Hi Im Kaori, I've been off this forum for a while I hope you're finding peace of mind. Since last October I became officially an homeless, but grateful for shelter they took me in. I've had my breast cancer metastasis a year ago. I've been struggling to do some kind of work to qualify myself in private rental market for last 6 months but every effort just gets wasted, I am starting to lose will power to go against this. One thing keeping me here is my son under custody of my ex. For me medicine worked and I am physically strong but no hope for having a job thus no hope for a private rental is really hitting me hard.  For emergency shelter I can not have my son over and when I am just alone I feel like I am just here as nuisance to the world. I am tired of making effort to generate some sort of income.  I tried budgeting it worked well but I am so bad that thinking about money actually make me sick. I was watching a Japanese youtube by a Palliative Psychological doctor he explains the most of the cancer patients actually die peacefully with loved ones around with not too much pain.  He says in the end patient start to look like s/he is not responding but they can hear what you say.  "So if you're a family, keep talking"   That youtube sort of made me feel easier.  I hope I could put English sub to it, or some English seaking Palliative care Doctor make something similar.     ... View more

Hi Kate,   I saw a specialist oncology masseuse throughout my treatment. She had no problem with touching my treatment site and her gentle touch on my wounds was both physically and emotionally healing. She wore gloves during chemotherapy and radiation and I believe she was a big part of my recovery.   She qualified with this organisation: oncologymassagetraining.com.au Their site has a post code search for local therapists. Thanks for the link to the Cancer Council PDF on massage. I provided it to the spa where I was refused service.  Kind regards Meg ... View more

Hi there,   Congratulations on being keen to get back to exercise. I practice yoga every day now and it's made such a difference to my recovery.   I found the staff at Bras n Things really helpful. They are trained to properly fit all kinds of bras and one of them had special experience in dealing with post-surgery fittings. Just ask at your local store because it might be best to book in.    I also found that wearing something firm, like a compression top, helped to give me support. Apparently actual compression garments are also problematic (lymphodema risk) so choose something without arms and make sure it's firm but not too tight.    Learning how to manually drain your lymphatic system should be a part of your recovery. If you haven't been referred to an oncology masseause, a lymphodema specialist or a physiotherapist with expertise in this area then ask for a referral. Some breast care nurses, radiotherapy nurses and cancer centre nurses also have this expertise. It's easy to do (really just gentle brushing of the skin) and makes such a difference. I ultimately needed a bilateral mastectomy and I was at high risk of lyphodema but thanks to learning how to care for my body I've had no problems at all.  Best of luck with it all. The golden rule is to listen to your body and don't try to do too much too soon. There's no upper limit to how well you can be.    Meg X ... View more