Two down, two more to go. Seems quite fast that I'm past the halfway mark with my chemotherapy treatment. But truthfully speaking, living through it is a sloooow torture... After reading other people's experiences, I know I don't have it as bad, but still during the worst of it, I wouldn't want anybody to go through it at all.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by アイ・サクラ  (@aisakuraharuka) I went for my third chemotherapy and Herceptin jab session on Tue 17 Jan 2023, just a few days before Chinese New Year. My blood tests and check-up with Dr Samuel was on Mon 16 Jan 20 ..read more

My first adjuvant chemotherapy and Herceptin jab cycle {Mon 5 Dec 2022} did not start off right. Le sigh. Firstly, I had set my phone alarm to remind me to take my Dexamethasone pills in the morning of the day before my first session, but I still forgot and went out to exercise so took it later in the afternoon when I returned... and pushed back the second dose too.   Secondly, I accidentally took only ONE pill {4mg} for the first 3 doses and only realised I was supposed to take TWO pills {8mg} each time during my chemo session oops... it was because I was booked for 2 chemo ..read more

Recovery after a surgery does not mean staying in bed all day. Actually, physical activity is just as important as rest to aid in recovery and can ease treatment-related side effects {e.g. fatigue, pain, depression, lymphedema} and reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence, as well as the risk of developing breast cancer in the first place. This is supported by my doctors.  In fact, the day after my mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgeries, they called in the hospital physiotherapist to come teach me some specific exercises to keep the range of motion in my shoulder and arm ..read more

Chemotherapy is no doubt, brutal on the body. Cancer cells tend to grow fast, and chemo drugs kill the fast-growing tumour cells. However, the drugs don't just target the cancer cells, but also affect normal, healthy cells that are fast-growing too. The damage to these healthy cells cause side effects, which can be rather severe. That's why before each chemotherapy cycle, I need to do a blood test to check that I'm healthy enough to go through the cycle. The blood test will check my complete blood count {red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets} is at healthy levels, and my kidneys ..read more

In NUH, they have a patient-nurse buddy system for cancer patients. These "nurse navigators" offer practical and emotional support to cancer patients and their families.  I met my friendly nurse navigator, Nurse Meera, on Tue 28 Nov, the same day I did the first blood test and echocardiography for my adjuvant chemotherapy and Herceptin jabs treatment plan. We talked for about an hour at the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore {NCIS}.  Nurse Meera went into the nitty gritty of what I needed to do before, during, and after each chemotherapy cycle... as well as the possi ..read more

After what seems like a very long time, I finally got to remove my surgical drain after nearly 3 weeks during my visit with Dr Jane on Wed 16 Nov 2022! *throws confetti*  Surgical drains are tubes inserted into the soft tissue of your breast after surgery to help drain excess fluids that build up inside your body. This fluid is normal and fills the space where breast tissue was removed during surgery. If not drained properly, excess fluid may misshapen implants, cause infections, and other complications.  Drains are left in until the fluid output reaches a low level. This is usua ..read more

Every time I go to the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore {NCIS} to meet Dr Samuel, it is always so terribly crowded. My appointment with him on Mon 14 Nov 2022 was at 3pm, so I registered via the OneNUHS app around 2pm, and we arrived there at 2.45pm. Lil Pumpkin came with us this time as she had her science enrichment class in the evening and we wanted to send her to class after my appointment.  I did my heart-rate and blood pressure screening, then waited until 3.40pm to see Dr Samuel. While waiting, 2 students/ research assistants?? approached me to take part in their ..read more

I met Dr Mikael about 1.5 weeks after I was discharged for my mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgeries {read about part 1 and part 2} on Tue 8 Nov 2022 at NUH Breast Care Centre. Registered via the OneNUHS app early about 8.30am, but still saw him around the appointment time at 9.50am. He was assisted by Nurse Zhenna today.  He started off by telling me briefly that the Surgical Pathological Report shows that the cancer has not spread beyond the breast area into my sentinel lymph nodes, so that is good and it is likely pathological Stage 1 cancer.  Even then, as my breast ..read more

My first appointment with Dr Jane after being discharged from the hospital was supposed to be on Fri 4 Nov 2022. However, as I noticed some skin discolouration {faint blue-black} and tiny lump {0.5cm?} below my nipple on Tue 1 Nov 2022, I emailed Dr Jane and Nurse Jessica from the Aesthetics Plastic Surgery Clinic with a picture to ask if it was ok. I wasn't too worried over it that I wanted to go in for an emergency visit, but just disturbed enough that I had to ask.  I had kind of noticed the lump in the hospital but it seemed a bit more obvious at home maybe because I changed out o ..read more

Well. It's been a long while, and I guess I should start by saying...  I have Stage 1 HER2-positive aggressive breast cancer. I mulled very long before deciding to come out and say I have cancer publicly like this.  When I first heard the news, I only told the boy, a few of my closest friends and those like my work superiors who needed to know. Part of me didn't want to burden others with this sad news, part of me wanted to wait until after Mummy's birthday before telling my extended family, and also part of me wanted to grieve quietly and not want to deal with all the question ..read more