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Dear friends, Next week I will be one full year out of chemo, nine months post radiation and six months back at work (1/2 days only for the moment). My hair has grown back well and I am pretty fit again. My memory has improved and the general mental woolliness that made ordinary tasks like navigating difficult is lessening. On the downside, I am still struggling with fatique and neuropathy problems from chemo. And of course the old hot flushes and night cramps from Tamoxifen. I first joined this site to consult the online brochures. I am Irish but have been living in France for over 20 years. I speak French well, but desperately needed to be able to read about my cancer in English to be sure I understood fully. Not only did I find all of the brochures on this site, I found this wonderful, wonderful forum. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for helping me through my treatment and the aftermath. For your kind caring words, your thoughtfulness, and your wonderful Irish good humour. It has made a world of difference. Now, I think the time has come for me to turn the page. I will not be reading and contributing to this forum much in the future. Know that you have all touched my heart and that I wish you all the very best on the road to recovery - and beyond. Onwards and upwards! Hugs Kath

[color=#8000BF:1reexmmb]This is something I have been very reluctant to try during my chemotherapy. I suppose I was a wreck in my head with the cancer diagnosis, surgery and then chemotherapy. The last thing I wanted to do was relax in a quiet way and be in the present moment! However, with the help of counselling I'm in a better place in my head and promised myself I would at least try the relaxation and mindfulness that was on offer in my local cancer support centre. Low and behold I'm converted. Now my only regret is that I didn't start sooner. It has really changed my life. I now practice this at home too and find it great to take time out during the day if I can to just be in the moment. So anyone who is thinking about trying this but not sure my advise would be to try. The worst that will happen is its not for you, the best is that it will be something that will help you to cope with things that life throws at you. [/color:1reexmmb] http://beaumont.ie/marc a helpful link which I think explains what each is.

Well girls the start of another journey . Had my first radiotherapy this morning. Stressed out straight away when I looked out the window and saw snow. Left half an hour earlier and ended up being ten minutes late as traffic was at snails pace. Stress!!! De stressed when I got there as they were so nice and said they understood as the weather was so bad. It was a painless experience. Went to cornelscourt looking for a cotton bra but none and got some men's cotton hankies for under my boob. My joints are killing me and I'm getting physio on Thursday on my leg. I feel like an old woman to be honest but I'm getting my hair dyed on Friday with a non ammonia dye (getting a patch test tomorrow) and my work colleagues are coming to Wexford with me at weekend to celebrate being cancer free so that should perk me up. Not feeling great today to be honest, more hospitals and machines, sometimes it gets you down but you have to carry on. I'm going to ring the cancer support centre tomorrow and book counselling and relaxation I really think I need it. Although the weekend might be counselling enough as my girlfriends are brilliant and I can laugh and cry with them. I swore I wouldn't complain once chemo was finished and none of this is as bad as that. You just have days like this I suppose.

Hi, I'm looking to hear from other public patient's attending St Vincent's hospital who are currently waiting to be called for breast reconstruction surgery or who like myself have a tissue exapnder and are waiting to be called back to have it removed and an implant inserted. How long have you been waiting versus what was the actual waiting time given to you by your consultant. I was told by my consultant that I would be waiting 2 to 3 months, while I took this with a pinch of salt, I thought more likely to be closer to 6 months. I rang the hospital two weeks ago and have been informed that I am now looking at least another 9 month wait on top now of the five months I have been waiting. My concern is that the tissue expander is according to the manufacturers literature "temporary" and on US websites stating "ideally" it should not be left in more than six months as the development of tissue adhesion will make it more difficult to remove and lead maybe to other knock on effects, ie longer healing time. I checked with the maunfaturer of the expander I have and that time frame has been removed from their literature for the UK and Irish market. I really would love to hear from others who have had this done in Vincent's in the recent past, and what was their timeframe form start to finish. Also has anyone (public patient) asked to change their assigned consultant for whatever reason? How did they go about it and how was it taken. Fed Up

Hi All, My story began in Jan '13 in the UK where my partner was based, I'm from Ireland and returning here for chemo leg of treatment which should begin before Easter. When I found lump I was told "most of these things are nothing", hence I decided to seek diagnosis in UK where I got next day consultation for triple assessment - unfortunately they could see right away from ultrasound something was wrong. And 5 wks later I was post surgery, puking my guts up from general anaesthetic (!), but minus my old boob with a new model in its place! I can honestly say that I'm feeling pretty good about surgery results - it's never gonna be a real boob but its cancer free. Also on the plus side, lymph involvement was minimal so no radiotherapy recommended, but chemo and tamoxifen have been. The good thing was that I was also offered a course of IVF which I've just completed meaning that I keep my family options open for the future. That all seemed par for course in UK. BTW, I previously worked and had GP there hence access to NHS treatment. My family asked that I move back to Ireland so they can help me through chemo. I understand chemo regime may differ - FEC was offered in UK but seems not so common here. Any thoughts on this? Anyhow, I've been feeling a little out of the loop as far as care here is concerned so would love to hear from others with similar experiences, is IVF available here or only with private healthcare? FEC thoughts? Do most cases in Ireland have radiotherapy as a matter of course? And any 20/30-something year olds around?! Not to exclude any opinions at all, all welcome, just find myself wondering why cancer had to bite me in the ass (or boob!) so early, pre-kids, mid-career.... Suppose we all ask the same questions in a different way Thanks for reading!

Hello girls, Got great news today. Nodes clear so no radiation needed. Won't know about other treatments until I meet with oncologist. Would anyone out there with IDC be good enough to tell me what other diagnostic tests you had done apart from triple assessment? Did u have MRI's, ct-scans, bloods etc? Was with consultant today & only plan was surgery which I've had but I see stories of others who've had the full gauntlet of tests. I just want to make sure that nothing is being missed. Cancer details in signature. Although the news today was great I still feel like I have a death sentence hanging over my head. I don't seem to be experiencing the relief that my family are feeling. I think that I had myself so ready for bad news today that my brain hasn't yet registered that it's going to be ok. Maybe it's just a delayed reaction. Has anyone else experienced this or am I as messed up as I feel?

Hi all, I've always been pale & tinted my brows. Am considering permanent brows & eyeliner pre chemo... Has anyone tried this or any thoughts? Cheers x

Just thought this might be of interest to people who are undergoing treatments. [color=#0040BF:2zsjqdja]http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/healthpromotion/dental/ All medical card holders are entitled to specific dental treatments e.g., a dental examination, two fillings in each calendar year, extractions as necessary. Some treatments such as the provision of dentures require the approval of the HSE before the dentist can proceed and in this case, the dentist applies directly to the HSE. Additional treatments for example, teeth cleaning are available to those persons with specific medical conditions and again, your dentist will be able to advise you of your entitlement if this is the case. The HSE dental section may require written documentation outlining your medical condition and/or medications from your G.P. or other relevant medical person. Examples of some medical conditions are outlined in the table below; Conditions Examples Cancer Patients Prior to treatment for cancer Those under active treatment by chemotherapy or radiotherapy or under medication prescribed by an oncologist [/color:2zsjqdja]

Hello everyone I am writing on behalf of my mother who has been diagnosed with her 2 pos breast cancer just before Christmas. She was supposed to have 8 chemo sessions but was stopped after 5 as it was too much for her. She is also on Herceptin and due for a mastectomy in a few weeks. The question I want to ask is if anybody suffered anxiety while being on Herceptin. She seem to be suffering with an overwhelming sense of panic and nerves,every little thing is a big problem for example she is worrying that something will happen to my father or if everything is not just so, panic sets in.I was just wondering if anybody else was suffering with the same thing, if it was normal or maybe a side effect

Hi again, hope all well, I was just wondering what is the norm on how herceptin is administered and is a portacath usually required due to the number of itretaments? I am due to start chemo and herceptin after Easter. I have another appointment this week with oncologist but would like to know practically what might work best because of the duration of treatment. Thanks a million, LL.