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Hi Girls Had the lymph glands removed from my right arm at the same time as my mastectomy last October. After the surgery I did all the physio and exercixes and abided by the recommended do's and don'ts etc and have been absolutely fine until last week ...but this week my arm is beginning to swell and its feeling heavy and tight... .. Did anyone else develop lymphodoema a while after surgery - is it possible to get rid of the swelling again??? Any tips? Liz

Hi all, This is my first post even though I have been following this forum for the last year and half ! My journey started in 2011 but even now it still feels like yesterday . I have finished all my treatment , have gone back to work and am trying to get on with my life but I am so paranoid and so worried about recurrence . I have been suffering with back and leg pain since before Christmas . I had a bone scan in Nov which was clear but it's constantly on my mind that the cancer is back now in my bones or something . I tested positive for the brca1 gene a few months ago so I think that has me feeling like a ticking time bomb now to be honest. Think I'm just having a bad day today . Glass of wine should cheer me up

Hi all just wondering if anyone out there had rads after recon. All the doctors are telling me is that 1)there will be some changes to your left breast, and it will look different to the other one [not great when all you want is a matching pair] 2)there will be a level of damage but it depends on the individual. 3) capsular contraction, its not a rare chance but they dont know to what degree of damage to expect. They won't given my a gerneral idea of what to expect and I tend to panic if I don't know what's going to happen. And they know what will happen ok general terms, they have seen this before!!! Does anyone even know where I could get information about this? I would nearly skip having radiation altogether, they are shooting at thing that they don't know are there. They could just be killing good cells, and destroying my skin in the process, and my recon. I want to get all the treatment thats out there, but some of it I find hard to see the point. The recon is so important, it's for the rest of your life. Maybe I should get another plastics opinion???

Hi girls op over and Jane visited me after and said it all went well. She will see me next Monday but she's very happy even thinks what she to away may be clear (confusing or what?) she's making an appointment to see consultant dr mcveigh about my radiotherapy and I'll start in 6 weeks. It's all happening here. I'm relaxing in the elm ward and the nurses are wonderful. Going home tomorrow. Xxxx

Deefed won the make over isn't that brilliant can't wait to see the photos love good news xxx

i was in st vincent hospital yesterday getting a mammogram , a biopsy and an ultrasound. i also put clips into my breast to do a second mammogram I found a large lump in my left breast and then the dr Evoy said he found a lump in my lymph nodes. the doctors didnt really tell me anything yesterday only that they were concerned. I didnt sleep last night and just keep thinking the worst case senseio. I am 37 with 3 young kids

Just saw on the threads here that somebody suggested a meet up?? Why not?? We've shared so much and gotten so much support that I think a meet up would be great!!!! Any ideas or suggestions?? We could do something during the Warmer months and when some of us are a bit further along in our treatment. A lunch or a dinner nothing too much! What do we think???

Jesus what next

Feeling pretty crap today. I've had a problem before I got breast cancer, pain in my ear travelling down my shoulder into my side, had various scans including brain scan and it showed nothing. Doctor 'thought' it might be a touch if fibro myalgia and prescribed medication which I really don't think made that much of a difference. I stopped taking them when I started chemo didn't see the point, funny thing I didn't suffer while going through chemo. I just don't feel well. Maybe it's because my friend died so quickly but I'm frightened that there is cancer somewhere else and I'm frightened to death, to investigate it. I could cry for Ireland today. Sorry xxxx

[color=#8000BF:32gwcxpa]At last, after all these months, when someone asks me how I am I am telling the truth. 'Its fine', 'I'm managing' etc. was my standard response when someone asked how I was. But inside I was crumbling. It came to a head last week. My moods were very low. I was getting upset and cross very easily. I hadn't the same patience with the children. I was only waiting for bedtime to close my eyes and sleep. Due to different procedures I have slept on my own a lot as I have been sore and restless. I have been up during the night a lot with hot flashes from menopausal symptoms and basically having hit and miss sleep. My other half finds it easier to get a good nights sleep on his own so he can manage the next day, which can be exhausting for him, looking out for me and the children. So I finally realised what I was feeling wasn't good or right for me. I am coping with chemotherapy pretty well I think. I've no fear of needles or the drugs now. I've given my body over to the chemotherapy literally. But the emotional stuff I couldn't deal with so easily and my mind was spiraling downwards with sadness. My doctor wasn't surprised to see me..in fact she wondered how I'd kept going so strong for so long. She prescribed antidepressants which came as no surprise to me. I felt a bit annoyed that I couldn't cope on my own but realised I couldn't go on the way I was feeling either. I'm also accessing counselling support from my local cancer support centre and with the support of my doctor and cancer support counseller I feel I can now move forward. When someone asks me now 'how are you' I tell them the truth and it feels good to be honest. Even the oncology nurse said she knew I was putting on a brave, strong face but she did wonder also how I was keeping up the 'strong' side. So I've also told her the truth about how low I felt. I suppose I'm sharing this so that if anyone else is feeling the same I would advise speak to someone, go to your GP etc. Having cancer is tough. It does take up so much time in your life. Your body can change so much from physically loosing your breasts, hair etc. to emotionally changes like how you feel about having cancer and how it effects you and your family. I wanted to be so strong and to get through this. Now I realise I might need more help than I wanted to do this. But its okay to ask for help and support and its okay to say 'I'm feeling crap'. [/color:32gwcxpa]