5-Week Follow-Up

Your treatment can include any or all, of the following: 

• Radiotherapy.
• Endocrine medication.
• Chemotherapy.
• Surveillance mammograms. 

Please call the CNS team on 0117 414 7000 when you have completed your treatment at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC). 

You will probably have the following: 

• 5-years of surveillance mammograms.
  • These are yearly appointments from the date of your surgery.
• Open access to the team.
  • If you have any worries or concerns about your breasts, you can contact the Breast Care Centre or the CNS team directly instead of your GP.
• My Medical Records (MMR).
  • Self-monitoring website, with access to your monitoring plan and results, information resources, message centre (for nonurgent queries).
• Discharge after 10 years.

Personalised care and support planning appointment:

• Within 6 months you will be offered a Holistic Needs Assessment.
• This is an appointment with one of our Cancer Support Workers to discuss moving forward.

Living Well Day (within 1 year of diagnosis):

• A day that covers multiple topics about staying well and has guest speakers.

Living Well Course:

• This is run by our psychologists and supported by the CNS and CSW team. Please ask your CNS for more details. 

Vita Health Group:

• Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - Vita Health Group.
• You can refer yourself to talking therapies (such as counselling). 

Breast pain following treatment is very common in women of all ages. 

Three types:

• Cyclical.
• Non-cyclical.
• Referred pain. 

YouTube video explaining breast pain:

• Understanding Breast Pain

Breast pain is very common for up to 1 year post radiotherapy. If you are having trouble, we can refer you to the Late Effect Team who help with the effects of radiotherapy. 

Patients who have had a sentinel node biopsy or auxiliary node clearance, these actions may help prevent lymphoedema developing

• Massage and moisturise the area.
• Avoid breaks in the skin, use factor 50 SPF, have blood taken from and vaccines in the opposite arm from your surgery.
• Early detection helps.
• You will need an appointment with Breast Care Centre before referral to the lymphoedema team. 

Penny Brohn UK - Lymphoedema support group. 

Managing lymphoedema | Breast Cancer Now 

If you have been given post operative arm movements, keep them going. 

These can help with getting moving: 

• Energise classes – Horfield Leisure Centre and EA Stadium, Clevedon. Self-referral on Bristol City Council Website.
• NHS APP – Brisk Walking.
• Dietician – Macmillan have a self-referral form. Not specifically for weight management, but how to best 'fuel' your body.
• Fatigue – Macmillan, Bosom Buddies and Penny Brohn run courses on fatigue management.
• If you are concerned about bone density, then the site is full of useful advice: Osteoporosis: Exercise for bone health

Fatigue is more common than people think and is very different to feeling tired. 

These resources have information about fatigue and how to manage it. 

The Gloucester Team have put together 4 online videos on managing fatigue, diet, exercise and psychological wellbeing:

• How to manage fatigue

Royal College of Occupational Therapists – Managing Fatigue. Not Cancer specific:

• Lift up your everyday - managing energy | RCOT 

Breast Cancer Now – Cancer-related fatigue:

• Extreme tiredness (cancer-related fatigue) | Breast Cancer Now

If your cancer was hormone responsive, you are likely to take hormone repressive medication. 

The web sites below offer great advice: 

• Menopause Matters, menopausal symptoms, remedies, advice
• Balance - Home

Complex Menopausal Referral – can be referred by your Breast Consultant.

Touch, Look, Check

 (Even if you have had a mastectomy)

1. Check your breast once a month.
2. Stand in front of a mirror and put your arms over your head. Look for puckering,    dimples or redness to the skin.
3. Raise arm above your head and using the flat of your hand, start at the 12 o’clock position and roll to centre of breast. Complete the clock face.
4. Make sure to check your axillary tail (bit between your breast and armpit).
5. With one arm raised, check under arm and along clavicle bone. 

The CoppaFeel! website has more information and checking your breasts: How To Check Your Breasts, Pecs or Chest | CoppaFeel!

The most common recurrences (when the cancer comes back) are in the breast and most likely picked up on surveillance mammograms. 

If you have any of these for 4 weeks or more, that don’t stop at all and don’t get better with regular medication, please get in touch.

1. Persistent cough and shortness of breath.
2. Severe or on-going headaches
3. Loss of balance, weakness or numbness in limbs, altered vision
4. Pain in bones, back, hip, rib etc. that does not get better with pain relief and gets worse at night.
5. Feeling bloated or not being able to go to the toilet. Feeling full quickly or change to appetite, or unexpected weight loss.
6. Discomfort or swelling under your right rib (where your liver is). Can radiate across abdomen.
7. Feeling more tired than normal. 

Located in Pill, this is a great place with multiple treatment support programmes, or just to have a very tasty lunch!

• Regular group sessions/in person activities – Yoga, relaxation, nutrition support, QI Gong, creativity workshops, strength and stamina classes.
• Self-care resources
• Personal consultations
• Visit the grounds for a walk
• Go to the café. 

Penny Brohn UK – Cancer wellbeing for everyone

Maggie’s House centres offer support to anyone with cancer or their loved ones.  Support offered includes: 

• Cancer support specialist available.
• Pilates.
• Benefits advice and support.
• Choir.
• Tai Chi.
• Managing stress course.
• Fitness sessions.
• Relaxation sessions.
• Where now post treatment course.

Maggie's | Everyone's home of cancer care

This group helps patients and families dealing with effects of breast cancer. Meetings are at 19:00 on the first Tuesday of each month at:

BAWA club, 
589 Southmead Road, 
Bristol,
BS34 7RG. 

• Guest speakers.
• Monthly lunches – at Penny Brohn.
• Complementary therapies – a place to treat yourself and recharge.
• Workshops – wellness days throughout the year covering different and useful topics. 

Home - Bosom Buddies Bristol

Keeping Abreast – Keeping Abreast - Breast Cancer Reconstruction Support

Flat Friends – Flat Friends UK

Coppafeel! – CoppaFeel! | Check Your Chest | Breast Cancer Awareness Charity

Shine. For women under 45 – Home | Shine Cancer Support

The centre provides information and support around cancer including:

• Information leaflets.
• Advice and support.
• Relaxed area to have refreshments and talk.
• Information and support groups.
• Quiet rooms for one-to-one support.
• Care planning with a Macmillan Cancer Support Worker.
• Health and wellbeing events.
• Breast prosthesis fitting.
• Physiotherapy.
• Dietitian.
• Psychological support.
• Benefits advice.
• Complementary therapies.
• Arts on referral.

My Medical Record is a free and secure website where you can access information about your post cancer treatment follow-up, access to information resources and message centre.

If you would like access to My Medical Record or have any questions, please contact: BreastMMR@nbt.nhs.uk

At the end of your active treatment, you will receive a treatment summary from your consultant. A copy will also be sent to your GP. 

Following this you may be offered a Cancer Care Review by the GP Practice.

Although you have the continued support of the whole team at Southmead, this page also shows you what other support there is out there. 

Breast Cancer Now

We're Breast Cancer Now | Breast Cancer Now