Discussion & tips
hello fellow peeps, I am a kick ass 34 yo woman who was diagnosed June 7th with stage 2 BC in my left breast & lyphnodes. I’ve had a double mastectomy June 18th and now I’m awaiting to have IVF th...
Forum Discussion
Hi Kharj, As @kmakm said about the onc - your surgeon will refer you to one if he/she hasn't already done so and to a rad onc as well. You may have a portacath suggested to you - it's a device that sits under your skin (usually on the chest) and is hooked into a major vein (superior vena cava). For me, it was day surgery under general to put it in and will be removed under local but I believe some have had it inserted under local. It means that for all of your bloods and chemo treatments, they just punch into this - easier and it saves your veins. Personally, I hate mine and can't wait for it to come out, but I've appreciated having it during treatment. You may also want to find out about cold caps, if they're available where you're going. I tried and decided it wasn't worth it after the first couple of treatments but others have had great success.
Lymphoedema does seem like a bit of a dirty word, doesn't it? For me it was mentioned briefly and then never again. It's important to do your exercises religiously but sometimes that doesn't help enough. I've been lucky enough so far not to develop it but I have had bad cording which can lead to it. I go to a specialty laser therapy and lymphoedema clinic which, of course, is not cheap, but has done a lot to free up my movement in that arm. They take baseline measurements as an early warning mechanism for lymphoedema and also fit for compression garments if necessary.
You'll find some of these topics mentioned in earlier posts - I certainly put up a lot of questions around that time (Feb) about specific things such as what to get for chemo, ports, cold caps... and got a lot of really useful answers.
Lymphoedema does seem like a bit of a dirty word, doesn't it? For me it was mentioned briefly and then never again. It's important to do your exercises religiously but sometimes that doesn't help enough. I've been lucky enough so far not to develop it but I have had bad cording which can lead to it. I go to a specialty laser therapy and lymphoedema clinic which, of course, is not cheap, but has done a lot to free up my movement in that arm. They take baseline measurements as an early warning mechanism for lymphoedema and also fit for compression garments if necessary.
You'll find some of these topics mentioned in earlier posts - I certainly put up a lot of questions around that time (Feb) about specific things such as what to get for chemo, ports, cold caps... and got a lot of really useful answers.