About Me

I was diagnosed with a large and aggressive, ER+, HER2+++ Stage 3 breast cancer last year at the age of 33. I had the works – chemo (dose dense fortnightly AC-T), surgery, Herceptin (which damaged my heart and was ceased after 5 months), ongoing hormone therapy and I am currently awaiting reconstruction. I kept a journal during treatment and am sharing my tips in case my experience can help someone else through their treatment.

I live in the Sussex countryside with my very supportive and wonderful husband – Mr B – and my naughty dog. No kids. Not sure where we stand with that one due to the probability of being left infertile by chemo and now being on 5 years of Tamoxifen – but am keeping my fingers crossed. I work in the ski industry and love to travel. I also love good food and wine, cosy evenings in, log fires, fluffy duvets, beaches and the mountains. I hate blood, spiders and cancer.

I hope my A to Z guide of all things “C” provides some useful tips to get you through treatment and surgery – or at the very least reassures you that you are not alone and that it is all doable.

6 Responses to “About Me”

Kymberly Reynolds March 13, 2013 at 10:36 pm #

Thank you

Reply
- Lynne March 21, 2014 at 6:03 pm #
  
  Love it ! Sorry u had to go through it! Thanks for helping me tremendously before I begin the AC part of my journey, good luck and keep enjoying your great life!
  
  Reply
  - chemo for beginners March 21, 2014 at 6:05 pm #
    
    Good luck Lynne. The first is the worst – the fear of the unknown is just awful. All the very best. xxx
R h July 16, 2015 at 6:14 am #

Great site, really helpful!

Reply
Sarah Ducker January 25, 2016 at 4:31 pm #

Thanks for this blog a real breathe of fresh air to read.

Reply
Laura Jackson April 25, 2016 at 10:29 am #

This site is really helping me to normalise things. Thanks ever so much.

Reply

Posts

Intro

Hello folks, I was diagnosed with an aggressive primary, locally advanced breast cancer last year at the age of 33, and kept a journal of my experiences and tips that helped me through treatment. Apart from the cathartic element of sharing my experiences and tips (which I am doing in an A-Z format – hence the name!), […]
Index

This blog is in the process of being written and links will be made live as the post is published. If you would like to receive notifications of a new post, please follow me – either on Facebook, Twitter or by email (enter email address on the sidebar on the right). Introduction A is for… Alternative and Complimentary […]
A is for… Alternative and Complimentary Medicine

This is a bit of a minefield and I’m not going to dish out any advice as don’t want to give you any wrong info. All I would say is check with your oncologist before you use any alternative or complimentary medicine, vitamin and mineral supplements and even aromatherapy agents. For example, I was given […]
B is for… Beauty Tips During Chemo

Chemo does not do wonders for your looks!! Understatement. It parches your skin, can give you awful spots and a bright red and round steroid face, it can make you pile on weight and rids you of your girly eyelashes, eyebrows and luscious locks, leaving your appearance a bit frog-like with a definite cancer-patient air. So if we can […]
C is for… Chemo Shmemo

Everyone reacts differently to chemo but the majority are surprised to find it’s NOT NEARLY AS BAD as you had expected it to be. For me, it was like a bad hangover that lasted for a week or so after each chemo session. Actually, I guess that’s exactly what it is – although this time […]