TAMOXIFEN 9 *********

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Starts here !

thanks I'll keep you posted.

Couldn't you choose between Rabbit and Chicken Kurri? I can easily believe your DH has won too - how much is the question?? Sorry about your DH friend's sister being diagnosed, but good you were able to be there for her, I'd bet you really helped. Hope DD has arrived home and is enjoying the cake.

SR, your house is now a mansion in my head - eccentric Polish man in the annexe, friend in the east wing, family in the main house, with Orlando bounding between.

Figgy, go splurge, you most definitely deserve it. Glad to hear you're feeling well enough to garden now.

Sparkle, threaten to do the patio yourself. That always gets my DH going.

MAS, I like the idea of mothers sitting in the sun. Hope you joined her for a while at least. Glad you got the chair lift fixed too.

Hello coorong. What MAS says is sensible, as most BC isn't painful. Mine certainly wasn't. We're good at hand holding, so stick around if you'd like to. Must be hard waiting, but I think that's just how it is at a lot of places. Also, take it as a good sign, as imo you hear bad news fast.

More park life for me today. Boys bounded about as we scoffed the picnic. They weren't impressed.

sparkle...opening that can was harder work than painting the fence,it looks great by the way.

kurri...sorry to hear about your hubbys friends sister,but so glad you was able to talk her through it im sure you have been a big help.

another really nice day hope your all enjoying the weather,spent most of the day pottering round the garden we even had breakfast out there this morning. looking forward to my daughter coming home next friday from uni for the easter holidays she can help me go on a hat mission as my hair is just starting to come out and im not ready for that wig yet.

HI, Smee the house isn't a mansion but its very useful that we had a big loft conversion done a few years ago! Also DH takes eccentric Polish guest out for bike rides to keep him out of my hair!

Have had lovely w/e with my uni friend - wonderful weather and for once just lazed around this pm in the garden (as opposed to usual hard work)

Pink - it'll be lovely to have your DD back from uni. Which year is she in and what is she studying?

KK - is your health OK now or are you still having problems with your thyroid?

Cakes - have been chuckling over some of your posts over the past week.

MAS - has Celeste got the hang of the cat-flap now?

Love to all, esp anyone going through the mill at the moment.

sounds a great weekend SR !

A having illustrator's block again - gah ! have washed the floor,done the washing and ironing and made banana and walnut muffins and meditated,but drawn very little and what I have done is rubbish
Celeste was barked at by next door's dog (not the ridgeback,this is a retriever on the other side) She was a bit alarmed and ran indoors,then pooed in the washing up bowl which I use for hand washing which was on the floor.
She has mastered the cat flap,but still much poking at it with her paws. The magnet is picking up all manner of metal,old screws,rusty nails etc !

Hi Ladies, its been a while

LJ - I have had a bad stomach since Friday which is not good...I so rarely (before chemo) had them, and I too had a cast iron stomach :) Luckily its not so bad today.

Cakes - must remember to put ginger beer on my list..have tried ginger cordial, ginger tea and ginger capsules...I knew there must be something else? I will hate ginger at the end of chemo :)

KK - I started doing Zumba just before I was diagnosed. It is great fun although I found it very hard to keep up. I was lucky as one of friends had had dance lessons so I used to watch her instead and my other friend was just as bad as me, so made me feel better :)

Smee - your park trip sounds like fun. The children broke up for Easter on Thursday so we seem to have spent the last 3 days in one park or another. Great fun!

I also want to say Hi to Coorang and Lilruthie. This is the best place to be for hand holding :)

All is ok with me apart from the dodgy stomach! I am looking forward to 2 weeks off with the children and having lots of fun (with a dose of chemo in the middle)

Hello all. Another one who's been AWOL for a few days.

Sorry to hear about your dodgy tummy LGF. No fun if you're out and about with the children. I hope it eases off soon. I have had the opposite for the past couple of days and need to start taking my little sachets of yucky orange stuff to get things moving. I've been having little niggly pains in my side too for the last couple of days, not the usual side of my diverticulitis. Maybe I have it on the other side now or maybe it's something else. I will mention it when I have my third chemo tomorrow. I wonder how much my white blood cells have gone up by. Hopefully they're back to 4 or 5.

I hope the illustrators block buggers off asap MAS and you start drawing again soon. It sounds like you've had a mega-busy day. Love the sound of banana and walnut muffins.

You day sounds fun, Sandripples. Hasn't it been glorious weather?

It was DH's birthday today so we went out for an Italian with DS1. I steered clear of anything too rich and spicy and avoided alcifrol. This afternoon I managed to clear one whole border of weeds but didn't get round to planting up my tubs and pots. I will try and do that one afternoon.

MAS - I hope the illustrators block passes soon, - I'm sure it will

Sorry to hear you've got a dodgy tum LGF, I hope it clears soon. - Is your next chemo next week same as Figgy's?
I think I will be lagging behind everyone in the zumba (although the class isn't starting until May so I will try to shed a few pounds before I start!)

Pink it will be lovely to have your DD home, ( mine came home yesterday), how long does she have off?

I hope you enjoyed your meal out Figgy, and fingers crossed for a nice high white cell count tomorrow - and good luck with this cycle

SR - the thyroid problems seem to be settling down - I haven't fainted for a few weeks now - which is a great improvement!

A quick question to everyone on tamoxifen - has anyone else had problems with swollen ankles? - I've noticed mine looking a bit swollen in the evening recently and tonight they were especially bad - it is fluid being retained as very spongy feeling. I did a lot of gardening today so was bending and kneeling a fair bit. I looked up SE's and swollen ankles was mentioned so am assuming that's the reason. But will mention it next time I'm at the docs.

no swollen ankles here- isn't fluid retention a poss. SE ?- particularly bearing in mind warm weather and doing lots of gardening ? Am glad to hear there's been no fainting !!
Am hoping block will pass!
Have my old school friend (since we were at primary school) coming today -and my DB and DN coming up to stay over at parentals,so ds will be very happy
Good luck with next treatments LGF and figgy

sandripples..my daughter is in her first year at uni and shes studying social science but shes hoping to change to criminology for her second year she can also do this without losing a year which is great.

kurri.. my daughter will be coming home on friday for 2 weeks,back for 2 weeks then shes finished for the summer.shes moving in to a new house sharing with 5 other girls in june so will have to go back to sort it out but other than that shes going to be about all summer.

my hair started to fall out yesterday its now coming out fast.omg i have already got a bald patch the kids are already moaning they keep finding my hair everywhere my 15 year old freaked out yesterday when she got a clump of my hair on her feet lol.have tried my wig on and its just not right so im on a frantic mission to find a decent home hairdresser as my wig needs cutting.its only been 2 weeks since my first chemo so wasnt expecting this yet.

pink starlight . IME the fall starts bang on 2 weeks after the first cycle so you are right on the money. Hang on in there, it's horrible, but you knew it was coming, and now that it's here, you CAN deal with it. it is better once it has gone, really.

KK- zumba sounds great but i don't think I would have the energy. Very cool, though. I am also not surprised that mr KK won the GN, he is on a roll, I think. I don't have swollen ankles, I don't think, but MAS is right, fluid retention is an SE, and my fingers are certainly bigger than they were, which I blame on tamoxifen. I can't see any difference really, but within about a month of starting to take it none of my rings fitted any more.

Love to everyone else, some of you sound like you are having lovely sunny days, and those of you with chemo to deal with all sound full of fight, so I know you will be OK.

Special good thoughts and vibes to coorong. Welcome. I am sorry you are here but glad you have found us. I will be thinking of you on Thursday - really, don't read anything into the long wait. At our hospital, the results are ready in a day or two but have to be discussed by a multidisciplinary team (ie oncologists, surgeons etc) all of whom have to agree either that no action is required or, that some is, and what it should be. As the team only meets once a week, you HAVE to wait until after that. hence the delay. Nothing sinister.

In other news, half of the garden is now looking fab (Thanks, Mum - and DH who did a lot of heavy digging). DD and I are going out later to ponce about, tidy up and take all the credit.

really ? your fingers swelled ? are they still like that Cakes ?

have a banana and walnut muffin (see pictures) ! they didn't rise as much as the ones I had last week at my editor's but taste just as nice...

Yes, MAS, they are still bigger, though not quite as bad as at first. I had to have my wedding ring made larger, all the other rings I wear on different fingers or not at all.

Why did you have to mention muffins? Especially such gorgeous looking ones? But, actually, thanks. Don't mind if I do

Pink, hi. I think the process of the hair loss is worse than when its all gone really. Once ts gone you just have to focus on great head-gear and ear-rings for a whole new look! If you like your wigm that's great - I didn't but invested in lots of varied scarves, hats, bandana-type buffs and jewellery. Nice for summer I found. (I just didn't like it when I forgot I had no hair eg first thing in ths morning and gave myslef a shock when I looked in the morror!) My teenager didn't like seeing me bald so I always coered up until it started gorwing back and when I hjad a very modest covering he was absolutely fine wirh it. Think he was just releived it was making a return!

So cold and wet today. I#'ll go into my garden playhouse (as those of you from last year will recall me buying!) and plants beans and courgettes nevertheless. Did weeding yesterday but need to get the season going a bit more and haveseeds, compost and trays at the ready.

Cold and wet? Yikes!!! You are North West, aren't you? Is that heading this way? It does look cloudier than before. Oh no!!!

But enjoy your planting, SR. I suppose if it rains here it will water my new plants in

Yes, here it comes

Swollen ankles and fingers make me appreciate I've been lucky so far on Tamoxifen. Just the hot flushes and achy feet for me, but it's not so bad.

Muffins, mmm... How delicious. We should send one to Figgy for her 3rd chemo. Hope it's okay this time Figgy and that those injections keep you away from the hospital until the next one.

Pink, I lost on day 14 too. Very, very hard time, but Cakes is right, as strangely you do get used to it, and the thing to remember is it does come back. You should see mine - seriously bouncy and thick now, and I only finished chemo in September. Hang on in there.

No time to post more as I'm packing and also sorting house for friends who are staying while we're away. We're off on our huge post Cancer treat holiday to Morocco tomorrow. I will think of you as I sip Mint Tea in the sun. Really hope all of you on treatment keep as well as you can.

Did someone mention muffins? they look great MAS - I think we should start a cake gallery, - take photos each time we make something, - I made some gingerbread at the weekend -- but it seems to have all gone

Smee - have a fabulous holiday in Morocco, you deserve a great post cancer treat

Pink - the hair falling out is the worst bit, once its gone you will probably feel a bit better about it - it can actually be quite freeing not to have to do you hair each day.

It's great your DD will be around for a lot of your chemo, ( and actually maybe better for her too - my DD was away at uni in her first year when I had mine, and I think she found it quite stressful not being able to see me and know I was OK)

Cakes - now you mention it, my rings are a bit tight too. The ankles have gone down this morning, it seems to be the evenings they've swollen up so far.
Well done to your mum you and DD for tidying the garden

SR - enjoy your planting, its lovely here today, but I expect we'll get the rain tomorrow. - What seeds have you got to grow?

I went to yoga this morning, and managed it all with only a tolerable amount of shoulder pain, so I was pleased - it's progress in the right direction. The teacher has given me a pose to practice which is supposed to be good for shoulders, so I'll give that a go.

Love to all, hope chemo is going OK Figgy.

Right I'm off to make a large earthworm, with moving mouth

thanks... i did know the hairloss was coming it just didnt expect it to see it fly away in the wind when hanging out the was washing,daft i know but i thought it would take its time to come out bit of a shock when 2 weeks ago i had long blond hair though i did get it cut shorter my hair now looks like cotton wool.

anyway ive booked myself in to a top swanky hair salon on thursday they are going to cut my wig,shave my head and have promised to be discrete and look after me.but jeeze if it carries on like this i wont have any hair left to shave by thursday.

the sredding of hair buisness must be hard work,ive just lost 4 1/2 to sleep lol.

Hello all. Back from 3rd cycle in double quick time today. They were short of 2 senior nurses so wanted to get everyone through quickly to deal with the backlog. It all went well and I've got the7 injections in my fridge for the district nurse to administer starting Friday. My white blood count was 4.8 which was brilliant considering how low it was a couple of weeks ago any my red count is high too so no chance of becoming anaemic.

Pink, I lost my hair between the second and third week, had it cut really short and then it came out so quickly I got DH to shave it for me. Now there's hardly anything at all and I wear my wig out and the scarves and little hats indoors although I did venture out to the garden centre on Sunday with my bandana on and didn't feel at all confident so will stick to the wig. It's so like my own hair that people who don't know I'm having chemo and lost my hair are surprised when I tell them. I hope your hairdresser does a good job and gets it just how you like it. There was a lady today sitting opposite me and last time she had a dark brown wig and this time a blonde one. I didn't recognise her at first. She says she's got a red one too.

An earthworm, Kurri? I'm intrigued - maybe I missed something in an earlier post?

Well done Figgy - you are getting through them now Great that your white blood cell count was up, and now you have those injections, fingers crossed you won't have any more problems in that direction.

I am making puppets - my DS has a Theatre company, and he's doing James and The Giant Peach and wants me to make puppets for the various beasts in it.

have a fabulous holiday smee- you deserve it !!
earthworm sounds intruiging KK - pictures of it when it's ready please !
Well done figgy and pink,am sure your styled wig will look fabby.

now cloudy and cool here- was gorgeous this morning- had coffee and muffins in the garden with my visiting friend,then a really nice warm,sunny walk to town with her.

Snap, MAS. It was glorious earlier and now it's windy and grey with black clouds looming. I hope it passes quickly. The sunshine makes everything seem so much more copable with.