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Nadi's avatar
Nadi
Member
10 years ago

Questions about post surgery lumpiness and head cold/immune system

Hi All

2 weeks after lumpectomy I am still battling a head cold. As I mentioned in a reply to another post I am concerned about my immune system once I start chemo. I have had 4 head colds and one flu in the last 12 months. I always end up on antibiotics (on my second lot now) as my lungs get very bad and i have asthma. I eat extremely well, no processed foods, no coffee, no red meat, lots of water, little to no alcohol (had some last night for my 21st wedding anniversary), fresh garlic ginger and herbs every day, fresh fruit and veggies with small amounts of chicken, fish and dairy. I don't know what else to do in order to boost my immune system. I do a small amount of exercise - table tennis 3 to 5 times a week which, with the way I play, really gets my cardio up. I've always had a bad immune system since I was little. My GP when I was young said it was because I was born very premature, but who knows.

Was anyone else like this before chemo and how did you go? My cancer is grade 3 HER2 positive so I really need to do chemo, but I am really worried about getting through it especially if I catch some virus or bug going around.

Also, I know it's only been 2 weeks since my lumpectomy, but my breast is quite different to what it was pre surgery. It has lumps galore! My surgeon says there are a lot of stitches inside as she moved stuff around to fill the void from where the tumour was. I know these new lumps and bumps will reduce once the stitches dissolve.

Is it generally harder to feel for new lumps in breasts that have had surgery due to scar tissue? I am not sure how effective I will be at doing self exams on that breast from now on. This is really important to me because that's how I detected my cancer in the first place - i.e. I was the one to find it during a self exam.

Thanks for any advice

Nadine

 

 

 

5 Replies

  • Brenda5's avatar
    Brenda5
    Member
    10 years ago

    Good suggestion Tracey, I have sampled that olive leaf one in the liquid. Didn't know they have it in tablet form. I used to buy it online from the manufacturers as it is Queensland grown. Actually if was up the road from where I used to live but I was too lazy to drive out so got it posted.

  • Anonymous's avatar
    Anonymous
    Not applicable
    10 years ago

    Hi Nadi, I took olive leaf extract to boost my immunity. You can buy it from the chemist in liquid form or capsule form. I just took the recommended dose, and if I got an infection I doubled the dose. It doesn't stop you picking up infections, however gives you resilience and support to recover more quickly. Hope that this helps, Trace ????????

  • Brenda5's avatar
    Brenda5
    Member
    10 years ago

    Always has put me in good stead if a bit low on immunity I suck on an antibacterial Strepsils before entering shopping centers or doctors offices.

    Several pensioners have told me they swear by Centrum 50+, not sure if you are old enough for those but they have a normal multivitamin in it. I have asked my GP if that's ok to take especially if having chemo and he said it couldn't hurt. Just don't take them at night or you will have too much energy to sleep! lol

  • lrb_03's avatar
    lrb_03
    Member
    10 years ago

    Hi Nadine. I was a little like you, in that I had a lot of illness in the 6-9 months prior to my diagnosis in May this year. I had whooping cough in October last year, and the earlier this year I had a nasty gastro bug with 2 or 3 recurrences of it, & I never get gastro. Having said that, I was incredibly lucky, & didn't have a cold all through chemo, which was my first treatment. I did end up with febrile neutropaenia after my fourth cycle,  but as Sue said, there are drugs they can give you to manage that.

    The important thing wi

    l be that if you do have a temperature (& the oncology staff ll advise you, some hospitals say 37.8, some say 38.0), don't waste any time before you get yourself checked out.

    As far as the lumpiness in your breast goes, I am now 4 weeks out from my lumpectomy, and yes, my breast is much more lumpy than before, and generally feels different. Not sure if it will settle or not, still waiting to see.

    Hope all goes well with chemo.

    Take care, Lyn

  • Scared_Mum's avatar
    Scared_Mum
    Member
    10 years ago

    Hi Nadine,

    My daughter has just through round one of chemo her nutrophils= white blood cells went to zero ugg but there is good news there is a drug they can give you the day after your chemo that combats that, so don't stress keep eating healthy and I cant stress when they say drink water after chemo DO IT my daughter didn't ended up in hospital dehydrated. but guess what? they can fix that too....  As the girls on here keep telling me not to stress and take one thing at a time.

    Big hugs

    Cheers Sue xx