Community

Hi there, just coming towards the end of my time on tamoxifen and the experience has been positive. But one thing that has been a pain from beginning to end has been the hassle of trotting around getting prescriptions from the GP or consultant then going back and forth to the pharmacy to pick the medication up... they hardly ever have more than one or two months in stock, sometimes they don’t have it at all, the GP won’t give more than a six month prescription at a time and ordering a repeat prescription can’t be done over the phone...it’s just a constant toing and froing over what is a very straightforward medication which I’ve been on for ten years and would only ever have changed at my own request. I see no reason why I can’t get a 12 month prescription at my annual check up and pick it up in one go, but every time I suggest this I’m told how it’s all for my own good... which I find irritating and paternalistic. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Hi, I am going for a triple assessment next week in the mater. Found a lump behind my nipple-inside the breast not outside, and my nipple is retracted. I just wanted to ask anyone if they had any other symptoms? Tiredness or anything like that? I can only find the usual symptoms for the breast, lumps, change of colour etc. And the side effects from treatment. Thank you, Jane

HI all. I'm 56 and just waiting to have a breast biopsy. Basically I missed my previous breast mammograms (long story). Anyhow about three weeks ago a felt a bruising on my right breast which I couldn't initially account for. Over the next few days I found myself poking at it (as you do!) and it became somewhat inflamed and sore so I went to the GP. Only on that morning I remembered having hurt my breast, approximately the day before the first time I noticed the bruised feeling. Stupidly I'd leaned on the arm of a chair to pull out a plug rather than get up and do it properly. I remembered i leaned to hard. Anyhow when my doc saw it she immediately said there was a bruise and it looked like mastitis though the area wasn't that warm. She said it was very possible to get mastitis as a result of an injury. She booked me in for a mammogram anyhow as I had missed the other. She gave me antibiotics and sure enough all returned to normal very quickly. Last Friday I went to Beaumont and the doctor first did a physical examination and was very happy, saying it felt normal (i have small breasts so easy to feel anything out of the ordinary). I then had the mammogram and on my right breast they took extra images. Then the doc did an ultrasound. Now what she says was that she saw nothing sinister. What she did say was I had calcificatiions (she didn't specify what type and it was all new to me anyway) and that sometimes these can be a marker for trouble later on. She said that as she couldn't compare the images to previous ones, that she wanted to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s , as she put it. She once more stressed that as far as she can see there is nothing so not to worry. I am now booked in for the 12th with results she said between 7-10 days later. I'm just wondering if she was only trying to not worry me by saying that though she did mention it a couple of times that it wasn't sinister looking. Also, the fact that a week before I had had some inflammation from the mastitis, would it have an impact on what would appear on the mammogram. Thanks in advance for any views.

I am presently recovering from rectal cancer surgery December 2017 and had an ileostomy reversal in April 2018. As my bowel motions are still quite erratic I would like to connect with others who have had an ileostomy reversal experience to ascertain perhaps how long it took for the bowel motions to settle.

I am surprised by the very little activity in this page re prostrate surgery.I was expecting a lot more conversation.

Hi everyone. I had breast cancer 9 years ago and had a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction with an implant but following radiation my implant was mis-shapen so I dedided to have it removed and my breast built up over the years with fat grafting. In October 2017 I completed my last fat graft and my boobs are amazing. I had my nipple reconstructed at the same time. I had a aerola tattoo done last year with semi-permanent medical grade tattoo. Since then my reconstructed breast has dropped down and the nipple is not in line with my real nipple on my right breast. I have since purchased a custom made nipple for my reconstructed breast from pink perfect prosthetic nipple, absolutely amazing product. My question is: how long does the medical grade tattoo last, as I want to get rid of the tattoo but don't like the idea of laser and was hoping maybe it goes completely from the skin in a couple of years. Anyone have experience of this?

Has anyone experienced nerve damage after lymphnode dissection? My obturator nerve was damaged causing lots of issues. 12 months post op and still no recruitment. Would love to hear from someone who experienced similar.

Hi, I have been off cigarettes for months in the wait for breast reconstruction but recently split with my partner and caved a bit last week. I just got a date, very soon and I'm terrified they will test me prior to surgery and not proceed. Do you get checked for smoking prior to surgery. I am back off them again.

My name is Yi Du, I am from China. I have been resident in Ireland for 18 years. My mother is diagnosed lung cancer 2 weeks ago, the whole family is in a huge depression and I went back to her immediately to support her. Saying “diagnosis” I mean my mother feels a chest pain one day and went to see a doctor, then she is taken to do a chest CT. The image of CT shows a big shadow in the her lung. The doctor says it’s lung cancer. In China, cancer is a death sentence, incurable illness which cost people everything to survive a bit longer. She is giving up when she heard about her illness. I convinced her and promise I’ll try my best to find a treatment for her. Then we did a pet-CT, the image shows the tumour has transferred to nearby tissue, pleur and ribs. Then we did a pneumococcal biopsy(lung puncture), but the doctors failed to take enough biopsy. We did it again and third time. I was told to get a result yesterday and they said they could not identify what type of lung cancer it is and let me wait for longer. I was very disappointed about the doctors. I decided to bring my mother to Ireland and get treatment here. I found a company named oncologica that do both target therapy and immunotherapy. I am very interested. I wonder if my mother will get routine histology biopsy taken in Dublin and give the biopsy to oncologica. I sincerely appreciated if anyone could tell me the procedure of treating cancer in Ireland. Please instruct me what should I do next. Yi

Hi, recently had a diagnosis of head and neck cancer, and possible metastasis due to one lymph node being positive for tumor. Primary tumor resected with follow up radiation. Can people advise in such a case what does the normal follow up screenings consist off .?