**TAMOXIFEN TEN***

[MaryAnnSingleton]

brand new shiny thread....our tenth !

Well done junior sparkles. Keeping still like that is a tall order for a six year old. Bless him!

Oh well done little Sparkles - that is a big ask for a little boy to keep still all that time - I'm pretty sure I would have wriggled a lot more than he did.

Good luck with the blood test MAS, and take it easy, don' try to force yourself to keep going if you feel under the weather - its counter productive in the long run.

I now have to confess I have been asleep for about an hour and a half I think, I had stomach ache so lay down on the settee (just for a minute) next thing I know its five o'clock. It must be old age kicking in

Evening All

Back from my apt with Onc .
He was lovely (and dishy too , which helps !)
I had some blood tests and a chest xray , am on the list for a ct scan and a bone scan .
My first apt will be 4th July . Chemo might not start that day , but it will start that week .
I will be having 3 sessions of FEC , and then 3 sessions of TAX .
He gave me all the info sheets on both drugs , but said if I feel sick whilst on either of them , then he hasn't done his job properly !
I'll believe it when it happens , but he seems to think the worst side effect for me will be the hair loss !

He also said once he has seen how I tolerate the first dose , he will work the rest around my holiday .

I actually remembered to ask what my formal diagnosis was today . All that has happened in the past month , I keep forgetting to ask !

Ladies , meet Topsy , she has invasive ductal carcinoma .
And my Onc thinks , with chemo , my odds of no recurrence are higher than 80% !

Thats great Topsy - he sounds nice and that's a big thing to have a nice onc., getting your treatment plan really makes a difference to how you feel IMO, - you know what's ahead of you and you can get your head round it all.

Hooray for dishy Oncs!! Topsy, that's all sounding positive. Your diagnosis v.similar to mine. I have about the 80% range in the stats too, nodal positive like you and and had 3xFEC and 3xTax. Also had bone and ct scans. Soon be through it. Be hard work, but you can count off the weeks now.

• Huge Hoorays for Little Sparkle. What a brave boy. Definite treats for him then - and for you Sparkle for being a v.brave mum. Hope you don't have to wait long for the results.

Topsy - it's a good outcome all in all, congratulations and well done.

They can do so much for the sickness - I was at worst nauseous, never sick, so you really can have high hopes, he isn't spinning you a line.

I am pleased.

Topsy, yay!

Yay for Topsy, and dishy oncs!!!

.......just flying through, make me a when you next have the kettle on and I will try to stop in again for longer before it gets cold!

hooray for topsy and nice onc - always a bonus !

Forgot to say well done to little sparkle for putting up with all that yesterday . You did so well keeping still for so long !

Just checked in to say morning!

Also that I have seen Pennies around and about and she says to send her love. She is fine - nearing the end of herceptin, but struggling a bit with tamoxifen SEs. Her choir thing is going really well and she is doing gigs!!!! Crikey!!

Oh great to hear from Pennies, I'm glad she's getting a lot of pleasure out of her singing, - that's fab.

I need to go and do a bit of gardening, and a whole load of ironing, - I'm thinking of doing a big de-junk, but can't quite get motivated

Hope everyone is feeling OK today.

Cakes - meant to say there is a new photo of Mortimer on sarah's profile, sitting on her shoulder. He is big!

yay for pennies !
KK - am working on you know what right now
Am off to have my blood test very shortly- have had a banana for strength.

Thank you MAS - that's great good luck with the blood test - remember to treat yourself afterwards

Good to hear Pennie's okay, Cakes. How's the birthday build up. Is she ridiculously excited?

MAS, wishing you banana strength and an efficient nurse for bloods. Hope it goes quickly.

I'm just back from seeing my Surgeon, who agrees that as I am officially sane (Psychologist said so [proud]), she's happy to go ahead. So I have a date for an op in September. Feel quite excited - or maybe that's just relieved, as I hate leaving things hanging. Need a and a lie down, but had better do some work.

Hope everyone out there's okay today. Amber and Pink, am willing you a far better day. to all.

Not so far it isn't. Feeling brighter now but by gum that was a heck of a morning!
Glad to hear you're official sane, Smee! Still not sure about me...

MAS, hope bloods are ok...

Hi everyone else

sparkles...well done to your little man he did really well.

kurri...i do the fall asleep thing all the time lol.

topsy...sounds like you have a good onc there mine is seriously stuffy.

i seem to be fighting a losing battle trying to stop my hands from peeling only yesterday my thumb bubbled up in what looked like a giant blister but was actually just loose skin,i keep moisterising and wearing cotton gloves but soon as the air hits they start flaking again just hoping it settles down before fridays visit to see my onc as i dont want my chemo delayed by a second week with only having 2 more to go i want to get it out of the way now.

oh pink- your poor hands -must be so sore.
That's good news smee- psychologically good for you too,I think.

I am now reeling from a disastrous trip to the doctors. The nurse couldn't get any blood as she says my veins are tiny and that set me off, so she put me in a wheelchair and took me through to the treatment room to lie down -she had another attempt and asked if she could do my left arm instead so I said I had a few nodes missing etc. So I think another attempt before another nurse tried and got blood out. I was meanwhile like parchment and had to lie there with a cup of cold water and a fan on me She drew back the curtain and a nurse that I know (a mum at ds' junior school ) said ' oh it's you !' (I had held up a whole bunch of people x 2)

I hope the peeling stops too, pink. It sounds horrid. I am sure that things will have moved on by Friday, though.

Smee - good news that you are sane, though I never doubted really it is good to have a date - you are single-minded though. Well done for not wavering.

KK, can you do me a link to Sarah? I've lost the thread!! I so want to see Mortimer on her shoulder....

MAS - hope the blood test was not to stressful.

Smee - birthday excitement is at fever pitch. I am not sure how it can be sustained for another 2 days. No wonder she went to bed with a headache last night.

Today's joy of joys is our central heating boiler, now leaking dirty water into all our clean towels

Ah, I see I have my answer to that question MAS. I am sorry - it does conjure up a funny picture though, especially you being propelled around in a wheelchair

At least it is done now.

Poor you MAS - how horrible.

Pink the hand peeling sounds horrible too, hope it settles down by Friday.

Smee - I'm pleased you're sane good too that you have a date for the op., at least it won't be in school holiday time.

Cakes - here is the link mortimer

Sorry about the boiler - what a pain. But at DD's building birthday excitement.

oh no cakes- that is a huge pain - grrrr.

MAS poor you, that must have been horrible. Least it's done now though. You sound like a Jane Austin heroine or something being wafted with fans.

Cakes bet you can't wait until she's 8. When it was DS's birthday he was the same. I thought he'd explode if he'd had to wait even one more day. Boiler sounds annoying. Hope it's nothing too major.

Pink that sounds sore. Is it definitely a reaction to the chemo then? Bloody annoying what it all does to you.

Thanks KK. I am beyond jealous. I want Mortimer, or one of his brothers and sisters.

Birthdays seem to get more and more exciting with every year that passes.

Actually the boiler thing may have a silver lining - I was at a loss about what to get for dd and time is running out. The guys who repair our boiler suggested a dock to go with the iPod, what do you think?????