*TAMOXIFEN* the 5th

[MaryAnnSingleton]

in case we forget and find ourselves at 1000 - here's a fresh new thread !

triple wow haggis !!!
I think friend has made up her mind pretty much-she has cut down to a third of a tablet a day.Not sure if she's spoken to onc. I'm not sure what I'd do if side effects were too much for me (she has aches too,as well as sweats/flushes)
Have a good day everyone-RWU and pranma -thinking of you.
Hope ds got in safely SR

Wow, haggis - some garden!

CC - good on your ds and major congrats on last FEC. I think dd will be similarly diverting at the funeral. She just can't keep quiet unless absolutely forced (and then the funny faces start).

Purplefish - great news ref the exams, that'll cheer your mum up a bit.

SR - hope you sort the travel, but my (possibly wrong headed) advice would be, if you can't sort anything that is ideal, just go anyway and hope for the best. Live your life.

KK - get back to the docs, you need something either stronger, or different. Bad throats are the pits.

Special thoughts for Pranma today, and for RWU as always.

off to physio for the bad back now. It is def helping, especially in terms of flattening my tummy and firming the thighs (still a LOOOOONNNNNGG way to go on that one, though ).

MAS, I was in for my rads planning session today and onc mentioned that I would be starting tamoxifen in 3 wks. He said approx 50% have no side effects, 40% have tolerable side effects and about 10% have side effects they can't manage and for those they try to manage the side effects with other drugs. Your friend may hate the thought of more drugs (don't we all) but I really think she should explore this. The benefits of tamoxifen in reducing recurrence of oestrogen-sensitive tumours are just too big to throw away. She just can't substitute by cutting out soy sauce and red meat. Do please try to get her at least to tell them what she's doing.

Right, will get off soap box now, with apologies, but this IS a tamoxifen thread after all! No doubt I will get all the side effects in a few wks and know where she is coming from then, will let u know...

But for now, goodbye to red pee, I so will not miss chemo :o

Aaahhh, just got a 'ping' on my lip and headed to mirror to see massive festering cold sore, it is chemo saying 'don't say cheerio yet'...

HOORAYYYYY!!!!!All is well.Surgeon examined me and said it felt like normal tissue but suggested mammo[was due in October].I agreed and that was clear!So officially now 4 years post dx[actually not till Oct 6th]Next mammo Sept 2011.
Thanks for all your support and good wishes.
[if this wasn't mn these brackets would hold a hug for each of you from a very relieved pranma].

Oh thank God Pranma. What a relief. Many congrats on 4 yrs. Big hugs back to you :o

fantastic news pranma - hooray !!!!!!A big treat is called for -well done !
cupcaked - you are right i know- I will try to persuade her to look at this thread -can't remember whether she is on mn-thank you for being concerned..
Hope cold sore goes quickly and hooray that you are now coming up to the next bit (not hooray because it's fun but because it means you are finishing one part and moving along....) no more red wee sounds good.

So pleased to hear your good news Pranma - what a relief for you - these sort of scares are so worrying, big hugs all round.

CC congrats on finishing chemo, it's a big thing well done for hanging on in there, and good you are getting right on with your rads. - on with the aqueous cream

And congratulations to your DS - it wonderful all the DC's have done well on this thread - I think you get more anxious as a parent on their behalf than they do themselves!

MAS - has your friend been offered any other type of drug as an alternative? Also , don't know how long she's been on tamoxifen, but I've found the SE's have calmed down a bit now from when I started. Of course its her choice what she does, but do hope she gets plenty of info and advice from the oncs. as to the best way forward.

Hope the hand isn't too sore today RWU, and you're not too exhausted from chemo. Lots of love as always

Haggis - v. impressed with your vegetable garden, loads of unusual and difficult sounding things!

I wonder how Pennies is getting on with her farm/allotment. I remember her digging away like a mad thing when she got it

Saw the nurse practitioner today, - throat apparently very red (surprise!), chest a bit better and temperature down, so finish the AB's, take lots of pain killers, and go back if its no better when I've finished them. I can breath better today - don't feel as if I've got a big stone on my chest. So am viewing that as improvement, but am not completely convinced. Last time I had this the AB's just damped it down and when I stopped it flared up again - oh well we shall see.

Pranma - that's wonderful news. I'm so glad all is well.

Hello, everyone again. I keep meaning to read up on the stuff you've all been chatting about but as it's school hols I seem to spend all day every day doing stuff with the children. When the holidays started I was dreading having to summon the energy to manage the children, even with the nanny, but it's been a breeze and as the holidays draw to a close I'm going to be so sad not to spend so much time with them. My youngest DD starts full time school this term which makes me very .

Many congratulations to you all for genius offspring doing well in GCSE's, having clear mammograms, finishing treatments, getting to the magic 5 year marker and spotting red squirrels. I'm so glad to see the enthusiasm and positivity alive and well with you all.

Cakes, I'm sorry to read about your FIL. Very sad.

Purplefish - I'm so sorry to learn of your mother's diagnosis. I hope she gets more information soon which will help her a lot. Glad your son's GCSE results made her smile.

What have I been up to? Finished chemo in mid June - the four Taxol were relatively easy, but I lost all my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes a few weeks after treatment which hit me badly. I have also had problems in that I've lost 5 finger nails and had infections in my nail beds which was disabling. I had plasters on my fingers like a harpist! But they're growing back now, I have my eyebrows and eyelashes back and my hair is about 1 cm long. I'll be scarf-free in about 3 weeks, I reckon.

My radio was OK, but I had a big psychological dive at the time. Now taking tamoxifen and having herceptin with no major problems with either.

I read with interest of MAS' friend taking herself off tamoxifen and managing oestrogens with diet. Wow. I have radically changed my diet to a meat and dairy free one, based on the book written by BC survivor Jane Plant <a class="break-all" href="//xwww.amazon.co.uk/Your-Life-Hands-Understand-Overcome/dp/0753512041/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282766184&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> here. The basic premise is that in the East (esp China) there's a MUCH lower incidence of BC and they don't have much diary or meat in their diet. They do eat soy, but there's some dispute about whether soy's good for oestrogen receptive cancers or not so I'm keeping off that as well.

So far it's not been too bad. I feel very well indeed on it and have had many people telling me how well I look. I have also stipulated that I want to be able to get any substitute dairy products from normal supermarkets because I'm not schlepping around the globe just for non-soy, non-dairy butter. It's been remarkably easy, and even eating out is a doddle too (but can rarely have pud tho ) if I tell restaurants I have a milk allergy. I'm eating fish to keep my omega-3 levels up and because without soy I'll struggle to maintain protein levels.

And I've lost weight on it too, which I wasn't expecting now I'm on Tamoxifen.

I've been to Cornwall (stunning) and when I've not been doing all things school holiday I've been up at the Farm, where I've been harvesting strawberries, lettuces, carrots, salad potatoes, courgettes, french beans, cabbages, kohl rabi, broad beans, a pepper, blueberries, loads of spinach and a chilli. My freezer is rammed to the gills! I have two melons in my greenhouse, and I've got some larger potatoes, onions, garlic, red cabbage, cauliflower and pumpkins to come to fruition yet. No joy with raspberries and sweetcorn and gooseberries. It's been so incredibly rewarding. I'm just starting to think about next year's planting schedule now.

I'm sorry i've been so absent from this thread. When going through chemo BC was really in my face big time and since then I've been focusing on the family and having fun together in the holidays and generally doing my best to get the most out of RL. I have written before about my fears of facing life with the fear of further disease hanging over me and I still struggle with that but have concluded all I can do is throw myself into life and try not to focus on it.

Anyway, I've gone on and on for far too long. Best wishes to all of you and hopefully I'll keep a more regular presence on the board when school goes back.

hey pennies ! lovely to see you and so glad the school hols have been good for you- they pass so quickly it seems-I certainly feel sad at the end. You seem to have coped very well with treatments and hair/eyebrows etc and am glad to hear that everything is growing again.
Impressed to by your harvests ! and melons too- did you have to keep them on a warmer,or something ,or in a special frame or was the greenhouse enough ?
My friend has been trying to get in touch and hope she will-I think she was researching alternatives to tamoxifen..

I am so very relieved for you, pranma. Well done on four BC free years.

Cupcaked - cold sore is just a blip. You are moving on to the next stage - good for you. Just keep going forward, life looks so much better without red wee

Pennies, your nail things etc sound like you had a truly horrid time on chemo so double well done for the jaw-droppingly fab way you seem to be going forward now, You're a fighter. We've missed you, and I tend to worry a bit when people drift off into silence, but don't apologise for not being here. Getting on with RL is pretty important.

And you lost weight, you say, on this new eating programme. Hmm, ssounds worth investigating, because nothing is working here. I thought I lost a few pounds a couple of months ago, but now I'm not so sure. obviously I could weigh myself, but that's a scary road I never go down

Lovely to see you again Pennies, I'm glad you are doing well on the tamox. and herceptin. Your nail infection/loss sounds horrible, poor you, it's good they are starting to recover now.

Very impressed with all the produce from your farm, gardening is so relaxing yet energetic - always makes me feel good

Good luck to your littlest one when she starts school, I'm sure she'll enjoy it.

You are absolutely right to get on with RL, it's the only way - I think that's something I need to work on a bit! I have heard good things about the Plant diet, I had a go once but fell off the wagon a lot slightly. You've inspired me to give it another go.

I've just waved DS and his GF off. They came over this morning and stayed for lunch, it was really nice to see them - she is such a nice girl.

With all this rain our roof has sprung a leak, its dripping into DD's bedroom, we've got bowls under it but DH needs to get up on the roof to sort it - tricky when its so wet.
(I think our house is getting to a point where everything is starting to go wrong with it )

Love to all esp. if you are on treatment at the moment, hope the physio went well Cakes. xx

It was good, but a bit ouchy, thanks, KK!

And I am happier now we have negotiated that I don't have to wear bloody shorts! I have chanced my arm going in in yoga pants and got away with it. Phew.

Glad the infection is starting to admit defeat. If it resurges, get straight back, chest infections are verrrryy nasty.

Pennies, that is very interesting, and I will look at that book. I have been thinking about environmental oestrogen for a while but haven't yet made any dietary changes. Of course the major source of oestrogen for premenopausal women is themselves so diet isn't going to alter that, so that's why I think going off tamoxifen is dangerous. But diet as well as...maybe... Pity I'm so darned fond of fillet steaks and cheese tho!

Will read with interest. She is certainly no quack, from her list of peer-reviewed publications and her current work address. Thanks for the pointer.

Just having row with childminder, territorial issues. DS aged 7 wanted to make a stink bomb from a recipe on horrid henry website, and his gang members were here too on a rare visit so I said he could (told him weeks ago he could when they wer here next) and she said he couldn't, with no reason why not other than because she said so. So I got up and made it with them, took 2 min, and now she feels undermined. Was between rock n hard place there but took easiest road.. Now major huffs and I feel shouting match coming on before she goes home. Don't need that day 3 post chemo. Did I do wrong thing?? Think will
hide under duvet until middle DS arrives home from Nice after 9 days away in about an hour. Have so missed him.

Oh dear, cupcaked, last thing you need.

Hide away and take comfort in the fact that she won't want to row with you either when you are under pressure.

Enjoy middle ds's return. Hope he has brought you a nice little souvenir (apart from his dirty washing)

Gosh - lots on here since I was here. Hooray fro everyone with good news, including allcealr for Pranma, finishing chemo, growing hair (the only think more staisfying than growing vegetables. Mine is doing well and I go commando go without a hat always now - so pleased that no-one stares or makes any remarks. It feels good even though still extremely short.

I think its really really important to plunge into real life - nothing could be more important really could it? But it was nice to 'see' you again Pennies.

I have had such a busy week with DS back from his African adventure, then GCSes, then a visitor I was very pleased to see (her diagnosis was about 2 weeks before mine), then tea this afternoon with my work team which was good fun - first time I'd seen them altogether since last November! I am planning v. quiet day tomorrow.

Wow- so much gardening skill on here. Pennies's Farm sounds a huge success.

hugs for cupcaked -take comfort in middle ds's return.
Am v excited as it looks as though we are going to have a kitten !! Have contacted a breeder in Portsmouth about Maine Coon x kits, ready to be homed in october - they look gorgeous - ds is very excited ! Hope they get back to me and they haven;t all gone yet !
Bereavement counsellor coming tomorrow, not seen her for several weeks because of hols,and then oh joy,dentist with my missing filling....

Been lurking as v tired last few days. Just want to say fantastic news Pranma and hello again pennies . re MAS new kitten...

SR many congrats on the going commando, icant wait to be able to go out with no headgear. Have been getting a few sweats breaking over me recently which am presuming are hot flushes and when it happens with the wig on is so uncomfortable. How long is it since your FEC chemo? Think I will be looking at Xmas before have enough hair to not get stared at, looking forward to that :)

Great about new kitten MAS, I am lying with pup on my knee, she is so soft and sweet, and her mum at my side, not best pleased at having to share the attention, but getting there. Family pets are so.....helpful? What is the word I'm looking for? Doh, chemo brain :)

Hang in there Haggis..

hooray for hair growth SR and hope yours grows lustrously soon cupcaked ! Hope tiredness passes soon haggis.

Sorry about all the typos in my last post - was a bit tired!

Haggis - sorry you're so tired. Hope you'll pick up soon. Be easy on yourself.

Cupcaked. I haven't had FEC. I had Epirubicin March-May (4 cycles) and am approaching my last cycle of CMF. As someone else said on this thread about a hundred years ago, I think this means I've all the same stuff except in a different combo. Anyway the hair starts to regrow on CMF, as its the Epirubicin that knocks it out, on my regime.

My hair is still extremely short though . Its sort of hamster length at the back ie a nice covering and you can't see skin there, and perhaps half an inch on the top and sides. But the top is rather sparse at the mo, sadly. I'm hoping it will thicken up with time.

However although extremely short and no doubt still shocking to most people who didn;t see me bald, I feel really happy with it and definitely much more comfortable than wearing a wig or a scarf or even a buff etc all the time. My DH and DS are fine with it. So I think this is my choice and I say to friends, not to worry about my hair because I'm delighted with it. I say this because I used to feel uncomfortable around people with hair as short/thin as mine due to treatment but I now feel its best to do what feels right for me. And as I said, I don't get any stares or anything, which is great.

My haior was never a strong point TBH, as it tended to frizz slightly at the front! Some friends think I suit extremely short hair so am working towards a new ultra-short, but hopefully thicker, style!

RWU - I'm going to Borth Sat-Monday. I'm sure you've got arrangements as its a BH but just thought I'd mention it in case you'd like to meet! My mobile is as before. No worries if you don't feellike it or aren't up to it though. I'll be at my SIL's but DH and DS aren't coming as they have other things going on. So it'll be easy for me to slip into Aber unaccompanied!

I've ordered the Brow Zings so am eagerly waiting for that package through the door Should arrive today.

Best wishes to all for a lovely BH week-end.

Hi to all - good news about Maine Coon kitten MAS, they are SOOO gorgeous (hope it isn't farty like haggis's). Hope grief counselling is not too painful.

Glad to hear hair is returning SR - people don't stare really once it is coming back and good on you for delighting in it as it does so. I remember having a major excitement the first time I felt it ripple a bit in the breeze

The couple next door to us brought their new baby home yesterday. They have been soooo excited and we have just popped round as you do, and now they look absolutely shagged out and worried that he didn't settle all night and that we would be tearing our hair out with the noise. We didn't hear a sound They look as if they have just seen the cold light of reality and don't like it much. wish we could cushion them from it, but you just can't, can you?

briefly -thanks for good wishes for counselling- it was very good today,feel as though we made progress- i still have to get to the deep stuff,not sure how to though.

Kitten news- am just pausing to think carefully- the asking price is quite steep bearing in mind they are x bred M Coons - gorgeous whatever -am perfectly happy to have a cross breed but the price (£200) doesn't include microchipping or innoculations which other breeders seem to send them out with...do you guys have any opinions ? I know that if I see them I'll have to have one, so wanted to be absolutely sure. If not one of these,there will be others coming up,so mustn't get carried away.
Hope the brow zings have arrived and that you are sporting them proudly SR !
Poor neighbours Cakes - it is a shock- I remember that soooo well

Thnx SR that's v helpful. By the time I get to your stage we will be in hat weather too, so if I get cold feet that will help. But am really lookin 4wrd to that stage. Wonder what your extra M was for? Epi is hateful stuff, even thinkin of the red syringe makes my bile rise even more. I have run out of zofran now and worried that still feel sick so best not to think of it at all!

Hope u like the browzings as much as I do, let me know.

Happy BH weekend everyone, enjoy the kiddies before the treadmill starts up again. Cx

I don't know anything about the going rate for kittens, so can't really offer an opinion. With dogs, at least, cross breeds are nice, usually healthier and a bit more easy going (clearly my last dog was the exception here )but £200 sounds steepish. But then I find the price of everything a bit steepish these days, I am not sure quite when I turned into an old fart.

Glad the grief counselling is going well. Stuff must get buried so deep over the years it is a challenge rooting it all out

Hope you all have good Bank Holidays. I shall be working on my new project as dd is going to go and stay at her Gran's - i can't get my teeth into big things while she is banging on about 7 year olds' stuff. She is actually out playing in the street at the moment but the interruptions are both frequent and sudden, like being repeatedly swiped around the back of the head with a wet newspaper - it doesn't hurt but it is mighty offputting