TC Chemotherapy
Had Round 3 of TC chemo on Monday morning. Bone aches arrived like clockwork on Thursday night, but now on Friday, I seem to have lower back pain and hip pain for the first time as well. Is this normal? I have been walking 1.5 - 2 kms each day this week. I am finding the variety, and variance, of side effects, to be weird. For example, Round 1, a little nausea, Round 2, a lot, Round 3, none so far.
New year, new lymph nodes - swimming?
Happy 2019 to all the beauties and brains of BCNA ! I am going to take back my swimming practice that I used to have pre BC this year. Not that I believe in resolutions. Always bugger them up anyway! But swimming is something I have heard only great things about in regards to lymphoedema. So. I resolve to get back into it. Questions - do you have to wear your compression sleeve/garments when actually swimming? Whats the evidence for wearing/not wearing garments while in water, does anyone have any links or info about swimming and lympho effects? love x oIt's Letrozole For Me
Saw my oncologist this morning. She is giving me two to three more weeks to heal from the BMX & reconstruction and then it's on to Letrozole for 7 - 10 years. She said it makes no difference which AI I start on and alternates with each patient! She said seven years but it may be 10 as there are three clinical trials due to mature in that time. She said that it will almost certainly give me stiff joints which I'll have to manage with exercise & supplements like krill oil. She reported that other women have had success with turmeric and other supplements. I will work through all recommendations in my own clinical trials. Suggestions welcome! As I'm only (ha!) 51 and was still menstruating when I was diagnosed, she'll monitor my ovaries with blood tests every three months to see if they show any signs of trying to get me to do so again. If they do it's a monthly injection of Zoladex into the belly. Oh joy... The exercise physiologist at the BCNA Life After Breast Cancer information night was very interesting and informative. So I'm starting to plan what my exercise regime is going to look like. I think maybe something like yoga once a week for stretching and stress management, weights twice a week for warding off the osteoporotic side effects of Letrozole and improving my metabolism, and walking for at least an hour six to seven days a week for cardio health, fat burning and joint stiffness. Does that sound about right? Apart from being a massive time and money soak that is...
Letrozole aches and pains
Hi all, I was wondering if anyone else has experienced additional pains that came on after starting Letrozole and keep getting worse? I am 10 weeks in on this and my oncologist is suggesting suspending the meds or swapping to something else if this is still happening in another month's time but says this may not help. I'm also getting bad fatigue along with burning sensations for days after exercise far worse than when I finished chemo and radio. Ii get pain everywhere but seems to be worse in my hands in the veins and in my hip bones. Looking for a good night's sleep and getting back into exercise properly. Any ideas or suggestions? Cheers, Di
My Warrant of Fitness Check
Saw my breast cancer surgeon today for my 6 months-post-surgery checkup: 6 months gone already;-doesn't time fly? I was relieved to learn that the pudginess around my scar is nothing to worry about, it's (blush) just fat, some of the 6kg I put on during chemo. When I get down to 62kg, it should be gone. I was a bit concerned about the two internal mammary lymph nodes behind ribs near my sternum. Lymph fluid flows from near the tumour and into a network of lymph nodes, which can also become cancerous. Once surgeons used to cut out all the nodes under the armpit, and also often round the collar bone and near the sternum, to check for cancer in them. This often caused lymphoma in the arm, a relative calls hers her "elephant arm" which stops chemo getting properly into the area, and limits mobility and causes pain and is often permanent. Now they generally figure which one or two are first in the system and check them, and only take more if those first ones, the Sentinel Nodes, are visibly cancerous. Generally these are in the axilla, i.e. under the armpit. When the dye went in to identify my sentinel node, the flow began to move slowly toward my sternum first. Then it swung abound and surged off into my armpit, and the technican marked the spot and the sentinel node was cancer free, which was really good news. I mentioned the flow issue to the surgeon, who told me afterwards he'd checked the internal ones out and they were fine. Today I asked him exactly what he'd done and what he'd found. He said he had used his radioactive probe, put it close to the two internal nodes and did not get a reading from either,while the identified Sentinel node was hot and full of blue dye so he was confident there was no problem with the internal ones. I was also mildly worried because I have learnt that Fine Needle Bioplies, and Core Needle Biepsies leave a trail of cancer cells behind them up the needle track. These usually die, but in a very very small percentage of cases, they actually find a good nest to grow in and seed a local recurrence of the cancer. I wanted to know if the needle track had been removed during the surgery. It most definitely had. So two minor worries were laid to rest. And he did a thorough check to make sure there were no new lumps or thickenings where there didn't ought to be. He told me I am doing well, have a good attitude and to return for an ultrasound and mammogram in 6 months time. Phew!! What a relief!After Chemotherapy
This is my first post. I haven't read anyone else's posts yet. I was wondering if there are women out there who have experienced any side effects like mine. It has been one month since I finished chemotherapy and my feet still feel numb and my leg muscles are very tight. I've been swimming and having reflexology massages and my feet and legs remain the same. How long can I expect this to go on for? I know that I need to be patient, but I would like to know if others out there that are further down the track than I am have had these symptoms and if they have recovered at all. I just feel I need to know I'm not alone in this. I could accept more if I wasn't alone in this experience.