It's me, your body, can you pick up please?

Before I contracted cancer, I rarely noticed changes in my body. I'm not sure if I was just too busy to think about it, or whether there weren't any that were dramatic enough to attract my attention. Now, I'm hyper-conscious of every tiny twinge, ache and sensation. Whilst I appreciate that nobody really thinks about the indicators of cancer until they or someone else is experiencing them, I can't express enough how important it is to observe these small notifications from your body. You wouldn't ignore a notification from a friend on social media, so why ignore your body when it's trying to tell you something? Me and my body have had a few fall-outs in recent years. It thoroughly hated the chemo and whole-brain radiotherapy. It wasn't keen on the deeply uncomfortable 'steroid years'. It didn't like having all its energy sapped out of it and the sustained surprise attacks from cancer really kept my body on its toes. I can understand why we stopped listening to each other for a while.

So I'm asking everyone today, well urging you really, to LISTEN to what your body is saying to you. Most people ignore the nagging feeling that something's wrong, but bodies are cleverer than us, they keep trying to get the message across. So why not put a shell to your ear and think about what you hear.

Have you noticed any changes in your breasts?
Are there any changes to your toilet habits?
Can you feel any lumps or bumps in places where they shouldn't be?
Are you suffering from headaches or visual disturbances?
Is there blood where there shouldn't be?
Have you lost weight without trying?
Are you having difficulty getting up stairs without being breathless?

If the answer's 'yes', then pester your GP. That's what they're there for. When I was working as an Early Detection of Cancer volunteer (ever so slightly serendipitous would you agree?), I watched a video of a young bowel cancer. It was like a little white pustule. As it was small, it was easy to snip away with minimal surgery. We then looked at an advanced bowel cancer which was wrapped tightly round the bowel and the bowel was barely distinguishable from the growth. I will never forget that image. So, don't ignore your body. Work in partnership with it. Check your body regularly. Go to your GP if you find anything unusual. Be a team. Most worries are simply that - worries. But some are the real deal and you'll be glad you listened.

Amanda

The big little things

So, this week I celebrated a little thing. Well, to me, and others in the same boat, it was a rather big thing. I actually tied my hair back! You may remember that a few months ago, I made a significant move in re-capturing the 'old me' by getting hair extensions. The great thing about them is that your own hair continues to grow whilst your extensions conceal the unruly little tufts that hide beneath them. My real hair at the top is now reaching just below my ears and under the hair at the back (which would, without extensions make a fine mullet that the even older me, circa 1985 would be proud of) has grown to collar length. Ergo...I can now tie it back! It's such a trivial thing set against the backdrop of the last few years, but somehow, it really matters. For cancer sufferers it's big little things like this that give you a little buzz. And, it's another step along the way to getting back to me.

Amanda

Me, before I tied my hair back this morning

Why am I here?

Over the last couple of days Dean has been away for some gigs in Ireland. Whilst he was away I had time to reflect on the last few years. Here are the reasons that I'm still here.

1. The grace of God, without that I would have been long gone. What an enormous blessing.
2. An incredibly gifted neurological surgeon. She operated twice in a matter of weeks and I will always be grateful for her skills and optimism.
3. A top-ranking oncologist who took managed my treatment plan perfectly, whilst taking time to explain everything to me in a warm but pragmatic way.
4. My incredible father and husband who have carried me through the tough times with their unfailing support.
5. My wonderful friends who have lifted my spirits, made me laugh and listened when I needed them to. Many of them travelled from the opposite ends of the country to see me, two came from across the world when the news was bad.
6. Colleagues, ex-colleagues and clients and who supported me on my journey by sending letters and spurring me on with words of encouragement.
7. The church family, St. Lawrence's and Wesley Hall, without whose support and prayers I would not be here today.
8. Family friends and friends of friends. Over the last few years I have been overcome by the loveliness of people.

It's impossible to describe how grateful I am to everyone who has supported me on my 'journey'. I am truly thankful.

Amanda

Top 50 worldwide cancer blog - yes really!

Woo hoo! Our 'UKbreastcancertips' blog has been voted as one of the top 50 cancer blogs on the web by Feedspot Blog Reader. Yes, that's the whole worldwide web! We are thrilled to be sharing our experiences to help others who are facing cancer or know someone else who is. Thanks to all our readers and supporters. We've exceeded 140,000 views and we're proud to display our top 50 badge!

Amanda and Deb

Here are the other winners. Some real big players here and some really interesting blogs. Well done all.

Top 50 Breast Cancer Blogs And Websites on the Web
http://blog.feedspot.com/breast_cancer_blogs/

Congratulations Winners!!
Breastcancer.org
Medical News Today
ScienceDaily
BioMed Central
National Breast Cancer Foundation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Worldwide Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer Action
The Breast Cancer Charities of America
Nancy's Point
Metastatic Breast Cancer Network
Rethink Breast Cancer
Breastlight-International
Breast Cancer News
Breast Cancer Society of Canada
Sharsheret
Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer
Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer
100 Perks of Having Cancer plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It
Detrice Matthews
Let Life Happen Blog by Barbara Jacoby
Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine
Zero Breast Cancer
Male Breast Cancer Coalition
The Guardian
Health
Cancer Network
Joan Lunden
Stickit2Stage4
Renee Sendelbach
Amanda McDonald - A celebration of her life, friendship and adventures
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Breast Cancer? But Doctor...I hate pink!
Advocates for Breast Cancer
HIS Breast Cancer Awareness

Let's all ride the pirate ship

When I was younger, despite being the most travel sick kid in Britain (FACT: I have even vomited on the bus that takes you from the airport terminal on a two minute journey to the plane) I used to love theme parks. One of my particular favourites was the pirate ship as featured below. I'm far too old and far too health and safety conscious these days to enjoy the thrill of lurching from dizzying heights to plunging lows in a matter of seconds. Or so I thought...

Since my recent scare (click here to read Dad's blog if you missed it) I seem to have been emulating the pirate ship in emotional highs and lows for several weeks now. My poor husband and Dad have been the victims of this emotional piracy and it's getting rather tiresome. So I turned to my trusty friend Google, to see if this is 'normal'. Thank goodness. It is. Normal for a cancer 'survivor' anyway.

So for those of you who are wondering whether you're on your own emotional pirate ship, then here are my tips:

1. Be kind to yourself. No-one's expecting you to bounce back immediately. And it's not a linear process. Be patient. (Not my greatest attribute but I give it a go).
2. Do the things you love with the people you love.
3. Pray. God loves you and carries you through. I know my Dad is amazing but God the father is incredible.
4. Acknowledge how you feel. Fear, grief and loss are completely normal emotions. Express them don't suppress them.
5. Speak to other people who are in the same boat (or pirate ship). Support groups help in normalising difficult emotions.
6. Don't be afraid of recurrence. This is really hard, but if you can swap fear with faith then this will help.
7. Stay fit and healthy. I embarrassed myself completely this week by flailing around at a trampolining fitness class. It's impossible to be soul searching when you are concentrating on staying upright.
8. Avoid stress. I'm terrible at this but it can be helpful to avoid stressful situations. If you think you need additional support, your local hospice or the GP will offer a range of different types of help.
9. Get used to the new you. You are different now. The long-term after-effects of cancer might be physical such as a scar, or hair that's grown back with a mind of its own. Or it might be a new outlook that makes you feel isolated from those who haven't experienced what you have. Tell your friends and family how you're feeling. That's what friends are for.
10. Go to all your appointments. Don't be scared of bad news. With cancer, then you need to act fast if you notice any changes. A stitch in time and all that.

Above all, take support from every angle. For me it's my family, friends and church community. The violent swings of the pirate ship are no match for love, faith and peace.

Amanda

My emotions right now

Mission: Remission

December 30th 2016 marked 3 years since my breast cancer diagnosis. January 28th 2017 marked 3 years since I had an operation to save my life, left sided mastectomy and Strattice reconstruction. 

Anybody who has had a breast cancer diagnosis (or any other) will understand the anxiety that surrounds every follow up appointment. Whilst we want/need the appointments with our consultants/surgeons as we crave the reassurance that we're doing well, the fear of recurrence is always with us. 

I had my follow up yearly mammogram and ultrasound last week. I don't talk about these ahead of time because I don't feel the need to, but even if I don't talk about it, it doesn't mean I am not thinking about it. You can bet I was thinking about it from the moment the hospital letter dropped through my door.

In fact, I was thinking about it in January as I knew it was almost 'that time'.

Anyone who has gone through a cancer diagnosis can easily convince themselves it's back. Face it, there is always that little tiny voice in the back of your head that says you know it has come back. It whispers in your ear while you are sleeping, or trying to sleep, in the middle of the night.

But I am happy to report that as far as the radiologist could see, my mammogram was clear. The ultrasound showed cysts that I've always had but nothing sinister to be seen.
The radiographer who performed the ultrasound recognised me as I did her, she was in fact the same lady who spotted that 'something she wasn't sure of' after I went up to have cysts drained 3 years ago and the rest is history. 

Looking forward to another year of happiness, good health and making precious memories with those that mean the most.

Debbie

A challenging couple of weeks - guest blog from Amanda's Dad

It seems quite a long time since I did an article for Amanda and Deb’s Breast Cancer Tips so here goes... 

Amanda seemed to be going along very well following her miraculous change from ‘terminal’ medical status to ‘secondary’; ‘terminal’ is a frightening category to be in. We’d got through Christmas, our first without Amanda’s mother, and another without Amanda’s sister Stephanie - definitely not easy. However, a few weeks ago we attended a night match at the football and Amanda had to stop and rest due to sharp pain in her chest. I was obviously extremely concerned. She said that she’d being experiencing these pains almost daily but it was nothing to worry about. I tried to put the occurrence to the back of my mind, but it was constantly there however hard I tried to block it out.

Amanda and Dean then went away to Spain for a few weeks' holiday and we 'Facetimed' most days. Every time I tentatively enquired about how she was feeling, and if the chest pain was still there, she said that she was fine. She mustn’t have been fine because she had made an appointment with her GP on her return from holiday. The GP said that an immediate X-ray was necessary, and the X-ray highlighted a ‘cluster’ on her lungs – we all were devastated and feared the worst. Amanda in particular was very concerned and we decided to 'go private' to get a lung scan done and a diagnosis from a specialist to speed up the process. A routine brain scan was also scheduled for around the same time as the lung scan, thus heightening the worry. 

We then had to see two consultants on consecutive days for results. We were expecting the worst but miraculously both the brain scan and lung scan came through as cancer free! The chest pain had been caused by the extreme radiotherapy that Amanda had received during her breast cancer treatment, and the ‘cluster’ was the result of a viral lung infection. A lot of people had been praying for Amanda, she’s incredibly popular, and the support that we had as a family was absolutely immense. 

I guess that it is only natural to worry about every pain that Amanda has after having three cancers in three years, but this was tortuous. I feel that God definitely has a purpose for Amanda as even the oncologist was surprised (in a very nice way) that she is still with us after facing such an aggressive strain of cancer.  I hope and pray with all my heart that we have now turned the corner and that Amanda can go on to lead a normal healthy life. The signs seem unexpectedly good (we don’t like using the word ‘positive’), and my biggest prayer is for Amanda to outlive me. 

The message is to never to give up hope, even when the future can look incredibly daunting. Concentrated prayer can be so powerful, and the support of family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues makes the world of difference; it really has to me. 

I sincerely hope that this blog can be of some help and encouragement to someone living with similar anxiety.

Amanda’s Dad