Firstly, I'll tell you the outcome of my results appointment on the 20th April - I had what is called a Pathological Complete Response (pCR) to chemo. Which means that when I had my Mastectomy and the breast tissue was examined, there was no cancer left whatsoever after Chemotherapy. This was the very best outcome I could have asked for! My consultant had felt it was quite unlikely I was going to achieve this as I was starting off with quite a large tumour, but obviously my tumour was very sensitive to Chemo and it made those 5 difficult months so worthwhile. The great thing about this is it lowers your chance of recurrence to about 5% I think it is, so I am beyond happy about this result!
Post surgery I had one of my drains left in for almost 4 weeks. I had to stay on oral antibiotics for the entire time I had a drain in, which wore me down a bit. I got my last drain out on the 3rd May, a day after my 30th Birthday. Since then I have had no issue so far with my reconstruction, the scars have healed well, I have no pain and luckily I didn't have any issues with my arm mobility.
Radiotherapy
I am now on my 4th week of 5 weeks of Radiotherapy treatment. I have 8 sessions of 25 left to go. Radiotherapy consists of going into the hospital 5 days a week for 5 weeks straight, where they administer Radiation Treatment each day.
About two weeks before starting Radiotherapy I had a Planning Scan. This consists of having a CT scan where your alignment is examined and three tiny permanent tattoos are placed to line up with the machine. So I have a black permanent dot on each of my sides and one in the centre of my chest, which will remain there forever.
Radiotherapy treatment consists of being placed lying on your back, naked from the waist up, with your arms above your head, on a machine called a Linear Accelerator. The Linear Accelerator can move 360 degrees around your body to administer Radiation to different areas.
The Radiation Therapists then measure your position against lasers which shine down onto your body, against your tattoos. They have to manoeuvre you until you are in the exact position. A phrase I wont be tired of hearing when I finish is "Relax your shoulders Sarah, no relax them, no they're not relaxed!" Its very hard to relax your shoulders while about 4 people are intently staring at your boobs! Once you are aligned the therapists will leave the room and you have to hold this exact position until the treatment is over. The treatment itself doesn't feel or look like anything. The only reason you know its happening is because a high pitched noise sounds while treatment is in progress.
I've had very little side effects from Radiotherapy so far except for some fatigue but I also think that is due to the unusually warm weather in Ireland at the moment! I am using a cream called Biafine three times a day to moisturise the Radiated area, this is a cream which is made specifically for Radiotherapy and I have found it brilliant. I haven't found it available anywhere in Ireland, as its a French cream so I buy it on Amazon.
What else has been happening?
Diet and Exercise
I have been using MyFitnessPal to track exactly what I'm eating each day to try and make sure I'm not overeating and to try to ensure I'm eating healthily. I am starting to lose some of the weight I have gained over treatment, which is great! I got a Fit Bit for my birthday and I am absolutely obsessed with it! I started off aiming for 5000 steps a day, then 6000 steps and now I'm aiming for 7000. There are days where I do more steps and less steps but at the moment if I get 7000 a day I am happy with that. I intend to keep increasing my goal up to 10,000 and ultimately I would like to be achieving 10,000 most days when I return back to work. I have started walking most days and I am definitely finding it is helping to ease the fatigue I have felt with Radiotherapy. I am still consuming very little Dairy and Meat and have to say I don't really miss or crave either anymore!
While I was in hospital recovering from surgery I decided to set a goal for myself to do the Irish Cancer Society Colour Dash 5km on the 17th June. Setting this goal for myself gave me motivation to get out and start to regain my fitness. My boyfriend Iggy and my mum both did it with me. We set out that day intending to walk 5km but instead we ended up walking 10 due to the walk to and from the race, I was tired after but delighted to have managed it! We managed to fund raise almost 1000e with the help of my brother Daragh also, which is incredible and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who donated and supported us!
Supplements
I am then taking a Vegan Multivitamin, Calcium Supplement and Omega 3 to replace vitamins and minerals I am not getting in my diet.
Interesting little fact I will place here, alot of women diagnosed with breast cancer seem to be deficient in Vitamin D. I don't know if there is a link but I'd say its unlikely its coincidental!
Hair growth and starting to look like me again!
So my hair has grown quite a lot since finishing chemo in March. I am still continuing to use Roots scalp treatment about once every week/two weeks. I was using Nioxin but I found it started to irritate my scalp so I have started to use Alaparf hair loss products, I have only been using them about a week so I can't really comment yet on how well they are working but they seem to irritate my scalp less! I am trying to put coconut oil on my scalp over night a few nights a week also as I tend to suffer from a dry scalp and I'm hoping it helps!
I have my eyebrows and eyelashes completely back now! I have to say thank you to Karen Hanrahan for recommending Rapid Lash and Brow to me because I really think they helped alot in regrowing my lashes and brows back quickly and fully.
My nails are still a little bit discoloured from chemo but I am keeping them covered with Shellac nails so I don't have to look at them, the discolouration is slowly growing out though. I am lucky I didn't lose any nails as many people do during chemo and I honestly think alot of it has to do with the Skin, Hair and Nails supplement I have been taking. My nails are really strong now, way stronger than they were even before chemo!
I hope this left picture doesn't upset or scare anybody! I just wanted to show that you do start to regain your former self and its helpful for me to look back on that picture to see how far I have come!
I don't really have any more news at the moment. Things are going good for me, I am really close to finishing my treatment and I guess the next time I write I will be finished treatment altogether!
