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Hi everyone . . . I am finally back. I was hit hard with depression when I finished my chemo so have been quiet on site. i still thought about you all and any new people in our "exclusive club". I am now 14 mths since mastectomy and 7 months finished chemo. I found I really needed the counselling to lift my mood. I had to start by admitting I had cancer, I used talk about it in the third person. The hair is fully back as thick as ever lol but more curly and I want it straight. The hot flushes have calmed down too or maybe it's the weather. Have not managed to loose any of the weight I gained but I live in hope. Love to you all Evelyn Oh forget to tell ye have moved house in the middle of all this

Hi. I have just under gone 2 surgery for breast cancer. I keep telling everyone about the lady who was on T.V3 morning programme before the sschool broke up for summer. She was talking about an event that she was organising to raise money. She described how she had found out how she had breast cancer. I was trying to get the children breakfast and myself out to work (mad house!!!!!) but what she said stuck in my head. Oh thankfully it did because Aug bank holiday I discovered a lump. I want to thank this lady for her courage to go on t.v and only for her I may not have listened to what my body was telling me. so if any of ye out there know her pass on the message that I and my familly want to say a huge THANK YOU eunice

I am interested in hearing from some one who is receiving HERCEPTIN WITHOUT CHEMOTHERAPY and who may also be diabetic on insulin for many years GLUCOSESWEET

Hi Ladies I have just found the signature feature on the user control panel and decided to use it to post a short profile on my stats (age at diagnosis, type and size of cancer, treatment, recon surgery etc). What do ye think of using this?? I duck in and out of the ICS message board. There are a few names that I recognise and remember their 'circumstances' but for the most part I forget who had what and where they are with treatment etc (can blame that on chemo!). Would many of you be willing to share your profile in the signature feature? It might help us better connect with each other if we know more about our diagnosis. LindyLu

Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to everyone using this forum. For some it's been a long year, for others their year is just starting. I hope you all find the encouragement, support and hope you need for 2011. Bring it on!

I finished chemo at the end of oct. I have a lovely buzz cut going on my head...im quite happy how fast my hair is growing back. I have eyebrows, and my eyelashes are coming in nicely. The problem I have is that i have a lot of facial hair growing aswell. Not just on my upper lip, but along the side of my face. Im a bit freaked out to be honest. Im starting tamoxafin tomorrow, and im nervous enough about that. I dont want to look like wolf girl Im afraid to wax it or use cream incase it makes it worse.

Does anybody else suffer with anxiety and sadness? I wonder if its the tamoxifen? I go through days of worrying about everything and feeling really anxious - then I wake up one morning feeling all positive again! I've been on taxoxifen for two years now and wonder if I can cope with three more years of this. I'm 55

Hi there, Anyone any advice for returning to work after breast cancer. I shall be shortly, after being off work for almost 2 yrs. I am terrified, is this normal. Did any one feel the same? Do you regret it or is it the best thing you could do. Please let me know , if you can. Hugs to all you very brave people out there. Huggybear xx

I am sitting here in the midst of post-school mahem & going mad with tinwhistles and guitars being practiced in the background but God love them all, my head is soooo far away that I feel like I'm in the middle of a serious brain mush. I went to my GP 11th January who suspected an auld cyst & forwarded me the the Breast Clinic for an aspiration. I wasn't expecting to get an appointment for a few weeks so was very pleasantly surprised to get a letter a few days later giving me a date for 20 January & highly praised the efficiency of the normally chaotic health service we have! I toddled in to the appointment alone as I was absolutey convinced it was a measly cyst. I delighted in having a yummy young doctor run his hands over my breasts who could feel the small lump I was talking about; the consultant then came in & then did the same thing all over again & made mention of it probably being a benign thingy thingy & sent me off for a mammogram (mildly uncomfortable), ultrasound (could have fallen asleep it was so boring:)) & core biopsy (again uncomfortable but nothing to scream about). Back to the doctor who told me that they not only saw the lump but found another one and they were concerned that it was more serious than a cyst. At this stage I lost my hearing as I heard very little of the consultancy after that, except mention of something being on a scale of 4/5, maybe surgery but nothing could be decided until the pathology results come back. Have to wait until 3rd of February which is my next appointment. Have worked every day since then to keep my mind off it but it's the inability to sleep at night & constant swinging between telling myself that most likely I have nothing to worry about, to thinking I have breast cancer and worrying about all the implications of that, not just medically, but with my family, work, friends, life in general. I suppose I am reaching out to anyone or everyone to firstly give me peace of mind and secondly to pray to whoever you pray to for my results to come back negative.

Hi I was diagnosed in November with stage II invasice ductal carcinoma, Her2 positive. I had a lumpectomy at the begining of December and removal of 3 lymph nodes. I am node negative. I am fully recovered and my question is how long is it normally from surgery to start of Chemo ? The waiting is driving me nuts.