About Advanced
Cancer podcast, host Julie McCrossin joins experts to
answer the big questions about advanced cancer.
Whether you are living long term with advanced cancer, you are facing
end-of-life, or you are caring for someone with advanced cancer — this podcast
series has information and insights that can help you navigate through these
challenging times. To access Podcasts Click here
Upfront
Don’t forget to tune into
the BCNA podcast series Upfront about breast cancer. We recently recorded another podcast titled Sexual
wellbeing which will be uploaded very soon Upfront podcasts
Healthy Ready Meals For You
Staying healthy can be a real challenge while undergoing or recovering from treatment.
As an official Partner of BCNA, We Feed You meals will be available to BCNA Members at a reduced rate to support them and their families when they need it most. BCNA Members receive 10% off meals, when ordering online at www.wefeedyou.com.au with Promo Code BCNA10%. BCNA will also receive a further 10% donation.
This week’s reflective
quote
“The secret of living
well is not in having all the answers but in pursuing unanswerable questions in
good company.”
Rachel Naomi Remen
Hoping you have a good
week everyone,
Regards Giovanna
and the moderation team
Comments
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Thanks for your updates
2 -
The meal ideas are fantastic. Providing you live in Melbourne of course.0
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Hello @primek the meals are a great idea. I have checked their website and they deliver in NSW, VIC, ACT and from the 5 October in QLD which is great.0
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Oh that's good. My initial reading didn't suggest that but I didn't go into ordering.0
