Breast Cancer in women

I talked to her and she received it very well and said' "You will be okay." So she gave me more courage to fight. Yes she was.

She became so mature, where you wake up early in the morning before going to school when I've been in bed sleeping, thinking she's preparing to go to school. She'll go and take a bath and come and make breakfast for me and bring me breakfast in bed. And sometimes when I have to do laundry she will be there doing everything with me.

And there was a day that I slept and when I woke up she had prepared mash potatoes and different vegetables and sauce. I was surprised you know because those are the things she doesn't do. Cleaning the house before I wake up because she's an early person, so I was really surprised.
 

There were some friends who scuttled away and I never heard anything from them because they couldn't cope with it. It was frightening, it was embarrassing.

But my son and my immediate family were absolutely wonderful. My daughter-in-law bought for me two of the brilliant books that I read and found such a help. And my son immediately gave me crash courses on how to use the internet. I didn't have a computer and you might say that the cancer experience has switched me on technologically-speaking.

He took me to a video [internet] caf' and we went into the videos, and I wanted to look up intra-operative radiotherapy because it had been mentioned to me and there were reams of stuff on it. There's loads of stuff on tamoxifen, whatever you want to know you can find out.
 

Something else that’s just dawned on me, you know, running your household. But there I was very, very lucky, very lucky indeed. If I hadn’t had Jane [domestic help], who has kept this household ticking over for quite a while now, but especially over the last two years. And she was also at the other of the phone if I needed her at any time. And did extras, and she would come in if I needed meals during the, and again because she’s somebody we pay, you don’t feel quite the same way as if it was friends. It’s, yes she is also a friend but anything that she, you don’t have this feeling well of reciprocity, the issue of reciprocity, however can I make up for what they have done?

And so it was easier to go for actually, to somebody who was paid to help than to have friends and family where it really is my goodness, it is stressful for them to see and cope with, how can you ever every repay? And there to have Jane [domestic help] who we paid to help, and she was happy to help and was absolutely wonderful, in her taking over the running of the household, keeping the household tidy, doing all the washing. All those sorts of things.

I went to the health centre one morning and I got a wonderful nurse called [name] and she not only dressed my wounds but she reassured me.

She told me everything about, you know, how I should feel and don't worry if I feel depressed or tired. Because I did feel tired because of doing all the housework, you know.

And she said' "Well, you know, just say you're not going to do it," and oh she was absolutely marvellous. And every time I see her now I think oh, you know, I remember that time because she was the only one really who gave me help, encouragement. And I was always glad when it was her that I was going to, (then eventually I did get a nurse to come here to do it).
 

After I had my operation I came home, and then I had that scare six months later. I was really so depressed and down. I felt as if the cancer was controlling me. Iended up with anti-depressant tablets because I was just sitting, and the next thing I was bursting out crying.

But as I say with the help of the support group and day centre it's just, it's changed my life.

You just need somebody to talk to because then you realise that you're not the only that's going through this, because there's thousands of women every day.

I was saying the other day I thought this is the best thing, it sounds stupid, but it's the best thing that's happened to me because I really meet people now. I have a social life.

My life has just completely changed from what it was and, I don't know it just is, my life is completely different to what it used to be before I had breast cancer.