**t*a*m*o*x*i*f*e*n** number 14

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we go !

Sending good luck wishes to 14k and butterflies for tomorrow. We'll be holding your hands through cyberspace ladies.

Glad you had a lovely week Amber and that your heart function is normal. Good luck on Tuesday when you go for your herceptin.

Driftwood, DH gets interesting bits of driftwood off the beaches when he walks our dawg and carries it home with him, not that we've got a woodburning stove, but he is planning on making an outside wall hanging using it all. There was an exhibition at the library recently and he was inspired.

MAS, real fires scare me too - it's a bit of a phobia with me though. I hate bonfires too.

Hope you're not too long at the clinic tomorrow, Topsy. Shame you didn't get the shoes but hoorah for the coat and dress.

Pink, not long to go now, you're nearly there. I cried at my last rads session - a mixture of relief and gratefulness I think. I felt a real wally and kept saying thankyou to everyone through the tears and snot. Still no side effects, just a bit of a warm glow on the treated skin. I haven't had to resort to cooling pads yet.

Waves to everyone else. Sorry if I've missed your posts. I find it very hard to keep up.

I will be having a quiet day in tomorrow. DH and I are planning to go away for the weekend, leaving Friday mid morning and returning early evening Sunday. DS1 has agreed to supervise DS2. We're in Essex and dont fancy a really long drive but I quite fancy either Kent or Norfolk. Any suggestions greatfully received.

Night night all. xxx

Waiting at the docs. Decided I need a song of the day... Mine today is "don't rain on my parade" .... Which version? Who cares, as long as it's LOUD!!! No wonder I was getting funny looks on the way in. Have a good day, thinking of u all x

butterflies how did it go ? Sing out girl !

yes,how was it butterflies ?? singing is good !
figgy-I have a big fear of fire-it took me years to try striking matches,lighting the gas- bunsen burners and things in chemistry frightened me. One of my big ocd things was to do with fire and not setting the house alight. Mum says I was very scared by fire and heat as a very small child. Funnily enough ds says he is too.Those hot hair firelighters are totally freakworthy.

Off to London with my boys -so hope everyone has a good day -I believe amber is off to meet the rads team,so lots of luck to her. Fingers crossed for 14k too.

Saw the sonographer who's going to put my wires in on Thursday - she wanted to check that I'm not prone to fainting! She explained it all really well, drew diagrams etc. Had my pre surgery bloods done (Hep B, HIV, full blood count etc) and my chest x ray - very thorough! I was shown the type of dressing they are going to use, given loads of information about the surgery etc. Apparently I can't drive for a week but they reckon that should be OK after a a few days if I take it easy. Just want to get it all over now.

Best of luck for today 14k, will be thinking of you and lighting a candle x

Anyone else have a song of the day?

Sounds like a good team butterflies . Will be sending you positive thoughts on Thursday .

amber good luck at your rads appointment today .

mas enjoy "that there London" . Giver her my love , it's been too long since I was back there .

Hmm , song of the day ? Gotta be weather related . It is foul here today , wind , rain and floods . Wish it was "Raining Men" ...

Off to hospital at 11.20 for pre chemo bloods . Got a few questions for them today . Firstly , can I have my flu jab this afternoon ? Secondly , am I a candidate for reconstruction ? Thirdly , my syringe driver for anti sickness meds isn't on my appointment letter (it normally is) , I will be getting one won't I ?

Did anyone see the police dog on BBC news this morning ? His name is Obi , he got his skull fractured in the recent London riots . He was such a lovely dog , curled up on the sofa , snuggled into his handler .

Right , off to get my coco pops , then shower and dress .
See you later Ladies .

Hi Butterflies
It is great when the doctors explain everything, it makes it more tolerable when you have the treatment.

I too have had loads and loads of tests and in a way its good to know that the rest of my body is really healthy.

I wish you all the best when you have your treatment

I'm glad you've been given a good explanation Butterflies - its so much more reassuring when you feel you really know what is going on. Lots of luck for Thursday. (Is it evening where you are now?

Is there a song called 'why did my tumble dryer break when I have a mountain of washing to dry?' 'Don't Rain on My washing parade' might cover it

MAS, have a good day in the Big Smoke

topsy good luck at your appointment, hope they give all the answers you want to hear (not sure about flu jab though)

Waving to Stars, - hoping you get some answers soon too.

Love, peace and to everyone

Did someone mention and old hippys?

Morning all. Hoping you all have a decentish day...

Nope, didn't see the police dog this morning. Is he still working after that injury?

Tumble driers know when they have to work, and then they break. S*d's law in action. Arrgh, haven't put my washing on to dry! Why didn't I think of that before going to work? Why am I on mn instead of working??!

Thanks KurriKurri. Not getting many answers, just more questions. Doctors have identified another serious problem not thought to be related to existing condition but cant find what it is. |The symptons point to something specific, but the blood tests keep saying that isnt the case so doctors dont know what to think. Probably back in hospital this week for more tests because they need to identify cause. Got senior doctors on the case now because I have so many rare problems.

Also going to look at wigs and get the ball rolling. Things are starting to move now

off in a sec- just wanted to wish topsy well today and to say that all sounds very helpful butterflies
bah about tumble drier KK
Waves to all...will give my love to the big smoke from ex Londoners !

butterflies...you sound like your handling things really well,i think you feel much more in control when you understand everything.your care sounds really good.

mas...enjoy your day.

topsy...hope you get all your questions answered today,will you be also be having radiotheraphy?

kurri..dont talk to me about tumble dryers mine is currently sat in the back garden after it started smoking and didnt stop even after it was unplugged.it was on its last legs so time for a new one.

imseeingstars...i hope they sort you out this week and good luck with the wig hunting.

back from rads bra and softy flung to the side feeling a bit sore today,had a different rads machine which felt really odd as it was much quicker and very quiet i have got quite use to the noisy rads machine including all the fan noises.my last one tomorrow its so exciting lol.

someone was telling me that his onc was telling him how some people are now being treated by having chemo and rads at the same time,can you imagine im so glad they didnt do that to me.

Just back from radiotherapy dept too - for pre-planning meeting. Got there to find camera crews everywhere and my consultant being interviewed for the tele. All very exciting/weird/distracting really. Think I'm in some of the background shots
I love the list of side effects he read out: 'can damage your heart...lungs...' etc. Oh joy. I know it's rare for it to be major but goodness me.

And tomorrow is herceptin first dose all day with side effects reading "may die if it's a bad allergic reaction" etc, and dh is already in a complete utter panic about catching up on work and feeling ill himself and etc, so will probably be zero comfort tomorrow and other friends who would go with me are on holiday. Urk. It'll be ok...it'll be ok...
Oh s*d it, pass me the and a large slice of cake, someone.

hello all,had my core biopsy which was unpleasent but bareable.
2 things to report,one is that when my boob was squashed in the machine,I had discharge come out my nipple.That nipple is a bit "crusty" anyway,or has been for the last 2 years.

Also,my results appointment is on wednesday at 3:45 so really quick!!
I feel so much better having somewhere to come and tell all to.And you all understand and know much more than me.So thank you all.x

and cake coming up, amber.

14k - glad you don't have too long to wait. I had to wait 6 days...

Hooray for last rads tomorrow, pink.

wonder how topsy got on...

dh cooking lasagne for tea. Now this may be interesting :)

Good luck for tomorrow amber . Hope the Herceptin goes smoothly for you .

14k thanks goodness you don't have to wait long for your results . We will be lighting candles for you on Wednesday .

Pre chemo bloods all ok . But Onc doesn't think the surgeon will give me a reconstruction . Not so much because I am not cancer free , but mainly because I am on a 3 monthly call back for ct scans . And that wouldn't give enough time to have the surgery and recover inbetween scans . Onc is going to write to Surgeon to ask for a definite answer , but it doesn't look very likely .

Have my flu jab this afternoon . And my lovely GP also decided that I needed a review of my anti ds . I made sure she didn't cut me off !

Weather is absolutely foul here , wild winds , torrential rain , flooding .
Think we should think about fitting pig/dog with water wings

Doc Martin and a roaring fire for me tonight .
Am already in my pjs , but am also wearing my new leopard print shoes that arrived today . They are a lot higher than I thought they would be so I need to practice walking in them

@ Topsy and her fur jacket. With the reconstruction, would you consider an implant at all? That's what I went for. It's a smaller op/ less recovery time. Might be worth talking to them about.

amber you need Kurri to come and reassure. She's had Herceptin and I seem to remember her saying it was okay. Hope she'll be here in a bit. Will be thinking of you tomorrow.

Butterflies, you sound far happier now you know what's ahead. So much better when they explain it all like that. Roll on Thursday then x

Stars, every time I see you post, I'm willing for some good news. Though having the senior doctors on the case does sound like it might move things along. Hope you get some clarity soon x

l4K sounds like quite a day for you. Good that Wednesday's the day though and that the appointment's early doors. Keep with us. We really all do get how terrifying all this is. x

Pink, last rads - YEAY.!!! I know you don't feel great, but it's a huge milestone. Collapse in a heap and have a good sob afterwards. Life is ahead.

Hope MAS had a good day - London was ever so lovely and sunny today, so she should have done.

Sorry if I've not posted to all. About to scoop ds into bed, then sofa. I am ridiculously wiped out. Think it's trying to meet all the work deadlines so soon after the op. I was up at 5am to finish one thing, then had an important meeting at 11, before running round with DS all afternoon. Shall go slump.

glad your shoes arrived today Topsy. Doc Martin in jimjams sounds good. Shame onc was not encouraging about reconstruction today. Maybe surgeon will be able to give you more of an idea of when it will be possible.

Tired today, think did too much yesterday. Maybe I'll find a and get ready for bed straight after Doc Martin!

xpost smee.

waves. Yes slump is the word today. Yawns. anyone?

waves back to Jane.

amber...sounds like things are really moving foward for you now,must admit i dont read up on the information they give me i think its just the way i cope and take things as they come.

topsy...sorry to hear about the reconstruction thats very disapointing but i guess all you can do is put your trust in them as they know what they are doing.

14k...wow thats quick,i had to wait a week for my biopsy results though they did warn me to expect it to come back as bc.good luck for wednesday.

smee...must admit im feeling battered,bruised im quite expecting to fall in to a heap once they have done with me lol.aww you need to go easy on yourself.

My ears were burning

14k - glad you've got that bit out of the way, and that you will be getting your results quickly, - massive good vibes for wednesday.

amber - the first appointment takes slightly lnger because they want to make sure you don't react badly (but it's pretty uncommon I think), after that you will be fine, its fairly quick - an hour roughly, including canula in and out and flush. Some people actually report feeling quite energised by herceptin.

The only SE I had of any note, was diarrhoea, but I'd had bowel problems during chemo, so you may well be fine on that score, also they gave me meds for it which helped a lot. Ignore all the 'may cause death' warnings - they seem to stick that on everything just to scare people!

Good luck, - ask anything you want that you think I can help with. It's really fine, and not something to worry about, they keep a good check on your heart, but any effects it has are reversible, so permanent damage.

Hooray for last rads Pink, not so hooray about your tumble dryer - we are going to rent one through the people we rent our telly from. It seemed cheaper because they always seem to break, and they'll just replace it if it does.

topsy, sorry about the recon. news, that's a shame. Hope the flu jab went OK. I have a good vision of you in your PJ's and leopard print shoes.
I thought of you when I saw the flooding on the news, - hope you aren't badly affected.

Slump away Smee - sounds as if you have been running about like a mad thing, don't overdo it.
You too jane, get those feet up, and have a

DD and I are going to watch young apprentice in a min., feeling slightly deflated because I couldn't answer many questions on Univ. Challenge tonight - I like to pretend I'm brainy

Morning ladies. Lots to do today - it's a pubic holiday here tomorrow so getting errands done today before surgery on thursday. Both girls at school today (dd2 does part time at nursery) and instead of enjoying the silence, I'm tearful and just want to give them a hug. Not worried about the results yet but am worried about the surgery. Apparently they will put the wires in at the mammogram machine and then I have a mammotome under general - it's the general anesthetic that scares me although I've had it before and know it's pretty safe. Anyone had a mammotome? Don't think my raging pmt is helping stop the tears either. Told 2 friends today at the school bus (one will have dd1 after school on Thursday) and their kind concern made me feel worse....

Need music to cheer me up - how about ?

Hope everyone is a little less slumped today and glad your tests are through soon 14k. Topsy, jealous of leopard skin shoes - might need some retail therapy after all this [hwink]

butterflies, I've not heard of a mammotome before now, but I've had a wire guided WLE under general anaesthetic and all went well. It was a long day and a lot of furtling about by the medical staff, but I was out of hospital and very cheerful that same evening. Sounds like you need a and a hug.

Morning everyone - and virtual breakfast for anyone who's feeling up to such things. How are we all? I'll be off for my all day hospital experience in about an hour - probably take the laptop so will be about if it works on the dongle thingy. KK, thanks for the advice re Herceptin - that helps!