Thursday 12 May 2016

Reality Tits and Tumour Humour (the pictures)

So here it is....a collection of real women, living the real life of cancer and they've been brave enough to let you see everything......

I am Vicki Coventry. I am real.

I'll get the hubby to take one tonight! Lol so much for a page 3 career 😂😂😊





I am Christina Bray. I am real.

Motherhood with chemo
Chemo like a boss.

I am Laura Gough. I am real. 

Lumpectomy and node clearance (lumpectomy failed to get all cancer so bilateral mx pics coming)
Bald patches and total hair loss (no minge pics though!!)

Admitted to hospital neutropenic just hours later 🙁
Bi-lateral Mastectomy with pathetically tiny implants. Nipple removal.


Last one! Fake titties, no nippies! 😂😂 xxxx

I am Zoe Fidler. I am real.








I am Fiona Carr. I am real. 









Found the green foobies!!

I am Miranda Ashitey. I am real. 

As nosebleeds are an annoying side effect of chemo, you can take the mature approach or the immature approach. Guess which one I settled on…?
Having Zoladex injections cos my breast cancer is ER+ - not the massive prick I wanted to be poked with
Cat nurse. Looking back at this pic makes me realize how ill I really was. I didn't really let that sink in at the time. It's like looking at a different person, almost an outer body experience.

I am Michelle Johnson. I am real. 

My radio burns
Baldy and wiggy x

I am Melanie Johnston. I am real.

Melanie: Rats. I could have shown you my tuna encrusted portacath site but the dog ate it.
Heidi: I was a little sick in my mouth then!!! Awesome!!!!!!!!!! Xxx
Melanie: Heidi he didn't really eat it........I did.
I did actaully drop some uneaten tuna on my site, looked in the mirror about half an hour later. Freaked out thinking I had some grim growth. Nope. Just a blob of tuna in chilli sauce.

Portacath sans tuna.

I am Daniele Atkinson. I am real. 

Here's my baldy ones. I didn't take pics of anything else horrendous as didn't really want to remember it, but looking at these posts I feel bloody lucky.  I barely had rads burns despite being really fair skinned and my scar is really tidy (sorry!) X



I am Nicola Jane Halsall. I am real.

Nicola: I've got pics of blue & red wee. Blue boob from sentinel node biopsy & picc line in situ if they're any good to you?
Victoria: Blue and red wee??
Nicola: Red wee from chemo & blue wee from the sentinel node biopsy 😀
Victoria: Nice!!
Nicola: The joys of BC 😂
Heidi: Yes please!!!!!!!!!!! Send me the wee!!!!!!!!!! Xxxxx

 Homer hair drawn by my daughter
The cocktail of anti nausea drugs
Picc line in situ
Blue boob from sentinel node biopsy


I am Rachel Ferry. I am real. 

Radiotherapy armpit x

I am Sammy Browning. I am real. 

Baldy MaGee

Fiona Carr - I actually thought the caption was baldy minge!!!!!! Was a little worried about scrolling down to the pic..... Lol

Sammy: Hahahahaha imagine! I know we're all very open but that's a step too far!!

I am Michelle Webb. I am real. 

Balding with coldcap
Chemo burns after my 1st Tax (chemo can escape cannulas and land on skin...this is what it does)
DIEP wound 6 days later
My left side DIEP wound
Road to recovery!

I am Marie Heyes. I am real. 

Hair falling out
Pink wee (

epirubicin)
Sammy browning:  Ah takes me back!
Marie: I know, fabulous times!
Sammy:( I had the dye injection too another time so had a full spectrum of wee colours...funnnn!

My dog ear has a nose full of seroma X


Christ, we've been through it and are still undergoing such huge trauma to our bodies. We are amazingly brave and strong and sometimes we cry and feel overwhelmed but we keep going. Always. Love to you all xxox

I was all gung-ho and healthy when I started on chemo. So I made these date and carob balls for healthy snacks. They tasted like poo rolled in coconut. I ordered a plate of hot toast & marmalade instead.
I am Kim Smith. I am real.





Heidi Loughlin: First wig fitting? I remember that moment. So fucking sad. Xx
Kim smith: Yes first wig fitting ! Most of my pictures show me laughing or messing about but my friend took this when I didn't know ....think my face says it all we all know it has to be done but the reality is like a freight train regardless of how we try to keep it bottled up and pretend it's ok

As I live in France my friends here and in the uk had a collection before chemo and they wrote me a lovely card and bought me a Jaccuzzi mat for the bath ....I think the photo hit me hard because with this card I felt for the first time the realisation of the cancer and forthcoming treatment and I realized I was truly loved and the impact it was having on my loved ones ....


I am Rachel Ferry. I am real. 

My back op
The scar on my back where cancer was cut from - 2 Tumours in a place "where cancer never goes to"
The Bruce Willis stage
Last Ever chemo / THE SECOND TIME! I've had 6 more since then and god knows how many more are still to come 😁

I am Denise Taylor. I am real.

Fuck knows why I look so happy. 😂😂😂
Marie Keyes  - I love this, maybe the cold froze your smile but you look like a hot lady jockey xx

I am Ella Mason. I am real. 

Biopsy bruise
Failing DIEP flap

I am Alison Flouri. I am real. 

10 days post mastectomy with adm/temporary expander recon
Catheter bag, glam
More cannulas
Drains
New family pets - drain worms
Losing hair
Bleeding arm post picc line insertion
Fourth drain!!
Keyes: Raspberry J2O x
Alison: lol X 
Failed cold capping 😢
Hair...clippered off
Double mastectomy scars, tissue expanders
Adio 'good' boob
A typical days medication

I am Caroline Issac. I am real. 

Hair which came out on 26th October. Note use of rubber duck for scale.


I am Alison Danes. I am real





I am Cimberlee Milam. I am real.  

No nipple! 😟
I am Annemarie Cotton. I am real. 

Yucky paclitaxel (chemo) nails on the mend

I am Theresa Scollan Cowie. I am real. 

Someone said I looked like Frankenstein when they saw this, others said, oh at least yr getting a tummy tuck... no, this was done to reconstruct my new Foob....12her surgery, 5hrs drive from my home, 3 hrs in recovery then in high dependency...alas four days later I was back to theatre as it had failed and had it removed in another four hour surgery and replaced with an implant x

Allowed out of hospital after suffering sepsis n unable to have my last chemo, for my daughter's 10th birthday...friends pulled together to sort her party for me <3 x

Why paint a boiled egg at Easter when you can paint mum's bald bonce!!

I am Sam McBride. I am real. 

I am Charlotte Short. I am real.

I'm a bit late to the party but here's mine... Scare is the result of 4 operations and above is my sexy port.... (a port is a little tap under the skin you attach your chemo too)

I am Hayley Purnell. I am real. 

Hate mine , double mx with recon permanent expanders , still bruised after nearly 6 months . Shouldn't be so ungrateful I know but finding this hard to get used to x

From this
To this when told I needed chemo



Fun for son

So hard not to cry , but needed it to be fun for my son who has autism

I am Victoria Allan. I am real.

When your hubby has to shave your head for you


Cancer face and very sore eyes.
A few hours post surgery (Mx and immediate DIEP recon)
DIEP tummy wound/scar plus new belly button (much prefer the old one!)
Losing a toe nail!
Swollen tax feet.
My normal feet for comparison.
Swollen tax tongue
very sore tax eyes

I am Jennifer Morrison. I am real. 

Mx on right side with immediate recon and delayed recon ld flap x


I am Joanne Hunt. I am real. 

The day my hair grew back....and i could put a clip in it

I am Clare Percival Ducker. I Am real.  

Fun playing pin the nip on the tit
When people stare at your fluffy head whilst your shopping so you might as well give them something to stare at
Glow stick boobs


I am Kim Feast. I am real. 

Those cold caps were attractive weren't they Jen!

Last chemo!




I am Lisa Judge. I am real. 

Hospitalised because I had infections through pic line ended up rocking the golem look ha ha

I am Sarah Perry. I am real.

Me and Penny at chemo at Christies. This was my first round of 24 Kadcyla chemo. Penny came to hold my hand. Penny died a week or so after this.
Real breast cancer isn't pink and fluffy and not everyone gets better. Penny was my friend who also happened to get cancer. Indiscriminate fucking disease killed her not me. Whenever anyone tells me how BC doesn't kill I show them penny's smiling face and pictures of her two little boys.

I am Lorraine Sleator. I am real. 

That was the night of when I'd had my mx and reconstruction done ( that morning) and I was in Saint Thomas hospital.... Think I put that pic up on Ybcn to say all done and I'm ok.

I am Julie Strelley-Jones. I am real.

Brain blasting souvenir

I am Helen Weller. I Am real.

Surgery get up (hat because it was the first day of snow 2015)
eUGHHH.....losing nails...forgot this one!
 The damage.......

to stop my housemates stealing my milk..

I am Leonie Cox. I Am real.

A chance portrait someone drew of me at a Cancer support group. I had sickness and diarrhoea and she made me feel beautiful when all I felt was exhaustion and baldness.. She found something else and made me feel stronger

I was so embarrassed of showing my bald head in front of people in surgery I made the nurse get me a blue hat head cover the medical staff wear!

Bloated and Ill from chemo me refusing to miss my son playing penalties at Northampton Town Football Club with his club...  Harder than it looks!

Actually trying to look sexy in surgery stockings! 😮

It sounds silly but I have so much more time with my children now... Quality time, full of love and appreciation for life... I have this illness to thank for that.

My superhero brother who as part of his training for ironman cycles 50 a mile  round trip to see me and is raising money for charities that that have helped me. He gives me strength and says I give him strength.

These last 3 are my most poignant..
Running- this was the morning after dx when u really don't know what to do... I got up in desperation and ran Parkrun.. I had hardly eaten/ slept for a week waiting for my results. All the way round I shouted at myself "if you can't do this, you have no chance of fighting cancer" I was terrified I wouldn't get round.

Hilltop pic - the weekend before chemotherapy started. I climbed to the top of Thorpe Cloud and felt this was the first time I really felt alive with the reality of what was to come. I felt like I was saying goodbye to my old world and stepping into the unknown.

Hospital pic - this was day 1 chemo reality...
It was the day of my 40th birthday!! I tried to see it as a positive symbol and refused to be miserable. The balloon kept it light hearted and they do say 'life begins at 40'.

I am Sian Lisney. I am real.

Hi Heidi, no probs. To put it in a nut shell... I found a lump after my usual check I do every few weeks and was referred by the GP, I was diagnosed at age 30 with grade 2 invasive breast cancer. My wedding was planned abroad and has now been postponed by 8 months as chemo will take 5 months. I then have surgery and then radio following that. I was growing my hair for my wedding and it was at its best when it started falling out, but being a hairdresser, I know full well my hair will grow back and look lovely again. I was prepared for it to fall out and was happy to shave it once it started coming out thick and fast. I do miss my hair but really quite like it shaved. Husband to be shaved his too, which was great having his support. I didn't cry, myself and fiancé laughed the whole time and I'll start a fresh when my hair starts growing back. In my eyes, the hair loss is the least of my problems. From experience with clients... It normally grows back thicker and better than before! 



I am Tracy Hendry. I am real. 

Hi Heidi...this was me embracing the head shave. Although I accepted I would lose my hair, I knew my family would find this hard more so my mum. She came along with me. It soon turned to hilarity when the mohickan appeared I looked like my brothers twin xx


My daughters baby bump....something that's seeing me through the chemo xx



I am Sarah Kennett. I am real.

Mouth Ulcers.

Sentinel node biopsy 

Hair falling out. 


I got the cat during chemo, she used to lie on my chest like that when I got back from the hospital. She doesn't do it anymore. I think animals know!
I've found a chemo one, makes me want to throw up!







I am Heidi Loughlin. I am real.

 Just call me Race Track Head. 
This is the reality of my kitchen.

This is me holding my daughter Ally the night before she died. I knew she was dying, I held her for hours. 

My family are all having tattoos of Ally's butterfly. This is my auntie Nadia's

This is the worst picture of me I have ever seen. Chemo puff, steroid cheeks and hair like the Wheetos man.....Noah couldn't give a shit what I look like. He says I'm beautiful. 

15 comments:

Unknown said...

Ladies you are all amazingly strong and beautiful. Thank you for being given so honest with us all.

Unknown said...

Ladies you are all amazingly strong and beautiful. Thank you for being given so honest with us all.

Unknown said...

Wow, some very brave ladies out there, thank you for sharing, you are all bloody amazing. My 20 mile pink ribbon walk at the weekend will be for all of you as well. xx

peanuts_mum said...

oh Heidi, I know we have all seen this stuff before (considering it's us!) but seeing it all laid bare all on the one page is quick shocking to see just how much we have endured!!! You have written it beautifully as per usual. Love you and all the BBBs
Nicola JH

Unknown said...

Ladies as a fellow cancer patient I love the honesty of these posts. So glad that you've shown the reality of cancer but the one thing that stands out is that cancer cannot steal our sense of humour. Wishing you all the very best for your future lives. X

Rebecca Collins said...

I am Rebecca. I am real, and for the first time in eight years since I was diagnosed, tonight I cried

Unknown said...

Well done ladies Danielle would have put hers on her had she had the chance , love to you all ....Pat xxxx

Unknown said...

Wow amazing all of you. My daughter had cancer at the age of 7 and even with her being so young we found laughter the best medicine. It didn't, and I wouldn't let it, break her spirit xx

ArkansasWind said...

Thank you so much to everyone who shared your life here. It's not all Pink, and it's not all positive. I'm sorry that you've had to experience such shit, but I do know that you've helped me. My favorite pic is the portrait. That they saw something, that you did not. Wow. Thanks again,

Unknown said...

Cool you are all so brave, thanks all

Hannah said...

Thank you for doing this! I had 6 months of chemo last year; my hair fell out right away and I decided to never cover my head or wear a wig because I felt like it was my duty to put my bald head out there and not hide away and pretend like everything was normal. My 11-year-old niece and my 1- and 3-year-old kids decorated my bald head with magic marker every week. It was fantastic for all of us (and made me the toast of the infusion center). Together we can normalize this and make it less scary for everyone! Cheers!

Unknown said...

All such beautiful brave strong amazing outstanding (some abit crazy haha) but woman none the less that are all incredible xx

Karen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen said...

Well done ladies and you're all beautiful!
I supported my sis in law through BC, from being diagnosed to sadly loosing her 6 year fight. She started with a lumpectomy, a year down the line she ended up losing the right breast, and she'd gone through chemo and radio. Then they found it in the other breast, so she ended up having that one removed too, and more chemo and radio followed. Sadly it spread to her lungs and she lost the battle. I was there for every appointment, every operation, every chemo and radio session, and I held her as she peacefully slipped away. How she still managed to smile and laugh while going through all of this, I don't know. We lost her 5 years ago now and I still miss her like crazy, I feel like I've lost my right arm..... So for all you ladies fighting, keep smiling and fighting and I hope you will join the ranks of ladies who have beaten it. Love to you all, I admire every one of you xx

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