done and dusted

Question

Well thats it , i am all done and dusted so to speak except for the side effects from the medication (Yuk) taken to keep those dreaded hormones away. I&nbsp; have finished radiation now thank goodness and now am trying to heal the burns and blisters underneath my&nbsp; boob that are so very sore and just wont stop weeping. I still have a bit of irritation to the inside of my chest wall too. A&nbsp; very small price to pay i think. I was very lucky.
This cancer has definitely changed and disrupted my life forever.&nbsp; I am forever thinking about cancer now and&nbsp; i am very conscious about others going through this&nbsp; unbelievable journey. Every day there are knew woman beginning this journey. Everyday we read about&nbsp; their pain and struggles and can sympathize with what they are going through. &nbsp;
I&nbsp; can understand the feeling of abandonment&nbsp; / loss after treatment has finished&nbsp; now that many woman feel. After being so full on for so long, then everything just stops and you are meant to carry on where you left off like nothing happened. It's really strange, but such is life.
I will always have the fear of cancer returning which people do not understand but at least now i am more knowledgeable about the "why's" and "what's".&nbsp;
Thank you to all the ladies who helped me through my journey since July with their compassionate thoughts and advise, you made things that much more&nbsp; easier to understand and cope with everything.
As this site has been an active part of my daily life for 6 months&nbsp; i guess it will continue to be just that for a very long time to come..........If i can give back alittle of what was given to me i will be happy :)
Cheers Jo xx

tonyam · Answer

Glad to hear you have finished radiation but sorry about the blisters and burns. I can remember it taking about 2 years after my first bout of breast cancer to get my confidence back.Then after that I would stress abit at the yearly mammo/checkup time.In time Jo you'll be able to push&nbsp;the cancer worry&nbsp;to the back of your mind.I'm now 18mths on from my second bc bout and not too confident yet about my health.Every time I get a new pain I worry it's cancer.I'm going to give myself another 6mths and then I have to "snap out of it". Glad to hear you'll&nbsp;keep blogging cos I enjoy the friendships on this website.You have to keep us posted on Gabapentin.I've just had my 3mthly surgeon's checkup and she said I can double the endep dose-at 20mgs it's still a very low dose.Started last night and haven't had a hot flush yet - early days though.How are your hot flushes going?
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tonya xx

jo1234 · Answer

Hi Tonya, my skin held up really well even though it is bad under the boob where the cancer was. They did say it would get worse before starting to heal.&nbsp; My local GP got the nurse to put&nbsp; Inadine on it (it's like betadine on a sticky strip).&nbsp; I could of punched him as &nbsp; it stung so much. He said that people these days don't get burns under the boob from radiation. He said the radiation rays do not go under the boob. .......&nbsp; ( "hello my cancer is under the boob") The radiation nurses said it was very normal to get it where i did.
Because we are having hot humid weather&nbsp; and the burns/blisters are radiating alot of heat from the wounds, it is sweating&nbsp; so much.&nbsp; I&nbsp; have&nbsp; burn gel and a pad between the boob and underneath. Anything touching the burns is very painful. Sweat stings and causes bacteria to grow and i think thats what my Dr was&nbsp; worried about.&nbsp; Salt and water washes all day is helping.
I hope i can push the fear of cancer&nbsp; to the back of my mind. I dont want it dictating my life any longer.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It does worry me though, because like with&nbsp; your 1st BC and my BC&nbsp;&nbsp; they were very much the same size, grade etc including&nbsp; same treatment plan..(even Celeste's first cancer was&nbsp; ) &nbsp; You then got it again which tells me something is just not right with the treatment.&nbsp; I don't know!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Because of your second cancer, treatment&nbsp; and&nbsp; mastectomy it is understandable why you still are not on top of it all just yet.&nbsp;
You are really an inspiration&nbsp; you know, to have come this far and give so many people so much positive feedback.&nbsp; You are really doing so well
I&nbsp; also like the friendships on this site, and will definitely continue to blog away. Let us know how the Endep goes&nbsp; and also i have meant to ask you before about your ankle and how it is doing since the operation.
Take care,&nbsp; Cheers Jo xx

jo1234 · Answer

I really am feeling lost at the moment. It disrupted my life and the plans i had,&nbsp; i dont know where i am at, at the moment.
I do need to become active again and have started walking with a friend 4 times per week and need to actively start looking for full time work.&nbsp; Once i am settled with that i want to join or start something up.
I love what you are doing&nbsp; with your&nbsp; time. Putting back into the community is such a rewarding experience.
Keep well&nbsp; and we all will battle on together.
Cheers Jo xx
.

tonyam · Answer

That's an odd thing for you doctor to say - radiaition doesn't go under the boob. Well my lump was a couple of centimeteres under my nipple.I mean,when you lie on that table your boob spreads out like a pancake and there really isn't an under the boob area-is there?Jo,there is an 8% chance that cancer can return despite radiation.So that means there is a 92%chance that it won't.You have to believe that the odds are in your favour.Oh how I feel for you with those burns and hot dressings in the heat(not to mention the hot flushes too).Last summer I was bald and had to keep my head covered(cos I'm vain!)and honestly,I thought I'd combust.In the summer of 2007 I spent a total of 10weeks with my leg in plaster- getting down the stairs&nbsp;was a nightmare.The pain was well over the scale of 10 and that was because the doctor made a mistake when he operated on me.He put in the wrong screw and nailed my ankle bone to my foot bone basically.I was 5mths on crutches before he realized what he had done .So had to go back to have plate and 5 screws removed.He even stuffed that one up and left a screw behind,sticking in a muscle.Anyway,in the end (2yrs on from breaking my ankle)I got another surgeon to remove the screw and clean it up.(2009).I still get pain if I'm on it for too long.I sometimes wonder if the stress of all that brought on cancer again. Jo you had 2 knee replacements didn't you?That couldn't have been easy - how are they now?
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tonya xx

jo1234 · Answer

Hi Tonya, I know you are right when you say the odds of&nbsp; 92% are in my favour. I just have to keep believing that.&nbsp; I totally agree with what you were thinking about stress . I have always thought that to much stress contributes to cancer too.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Hey i must be vein too cause i would have slept and even showered with the wig on had it been me. No one would have seen my head either rain or shine. ha ha . It was bad enough lying on that radiation table half naked daily in front of all these women and men that i did not know gawking at me. I could not get use to it, it was so degrading to me.
I am sure my&nbsp; Dr is loosing it. He has admitted that he knows nothing about breast cancer, so i might just move on to someone that can look after my health properly
You must have been in absolute agony&nbsp; with your ankles. How can a surgeon stuff up so badly?&nbsp; How can they use the wrong screw, that is really unexceptionable,&nbsp; and it took him 5 months&nbsp; to work it out . In that time the bone would have grown/fused&nbsp; together. Was he from a proper orthopedic clinic.?sounds as though he was doing a backyard job. There is something very wrong with what he did.&nbsp; The pain would have been unbearable.&nbsp; He should be made accountable for stuffing up your ankle and putting you through the pain of it all for so long.
Yes i had bilateral (2) total knee replacements due to bone on bone osteo arthritis and mine went extremely well.&nbsp; I still have a little muscle/ligament&nbsp; pain and i cant squat or kneel properly&nbsp; yet, but i dont limp now and can walk with no pain. I no longer&nbsp; have bowed legs anymore (that comes when the cartilage wears totally off the end of the bones, and the bone-on-bone contact starts to break away.)
&nbsp;My surgeon was fantastic. He and his team of 12 have been doing&nbsp; about 2000 replacements per year for 18 years.&nbsp; They were so impressed with me opting for both to be done together (not common) and also how quickly i became mobile again. (because i was not old ) Yes it was extremely painful but i needed&nbsp; to&nbsp; get it&nbsp; out of the way.&nbsp; If i did one at a time i dont think i would have gone back for seconds. I also could only allow 3 months away from work for rehabilitation. I was suppose to go back to work in July (diagnosed with BC in July)
Oh well thats life, we&nbsp; cant be perfect&nbsp; all the time, can we. Take care, &nbsp; Cheers Jo xx

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