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[Gigondas]

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I want them too!! v.funny that he got the wrong card. Isn't 30 Pearl? Box of Roses isn't quite that. You could make a necklace from the wrappers..

Ok - but I'm sending the dental bill to you....

I love hard caramels - congrats kurri . Also if you pm or fb me your address you can have the first of the Howard's way DVD (I blame mas as I think it was you saying you'd bought it for your parents that set me off).

That is great news smee - need to find out how Dneice did on as2 (which reminds me how is your friends' premature baby).

2 bin bags of tat and still going for toys

-Yes 30 is pearl Smee! - He definitely panicked - he said it was because my friend was coming round and 'J will see your card and know I've forgotten and think I'm useless' - I said he could have just hidden the card from me Bless him - he said he'd remembered it all year, then fell at the final hurdle

never mind - we are going away next week, - I might spot something pearly that I like on holiday

Sometimes - I dare not risk hard caramels these days, my teeth would never stand it. I used to love those penny toffees in Quality Street as well

I washed old lady dog last night (she was rather smelly!) and then today she refused to come out and say hello to my friend for some reason, - she hid in the bedroom, and only came out when my friend went to the loo, when she stood outside the bathroom door and barked, then ran away into the bedroom again when she heard the chain flush - she is losing her marbles I think (dog not friend)

have a caramel Gig, - I'll send you my address - many thanks, - I'll send it back when I've watched

Don't have to do that. And bear in mind there are six series for you to watch

There is a thread on tarot just started- I wonder if I can post and get someone turning on me

Happy Pearl Anniversary kk !!
I've been to Cyprus a couple of times- hot and lovely as I recall...'tis the birthplace of Aphrodite too.
Back from hospital - took ds as he likes a drive Blood taken -I remained upright though felt queasy afterwards and had to have a cup of water and a sit down. We went to the hospital's Costa for coffee coolers and ds also had a blueberry muffin. Blood was whisked away by the phlebotomistas I noticed that there was a sign saying all blood samples for the chest unit to go straightaway. Afterwards we drove on to The Vyne which is always lovely- had a wander aroundand sat on deckchairs on the lawn.

Well done for getting through the blood test MAS - I know they are a bit of an ordeal for you. I'm glad you had a nice afternoon afterwards

Thank you Gig - I look forward to revisiting my past with Howard's Way

Ooh a tarot thread - no I must stay away, - I don't really want to spend the evening fighting with loons people who's views differ from mine.

puts gypsy headscarf and crystal ball away depressed as no trade with kurri

mas well done on getting test done and sounds like has a nice afternoon .

Happy anniversary kurri wow 30 years. Poor little lady dog. Was she huffing at having a wash.

Glad the blood test wasn't too bad mas and you had a nice afternoon with DS.

Having a bit of a rotten couple of days. I have an anal fissure caused by the constipation I suffer the week after FEC . I was mortified, honestly I have absolutely no dignity left. I had to phone GP today in tears as I haven't been able to sit, lie or even walk with the pain. She saw me this afternoon and gave me some ointment which one of the side effects is bad headache. I am so fed up and . Been shivery all day, took my temperature and it was 37.8 (normal for me is 36.2) so have had a couple of paracetamol and think it is starting to come down. Picc line arm is also intermittently hot. PLEASE SHOOT ME NOW.

Sorry for being a pain just needed to get it out.

Oh sympathy and hugs gracie. And have had similar indignity with perineum/anal issues due to radio and chemo so I know how horribly painful and undignified it is.

Hope temp comes down and it isn't a picc line infection.

oh gracie horrid for you- I had one when I was little- vv sore.Sending you a comforting hug x

Oh gracie - poor you, they are miserable - I had one too - chemo really is the gift that keeps giving. I hope the ointment starts working soon, - have they given you something that is a stool softener? - lactulose or movicol - makes it a little bit less uncomfortable to go to the loo.

Hope your temp comes down soon too.

cancer treatment is very undignified, - I could tell you a story of how DH had to help me to the loo and then clean up because I didn't make it in time when I had awful diarrhoea - but I won't because it's too disgusting. That was when I fully realised that DH is the best boy in the world.

Gracie, that sounds horrid. Poor you. Don't apologise for moaning - it's why we're here. A place to be honest about how vial cancer is. At least we all get it. Glad to hear GP was good. Hope temp stays down..

And thanks to that story, I have just forgiven your dh for forgetting your anniversary, Kurri.

It really is very undignified isn't it. My poor doctor (the lovely one) tried to make me feel better by saying 'I do this every day so please don't be embarrassed' but I was totally mortified. I had already been prescribed Movicol but the tear actually happened at the beginning of chemo and it has been healing inbetween each cycle but this time has been the worst. I have truely never been in so much pain. I locked myself in my room last night before DH came home and cried and cried .

mas did you get the payment ok? I am starting to get quite excited about DH birthday. I ordered his cake today and I think I have found a watch I like. Unfortunately, my last chemo is 2 days before his birthday so won't be able to celebrate until the next week.

gigs What symptoms did you have with your picc line infection? Did it burn at all?

It was a little sore and itchy but nothing too obvious - the big thing was fever . I would be feeling dreadful and having temperature spikes of anywhere up to 39 then would go back to normal. It is the temperature spikes that are characteristic

Will keep checking the temp and will phone tomorrow if it doesn't come down.

kurri DH should definitely be forgiven - he sounds like a gem.

Gracie, hugs....

Hi, sorry to butt in when I can see some of you are having a very rough time.

Just wanted to let you know that my DS got four A stars for his A-levels today so we're all celebrating and he'll be off to Imperial next month - at which point I'll have to join the empty nest thread.
Love
Sandripples

I'm a nc'd regular and I hope I'm okay to post in here, I have tried to read some of the thread but it's long and I'm not sure I understand everything.

I started a thread late one night in a state of worry about 2 weeks ago and someone kindly pointed me here, I can't find my thread any more though, it must have been deleted although I don't know why.

A few weeks ago I noticed that my right breast was getting generally lumpy, the left one had a very slightly lumpy texture too but only when I really press hard but the right is very obvious and mostly in the quarter nearest my armpit. I'd decided to go to my doctor when the children have gone back to school and when I have had another menstrual cycle if it was still there but I was expecting it'd go with my period. I'm on day 5 now and the lumps are still there although slightly less tender and now there are 3 or 4 smaller lumps in my armpit.

I'm trying to book my children into a camp at the end of the month so I can make a GP appointment but she is very hard to get an appointment with because she is very busy. I keep going from worrying that I am going to be wasting her time to worrying that I'm going to be told I have blown it by not going soon enough. I have no family history of 'it' although I do have PCOS and have had 5 rounds of IVF so I don't know if that makes a difference.

I really hope you don't mind me posting here, I do feel a huge fraud but I'm also feeling quite scared when I run out of distractions, I just want to be told I'm being daft, oh I don't know what to think. Dh is away with work, ds is off with the scouts and dd is in bed at the moment so my brain is in overtime. I've not told anyone about this, I nearly died of meningitis 3 years ago and my brother is very ill so I'm not sure the family have the emotional energy.

Thank you for reading my ramblings.

Well done to your DS sandripples what super results. You must be super proud.

lumpynork sorry I didn't see your original post. Most lumps turn out to be nothing serious but it is best to be seen soon. Some people just have lumpy breasts and you may be one of those people but better to get it checked out. Will be thinking of you.

SR, hurrah!!!!!!!!! Many congrats to splendidly clever offspring!!

Lumpynork, welcome! All of us have been where you are now - the 'blanking it all out' bit. Most people who turn up here find that it's just lumpy norks. But the only way to find out is to go see a GP. Please do. But do so knowing the odds, so you feel better about this...
Only 1 in 10 lumps is cancer.
Only 1 in 10 cancer lumps is so rudely behaved that they can't treat it.
So...the odds of it being cancer and untreatable are 1 in 100 right now.

Go see that GP, because quick assessment is what will help make sure you're in that 99 out of 100 who are OK in the long run.

We're right here to walk with you...
Have a cuppa or a glass of

hello lumpynork, you are very welcome to the thread - but sorry you are having a bit of a scare at the moment - its natural to feel worried and uncertain about what to do, - but I can tell you that there is absolutely no way your GP will say you are wasting her time. And its very unlikely you have blown it. Just go - if you can't make an appointment with your regular GP, can you get one with another doctor, or tell the receptionist you want a quicker appointment.

Chances are you will be referred to the breast clinic where they will give you a mammogram or ultrasound and a good check over to see if there is a problem. More lumps are harmless than the other way round, but they can either put your mind at rest or get you going on the right course of action.

It's always scary when you find a lump, but there's lots of things it could be other than cancer. So get the appointment and find out what is going on, - then you can deal with the next step whatever it may be. We get frightened often I think because we start thinking too far ahead, and worrying about all the might be's.

You might have to wait for a referral or for tests results and that can take a couple of weeks sometimes. so hang around and we'll do our best to support you - we all know how hard it is Don't worry about not following the thread - we do tend to go of at rather a lot of tangents! Just ask your questions and someone will always come along to try and answer you. xx

YAY, SR. That is fantastic. What a hugely clever DS you have.

Lumpynork, stats are definitely on your side. I'd say the fact that the lumps seem to change (even if only slightly) with your cycle is a great sign. Cancer lumps don't change, they just grow bigger. Hugely unscientific of me, but huh. Stick with us. You're not a fraud at all. It's scary worrying about it all. Ask us anything you want. x

Gracie, are you in less pain now?? Really hope so, sounds so grim.