Interview 11

Age at interview: 62

Age at diagnosis: 59

Brief Outline:

Diagnosed with breast cancer 1998, underwent a lumpectomy and was given Tamoxifen.

Background:

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Discusses the possible links between breast cancer and Hormone Replacement Therapy.

I hadn't had anybody in my family with breast cancer.

And that was one of the reasons why I don't think I took the lump very seriously because my grandmother and my mother, nobody had any problems of that kind.

And I had 6 aunts and none of them had anything like that.

And so it just seemed to me why would a woman who is very healthy and led a very active and healthy life, eating the right things and taking exercise and so on, run into those sort of problems?

Actually I think the answer is very obvious.

I think that women are living a peculiar sort of life now and we're very dependent on hormones, and I think that's probably the reason we're seeing this increase in the rate of breast cancer.

I know that that's not proved and people say it's seven in 1000 or whatever it is, but I feel with myself, because I have no history of breast cancer in the family, that it's probable that it was related to Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Describes her difficult experience with lymphoedema.

So anyway the operation took place and I had all sorts of complications afterwards which included a blood clot in the arm which caused lymphoedema. And it's excruciating. It's really painful and you then have to have it manually drained every two days.

And I think that's one of the big surprises about breast cancer which could do with a bit more careful description beforehand. So that was quite disconcerting.

I then went home and had lymphoedema for about three months, which I found difficult. In some ways I found the lymphoedema more difficult than cancer because it was a sort of daily reminder of your frailty. And I was just picturing myself for the rest of my life, having this great huge arm and fat fingers and having to wear this stocking. And it just was really difficult psychologically. And I found myself very undermined by it to the extent that I actually slipped on the stairs and broke my ankle.

And looking back on it, I'm not given to falling down stairs. I'm not a careless person at all. I think it was a way of saying' "Look, I've just absolutely had enough of all this."

Describes the benefits of massage for lymphoedema.

I had the special lymphatic drainage massage which is fantastic.

It is very good to have it, psychologically, because you feel somebody is doing something.

And also I think, practically, it reduced the swelling.

So now are you doing everything that you were doing before, driving now that your arm is better?

I am, yes.