Now facing hysterectomy

Hi Josephine,
I know how you feel about not having any female bits left thank god for make up and high heels
I had my ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed in October as I tested positive for brca2. All the doctors I spoke to recommended it because of my risks of reoccurrence so I went ahead with it. I felt I had to do anything I could to stay one step ahead as the screening available is not great for ovarian cancer. I was tired and sore after the op and the hot flushes have increased a lot but all my results were clear so I was happy enough. Your op will be much bigger but maybe you just need some time to get your head round it all its a lot to take in.
I am going to have my other breast removed soon for preventative reasons and I'm dreading that but hoping when it's all done ill have some peace and a break from it all and hopefully you will too.
I wish you well making your decisions Josephine,
Bernie

Hi Josephine,

I know this must be a scary time for you. I am an NLP therapist and Reiki healer.

[Post edited by Webmaster to remove unproven claims about cancer treatment]

Hi the blueone I read your post, I wasn't very impressed. Drinking water is not going to change your genetic disposition in terms of developing cancer. Drinking water is not a new phenonomen. Water is good for you, but it will not cure cancer or reduce the risk. I don't have much faith in your Dr. Batman.

I agree with ania if dehydration caused cancer the majority of people would have it.

Hello Theblueone,

Sorry to be blunt here but drinking a pint of water an hour would have us up all night and forever thinking about being near to a loo! That would make about 16 pints a day, around 8 litres! There is no good evidence for drinking any more than we feel like drinking to alleviate thirst: http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... r-can-kill

As for adding salt, most of us get plenty of salt already and should be thinking of reducing rather than adding to our salt intake. Recent studies indicate yet another reason to reduce our salt intake: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21685022

Kathleen

Bernie,

Thanks for your very heartwarming post and for your very positive outlook on all you have been through at a pretty young age. You are truly an inspiration to us all, a great example of "onwards and upwards" in action.

Hugs

Kath

Hi Kathleen,
I am inspired by you and all the girls who post here I think everyone is amazing and so honest in their posts I've found it all so helpful the last three years. It's amazing what we all manage to deal with and still keep a bit of humour going.
Onwards and upwards is right!!!
Bernie x

God sometimes I don't feel so amazing but all you can do is carry on xxx

Hi all,

The Irish Cancer Society doesn't support unproven claims about the causes and treatments of cancer, hence I have edited the post on this topic.

Josephine and YaYa - God girls you are really having a tough time as you say what more can they take out!!

All I can say is best of luck with everything and look forward to that day when you wake up and you wont be sore or sobbing from something or another that has been taken away

Your great girls keep up the good work and all our spirits - God knows we deserve it dont we - its like here have cancer, then sure have the menapause as well, ah sure lets take the other one off, ovaries yes I will have them as well too please!

I suppose it's all relative to cancer and if we are cancer free we don't mind what happens. It sometimes messes with your head but you have to try and rise above it. With the help of friends family and the women on this we can do it xxx

Well said Wicklowlady & thank you Webmaster for removing that ridiculous & unsupportive post. Ladies you are the best support I've had through all of this, keep it up.

Thank you webmaster I already had experience with something similar on this page. Primarily this page is to support each other and I think we do a good job and as I said before we have to put our hands in the expert doctors as they are ultimately the ones who save our lives and after that it's everything in moderation and hopefully we will live long and happy lives cancer free and monitored more than most. We will now be butterflies!!

[quote="WicklowLady":3okrcf01]Thank you webmaster I already had experience with something similar on this page. Primarily this page is to support each other and I think we do a good job and as I said before we have to put our lives in the hands in the expert doctors as they are ultimately the ones who save our lives and after that it's everything in moderation and hopefully we will live long and happy lives cancer free and monitored more than most. We will now be butterflies!![/quote:3okrcf01]

Hi Deefed,
I'm laughing here at your post my husband jokes that instead of going to weightwatchers I just have another bit removed to weigh lighter .
As long as it keeps me one step ahead of cancer ill be happy keeping the head straight is the battle sometimes!
Thanks for all your lovely posts
Bernie xx

Hi ladies
So sorry I haven't replied, thank you all so much for your replies. My mind has been preoccupied with the swelling that has appeared on my chest and if you've seen my other post you'll know it's still there and I'm waiting for a CT scan. My head is wrecked with everything.

Yaya, can I ask why you got the brca1 test done? Is it with family history? I'm wondering about asking for it. I don't have a family history.

Regarding the surgery, I'm actually more afraid of the after effects than the surgery itself. Physically, I've been doing ok recovering from the surgery, chemo, rads. Now I feel like just when I climbed all the damn mountains that were put in front of me and was expecting some easy going, here's another damn mountain to get over!
Jo

Reply to Theblueone

I was a bit taken aback by your message. I did read it before it was removed and I clicked into the link. I'm used to reading peer reviewed scientific articles for my work and I could see immediately that the article was not of that level. I know drinking water is generally good for you but I wouldn't believe it has any curative properties.

You mentioned something about adding salt to get potassium into the diet. You would want to be careful about that recommendation because most of the table salt commonly used is sodium chloride, not potassium chloride. Most people ingest too much sodium from their diet as it is and this is especially dangerous for people with high blood pressure. So please be careful if you are following this advice yourself.

Regarding being an NLP practitioner, NLP has been discredited as a technique and I would be very wary of it.

In case you think I just dismiss everything "alternative", I am actually interested in complementary medicine especially nutritional therapy but I'm cautious.

I know you were trying to be helpful and thank you for that. However, I will not be following your advice and I urge you to take care with your own health and others if you are using your practitioner status to offer recommendations to possibly vulnerable people.
Jo

Hi Josephine
I hope you have had your ct scan and your swelling has been sorted so many hurdles to get over isn't there.
I didn't have any history of breast cancer in my family but I was diagnosed at 37 and my sister a year later aged 39. I asked my oncologist and she agreed I could have the test. The letter was sent to the genetic centre in Crumlin by my Breast Surgeon and they sent me an appointment then for counselling. I just felt I need needed to know even though it does open a can of worms for other family members.I found the genetic counsellor lovely and really informative during the whole process.
Good luck with rest of your journey
Bernie x