Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Placid - CONGRATS on losing weight. I envy you. I clocked in 3 pounds higher last week, and we can probably add 2 more for the past few days.
Sylvia - Thanks for the info on the sign-up. By the way, I was thinking you should update your original starting post (at top of page) to note that you are now 7+ years out! I think you should update it to really show everyone quickly at a glance that we can make it there! I know they can scroll and see you are here without a recurrence, but I think since you are such a cheerleader and inspiration for us, we would like to see that also on the top post, so we can also be a cheerleader back for you!
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sylvia - I just checked out the cancer active website - and I am blown away with the volume of information on there!! It is going to take me a while to sift through it and digest it. The one thing that popped out for me though was the info on taking anti-oxidants during chemo and radiation. I know my oncologist suggested not to take anti-oxidants during chemo and I believe it is the same with radiation. I never really quite got this since the foods that we are encouraged to eat (dark leafy greens ) are loaded with anti-oxidants - so obviously this is a topic which could do with further research and studies. It is so difficult to know what to do because there are so many theories out there. I take fish oil which is an antioxidant and all throughout chemo I took Coq10 which is also an antioxidant - I took both of these under the supervision of my integrative cancer physician.
I am still waiting for word on my radiation therapy start date - I have had the mapping already, so I am set to go. Not looking forward to it though!
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Hello InspiredbyDolce (Debra),
Thank you for your post and I do hope you will find the Cancer Active site very useful. There is so much information there that is useful and also gives food for thought.
Thank you for your suggestion about updating my original starting post. I think that was a very good idea. Have a look at what I have done and tell me what you think.
Thank you so much for your kind words and it makes it all worthwhile on the thread if I can support and help others. I do not think I shall ever forget the feelings I had on the day I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Of course, on that day there was no mention of negative receptors, but just being told I had breast cancer was frightening enough. It was the GP who said she thought I had breast cancer, and the same day I saw a consultant, had a fine needle aspiration and she also said I had breast cancer but she had to prove it. The following day I had a mammogram, ultrasound, core biopsy and was told I definitely had breast cancer. All that day at the hospital I had a throbbing headache and my emotions were all over the place. That evening I cried like I had never cried before. It took me a long time to settle down and accept treatment.
Thank you for all your input.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
Thank you for your post. I was glad to know that you had checked the Cancer Active website. There is a lot of information there and it is good to use as a reference. There is no way that you can memorise all the information so I tend to use it as a reference book and refer back to it as I need.
Later on today I shall re-read the section on antioxidants to refresh my memory. What I tend to do with Cancer Active is also to wait for the regular newsletter that comes to my e-mail, read it carefully and check out all the headings underlined.
My oncologist never mentioned antioxidants to me. Perhaps they are advising not to take antioxidant supplements. Throughout my treatment I kept to my regular healthy eating pattern and certainly had things such as blueberries, raspberries etc. and all my usual green vegetables. I was in fact eating a rainbow diet long before knowing about the book with that title.
Perhaps we can have a general discussion on the thread about this.
You are right about there being a lot of information thrown at us. All we can do is make up our own minds. I certainly took lots of vitamins during my treatment and I am pretty sure I took CoQ10. I took also supplements to boost my immune system, such as pycnogenol (pine bark extract), and astragalus, not to forget Iscador.
I think it all depends on how your thinking goes. I cannot see anything wrong with integrative treatment in cancer and I think this will happen more and more in the future. There is orthodox medicine, complementary treatments and alternative treatments. Why not integrate them to treat disease? After all, nothing is more lethal than the present treatment for cancer. We accept it because it saves our lives.
I hope you get to start your radiotherapy soon as waiting is awful.
Will post again later when I have reread about antioxidants.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
I have just been on the Cancer Active site to try to locate what you may have been reading about antioxidants and chemotherapy. I typed in antioxidants in the search box and there are 83 results. To get precisely what you want you have to know the title of the article. Please let me know the title you looked up.
I googled antioxidants and chemotherapy treatment and found what seems to be a serious website. The link is http://weeksmd.com/2012/04/antioxidants-do-not-interfere-with-chemotherapy/
This article seems to say that antioxidants do not interfere with chemotherapy treatment and that the antioxidants protect the healthy cells, which seems to make sense to me.
I hope to hear back from you.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I thought you might be interested in the first paragraph of the link that I have just posted to adagio. Any of your comments will be most welcome, especially if you are going through treatment and your medical team has spoken to you about antioxidants.
“Antioxidants do not interfere with chemotherapy
Posted by Bradford S. Weeks, MD on April 4, 2012
Dr. Weeks’ Comment: The standard of care in oncology is to forbid the use of anti-oxidants coincident with chemotherapy and radiation. This edict flies in the face of a decade of scientific research. While the rationale makes sense (chemo and radiation kill by oxidizing cells so anti-oxidants should blunt that effect) nonetheless, the research suggests that anti-oxidants protect healthy non-cancerous cells from the oxidizing effect of chemo and radiation but do NOT protect the cancer cells. The result of using anti-oxidants coincident with chemo and radiation is less side-effects and greater quality of life. If your oncologist purports to be a scientific doctor, ask him or her for ANY research substantiating the claim that chemo and radiation are less efficacious coincident with anti-oxidants. The fact is there is none of a convincing nature while the opposite is true: lots of research supports using anti-oxidants.”
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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I went for my radiation simulation this morning. My radiation oncologist advised me to take absolutely no antioxidant supplements during treatment, but that I may eat whatever I wish. She said that a balanced diet, including antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries, are good to eat because they help protect healthy cells, and the llevel of antioxidants in foods will not interfere with treatment. Supplements are at much higher levels, though, and could interfere with treatment.
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Hello placid44,
Thank you for your post and for letting us know that you went for your radiation simulation this morning. I was interested to know, and I am sure that others will be interested to know, that your radiation oncologist advised you not to take antioxidant supplements during your radiotherapy treatment. This is what I told adagio I thought when she posted about antioxidants and chemotherapy. It is always much better anyway to get all your vitamins, minerals etc. from your food.
As a matter of interest, since this discussion started about chemotherapy treatment and antioxidants, were you given the same advice not to take these supplements during chemotherapy? There seems to be two schools of thought about this.
Antioxidants were never mentioned to me in 2005-6 but then things may have moved on in the UK since then and I do not think even now we are give as much information as elsewhere. I certainly did not agree with the nutrition advice I received during treatment, lots of high fat dairy products, which I tend to think are one of the major causes of breast cancer, as did my breast cancer consultant.
I think we all have to be careful with supplements, especially high dose ones and we have to be careful not to overdose.
Am I right in thinking that you have had different oncologists for your radiotherapy and chemotherapy? Here in the UK, for me, it was the same oncologist who decided on my chemotherapy treatment and on my radiotherapy treatment.
I hope all goes well with your radiotherapy.
Thinking of you.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello linali,
Thank you for your PM. I have had a busy, stressful day with my volunteer work as a director in my apartment complex.
I hope to be able to reply sometime tomorrow.
Keep happy and keep positive.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Sylvia,
Thanks. My medical oncologist did not advise me one way or the other as to antioxidants during chemotherapy. She only said, "eat a well-balanced diet." My radiation oncologist and medical oncologist are different people...0 -
Hello Sylvia and everyone.
I was sorry to hear about your traumatic weekend, it must have been very stressful to watch your neighbour in distress and to learn of his passing on route to the hospital.
I have not heard from Liv and have noticed she has not been on any of the boards for a while, hope she is doing fine and just taking a break from posting.
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Sylvia, your Top Post Looks great! I'm glad to see the seven years and nine months. I think you should put the 7 and the 9 like that too, as it stands out even more so!
Now regarding the discussion about anti-oxidants, when I was going through chemo, I proudly proclaimed to my Oncologist that I had bought organic blueberries and was going to start taking them. He became very excitable, arms up in the air, eyes set straight on me, and he said "no power drinks, no juicing, no supplements, no anti-oxidants more than what my normal protocol was, nothing!" When I asked why, he said he wanted to make sure the medicine could find any abnormal cells, and that if I'm taking one of the things he referred to, it could potentially mask an abnormal cell, and not receive the chemo benefit." So I left the blueberries in the freezer all that time. I didn't know what juicing was yet, so I went home and read all about it.
My new saline implants are sloshing and gurgling. I google'd this and seems I must have a pocket of air this time. They appear closer, and I had asked my PS if I could go smaller in size and if he can set them in closer. He originally told me that would most likely require drains, as it would leave a pocket so I didn't get to go smaller (I'm a B, started with an AA before all this). He must have positioned them slightly in more though, causing a pocket of air. I read it should subside in a few weeks to a few months. I see him Thursday and will let him know.
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sylvia - the article by Dr Weeks is certainly thought provoking. I googled some of his other articles and it would appear that he is very much into alternative treatments (not necessarily a bad thing). His view on using antioxidants during chemo is definitely worth reading. However, I agree with you that getting most of our antioxidants from our foods is very good. I honestly believe that we each have to make our own choices because honestly the "experts" don't really know! I think we all should be diligent in researching our own particular cancers and doing what we feel is best with the knowledge that we have.
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Hello Lolalee, InspiredbyDolce (Debra), placid44 and adagio,
Thank you for your posts, interesting as always. I shall be posting later today. At the moment I am getting ready to go to my directors' meeting. Hope you all have a good day.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello placid44,
Thank you for your post. I was interested to know that you had different oncologists for your chemotherapy and your radiotherapy. That explains why a lot of the American women post about MO and RO. As I said, I had one for both treatments and she is the one I still see every six months for check ups. I have been told that I shall probably stay with her for ten years. I just had radiographers doing the actual radiotherapy treatment.
Today I reached 7 years and 9 months since diagnosis.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Lolalee,
Thank you for your post. It was very sad watching my neighbour lying lifeless on the stretcher and then to hear that he was dead.
I have sent a PM to Liv to find out how she is doing. It is not like her to be so quiet. She is full of life in her posts and is important to the thread.
I hope your week is going well.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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sylvia - you are such an inspiration to me. I sure hope I can reach 7 plus years from my diagnosis. I am working hard to achieve that by doing all the things that I feel are beneficial. Continue to share your knowledge with us - it is wonderful. I know you do the rainbow diet and watch what you eat - are there any supplements that you take on a regular basis?
Every day I take Vit D 4000 units, 20 grams L-glutamine, Vit B12, Vit B6, B complex, Calcium, Vit K, Magnesium, L-Carnitine, Fish Oil and Probiotics. I will stop taking the L-glutamine, L-carnitine and the B vitamins about 6 weeks after my last taxol. I am considering the benefits of reishi mushrooms and I have heard that Astragulus is beneficial during radiation.
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Hello InspiredbyDolce (Debra),
You will see that I have again taken your good advice about my original post.
Thank you for your interesting information about antioxidants and your oncologist's attitude to them. I can understand why the supplements might be problematic and perhaps the juicing. They may just be too concentrated. I do remember that before I started my treatment, I did get in touch with a well known herbalist, who had treated quite a lot of people. He believed that a lot of cancers might be connected to candida and I remember he did not believe in juicing things such as carrots. When you juice a lot of fruit you get a higher concentration of natural sugars than when you are eating fruit, where the natural sugar is absorbed slowly. We have all read that cancer cells feed on sugar. I was not into juicing, either, at that time, but I did juice some avocados and a mixture of green vegetables. He also believed in a low carbohydrate diet and to stay off bread because of the yeast.
I think in the end you just have to make your own choice.
I do hope everything will go well tomorrow when you see your plastic surgeon.
Good luck.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
Thank you for your very kind words. I am sure you are doing everything you can to stay healthy and keep cancer at bay. I think all of us on this thread are trying as hard as we can to keep our bodies in good condition.
I think it is quite easy to get a mixture of fruit and vegetables and especially raw foods. When you arrange them on a plate they all look so colourful and it is easy to mix in red, orange, yellow, green with the vegetables and perhaps an even bigger array with fruit.
With the supplements, I am always a bit wary and try to get as much from my food as I can.
I do take Vitamin D3 (1000 units) and take the oil capsules rather than a tablet. I take this every morning with 250 – 500 mg of calcium citrate with 125 – 250 mg of magnesium citrate, as well as vitamin K. I take these with a glass of sugar free, fresh soy milk that has 300 mg of calcium phosphate in it and 70 calories. I take this regularly, and sometimes have a day off, because I have osteoporosis caused partly by when I had an over active parathyroid gland, but I think mainly from the cancer treatment. I am very vigilant about calcium supplements, because I keep reading about how they can cause cardiovascular problems. You can overload your body with calcium supplements but apparently not through food. During the day I may have another glass of the soy milk (300 mg of calcium) and half a pot of plain soy yoghurt enriched with calcium (300 mg of calcium and 110 calories). It also has probiotics. The rest of the calcium I get from vegetables, nuts and seeds.
I do take a multivitamin/mineral supplement quite regularly, as well as some B vitamins and fish oils.
I also eat white and oily fish regularly, as well as some organic eggs.
I do hope that helps. We seem to be on the same wavelength.
I do eat a lot of mushrooms, as they are a good source of protein and vitamin B. I try to buy organic ones if I can and buy a mixture of them. The most important ones I buy I would say are the Chinese Shitake mushrooms that I put in a stir fry or an omelette.
I did take a lot of astragalus before and through my treatment. The herbalist prescribed it in powder form for a while and then I bought capsules. You can either swallow the capsules or make a tea by emptying them. I have not taken them for quite a while.
I do hope this helps. I think it is very important to discuss our nutrition and the women on here seem very interested in that.
I read today about the seven most important things to do to keep healthy and reduce your chances of the chronic degenerative illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. They are as follows.
Keep active, follow a healthy diet, keep your cholesterol level under control, keep your blood pressure under control, keep your blood level under control, keep your weight under control and, above all, do not smoke.
I think watch your alcohol intake should have been included in this and avoid stress.
Of course there is no guarantee that you will not get any of these illnesses but at least you can try.
I would like to say I am most impressed with how the Irish, Americans, Canadians, Australians and South Africans and some Brits, especially sam52 and Michael, are so keen to play an active part in keeping healthy and getting informed.
I sometimes get the impression that, judging from some people I know, that there is still the attitude in the UK that the doctor knows best.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello InspiredbyDolce (Debra),
I think you should celebrate the fact that you are BRCA negative. That has to be a positive thing. If I were you I would not get hung up on all this information about survival statistics and prognosis. Nobody knows for certain and we are not statistics. We are all different.
Thank you for your PM. I shall reply in more detail later when I have had a chance to look at the link.
You mentioned about the rearrangement assessment. What exactly is this? I am asking this because I recently read something about BART test, which stands for BRAC Analysis Rearrangement Test, which I had not heard of before.
I also read there is something called BreastNext test. Any information?
It is absolutely pouring down with rain here and not a hint of sunshine. It is a complete washout for the first day of Spring!!!
This week, I was talking to the new owner of our local natural food store. She is a young woman from Thailand and I asked here if she was happy in England. She said she liked everything except the weather. I told her that our bad weather was the reason so many Brits escape to Thailand for holidays!
I hope you have a nice day.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Thank you Liv，FernMF & sylviaexmouthuk & All,
Sorry i havent been around for quite a while. I ve finished the chemo FEC part. Gosh, that was an absolutely tourture. I had 3 circles and the SE simply got worse and worse.
yesterday, i changed to Taxotere. So far the med is quiet in my body but it will explode and collapse me very soon, I believe.= = = = = = = =
to answer some questions that are raised to my situation.
when i was dignosed (FNA,mammography,Ultrosound,brest MRI), the doc said i got a 3.5cm tumor and 1 or 2 lymph nodes were affected. 2 weeks later I had the surgery, removing them all. then the pathology report showed that my tumor was much bigger(7cm) and 17/24 were affected. my er pr were both negative but the HER2 was not conclusive and the fish test was still waiting. Later it turned out negative as well.
the tumor was growing much bigger and faster than they expect. the doctor believed that i need a full body scan to see whether the cancer was spread to other parts of the body. my doc explained due to my KI67 value was very high (70%) which s something about the speed of cell dividing. Normally people are seen safe around 5%. (Luckily it was turned out no sign of spreading yet... that was so far the best news to me.)
they also found that the tumor was also very very close to my chest wall. so they decided after the chemo i need radio theropy as well.
PLUS,
I Received my diagnose as my 35th birthday gift. I have a 3 years old son. Right before I was diagnosed, my husband and i decided it s time to give him a little sis or bro. and then the next day i worry myself sick that he will grow up without a mum.
I grow up beleiving in principle of cause and effect is one of common truths in the world. it works very well to me: i work hard and i get a promotion; i love my family and they love me; i drive carefully and i have no speeding ticket; i pay attention to my health, and i do not bother my gp for more than 10 years (except the pregnant part) ... until this happened! yeah, i still obsess with the question why i got the cancer. i know very well it is useless but i just cant get over it.
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Thank you Liv，FernMF & sylviaexmouthuk & All,
Sorry i havent been around for quite a while. I ve finished the chemo FEC part. Gosh, that was an absolutely tourture. I had 3 circles and the SE simply got worse and worse. yesterday, i changed to Taxotere. So far the med is quiet in my body but it will explode and collapse me very soon, I believe.
= = = = = = = =
to answer some questions that are raised to my situation.
when i was dignosed (FNA,mammography,Ultrosound,brest MRI), the doc said i got a 3.5cm tumor and 1 or 2 lymph nodes were affected. 2 weeks later I had the surgery, removing them all. then the pathology report showed that my tumor was much bigger(7cm) and 17/24 were affected. my er pr were both negative but the HER2 was not conclusive and the fish test was still waiting. Later it turned out negative as well.
the tumor was growing much bigger and faster than they expect. the doctor believed that i need a full body scan to see whether the cancer was spread to other parts of the body. my doc explained due to my KI67 value was very high (70%) which s something about the speed of cell dividing. Normally people are seen safe around 5%. (Luckily it was turned out no sign of spreading yet... that was so far the best news to me.); They also found that the tumor was also very very close to my chest wall. so they decided after the chemo i need radio theropy as well.
PLUS,
I Received my diagnose as my 35th birthday gift. I have a 3 years old son. Right before I was diagnosed, my husband and i decided it s time to give him a little sis or bro. and then the next day i worry myself sick that he will grow up without a mum.
I grow up beleiving in principle of cause and effect is one of common truths in the world. it works very well to me: i work hard and i get a promotion; i love my family and they love me; i drive carefully and i have no speeding ticket; i pay attention to my health, and i do not bother my gp for more than 10 years (except the pregnant part) ... until this happens! yeah, i still obsess with the question why i have the cancer. i know very well it is useless but i just cant get over it.
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It's called the Brac Analysis Large Rearrangement Test. My genetic counselor mentioned it's looking at the whole genetic sequence to see if something is out of order. She referred to it in simple terms, as baking a cake, if you put the ingredients in the wrong order, there will be an issue.
This link establishes that it has now been added to the NCCN guidelines! That is amazing news.
They have established that as many as 6% - 10% of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers (HBOC) originate from a large rearrangement mutation.
Here is some general info on it and some general guidelines on who is eligible. My genetics counselor said it seems to be majority of insurance companies were now covering it, and she hasn't had any denials this year for getting it pre-approved for her patients!
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Greetings Sylvia,
As always, you are so comforting. I feel GREAT today! Thank you so much. Sometimes I just need a little pep talk.
I love your new Top Post - it's awesome. My husband studies history and we woud love to visit England and Prague. I also am not a good rainy weather person, but I don't have to worry about that in Georgia.
I will check back in ladies. I've been typing from my very old dinosaur of a laptop, so it's a little more challenging to do stuff on here. I hit submit button and it takes forever for it to post. LOL
I have my PS appointment today - it's my first follow-up post surgery.
Hi Emma,
It's so hard to understand and go through the process, I'm glad to hear that nothing had spread. We are all here for you, any time you need to vent. I like to read things about health and nutrition, which always makes me feel like I have control over things, even when I'm not sure. I also find exercising helps get my endorphins up. Look to Sylvia for inspiration too, as she is at 7 years and 9 months of a healthy-victory, and it sounds like you are on your way to achieving that too!
Many hugs all my new sisters!
- Breast Cancer Questions: Ask An Expert: http://www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org/services/ask_expert/
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Hi Ladies, checking in from Canada here. First time posting to this thread but read it regularly as we have a lot of the same protocols and chemos as the UK seems to. Anyways, I have in the past PM'd with Liv a few times too and have noticed that she hasn't signed onto the site now for a week or posted for quite some time. If anyone does hear from her please let us know. I'm sure I am not the only one that is concerned. Hopefully she is just taking a break or off doing something exciting and fun. Thanks
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Hello EmmaL,
Thank you for your post and for popping back in.
It is good to know that you have finished your chemotherapy treatment with FEC. I was sorry to know that you had such a bad time but you have got through it and you now have to put it behind you. I do hope the next part of the chemotherapy with docetaxel (Taxotere) will not be as bad. Try to keep in touch with us as you go through each treatment so that we can help you through it and reassure and comfort you. Sometimes women get discolouration of the toenails and fingernails but they will recover. You should ask your oncologist what side effects you may get from the taxotere so that you are not taken by surprise. Remember to drink plenty of water and get plenty of rest during chemotherapy. Keep looking forward.
Your surgery is behind you as well and your cancerous breast and lymph nodes have been removed, so that is another triumph and an ordeal that is behind you.
Many women on these threads post to say that they found their tumour grew very quickly and seemed to come from nowhere. That was the case for me. I also had a large tumour like you, 6+ cms, also in the right breast and had a mastectomy. That was in 2005 and I am still alive to tell the tale.
It is not unusual to have CAT scans, MRI scans and bone nucleide scans to see what is happening with cancer cells and whether they have spread. Another triumph is that your cancer had not metastasised (spread).
Do not be worried about having to have radiotherapy. It is quite common for cancer treatment to consist of all three things, chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. The radiotherapy is done to mop up any stray cells. You can get through this.
What a shock to receive your diagnosis on your thirty-fifth birthday. Unfortunately we never know when cancer is going to come and lodge itself in our bodies and you are yet another young woman to be diagnosed with IDC and negative receptors. I would very much like to know why so many young women are getting diagnosed with breast cancer and especially with TNBC.
I do hope you are getting a lot of support from family and friends and that despite this ordeal you are managing to enjoy days with your young son.
I was very interested in your belief in the principle of cause and effect, but it does not always turn out like that and it certainly does not with breast cancer or any other type of cancer. I always looked after myself and my friends and family were shocked when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It just seems to be the luck of the draw.
Do not drive yourself mad trying to find out the cause of your breast cancer. It is unlikely that any of us will ever know and I doubt that there is one cause. It is probably a multi-causal disease.
Have you breast cancer or other cancers in the family? Have you been offered genetic testing for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene?
Please keep in touch with all the very nice and compassionate women on this thread. We shall all help you through and no one should have to go through cancer alone.
Sending kind thoughts to you in Manchester.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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sylvia - I got the phone call today to tell my that I will start my radiation on March 25th and now I am getting cold feet especially since I have been reading how it can cause osteoporosis and can make the ribs break. I already have osteoporosis and am now petrified and thinking that perhaps I should not do the radiation treatment.
Am I correct in recalling in one of your previous posts that you have osteoporosis? If this is correct, did you have it before your radiation or is it as a result of your radiation?
Look forward to hearing from you.
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Hello Sjesse12345,
Thank you for your post and welcome to our thread. I was glad to know that you have been reading it regularly. Canadians are always special to me having lived there for seventeen years. Which part of Canada are you from? I was in Montreal, Ottawa and London, Ontario.
It is true that a lot of the protocols are the same in Canada as in the UK. The fact is that there is a certain pool of chemotherapy drugs and the combinations are very similar. Have you finished your chemotherapy? How are you feeling now? Will you be having surgery and radiotherapy? It looks as though, like me, they have chosen to give you chemotherapy first.
We are all concerned about Liv and would so like her to get in touch with someone. Not so long ago she was really active on this thread and with PMs to me, but suddenly everything has stopped and it was at the time that she went for an MRI scan. She is such a lively person and full of fun. I do hope we shall hear from her soon and that she has just been taking a break.
Wishing you well.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello InspiredbyDolce (Debra),
Thank you for another interesting post. I am sure a lot of women will be looking into this.
I was glad to know that you are feeling great today. I think we all have ups and downs and some days are better than others. It is strange how you can start the day feeling great and just one little incident can spoil it all. You never know what the day will bring.
I was interested to know that your husband studies history. Is he concentrating on modern history or more ancient history? What do you think of England from what you have learnt about it? We do have some quaint traditions and rituals. The proceedings in the Houses of Parliament are very archaic, as is the monarchy. Today there was the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England.
I think that 90 degrees F would be too much for me!
It has been raining, really raining, all through the night, all day, and is set to continue throughout tomorrow.
I hope everything went well today with your plastic surgeon.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
Thank you for your post and for letting us all know when you are starting radiotherapy. We shall all be thinking of you.
I was interested to know that you have osteoporosis, as I also have it. Mine may have been caused by an over active parathyroid gland, diagnosed at the same time as my breast cancer, and from which I am now cured, having had surgery to remove a non-malignant adenoma on one of the parathyroids. However, I had no symptoms of osteoporosis until I had the breast cancer treatment and my consultant said I had the parathyroid problem quite some time before I had the breast cancer.
Did you tell your medical team that you have osteoporosis? When did you develop it? I can understand that you are having doubts about the radiotherapy. You should try to talk to your oncologist about this, tomorrow if you can, and explain the situation. It is important because radiotherapy is usually given to mop up and stray cancer cells.
You asked about my own osteoporosis. I tend to think it as probably caused by my cancer treatment and I think both chemotherapy and radiotherapy can cause it. I had no symptoms of osteoporosis, such as losing height, until after my cancer treatment. it was in 2009, on a routine visit to the nurse at my GPs surgery, when I asked her to measure my height and discovered that I had lost an inch. I am treating the osteoporosis myself and if you look at a recent post of mine to InspiredbyDolce you will see what I am doing.
I have refused from diagnosis to take any brand of bisphosphonates as they are lethal and seem to do more harm than good.
You can get a lot of information about osteoporosis if you go to the website of What Doctors Don't Tell You (WDDTY.COM). There is a part there where you can type in for example 'osteoporosis' and there is a whole load of information. I was looking it up this evening to refresh my memory about bisphosphonates.
I hope this helps and post if you need any more help.
I think we have to opt for putting up with most things that might stop cancer coming back. This is unfortunately the price we pay.
Fond thoughts and sympathy as you have to make a difficult decision.
Sylvia xxxx
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