Radiotherapy (5 weeks)
If you haven't been through it yet and are worried, please don't. It sounds much worse than it is. The receptionists, nurses and radiographers are really lovely. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't take long. I was in and out within an hour or less. My boob was a bit itchy throughout the treatment and became redder as the treatment progressed. But it wasn't sore. I felt tired for about 30 minutes after the treatment. The first week after finishing radiotherapy, you could clearly see the area and a clear line where the radio was targeted, it was a bit bumpy but not blisters. From the beginning I put sorbelene on twice a day until my friend told me about Tallow cream, I alternated them at first but after a while just used tallow because I found the sorbelene made me more itchy. Second week after finishing; there where a few changes to my skin. It was the same as the after ejects of sun burn without feeling the burn. My skin turned a darker brown, then peeled back to a nice tan colour. I've had quite a few headaches since finishing radiotherapy but I get migraines anyway so it could just be normal for me. I wish you all the best throughout your journey with breast cancer. I hope I have helped to take some worry out of the whole experience. Think happy thoughts, love Becky
Beating the blues without antidepressants
Just wanted to share with others feeling down and depressed as a result of menopause or post treatment.... My GP had prescribed an antidepressant for my hot flashes and low mood. Crying a lot and constantly anxious. Anyway stubborn me didn't want to take antidepressants as I live with a husband who has bipolar and I needed to keep my mind clear even with the tears. I've been taking NeuroCalm for months. 1 tab at night to help sleep. My naturopath suggested I take 2 or 3 per day to help with anxiety. Up the dose a week ago and I feel like a new woman. No more crying over spilt milk. Actually feeling rather chilled and don't give a shit about much. 🙄 Still have hot flashes but not as bad. Hope this helps someone xx
Ode to ovaries
Hello all I’m Nelly ., so I’m new here newly diagnosed and although some may think it’s a bit ‘out there’ I thought I share my latest creation. I call it ode to ovaries as I’ve just started zoladex and entreating the menopause stage at 42 I think it’s beautiful and honouring and it warms me to create this type of work.. I found all the materials on my walks and now it sits in the corner of my bedroom. I do love ritual and I guess it’s me processing positively and honouring my body and journey. I loved making this x
Menopause supplement ? after Breast Cancer and Hysterectomy
Hello everyone, I am a breast cancer survivor of nearly 6 years now.. 2 DCIS removed along with a double mastectomy, no lymph nodes removed, and only radiation treatment.. not on any medication and am cancer free. I've had a full hysterectomy with ovaries removed and I am now 3 weeks post op. I had bad endometriosis and adenomyosis, so I'm glad to be recovering. Menopause has kicked in instantly with hot and cold flushes at night and tiredness that comes and goes. My question is... having had breast cancer can I take anything to help me with the hot flushes in way on menopause relief.. Don't want to go near HRT. I don't want anything that could increase any cancer risk ? And if so what do you take after having had breast cancer. Am I allowed to take anything at all ? I hope you don't mind me reaching out to you. I would love your expertise please. Thankyou, Julie Age 45
Letrozole - Year 2
I'm six weeks into my second year of Letrozole. The good news is my hands have remained better since I took a one month break after six months. They still hurt, both bone and joint pain, especially with the cold weather, but they've never returned to the earlier level of pain. My ankles have bone ache 24/7. This pain is now spreading up my calves. It's also spreading into my wrists forearms. My elbows remain sore and the inside soft tissue very tender. I've given acupuncture a red hot go. It seemed to help my hands initially but not so much now. It gives me pain relief for my ankles while I'm there, but none when I'm gone. It's had no effect on the hot flushes. All in all I think I'm going to pull the pin on it shortly. It's expensive and I don't think the results justify the cost. So I've moved on to try osteopathy. Many of you here have raved about it, and I've joined your ranks! It just makes my body feel better. The effect lasts for a few days, it's cheaper than acupuncture, and I get some money back from the health insurance. I've accepted that the five to ten years on Letrozole are going to be painful. There's no getting away from it, so now it's about doing what I can to help me cope. For example, the best thing about acupuncture is the heat lamp. It really soothes my ankles, so I'm going to save up and get myself one. The mental health aspect remains challenging. I discussed it with my oncologist. Cancer or menopause or Letrozole or a combination of some or all? So she has asked me to take a two month break, keeping a side effects diary for two months before, and during the break. That way we'll know what is the Letrozole and therefore if we can tweak the AI in some way. I'm going to do that in the summer so I can really enjoy the break. My oncologist was very sympathetic. She said it's often difficult managing the estrogen drop in women like me, who haven't gone through menopause before BC and then go onto an AI. She had some interesting thoughts about estrogen sensitivity. That in her experience the women who develop ER+ BC are very estrogen sensitive and therefore have a hard time on AIs. She said AIs had been tested on women with ER- BC and they don't suffer the side effects anywhere near as much to zero. She said I'm in the 10% risk range so there's no doubt about it, I have to be on it. I'd very much like not to be the woman who cries on the phone when she's talking to her dietician (who she's met face to face six times) and finds out that said dietician is leaving forever to live in London (a romance)... However it seems as if that's who I am now. Hopefully a 'side effect' that stops when I stop taking the little brown pills. Ridiculous! Oh and my oncologist also confirmed that the joint pain is arthralgia, and won't turn into arthritis when I've finished taking Letrozole. This was one of the questions that I put to the webinar doctors that wasn't answered. There was more but I of course can't remember. My right toe joint is very very sore tonight me so I'm going to take a pain killer and go to bed and try to sleep. BS tomorrow for my next check up. Nothing to worry about but I can't help but feel a bit nervous. I think the worst bit is the flashbacks to diagnosis and all the bad news I received in that office. Nothing for it though, has to be done.Early Days on Letrozole
So, I started taking Letrozole on the 1/6/18. My oncologist says I have to be on it for 10 years as several ongoing studies are indicating cancer preventing benefits beyond the seven year mark. It's a watching brief though, so I'm prepared that the advice might change in this time. Three days after starting it my ankles started to ache. A lot. It got worse and started to wake me up at night. Whether I exercised or not didn't make any difference. I took some osteo-panadol for when it was really painful but I didn't fancy living on that, so on the advice of many people here, and my oncologist, I started taking krill oil. Within a few days the pain was down to a manageable level. Hooray! Three weeks later though the ache ramped up. At exactly the same time my hot flushes, which had subsided to a bearable level after chemo, suddenly got a lot worse. Longer, stronger and now with extra bonus sweat! I persisted with the krill oil for another week but there was no change. So in my personal clinical trial, I came off the krill oil for a (painful) week, and then started magnesium. Again on the anecdotal evidence from the good folk here, many of whom say it helps. I also had a foot, ankle and lower leg massage at one of those mall massage joints on the same day as I started magnesium. It was utter bliss having my aching ankles worked on! Something changed, because again the ankle pain subsided to a bearable level. Now whether this was something to do with the massage, or the magnesium, a combination of both, or my body simply adjusting to the rapid withdrawal of oestrogen, I simply don't know. My oncologist says no evidence that magnesium works on anything other than cramps. However I'll keep taking it for a couole more weeks and then stop. I'll observe what happens and then, if the pain returns, I'll move on to the next thing in my 'clinical trial', which is curcumin. The onc says her patients have reported success with that. There'll be a magnesium spray test at some point as well! My ankles still ache but it's at a lower level at the moment. All our bodies are different, der, but I thought I'd share my experiments in managing Letrozole side effects. It might be useful to someone! K xoxPost Chemo Life
This is my first week clear of the three week chemo cycle. I am officially finished. Next up for me is a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction in three weeks Everyday this week I have felt my anxiety increasing. I can't identify any specific reason. It's really interfering in my day to day life, sucking out the enjoyment of activities that have previously been pleasurable. It's colouring every waking minute. I don't sleep well at all. It's over four months since I had a decent night's sleep. I'm almost looking forward to the 8 - 10 hours on the operating table because I'll be 'asleep' for more than 3 - 4 hours straight. My eyes have been twitching for weeks and weeks. I've just noticed tonight that three more fingernails have started to discolour. My nails and fingertips are so sore, doing basic household chores hurt. I have to wear gloves to do a lot of them. Folding laundry is like rubbing my hands on sandpaper. Some of my fingertips are starting to feel a bit numb. Several of my toes are turning dark brown and are sore as well. The chemo induced menopause is awful. My skin is terribly dry. Over the last few days my knees have started to ache when I move them after I've been still for a while. Is that menopause? Could the anxiety be menopause related? The f*****g hot flushes are making me miserable. Mostly I have them for 12 hours a day, from about 8pm to 8am, but today, all day as well. It's bloody distressing. And I hate the freezing chills that often follow. I am never a comfortable temperature anymore. I used to love going to bed. Now I enter my bedroom and look at my bed like it's a battlefield. And now that chemo is over, I've had to return to 'normal duties' and find my brain is comprehensively unable to process the multi-tentacled beast that is my seven person two dog household. I am making mistakes. This is basically a big whinge, sorry. I suppose I just have to pull up my big girl undies to the armpits and get on with it. I've treated my BC to give me the best chance of a long life, and these side effects are the price I have to pay. My oncologist is sympathetic but disinterested. Do I work with my GP to try to manage these issues? I am seeing a counsellor for the emotion stuff, I hope that starts helping soon. I'm interested to hear how other's immediate post chemo weeks were. Reassurance I suppose!
Premature menopause: Hot flushes and night sweats
Please share your tips, tricks, and most effective methods for managing persistent hot flushes and night sweats? I've taken to rinsing my (thankfully bald) head under cold water, fanning myself for a minute, and re-rinsing. While I have no problem rushing to the sink or shower while at home it unfortunately isn't something I can do on the go. The hot flushes are so overwhelming that I'm anxious about leaving the house in case one causes me to faint. The heat consumes from the thighs up, with focus in the head and chest. They are causing my vision to lapse, my head to spin, nausea, and not only a layer of sweat to coat me but also form beads that will drip from me. The night sweats are so intense they wake me and my routine has become a matter of sleep when I drop and hope I get a few hours in. I've read the Menopause and Breast Cancer BCNA information booklet and am following their tips for managing these things. It's been almost a month since they started and I have taken the tips; wearing loose clothing in layers, carrying a fan, sipping water, cutting out caffeine, and I exercise for as long as the aftermath of chemo pain and stiffness will allow. But nothing seems to be working to lessen the intensity. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Hi all — I’ve been reading a recent research- esp. from the US, including the book Estrogen Matters, which questions the idea that women with breast cancer should automatically avoid Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and how it can help with longevity etc. I’m planning to speak with my doctor about it, but I’m curious — has anyone here looked into this or discussed HRT after breast cancer with their team? Would love to hear your experiences or any studies/resources you found helpful.
