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Was due to start my chemo on 24 of may , but got phone call today to say starting tomorrow! Bit of a shock but I suppose I don't have time to think about it..Was a bit of s rush trying to get meds together ,still no word on medical card so had to try and scrape money together for those . Would gladly go back and do my weeks work ,than face the iendless form filling and phone calls and every time you hit a brick wall. At the end of it all get nothing and told to make sure I put in my cert as it would affect my pension !! Rant over . Hopefully at the end of this I might be broke but at least I'll be better!

Just wondering if have of you wonderful ladies suffered with damaged nails as a result of chemo and if so, did it take long for them to recover? Mine first started to get damaged after chemo No. 4 (of and have gotten a lot worse since. I finished chemo two weeks ago and it seems my nail growth is somewhat stunted too. My consultant and the oncology nurses say that the nails will just grow out, but there seems to be no improvement at all. I am finding it very difficult to do anything and find it most painful when I am trying to do my daughters' hair. Any information or tips from you girls would be most appreciated. On the plus side, I have noticed some fluff on my head (just two weeks post chemo) so that is a positive at least. Many thanks

Finished my last radiotherapy this morning and I have to say with a little sadness in my heart. It's become part of my life for over six weeks so I will have to get used to no hospitals for three weeks, God what will I do?? Hope I don't have to resort to doing housework perish the though lol. I'm here sitting in oncology having got my herceptin but my blood pressure is still high and I've been on medication for the past two weeks. I'm waiting to see someone about it. Going out for a slap up meal and plenty of wine tonight to celebrate . Thanks to you all for your fantastic support its got me through all this so well. Love you all xxxx

Hi Ladies feel terrible havent been on here in ages. Just an update had my mascteomy last week and now that part is over, Chemo (check), Mascteomy (check) now onto rads in a few weeks. Got pathology report yesterday with excellent results as far as medical science can see he said I am cancer free. Only 1 out of 19 nodes affected. Feeling delighted with myself but still a little sore body and mind. Just wanted to let you know that through all the crap there was light at the end of the tunnel. For all those starting off best of luck, keep the chins up and dont let this bastard beat us!!!

Happy Bank Holiday everyone! It's been a while since I've been on - just back out from a few days of hospital to have a bit of tidying up done on my original surgery so all grand now we hope However, I'm wondering if any of you had immediate family diagnosed with breast cancer before, during or after your diagnosis and treatment? If so, was the issue of genetic testing raised by you or your treatment team? One of my older sisters has just been diagnosed and is firing a million questions at me so I'm looking to see what is the best way for me to support her without getting dragged back into something that I'm only coming through myself. At the moment, it's easy for me to deal with it as I'm still a bit off my head from surgery last week!

Just wanted to say to all our members that haven't started treatment or have just started or are in the middle of it, that there is a life after it. I thought when I was in the middle of chemo and starting radiotherapy that I was never going to feel any sense of normality again but today I did. My poor hubbie wasn't well over the weekend so roles were reversed and we went for a drive in the sun today and had some lunch out and I just wanted to scream"Oh how I appreciate life " a sandwich in a little cafe and I was so happy and contented. No hospital now for three weeks so going to enjoy it. People are strange met a lady I knew today who got breast cancer same time as me, just had lumpectomy and radiotherapy, no chemo, but she wasn't really happy, complaining about the soreness in her breast from the radiotherapy and I just got the feeling she felt hard done by, because she got cancer. I had to say to her that if she had have had chemo it would have been a lot worse and the pain in her boob would have paled into insignificance . I said "we are so lucky" she's still looking at me. Cant believe I'm getting so many compliments about my hair, makes you feel good too. Even my lovely radiotherapy oncologist said to me on Monday "the hair's lovely Mary" and he's as bald as an egg lol but lovely and handsome. Just thought I'd share todays thoughts with you my dearest friends. Xxxx

[color=#800040:cf406n61]Wondering what peoples thoughts are on this. Just thinking how many 'negative' images there are out there with regards to cancer. I personally hate the use of 'she/he lost their cancer battle' or 'she fought her illness bravely ' etc. It sort of gives the image that people who get well do it through choice and people who don't didn't 'fight/battle' long or hard enough. People are said to be 'courageous, brave and never complain', yet I know I'm not always brave or courageous and have certainly complained when I was in huge pain. I was also angry and really annoyed at times. In my mind cancer is like any other medical illness. It comes into your life and you do your best to get the best medical outcome. Whether you get well or not, like lots of other medical conditions, depends on a lot of things. I would also say that experiencing cancer has had its positive moments, funny moments and lifechanging moments. I was forced to take time out to get treatment for my cancer and in doing that I took time out of a busy life and realised that if I had time for this I can also make time for other things in my life. LIfe is only as busy as I make it. I've had funny 'no hair' moments, met some amazing people along the way. Would I change things.....most definately YES. I would prefer not to have cancer. But I've no regrets about what I've learnt about myself.....only wish I could have done it some other way, some other time. [/color:cf406n61]

Hi Girlies, Just looking to hear of your experiences with going back to work post surgery/chemo & rads. I finished chemo last Nov & rads in January and returned to work five weeks ago. I decided not to return to the job I had pre my cancer journey and have started to work for a new company. Its full time in an office. The biggest problem is my memory loss and tiredness. I feel totally out of my depth and really lack the confidence I had before. I have to write everything down and there are times when I just feel so god damm stupid. I got recommended for this job and now I feel like a completely different person than what I was a year ago and I'm sure my new employer is disappointed as they were convinced I was going to be wonderful & ideal for the job but I'm simply not that person anymore. I have gone from being top of my game to struggling terribly with the simpliest of tasks. Has anybody else had these problem? Shirls

Hi all Has anyone had their good breast lifted after recon to match up with new one?Am going in on 21st to have this done aswell as fat filler to new one.Just wondering what to expect with lift as am hoping to do mini marathon 11 days later(had signed up before date came in). Any info appreciated thanks. xx

Ladies Just thought I would let you know that I went swimming today .... in a pool ... communal showers .... public changing room! I have been putting off going swimming, which I used to do in a previous life, as I felt I could never face the no boob situation. Well today I took the bull by the hornes and did it. Swam 12 lengths - will sleep for sure tonight and better still the uniboober survived the looks and all the uncomfortableness. It is true ... what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Ladies I thought my pre cancer body wasn't too hot and I would never have been comfortable in the communal showers/changing room. Never, ever thought that I would take the cancer ravaged version out on tour!!!!