Speaker • Author • Storyteller
Speaker • Author • Storyteller
The Blog
The Triathlon is over!
Today I finished radiotherapy. Let me say that again. Today, I finished radiotherapy!
Feeling hot, hot, hot
It was time to start the maintenance treatment - tablets and injections that will hopefully keep any lingering cancer cells fast asleep, and keep me around for as long as possible.
Who needs oestrogen?
So I've completed my breast cancer triathlon, but it's not the end of the journey. My breast cancer is sensitive to oestrogen. This means that the oestrogen I produce could stimulate any remaining cancer cells to grow and spread.
Just radiotherapy to go
I'm finally getting to the 'run' stage of my breast cancer triathlon swim/bike/run analogy - radiotherapy. Many women who have a mastectomy don't need radiotherapy.
Waiting for radiotherapy
It's been about 6 weeks since I last wrote about my recovery after surgery for breast cancer. My main problem was cording, where tight bands form just underneath the skin, running along your arm to your elbow, stopping you from moving your arm properly.
How long have I got?
Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I didn't really think about my own mortality.
Knowledge is power…or is it?
Throughout the majority of my treatment, I've not asked many questions about the choices I've been offered.
Recovering again
I woke up from my second operation back on the ward, in the same side room as my last op, feeling a bit sore and a bit dopey, just like last time.
Here we go again
So, where were we? Oh yes, I remember. It was 23rd December.
Run and Done?
Dermot and I were called in, and we sat down, nervous and excited, ready to hear the good news. And we did. We heard that the chemo had melted away the ductal cancer in my breast.
Waiting for the results
It was now time to find out exactly what my patients go through after I've operated on them. I must admit to being a huge mixed bag of emotions.
Mastectomy time
The time had come. After months of indecision about what type of mastectomy I wanted, it was time to go to hospital.
Twas the night before surgery
So chemo is over, and I've had a month to get ready for my surgery. It's a very strange place to be - wondering whether I've made the right decision about what operation to have, and still not believing that chemo is finally over.
Decisions, decisions
Helping a patient decide whether to have a reconstruction following a mastectomy can be incredibly challenging, for a variety of reasons. There are things that the patient can control, and those she can't.
How to cope with chemo
I had no idea what chemotherapy would be like, and didn't know what I needed to help me through. Simple things like what to wear to chemo, and how much paracetamol to buy.
Transition time
Suddenly it was time to go to my last chemo session. In the end, I decided to dress for comfort. It was a blustery day and I was feeling the cold, so jeans and a hoodie to keep my head warm, allow access to the port, with a zip for quick cooling for the hot flushes was the order of the day.
5 down, only 1 to go
So here we are, the penultimate chemo session, and I really didn’t want to go. I know I say that every time, but it’s true. I’d thought about cycling in, but it was cold and windy and I was tired - tired of life at the moment.
What is a breast?
What is a breast? Now don’t look at me as if I’m mad. It’s a valid question, and one that I thought I knew the answer to.
FEC chemo and a cold don’t mix
I really, really didn’t want to turn up to chemo today. After scaring myself by reading blogs and forums at the weekend, I was nervous.
Reality kicks in
After such an amazing week, with my birthday and completing the sprint triathlon, I shouldn’t have been surprised that I started to get very, very low.
Run or Dye Tri-ing
I’d made it through the last of the Docetaxel, which was a huge relief. Everyone was telling me that I was half-way through, which was a good thing.
Cycle 3 – tired of being tired
It was another lovely sunny day, that was going to be ruined by my final Docetaxel chemotherapy cycle. I was really dreading this.
The Blog
The Triathlon is over!
Today I finished radiotherapy. Let me say that again. Today, I finished radiotherapy!
Feeling hot, hot, hot
It was time to start the maintenance treatment - tablets and injections that will hopefully keep any lingering cancer cells fast asleep, and keep me around for as long as possible.
Who needs oestrogen?
So I've completed my breast cancer triathlon, but it's not the end of the journey. My breast cancer is sensitive to oestrogen. This means that the oestrogen I produce could stimulate any remaining cancer cells to grow and spread.
Just radiotherapy to go
I'm finally getting to the 'run' stage of my breast cancer triathlon swim/bike/run analogy - radiotherapy. Many women who have a mastectomy don't need radiotherapy.
Waiting for radiotherapy
It's been about 6 weeks since I last wrote about my recovery after surgery for breast cancer. My main problem was cording, where tight bands form just underneath the skin, running along your arm to your elbow, stopping you from moving your arm properly.
How long have I got?
Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I didn't really think about my own mortality.
Knowledge is power…or is it?
Throughout the majority of my treatment, I've not asked many questions about the choices I've been offered.
Recovering again
I woke up from my second operation back on the ward, in the same side room as my last op, feeling a bit sore and a bit dopey, just like last time.
Here we go again
So, where were we? Oh yes, I remember. It was 23rd December.
Run and Done?
Dermot and I were called in, and we sat down, nervous and excited, ready to hear the good news. And we did. We heard that the chemo had melted away the ductal cancer in my breast.
Waiting for the results
It was now time to find out exactly what my patients go through after I've operated on them. I must admit to being a huge mixed bag of emotions.
Mastectomy time
The time had come. After months of indecision about what type of mastectomy I wanted, it was time to go to hospital.
Twas the night before surgery
So chemo is over, and I've had a month to get ready for my surgery. It's a very strange place to be - wondering whether I've made the right decision about what operation to have, and still not believing that chemo is finally over.
Decisions, decisions
Helping a patient decide whether to have a reconstruction following a mastectomy can be incredibly challenging, for a variety of reasons. There are things that the patient can control, and those she can't.
How to cope with chemo
I had no idea what chemotherapy would be like, and didn't know what I needed to help me through. Simple things like what to wear to chemo, and how much paracetamol to buy.
Transition time
Suddenly it was time to go to my last chemo session. In the end, I decided to dress for comfort. It was a blustery day and I was feeling the cold, so jeans and a hoodie to keep my head warm, allow access to the port, with a zip for quick cooling for the hot flushes was the order of the day.
5 down, only 1 to go
So here we are, the penultimate chemo session, and I really didn’t want to go. I know I say that every time, but it’s true. I’d thought about cycling in, but it was cold and windy and I was tired - tired of life at the moment.
What is a breast?
What is a breast? Now don’t look at me as if I’m mad. It’s a valid question, and one that I thought I knew the answer to.
FEC chemo and a cold don’t mix
I really, really didn’t want to turn up to chemo today. After scaring myself by reading blogs and forums at the weekend, I was nervous.
Reality kicks in
After such an amazing week, with my birthday and completing the sprint triathlon, I shouldn’t have been surprised that I started to get very, very low.
Run or Dye Tri-ing
I’d made it through the last of the Docetaxel, which was a huge relief. Everyone was telling me that I was half-way through, which was a good thing.
Cycle 3 – tired of being tired
It was another lovely sunny day, that was going to be ruined by my final Docetaxel chemotherapy cycle. I was really dreading this.
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