June 2012
After receiving a cancer diagnosis I found there was so much to learn about the illness and how to get through it and most of the time I wasn’t able to process it all. During treatment I decided I wanted to help other people by sharing things I had learnt, so with that in mind I set out to write a book called The Things I Learnt About Cancer Without Doing A Google Search.
It is ebook available on http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/160210
and will be soon on Amazon, the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony and the Diesel eBook Store. It is readable on your PC and any e-reading device, including the Amazon Kindle, the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad and the Sony Reader.
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March 2011
I seem to run on 3 gears at the moment. I either have A LOT of energy, have moderate energy or terrible fatigue, which i agree is debilitating. The fatigue is getting less and less, what i found the hardest was being patient with myself. I was mentally fit but my body wasn't able to keep up. You will get used to the different stimulants at work and hopefully sooner rather than later you won't feel so tired. Are you able to attend meetings every 2nd day for a little while?
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March 2011
Yes i am and I have spoken to 2 oncologists about it. There is no data available on the decrease or increase of reoccurence being on it for 2 years purely because no one has researched this, it's only been done at the 5 year mark. So I thought I'd put it out there and ask on this site hoping the is someone who can share their experience.
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March 2011
Hi Rachel. I took a year and a half off work and returned part time Jan 10 . It took a couple of months getting used to being back and learning how to deal with the tiredness. I started working full time last Oct and had to get used to that which didn't take too long. I still get tired some days and when I do I come home and have a nap. I enjoy working, using my brain and the social aspect as well. It's good to have a routine that doesnt involve hospital visits. Fitting in doctors appointments can get a bit tricky as I don't like taking too much time off work but I try to book them in 1st thing in the morning so I'm not too late getting in. One bit of advice I can give is to take your time, try not to do too much at first.
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March 2011
Hi there. I've been on tamoxofin for almost 2 years of the 5 that has been prescribed and I'm thinking of stopping. Has anyone stopped taking tamoxfin before the pescribed and date? If so,how are you?
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July 2010
Hi Nikki,That is fantastic! I imagine it was a hard decision for you, but there must come a time when you do things for yourself and yourself alone. I recently had my first moment where I forgot that I had cancer and it was so liberating. I forgot that I was diagnoses, I forgot about the surgeries and treatments and it was great, it helped me enjoy being in the moment and enjoying life. Thanks for all your support and kindness. Good luck with whatever you choose to do ( :
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May 2010
I was reading an article titled "Barred from screening" which went into why the government recommends free breast screening for older women only. The jist of it was that there was a higher risk of false positives in the testing of women aged 40 -49, no mention of women under 40. That at the end of the day it was an economic and resource issue, not enough doctors and not enough machines, even though the participation rate among the target group was 14% lower than aimed for.
The following line has infuriated me, "False results - while dense breast tissue can resemble cancer in a x-ray, the policy says younger women are "more likely to have unnescessary recall for assessment, with anxiety, sometimes invasive investigations, when there was no breast cancer in the first place."
Was this policy written by someone who only interviewed women who had false positive results?. A mammogram, FNA and core biopsy are painful but it does not compare to a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and breast reconstruction, now that is invasive. I think any woman would much rather go through further assessments to get an accurate result than the latter.
I would love to sit in a room with these people who make decisions on my behalf and show them the results of invasive treatment.
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May 2010
Hi Frangipani,
It's been 7 months since i had the expanders put in and am due to have the implants exchange done the end of july. Leading up to the surgery I was petrified, I had been traumatised by the nurses when they took the tubes out after the bilateral mastectomy. I found it to be very painful for the first couple of months and thankfully I don't have any more pain and am very happy with the results so far. The decision to have or not have the surgery should be yours to make, it is a very big decision to have the surgery. If you know in yourself what you will be happy doing that's all that matters. Why do your family think they will be depressed?
When I was diagnosed I was told the right breast had to be removed and that I would have a lumpectomy on the left. I told my surgeon that I wanted both removed. He tried to talk me out of it but I told him that I knew I would be distressed seeing no breast on the right side and a disfigured breast on the left, so he removed both.
Cancer brings a different perspective and meaning to life. Sometimes it takes a while for others to see and understand what you do.
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April 2010
Samex you captured the feelings really well. I feel like an alien most days but I figure this is all part of my learning experience.
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