Tietze’s syndrome

I had breast cancer 2 years ago. Six months later I had a new pain at the front… I was seen at the hospital by one of the breast team who recognised it straight away as Tietze’s syndrome – inflammation of the cartilage between the ribs and the sternum. Apparently it’s...

Scar tissue

When I had my lumpectomy plus level 2 clearance of lymph nodes under one arm, I finished up with a very raggedy, tight feeling scar which I am now told may be contributing to my lymphoedema. None of the doctors ever said that it was very important to work on the scar...

Nausea caused by tamoxifen

The first few weeks of taking my daily dose of tamoxifen I felt sick most of the day. I asked the oncologist. He recommended taking half the dose in the morning and the other half at night. I did this and the nausea went away. After six weeks or so I went back to...

Breast lymphoedema

I had to have a lumpectomy and a partial (level 2) lymph node clearance. The affected breast almost doubled in size right after the operation. Initially I was told some swelling was to be expected. When the swelling didn’t recede after some weeks, I was finally...