The Breast Cancer journey is different for everyone. Here you will find some ideas that helped us – we hope you fine them useful!
- Use plenty of aqueous cream, before and during radiotherapy, as it helps to stop the skin from burning and cracking. I started applying it as soon as I could after surgery
- The cold cap worked for me but it is quite an unpleasant experience wearing it so brace yourself! If you aren't sure whether or not to use it, it's worth wearing it for the first treatment to see how you get on.
- I found the end of treatment and the return to work to be the hardest time of the whole experience as people expect you to just be your old self straight away. Going back to work was tricky as I had to accept that everyone had carried on without me and I needed to find my niche again. Also, I found that when you finish your treatment the doctors aren't able to say 'that's it, you are fine' so you are just left hanging and hoping that all is well. This is a feeling that has stayed with me.
- I found the Breast Cancer Care website very useful. I used the forums a lot which enable you to ask questions to which other people reply. It was really useful if something happened or if you had a particular feeling as other people would immediately reply and say 'that happened to me and I did this etc'. It was also reassuring to read about other people's experiences.
- I read quite a few books relating to breast cancer. The three that I would recommend are: The Luxury of Time by Jane Tomlinson which I found very uplifting and Before I Say Goodbye by Ruth Picardie and It's Not Like That, Actually by Kate Carr which are both frank and open accounts of the authors' battles with BC.
- If you want it to, life can return to normal after Breast Cancer and positive things can come out of the experience. I have found that some people become 'a victim' to Breast Cancer and they find it difficult to accept that they can move on. It is possible - go for it.
