Elizabeth's Breast Cancer Journey and Recovery

Hi Elizabeth. Glad your treatments worked. I have scans on June 21 to see if mine did but I believe God healed me for bigger things so it really doesn’t matter. But it would be nice to hear “NED”. Or don’t you get to hear that for five years? Dunno how that works.💕

I’m really small and had a lumpectomy. Radiation didn’t do anything but make me tired from getting up at dark o clock to go through 2 hrs of traffic to get there for a twenty minute procedure. I exercised all through it. But two weeks after I had redness and blisters on my collarbone and under my breast. T God for Miaderm-l. My rad dr said i looked good! I still have tightness in my collarbone and tenderness under my arm. I also lost the middle octave of my singing voice. But when I see what some went through I feel very blessed.💕🙏🥰

I had two surgeries for my lumpectomy, first surgery went ok , was allergic to surgery prep got a rash, was allergic to the dermabond caused blisters. Second surgery 3 nodes were taken they were benign the methylene blue used was contaminated it caused burns around all the injection sights. The radiation treatments that I was told over and over would just cause slight sunburn has kicked butt I'm feeling exhausted, no appetite, and is really burning the breast.i am also experiencing my nipple has become very sensitive to touch.And I worry about long lasting side effects.i am grateful I needed no chemo or hormone therapy, I'm 62 and have other medical issues just ready for the burning to be gone

I call radiation therapy the gift that keeps on giving. I had 16 treatments in 2015. After I was done, I had painful scare tissue. I saw a lymphodema specialist one time, and it really helped. My big issue is that my chest muscles get hard and tight if I don't stretch a lot. I go to the gym regularly, and one of my. My favorite stretch is to hang from a bar. I can only hold on for about 5 seconds, but it feels so good afterward.

Hi Elizabeth! I’m so glad you’re on here. I had a very similar dx just on the right side. I went through all of my treatments late 2018 and 2019. Did you do radiation too? I had 33 radiation treatments and I still feel tight in that area. Like I benched pressed hard but only on one side. Ha! No one ever talks about long term radiation side effects so just curious how many others have the same. Hope you are well! 💕

Hi Emily ! Yes I had 36 treatments of radiation to my whole left chest wall. Had terrible burns and yes! Still feels tight! I chose not to have reconstruction so I am flat! But my skin is still tight! Unfortunately the radiation did some damage to my lungs so I am having breathing problems now. I agree- no one does talk about long term radiation side effects. For me- my radiation was the hardest to go through! I got through surgery and chemo pretty well! I am really glad you are on here! I hope you are well too! 🙏❤️

❤️ thanks for posting ELizabeth! I am going through neoajuvant therapy for TNBC. I'm glad for your insight re radiation. I'm glad to know these tidbits. God bless and keep you well!

❤️ hi! Sending healing energy and prayers your way ❤️🙏

Totally agree that long term radiation side effects are not mentioned in a way that you can prepare for the impact. Maybe for some it's not bad so they don't want to scare you. I have quite a bit of fibrosis at the bottom of my breast.I also have chronic breast edema for 1.5 yrs and counting. I did 2 rounds of manual lymphatic drainage with PTs who specialize in that but it doesn't get rid of it. Taking my breast was a big help but I developed an allergy to the tape. I tried a gentle hypoallergenic version but it wasn't strong enough since my breasts are large. It's been frustrating. My PT said it often resolves itself in about 2 yrs. I'm hopeful that holds true for me. I do range of motion exercises almost every day...if I put them off, I back track on my gains ALOT. Seems like this may need to become part of my daily routine. I'm not complaining. Sometimes it just nice to know you are not alone. We got this!!

*taping my breast... sorry for typo

Best of luck to you Susan and I’m sending healing loving energy your way!! ❤️🙏

What an incredible journey of strength and resilience! Thank you for sharing such an inspiring story that will surely give hope to others who are currently navigating their own breast cancer treatment. The positive energy and encouragement being shared here creates such a valuable support network for everyone in this community.