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Hi everyone Nearly one year on since my diagnosis, have had the mastectomy and the chemo now on Tamoxifen. There could not be much more I said . . wrong. I have been very down crying nearly every hour on the hour not like me at all. I had gotton through the hard bits why go down now. Anyhow just to let you know I started counselling this week at The Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre and after my first session I feel slightly better. I never realized how much I was holding in trying to protect my family. I could do everything, I was superwoman rather than admitting to them I needed help. Hopefully the counselling will help. Evelyn

I do think breast awareness campaigns are a good idea but i also think they need to be accompained by GP awareness campaigns. there is no point in going to the doctor and being made feel like a fool or a hypochrondiac when you have breast cancer that they have put down to hormones and it takes five visits before getting to the trible assessment point, young healthy fit people do get cancer too.

Having had my first chemo session on monday, I thought it might be a good time to put up a thread for people to put up some good advice for us newbies starting. Im having 8 rounds. 4 AC and 4 T. I was just so relieved to get it started, i wasnt worried at all. I just couldnt wait to get going. Im on day 4, and not doing too bad so far. Im taking things really easy, just pottering around (waiting to grow a second head or something ) Ive taken all of the tablets given to me, Im not taking any chances at all. Even the ones that say take if necessary, Im not waiting to see if theyre necessary. So far, Im extremly thirsty. Im dringing about 3 ltrs of water, plus tea and orange juice during the day. Ive an endless supply of orange ice pops to cool me down. Im rinsing with oral b 5 or 6 times a day, and brushing my teeth very carefully after every meal. Im resting as much as i can, sometimes i just crash and have no choice but to lie down and sleep. If anyone has any other tips they could stick up here to give me a heads up on what more to expect. My head feels like mush

I lost my Mam a year ago to ovarian cancer, and got through the first year fine, but I'm finding this year harder - it's as though I never really grieved her properly the first time around. I was so focused on 'getting through' that I never really stopped to see what 'getting through' meant. Now I feel so far away from her, but yet I can't stop thinking about her. I want to remember her as she was (a brilliant and beautiful woman), but can't get past the hospital for her final days, or the way she looked at me and held my hand just before she went into her final coma. I know this is all probably very normal, but I really wanted to know for sure if anyone else is going through something like this, and what you are doing. I'm not sure if counselling would help. I know what is wrong with me - I miss my Mam, and don't want to be without her. What can counselling do to change that?

A warning for anyone coming off HRT. After BC diagnosis I was told to stop taking Hormone Replacement Therapy immediately. This resulted in a very sudden and violent onset of menopause symptoms which are still making my life a misery after nearly seven years. I have done a lot of reading on this subject and it seems obvious that HRT (like most drugs) should be weaned off slowly to enable the body to cope with the adjustment. The medics don't warn anyone about this as far as I know. Hope this helps someone

Hi Everyone, If you need to complain about, or compliment, a hospital or member of staff you have encountered, this is the email address to send your feedback to. yoursay@hse.ie This is the official HSE contact and they aim to respond within 30 days. See details on their website. http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/ysys/Complaint/ Regards, Flo.

dad, i just hope you really are in a better place now as everyone keeps telling me. its not even a fortnight yet but i miss you so much im actually feeling physical pain. i would never want to bring you back to suffer again as i know your pain was horrific. i often wondered if i did the right thing in fighting the doctors to allow you to come home, but i think it was the right thing for you. i know you didnt want to die in hospital, but the doctor told us you would have a couple of days left if we kept you in hospital, instead you only got 10 mins at home before you left us and for that ive felt a lot of guilt. but if you hadnt got your last wish to die at home i think my guilt would be so much more. i have you in my heart and when i miss you i think of the good times before you got sick. i will look after mum as you wouldve wanted, ive been with her every day since you left us. she is devastated but we can help each other. im going to miss our wee walks together with you holding my arm and our drives in the car where you gave me the wrong directions and got us lost. in the end though you were just too ill to do any of that. anyway daddy, i just wanted to let you know that i will always love you and as the song says, youre in the arms of the angels. from your loving daughter patricia, sleep tight daddy.

I have been checking out this website and I dont find anyone talking about how they feel or how they are coping before after or during. I am a member of an American breast cancer.org and everyone their talks quite openly about how they feel, up or down and the community is their for everyone. Is it just an Irish thing that if we dont talk about our feelings they just dont exisit. I often wake up angry that it was me who got BC but then at times I feel okay about it. I dont know what I am suppose to feel some times and people look at me and say "God its great to see you got over your trouble" I didn't get over anything I just got on with living. Do you feel like this at times. Sometimes I still suffer from Chemo Brain even though I'm 2 years on. Is this normal? Do you want to tell me what's happening in your brain. I know mine is not quite up to scratch at times. Sometimes I hide and sometimes I cry for no reason and some times I just get on with it. I feel lonely sometimes wondering what am I suppose to do. Am I weird or What. let me know what you think of when you think of BC. Talk to me. Bevan

Hi, I was wondering if there was anyone on the site who has Non Hodgkins Lymphoma - it doesn't seem to have made it to the list of topics. I was diagnosed in early July after spending 9 weeks in hospital undergoing tests. I still can't understand why it took so long to find out what it was. Before that I had been visiting my GP with various unrelated pains and aches and fatigue which in hindsight pointed to the disease but didn't seem connected at the time. I wonder if this is a common problem or was I just unlucky. I have stage IV non Hodgkins follicular centre cell lymphoma which is also in the bone marrow. I am getting 8 cycles of R Chop and 6 cycles of chemo into the spine. I have just completed cycle 5 and am feeling well now. I spent a total of four and a half months in hospital as I got bacterial infections. I am home for 5 weeks now and it is heaven. I wonder does anyone know anything about 'centre cell' as all the literature mentions B cell and Tcell but never centre cell. Would love to talk someone.

Is there anyone out there who has or is living with a Oligodendroglioma upper grade 3 ( Malignant & aggressive brain tumour) Please get in touch Ger