**TAMOXIFEN TEN***

[MaryAnnSingleton]

brand new shiny thread....our tenth !

Oh yes - scrambled here too Sparkle, while you're in the kitchen........ (I'll wash up!)

Kurri with a 15 mile round trip bike ride ahead of you, you will need plenty of scrambled egg, will get busy right now, have just made myself a lovely cheesey omlette, with black pepper, and very small slice of bread!

I'll dry, Kurri. I remember being in John Lewis cafe, when DS was teeny and a couple of old ladies said to DH how lucky he was to have a 'son and heir'.

No need to worry about washing up, am using plastic plates as dd2 wants to wash up before her nap , which means will have very clean kitchen floor too!

Ah yes, I did! I now have chapter and verse on her exact Uni course etc!! I think she'll find she's in a bit of a queue for his affections, though

15 miles, KK? I doubt I could propel our only family bike through 15 yards at the moment!!

different generation "son and heir"

You are doing better than us amber, in that we have no family bike. at her sharing her daughter's propects with you.....did she go into details about specific gene pools,,, hope you told her your ds was "keeping his options open, but we thank you for your interest!"

ah yes, and handed her a ticket for the queue!!

eggs,ginger cake and marriage - crikey- and I've only been off to do the Sainsbury's shop (in Charles) Ds having his after school snacks (bagel,cereal bar,2 choc digestives,cup of green tea and marmite rice cakes and an apple)
I have made orange jelly with mandarins in - yum ! Piano soon...

Wow that is an afternoon snack to be proud of!

Evening Ladies

I will take my toast with marmite , and my egg boiled with a runny yolk but no jelly white bits thankyou !
Oh and if you eat ginger thins (or any other biscuit) standing up , they are totally calorie free - fact

Saw surgeon this morning , 9am appointment seen just after 11am !
She said pathology said exactly as we had thought , tumour over 5 cms , agressive and showing signs of breaking out of tumour boundaries .
12 out of 19 lymph nodes were involved , but of breaching of these .
She couldn't (wouldn't) say for definite , but signs are that the cancer has NOT spread .
I will be given bone and ct scans anyway , even if it's just to establish a baseline before chemo .

I meet with the Oncologist on Monday , and they will tell me more about what exact type of chemo I will be having , what side effects to expect etc .
But it will be 6 rounds , 3 weeks apart .

So we are hoping chemo will be over by Christmas , then will have radiotherapy in the new year .
And all treatment completed by February .

Then I will get called back by surgeon to discuss my "rebuild" options .
Oh and I will be seeing the BCN to have my proper false boobie fitted .
She informed me that the NHS pay for one of them , and if I want a spare I can buy one but it will cost me around £100 !
Did anyone buy a spare ?
Will I need one ?

Also I will get a fitting appointment for a "hair piece" .
Do I pay for this too ?
Are they particularly ugly ?
Will I be better off with a range of fetching head scarfes ???

Loads of questions this evening !

Am loving the thought of Ambers nearly man wandering round Europe with his harem of Ladies , like a mini Hugh Hefner !

MAS - Victor and Charles ??? Now got Aznevour singing "Thank Heavens for leetle girls" buzzing around in my head !

Off to do a little internet shopping now .
Wanted to reward myself with a little gold queen bee necklace I have been eyeing up today , But the inconsiderate sods have only gorn and sold out of it !
Woman on a mission

PS - Sorry for the huuuuuge post !

Aaaaargh , read first , then post Topsy !
That should say "no breaching of lymph nodes"

No breaching of lymph nodes sounds good Topsy, you must be relieved to have got the appointment out of the way. Grr that your necklace was sold out though - you deserve a treat

I didn't get a spare false boobie (known as the boobatron in this house ) - not one of the expensive ones anyway, I bought a beenaboob like this which I use for swimming.

I don't know anything about hair pieces/wigs - I just used hats and scarves - but I think there are a few wig experts on here

Can't remember if I've said before, but you don't have to pay VAT on mastectomy wear, - so if you buy anything in Marks/John Lewis/ elsewhere always ask them take the VAT off because they don't always tell you.

Brilliant news, Topsy!! Must feel good to have a timescale - now all you have to do is slog through and join us on the other side. Won't be long. Am wishing you huge treats for tonight.

I don't have a false boob, as had an implant. Had a wig and never used it. It's called Erica, and lives in a box, but is fun at parties. Someone wiser than me will be along soon, am sure.

Panic not , the necklace has been located and ordered online !
Take away and a bottle of wine tonight methinks

ooh,show us the necklace !! it's not an Alex Monroe one is it ?
am glad you have a time plan -everything feels better with a plan -yay !

Topsy, phew to have all your results - that's a good starting point.
Wigs - I absolutely love mine! I've become a wigaholic! You get a voucher towards the cost, I think (though I didn't explore this - bcn should be able to tell you). Go to a decent chemo wig specialist who is trained to fit you and your wig to each other to perfection. I use Rene Amore wigs and they are SO natural that not even my good friends can tell it's not real hair. And not hot or itchy if you wear a good wig cap (like a stocking) under it. Very stable, very beautifully coloured options and lengths and styles. Have a google.

And I have hats and beanies and scarves too.

Hi Ladies.Am going to see my lovely GP tomorrow. Im just wondering if there is any reason why he can refuse to refer me for a mammogram??

Hi Keeping, - the only reason I can think of is that they aren't offered routinely to younger women, because its harder to read them due to differences in a younger woman's breast. So for women under 50ish, who have no particularly increased risk of BC, they aren't offered.

I think your argument (should you need to argue your case and hopefully you won't) should be that you feel due to your sister's illness you may be at increased risk. I don't actually think you will have a problem getting a mammo (your GP sounds nice) and will hopefully feel you need one to help put your mind at rest. I hope it all goes well for you

Its not the Alex Monroe one (necklace) , but I was eyeing that one up !
Will try to get the link together when I am on my desktop (on phone at mo)

secret - here (northern ireland) our local cancer charity offers mammograms to ladies over 40 for a donation . Not sure how old (young) you are and if this will apply to you .

amber - off to google that wig company . Thanks for the tip . Will I faint at the prices ?

Hi keeping, I doubt he'll say no, but if he seems iffy, say you can't sleep worrying about it or something - that usually makes them shift. With mammograms, they do say they won't do them on younger women, but even if they decide not to, you can still have an examination at the breast clinic and an ultrasound, which can tell them a lot. Hope it goes well. Let us know.

Topsy, hope you got good take out and

yes,that sounds good advice from smee - really hope you get whatever is needed to set your mind at rest keeping.

Well , this weekend I shall be biting the bullet and giving my children the full story .
So far they just know that I had a lump in my chest and I had an operation to get rid of it .

DS is 11 (12 next month) and DD is 8 .
Any tips ?
Any particular words or phrases you found helpful ?

Topsy, I paid £210 for my 'best' one but I think the NHS picks up a lot of the cost of something like this. Then I got a blonde spare for about £90. I used LongForHair in Didcot for the consultation and I've used PeriwigDirect online for the other one - they were both hugely helpful.
I think there's handy books for explaining cancer to children that might be useful for them. From memory one is called Mummy's Lump and can be downloaded from www.breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/health-and-wellbeing/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/18/
It's aimed at younger ones than yours, but the principles are the same so it's handy to use as a template for your own conversations with them I guess?

www.breastcancercare.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/publications/health-and-wellbeing/*/changeTemplate/PublicationDisplay/publicationId/18/

Trying that link again