*TAMOXIFEN* the 5th

[MaryAnnSingleton]

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

Ooh could be Herceptin! The cancer esearch site is very helpful!!

Yes Purplefish, it will be herceptin (also known as trastuzumab) it means your mum's cancer is HER2+. Mine was of this type, I had surgery, chemo, rads, then a year of herceptin. In my case this was administered intravenously at the hospital once every 3 weeks. But I think some people now have it administered at home.

Herceptin is a very effective drug and has transformed the treatment of HER2+ BC. Its now given routinely to everyone who has this type. Your Mum is right to feel it is a good thing there is a specific, effective treatment for her type of cancer. Herceptin has a few side effects but generally it is not like chemo, and perfectly possible to carry on with life normally while you are on it.

If there's anything you would like to know, just ask Hope your Mum is not too stressed out by the waiting for results business. Good wishes to her

Oh thankyou Kurri. She did say she had to take it for a year and she did say it was possible for her to return to work whilst having it, so felt very positive about that.

So did you have surgery first? They are now saying chemo then surgery.....

I had surgery first PF, but it varies how they do it in different hospitals. Some people have surgery half way through chemo, others afterwards. (I'm fairly sure there are ladies on here who have had it the same way round as your mum who will be along soon

hi purplefish - my SIL lalaa had HER2+ tumour and had herceptin (surgery first,then chemo & rads) Am very pleased to say that she is 5 years clear and finished with all drug treatments,working and healthy,so please feel reassured about your mum.

Been away as have been up to my ears with end of holiday filling. Lots of socialising and treats. We even went to the Tower of London yesterday. Haven't been since I was little. DS rather predictably, wants a raven..

But HOORAY for SR! Brilliant you're through chemo, even if the icky SE are still with you. Am so pleased for you. Hope you're feeling okay today.

Poor Cupcaked, ulcers are horrendous. I had them quite badly last time and soluble asprin helped. Not sure what else though. Am wishing them gone for you, they're not the easiest SE; definitely made me feel grim.

Kurri, thought it worth mentioning, as I've had two goes at Pilates. First time was useless, but that was a group class with what I now realise was a woeful teacher. I then found a one to one tutor who specialised in recovering from injury and she was astounding. She kept me mobile throughout my back traumas. Think what I'm trying to say is it seems very easy with pilates to get it wrong, as it's so precise. Beware if it starts hurting (it shouldn't), but if you don't feel anything, you're not doing it properly!

Purple, glad your mother's getting through the tests. Having a haircut is definitely a good idea. A bad hair day's not exactly helpful at the best of times. Can't help on chemo first, as I had the op before starting. I'm not having Herceptin, but here's a good place to ask questions.

MAS I can't offer any insight on anxiety dreams, though maybe the timing alongside the counselling isn't a coincidence. Am lucky maybe as dreams have gone for now. I'm a light sleeper and wake often, so that might explain it. Did like the pig story though Kurri .

RWU hope you're out from under the duvet and feeling okay.

Better go. DH cooking me a late meal. Yet more beetroot for my iron levels. He's crumbling some feta in with fennel and new potatoes. mmmm....

Glad to hear I'm not the only person who's feeling cold though. Can guarantee you'll make me feel almost normal.

Smee I didn't now beetroot was good for iron. Will ruch out and pick the little beets remaining in my patch! I definitely need iron - energy at an all time low! Glad to hear you've been busy and enjoying the hols. Its been a lovely last week on the weather front hasn't it. Hope it lasts a bit longer. Thank-you for your nice thoughts. I still have 13 days of the tablets and one more IV chemo on Friday but yes definitely getting to the end, thank goodness.

Purplefish- a friend of mine had chemo before surgery in order to shrink the tumour beforehand. However her cancer did not respond so after about 3 chemo's she was taken off it and had the surgery. Some cancers do not shrink with chemo but some do, and its a case of trying it out in some cases I think, if the tumour is rather large. She is now doing very well, after a mastectomy and rads and is back at work.

I had lumpectomy, then started chemo then had all lymph glands removed while on chemo, and also had rads during chemo. I think this was because my chemo was delayed due to an infection so we needed to get on with it. Also I've kept very well during treatment so the view was that I was strong enough to have the op and the rads during chemo. I do know another woman who had this at my treatment centre. Its a bit tough but means that you finish chemo and have already got the rads out of the way, which I'm pleased about now.

Will focus on beetroot, parsley and some liver this week! And staying out of the way of anyone with a cold! My DS is continuing our project of shed demolition as the new one arrives on TUesday.

DD will be back from her w/e with her boyfriend's parents this evening and DH should be back from sailing round Anglesey soon so we will be a 4-some - this doesn't happen very often these days!

SR, I still can't get my head round your chemo can I?! Rather dimly I thought you only had the last lot of tablets left. Friday sounds not all that far away though, so at least that's good.

Beetroot's always a favourite here. Lentils too which is fortunate as those help too. Have got some Dahl on the hob for tonight; could eat pots of it. I can't gnaw on liver as have always hated it and anyway have been a vegetarian since I was 18. Obviously that's only a very few years ago.. My Grandfather was a butcher and used to feed us the meat he couldn't sell. Put me off it for life.

Hope you have a raucous time tonight. Sounds like a treat to have you all together. Do you argue after a certain point, or is it all harmonious?! Am hoping it's the latter.

oh beetroot is one of my favourite things - my mum used to boil it for me and bring it round - ds lived on bettroot and peppers as a little boy. Dh thought he didn't like beetroot until he had it as a starter at a friend's with crumbled feta - he thought it was just the vinegary stuff !

Raucous evening? Well I was asleep on the sofa by about 8pm!! This last cycle seems to be knocking me out. Or else I did too much shed stuff - but no the boys did that and I only did driving to the dump and occasional picking up of small woody bits I could add to the fire - which was nice and lasted all afternoon.

So anyway a quiet day today I think. DS back at school and starting 6th form (sob - only 2 more years with him here at home), DH back at work and DD still in bed, no doubt till 12ish.

Hmm, might go and make some dhal then as yes we all like that. When I can summon the energy. And I can't but any liver today as the butcher is shut on Mondays! I like dhal with fried onions on top, with rice.

Smee - the CMF pattern seems to baffle most people so don't worry! Its the tablets that are rather yukky but end is in sight.

Hi all and hooray for the looming ends of treatment.

Hi also to Purplefish - glad your Mum is being positive and has a treatment plan sorted. I agree with KK: it is good to have a plan tailored to your particular type of tumour, and I am sure she will tolerate the various treatments just fine. It is long winded and unpleasant, but doable.

Sorry not to be here - FIL's funeral today and tomorrow (they are Irish catholics, they don't just make do with the funeral-lite version) and so I am trying to keep business ticking over today before dd and I join them tomorrow....

Cakes - I hope the funerals go well. Thinking of you.

yes,thinking of you tomorrow Cakes hope dd copes with it all-am sure she will be fine. I imagine there's a vigil tonight ?

Yes, a vigil tonight. And lots of dinners over several days.

As a non-Catholic interloper my appearance at much of this is optional.

Thanks for good wishes. It will go just fine, and dd will get her chance to say goodbye along with everyone else. (I suspect she'll also kind of enjoy the tragic air it will give her at school )

Talking of which - first day in year 3 today (or as we used to call it in the olden days, first year juniors). Hope it has gone OK, the suspense is killing me!

Am a very lapsed Catholic but do like the ritual/insense etc. My granny had a full Latin Mass at her funeral which was interesting but not what we're used to ! Hope school went well...my boy will be going into yr 9 -what we used to call 3rd year !

Yr2 here, so Infant 3 in ye-olde-speak, where I still remember Miss Downs slapping our legs for such heinous crimes, as not standing in a sufficiently straight line. So glad things are a bit different now.

On the walk to school, DS checked how to spell 'wall', as he reckons new teacher will get them all drawing/ writing what they did in the holidays, and if he writes 'I went to the wall' and draws one, that'll do. I thought he'd better at least write 'Hadrian's Wall' and draw a few Romans, but he poo-pooed that. Have been amused all day wondering what his teacher might make of a wall as the high spot of the holidays.

Cakes, hope funeral's not too epic for DD, but that she gets what she needs from it too.

SR it's no surprise you're tired, as you're not long out of Rads, let alone the chemo. Boy in sixth form does sound v.grown up. Did he stay at the same school, or is it a college?

sorry to interrupt with this and hope not tmi but after no period for several months i had a fairly light one two-three weeks ago and now another which is horrendous - do you think this is normal ? am horribly squeamish as you know...

Rather timely this, MAS but I met my Rads Onc today who handed me a raft of leaflets, including one on Tamoxifen. That says periods: 'may become irregular, lighter or sometimes stop together'. So it does sound normal, but if it's horrendous, maybe you should go and check with GP?

Thinking of you for the next couple of days Cakes, I hope everything goes peacefully for you all.

MAS - From a quick google, I'd say irregular and heavy/light periods seem to be a SE of tamoxifen, so I don't think you need to panic.
I'm not very knowledgeable about these things because I had a hysterectomy in my 30's, so didn't have the usual type of menopause. But considering the other menopausal symptoms tamox. causes, I would imagine disruption of periods was likely. (Though I would give GP a ring and ask about it to set your mind at rest).

Good luck to all DC going back to school.
And to those in treatment this week.

Beetroot is lovely, my dad used to grow loads, and I loved the smell of it being cooked. (DH nearly scared himself to death once by eating a whole load and later that night doing a very red wee. He was getting ready for a midnight dash to A&E when we remembered the beetroot)

Sorry MAS I don't know. I stopped periods a few years ago. My onc. looked as though he was about to give me a leaflet about Tamoxifen last week then didn't so I have no info yet. I know that in a normal menpause periods stop and start and I used to have PMT for weeks and everything became v. irregular. Then I strated HRT and although it was helpful at the time I rather wish I hadn't as can't help thinking it might have cuased the cancer. Onc said the chance of this is minimal, but can't help thinking it could have tipped th balance.

I made lovely dhal with rice and boiled eggs then fruit crumble ( garden apples and local wild blackberries and a couple of pears) - now family all moaning they've eaten too much and DH a bit grumpy!! However it must have boosted our iron levels, esp as I decorated it all with parsley

On a more serious note I have friends in NZ who've been affected by the earhquake - their road has dropped by 2 ft and their water is contaminated with sewage. No electricity apart from a generator. That puts things into perspective again.

Gosh - sorry about your friends SR, the pictures of the Earthquake on the news looked very scary.

Just read my last post : periods 'stop together' I meant 'altogether'. Think how dire they'd be if they did stop together and went on endlessly. We'd more than need the beetroot then.

Sorry about your friends Kurri. Are they getting the help they need?

Cakes, really hope the next few days go well. Will be thinking of you all.

Waah, sorry not Kurri, but SR's friends. Am typing too fast and my brain's obviously missing..

NZ earthquake v scary sounding - hope friends are ok SR.
Eek about beetroot wee KK
Thanks for advice about periods - I think this v heavy one has just alarmed me as i've always had fairly light,quick ones and very regular- now it's all a bit haywire..am sure it's to be expected and nothing untoward...I was just upset because I was drawing and had to dash to the loo and was embarrasssed to have leaked - arggghhh (sorry,gross i know - dh has got into a pickle as he worries)

I have 2 sets of friends near each other outside Christchurch, so I am hearing about both families from one family as the other has no electiricity. Think they're Ok but don't know when the water and electrciticy probs will be sorted.

Can't type properly ( or rather am typing even worse than usual) as have cut my finger while opening a letter - I hate paper cuts! I am worried about my low immunity so rushed off and soaked finger in TCP and put a dressing on. Its on the side where I have no lymph glands a swell. Honestly I have been so careful in the garden - gloc=ves at all times, insecticide on arm etc and now this happens. Just hope as its superficial it won't matter.

Waiting for new shed/greenhouse today...