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Hi Everyone, If you need to complain about, or compliment, a hospital or member of staff you have encountered, this is the email address to send your feedback to. yoursay@hse.ie This is the official HSE contact and they aim to respond within 30 days. See details on their website. http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/ysys/Complaint/ Regards, Flo.

Hi Girls Am a lurker here and post infrequently however I did use this board a little when I was first diagnosed in Dec08. I met (virtually and in real life) two wonderful ladies soon after my diagnosis - we were all being treated in Beaumont. One girl, Linda (she used Linda on this board) had been diagnosed in 2006 but reoccured in Nov 2008 in the nodes and shortly afterwards was diagnosed with lung mets. I kept in intermittant contact with her during my treatment but realised yesterday that I had not heard from her in months. I decided to google her full name and a sport I knew she was passionate about. What popped up in the results shocked me. It was a reference to a memorial service from the sports club she was a member of. She had passed last Dec 2009. She would have been about 36. I cannot believe she is gone and I am so sad for her husband and family. When I met her in real life she gave be some head scarves and other stuff to help me on my chemo journey. I guess we all have to live and enjoy life and hug those close to us even tighter today! LindyLu

Hi, I had a baby in May 2009. I had a smear test in Dec 2009 (CIN 1). I had a repeat smear in June 2010 (no longer CIN 1 but still boarderline abnormalities). I have a colposcopy appointment for Nov 2010. I am trying to have a 2nd baby. I have a history of vaginismus and have difficulty tolerating smears. I think I will need to get a valium or similar to tolerate colposcopy. So I am unsure what to do - should I pursue the colposcopy sooner than nov. privately so I can take valium and then resume trying to get pregnant. Or should I go with Nov. appointment and if I get pregnant before that is there a drug I can take to relax me that isnt harmful to the baby. I dont want to put off trying to get pregnant as Im nearly 40. Id appreciate advice. Thanks

Hello everyone. This is Elizabeth. I used to correspond but then I got depressed and stopped. I remember Hugs and Summer Breeze and Evelyn and I will catch up on all your posts now. I hope you are all well. I had a mastectomy three weeks ago and have to have more chemo and radiotherapy and then hormone treatment. the troube is I spoke to the oncologist last week and he said I have a high chance of recurrant cancer - 40%. I am in a state of terror since and feel ill. Has anyone any tips for coping? The thought of the next few years, getting scans and waiting for results and then maybe more treatment which might not work is more than I can bear. With best wishes to all. Elizabeth

My poor mam has terminal lung cancer and although the tumour has stablised, she is in awful awful pain and her pain relief is not working. She is at home on her own (she wont let me move in with her) and the doctors are not really doing anything to help other than prescribe the tablets. I am at my wits end because she can basically lead an normal life without the pain but is crippled with this. Does anyone know of what to do? Her next appointment with Lukes is in October but this is too far away. Please help or offer advice. Thank you.

He really was a lovely man - open, generous minded, brill sense of humour, and a real character. He was always positive and always had a funny story to tell. He had a big heart and saw and treated everyone the same. We just wish he got more time on this earth, and we are very sad that his sunny presence is gone from our lives. LA.

Hi ladies, I'm due to get a bilateral mastectomy soon and have had a lumpectomy and radiotherapy to one breast last year. I'm BRCA 1 positive. Can anyone let me know what options they considered and if anyone could give me any info on the type of reconstruction they got, I'd be very grateful. An LD has been mentioned to me as the best option so far. I'm in my 30's so still pretty young. Thanks

I filled out the form for the seminar in croke park on the 18th of sept. It looks like it might be good. Its a pity though that you can only pick one seminar for the morning and one for the afternoon. I found it ery hard to choose....lol It looks like it could be a great day out!

Hi everyone, I need tips, help, advice on the following: I was diagnosed with BC four years ago (2006) at age 36. After treatment I found out I had a BrCa2 mutation. This explained to me WHY I had gotten BC so young - it gives you a lifetime risk of approx 85% for BC and approx 25% for ovarian cancer. My mother, her only sister, their mother and their maternal grandmother (my great, grandmother) all died in their 50s from BC. Since my BrCa discovery, others in my family have tested. My sister and my cousin have so far been the only others to positive for it but BOTH have since been dx'd with Breast Cancer. I tell you all this to show just HOW high the risk is in our family (currently seems like 100%, not 85!!). Because of our very high risk, we are able to have preventative surgery to reduce our it. For the ovarian risk, this involves removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes (and sometimes the womb as well). For the BC risk, this involves a bilateral mastectomy. Because my original breast cancer was Oestrogen receptor positive, I chose to have the oophorectomy (tubes and ovaries removed) in April 2008. I eventually decided last year to have the double mastectomy with implant reconstruction and was put on a waiting list. I got called last wk and am now due to have it done next wk or the wk after. I will be in the hospital for a week and then will have limited mobility (mainly arms) for another 3-4 wks. I am a single mum with one (almost) 6 year old son. I have no living parents, aunts, etc who can help out. My main source of support is my sister who will be unavailable because she is in the middle of her chemo. I have decided to go ahead regardless of this problem because I have been waiting for so long. I'm going to set up the house before i go in to hospital so that I don't have to stretch to reach plates, etc. I have told Kevin that he will have to get himself dressed, etc in the mornings and evenings. I will make up dinners in advance and freeze them so we've something to eat. I have transport sorted for getting Kevin to school. I will rest every day when he is gone. I've accepted that there will probably be a lot of Xbox, DVDs and rubbish for the next few wks. Can you all wrack your brains and think of other stuff I might need to prepare for? I am certain there are lots of things I am missing and I need to get it all sorted before I go in. Many thanks, Flo.

Good morning ladies. And thanks Roxann, Hugs and Flo for your encouraging replies. I have been very busy since, setting up a support system for myself, including being back on this site. Your letters really help. Roxann, I got the book The Secret and have been reading it and working really hard at being in the present and thinking positive all the time and visualising. I also went to ARC house on the S.C.Road and did the relaxation yesterday. And I'm going tomorrow as well for Mindfulness which is more intense I think. Eccles St is actually easier for me to get to so I may phone there this morning too. I'll be in the hospital on Friday to see the Radiotherapist and maybe someone from the psycho oncology team to assess me for counselling. And I found a talk on the net re letting go of fear - it was a buddist monk who told the story of Winnie the Pooh and his friend walking through a forest in a storm and the friend said, oh dear what is a tree falls and we are underneath it and Winnie said, what if a tree falls and we are not underneath it . . . It seems to me that the reality of everything has hit me at once - being bald and having only one boob! But I'm fighting here and thanks again for all your help. I hope you are all doing well. Stay positive. Loving thoughts to you all Elizabeth