**Tamoxifen** the 30th thread !

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Am wheeling the trolley over....

Smee my unit have been great so will call them. Everything tastes sweet n slimey-even water! I've got 2 to go so keep telling myself that it will be ok. I went out today and already feeling a bit better so onwards and upwards!

Thanks-this thread is so helpful even though I don't post much x

I remember that feeling, Bird. Weird and revolting!! Two left, means the end's definitely in sight though. Are you having Rads ? Am guessing so. Not belittling it at all, but it's genuinely a walk in the park after chemo.

I'm not sure Smee as I've had chemo first and no surgery as yet. My lump is in an awkward place for a good cosmetic result from a lumpectomy so they wanted to have a go at shrinking it first.

I have to discuss surgery options after chemo but I'm veering towards mastectomy so possibly no rads-but definitely tamoxifen

hooray for gig and xxxx and well done fab - as the other have said it's a bit of a wait which is pesky.

Birdland, quite a choice to have to make. If you've got any questions on any of it, ask on here. One of us will have been through something similar. I've had two mastectomies, so know about those. One due to cancer, the other elective, so can answer questions on that front.

YAY for gig scan results - definitely called for!

Medical fine - slightly patronising nurse asking about treatment, depression and "what my day is like" Not quite sure what the right answers are?!

Bit less itchy - back and belly better, legs still not great, but got 2 more days of steroids then back to see Dr Lovely on Thursday. . .

Got choir tonight - will consider threatening rude lady with a mass invasion of tamoxifen ladies. . .

Thanks Smee-I'm seeing the oncoplast/surgeon on thursday so will ask about my options but good to know you can help. I've found that communities like this one usually know more than some of the medics!

Yay for Gig and Sparkle - lovely to read your good news!

Birdland - hang on in there with the treatment.
Waving to all.
x

On phone so quick hello and update. Good wishes to all. Great news on scan gigs thanks for all good wishes. We made it to hospital although nearly hit by car going wrong way round roundabout on way! Not great for blood pressure! They have let dh stay in patient hotel with me tonight nurse in hotel is lovely. They will collect dh in morning for op. So very nice surprise being together. Would share chocolate but dh is hogging it all while he can still eat

Yay for gigs and her good scan results. for you.

Well done sparkle on the new job. Clever lady.

Glad you and DH have arrived safely and are enjoying a cosy night together turning. Good luck tomorrow.

birdland hope the rest of your chemo goes well. I felt as if I couldn't have any more chemo when I got to mid way and then the last 4 seemed to fly by.

Anyone know anything of SENCO's? I had a call from the SENCO at DS2 school today saying his english teacher has flagged up that DS2 may have a problem . I have been saying to his teachers since Year 5 that I thought he may have a problem ?possible dyslexia and finally Year 9 someone has agreed with me. SENCO said he was going to assess him can anyone tell me what this entails? Thanks

Thanks gracie-I was floored by my 3rd chemo but seem to be ok after my 4th so fingers crossed x

gigs !

Birdland I can advise on stubbornly demanding lumpectomy then having to have a mastectomy three days later and also seeing the doctor pronto when you start to feel iffy with a sore throat.....

Gracie I definitely can, both my daughter's are dyslexic, and so I am I, and my brother, and my niece and nephew.... I would imagine the SENCO will do an abbreviated version of the tests that are done by the Ed Psych. Specific Learning Difficulties or Differences are actually a range of difficulties that can vary from person to person, Dyslexia is actually quite narrowly defined within that as problems with reading and/or spelling, but what people with Specific Learning Difficulties have in common is that their attainment in certain areas is inconsistent with their ability because off problems they have with processing, memory, motor control etc.

So there will be some sort of tests of ability, usually VR and NVR, there seem to be various sets they use. Last assessment for my daughter in Year 9 it was verbal similarities, vocabulary and comprehension for VR and block design, picture concepts and matrix reasoning for NVR. Then she was tested for working memory ( eg digit spanning which is repeating a sequence of numbers then being asked to repeat them backwards), processing speed (eg assigning symbols to correct boxes), reading speed and writing speed. Then she was given attainment tests for literacy (word reading, reading comprehension and spelling) and numeracy (mathematics reasoning/ problems and numerical operations).

They then usually convert the scores into a centile so at what percentile of the population their score puts them in so if they score at the 90th centile that means they scored better than 90% of the population. Obviously everyone's scores vary a bit but if you score at a high percentile for ability and a lower percentile for attainment you are not achieving your potential and lower percentile scores for working memory etc would point to the reason and it's significance. They will assess the difficulties as mild moderate or severe depending on the gaps.

I hope I haven't gone on a bit, especially if you knew some of this! Please PM if you want to know more.

Morning all. Sending hugs.
Still not really got my act together after hol. Am attempting to catch up.
Off to docs again on Fri as I'm getting a lot of pain in my lower tum, on and off, for the last couple of weeks. Hoping it's something very simple....

hope it's nothing horrid amber - maybe a bit left from your gippy tummy in Italy ~?
Lots of good thoughts to Mr turningupsidedown xxx

Thank you copthall that is very helpful. Can I be a bit dense and ask what VR and NVR is? We had a chat with DS last night as SENCO said it would help if we forewarned him. Turns out he already knew as he had been called out after class by his teacher. He is very cool about it and seems to be unfazed. His maths is excellent but his spelling is awful and his reading is so so. He does have a tendency to transpose letters and I remember when he was younger whilst doing his spellings getting very frustrated as, for example, he just couldn't grasp that if he could spell hot then pot was just changing the first letter. He used to put weird letters in such as polt.

amber hope it is something quickly sorted.

Morning to mas and anyone else lurking.

We are having our broadband changed today so depending on how it goes I will hopefully get back on later.

gracie VR is Verbal Reasoning (puzzles involving words) NVR is Non Verbal Reasoning (puzzles involving pictures and symbols) Hope you can get some answers for DS.

Turning, hope your DH was first on the list and is soon safely tucked up in bed safe and sound. Thinking of you.

Gracie, my DS was diagnosed as dyslexic recently. It's been brilliant as it's given him a reason why he finds some things harder than his friends. It's also meant he receives much more constructive criticism of his work (so not told he's messy, or to re-write, etc). I think I'd ask SENCO how they assess. In our area, the the local authority has an Ed Psych who comes to the school to do the full assessment. It's worth getting a proper report iyswim, as it seems to carry more weight. It's also v.interesting! We've been told DS will get more time for tests and can use a computer or have a teacher as a scribe for things like SATs. They're also going to use a special computer programme to help him with his spelling. Think it's called 'Units of Sound' and is recommended by Dyslexia Action.

Waving to Amber. Hope tummy gets sorted. Travel related am sure.

Ned, well done on getting through assessment. Great to hear itching's improving. Did you threaten choir ogre?

Raining here. Bit grim and cold. Sat with heating on, think I might make toast if anyone wants some.

Morning all

Choir ogre was made to apologise to me! I don't know who had spoken to her, but she very cringingly said sorry, that she wasn't cross with me, but with the conductor, and she hoped she hadn't upset me! I just smiled beatifically and said it was all fine. . .

Spoke to breast nurse to confirm results from my mammo and check that I didn't need another one, after got letter for appointment. All fine, especially since redness all but gone with antibiotics. Breast doc apparently thought cellulitis, which is what Dr Lovely thought. Going to clinic next week to check up, but BCN not worried at all. Phew!

Got occupational health appointment tomorrow, about going back to work. managed to negotiate 3 days a week, January to July back at school, which I think will be just right. Then I can see how I feel and renegotiate what days I want to do in September. The only eek is that I will be teaching year 1 - they're a bit scarily small for me!

Sun fighting to get through the clouds here, so think I might brave the rain and go into town.

Have a good afternoon all x x x

hooray for you ned !! and part-time sounds very sensible to me.
Glad choir dragon apologised - when is concert ?

hooray for apology Ned - I should bloomin' well think so too, - perhaps she'll behave from now on! (makes me come over all cross when someone is horrid to one of our girls )

Glad the soreness is clearing up a bit with the AB's - hope they get the itchiness sorted soon too. Part time for first half of next year sounds a very sensible plan, - you can ease yourself back in.

Good luck to Turning's DH, hope everything goes well for him.

Gracie - another one with DS with dyslexia here - mine wasn't properly DX until secondary school (although like you I knew something was up long before). It did help having the Dx because as Smee says - people stopped calling him lazy and messy and disorganized (and even stupid on one occasion ) just simple things like being given the homework info at the start of a lesson so he had time to get it down properly. And for his GCSE's he dictated some of his English modules onto tape and that was sent in, and for one of them he was allowed to make a video instead of a written module - which he absolutely loved!
In sixth form (at a different school) he was given sessions with the Ed psych (IIRC) every week - to go over any problems he was having.

Do you find your DS is very tired when he gets home from school? - Richard used to fall asleep practically as soon as he got in (after he'd drunk a pint of milk and had a doorstop sandwich obv ) - school is hard, tiring work for children with dyslexia sometimes.

Miserable rainy weather here again. I have cleaned the kitchen, and hoovered the living room. I am ignoring the ironing.

DD is in a flap because she has a trapped nerve in her ulna - she's got anti inflamms. and has to sleep with it lying out flat. It's making piano playing hard - and she has quite a few concerts coming up soon.

gracie That does sound like Dyslexia. I would confirm what smee said about the value of having an assessment, unfortunately I think the level of testing and provision in schools is very patchy and the cost of an Ed Psych quite steep, £400 around here. I don't think that you have to have a full assessment to get access to extra time in exams though, although that isn't consistent either and I gather part of the Gove inspired hysteria at the exam boards is that they are going to tighten up on access to extra time.

It is really useful to know exactly where they struggle or my youngest's case, where she was going to struggle, in her assessment for instance it came out that she not only had a problem percieving left and right, which is why letters get transposed, but also up and down which was useful to know when equations came along.

We didn't spot it in my eldest daughter until Year 9 either, and then it was an English teacher, because although we knew the signs she has a photographic memory and so look/see worked for her and she has always done well in exams. They couldn't do much for her at school because she had found her own strategies to deal with her weaknesses and her marks were too high without extra time. That is why it is quite common for them not to get diagnosed until they are teenagers. I think the effects started to kick in at A2 when she no longer could rely on her photographic memory and her processing problems really kicked in, and she had problems in her first set of exams at uni with time. Because she had always been the evilgenius that really affected her confidence and we had a crisis but Universities are fantastic , they all now give brilliant support, so far as I have heard anyway. She now has extra time, and all sorts of electronic gadgetry to help with an auditory memory that turns out to be at the 10 percentile (so she really doesn't listen to a word I say!), they are entitled to up to £1000 for equipment providing the need is established, and is back to evil genius fulfilling her potential

Important to know Dyslexia is a pattern of strengths as well as difficulties learningability.org/dyslexia/what-are-the-strengths-of-dyslexia and the strengths really start to kick in the further they go with their education, which is why we love them in universities. Doesn't help with GCSE though!!! However with lots of help [tearing hair out emoticon] my younger daughter almost emulated evil genius big sis's string of good results. They usually gravitate to non essay subjects, big sis is doing Science, but like me she is doing all essay subjects [more tearing hair out emoticon]

Ned Glad she apologised but also very disappointed as I have been playing "Ride of the Valkyres" to psyche myself up and was looking forward to modelling my one boobed (with spikes) armoured corset. Glad you have a gentle way back into school as well, teaching is so physically demanding. I don't know if anyone else had problems but I ended up taking my employer to court (actually settled out of court) but that was before the legislation that defined Cancer as a disability.

Off up to Central London, Occupation in my uni (getting our Director to tell Israel off about Gaza ) student protests, driving rain, I may be some time........

Thank you all so much, that is such a great help. I will check out that link later copthall as need to go out to do school run. This is all very new to me.

ned glad choir lady apologised and hopefully she will feel so ashamed she will be super nice to you. Like you I am considering heading back to work, so wish I didn't have to but shouldn't be greedy as I only work 3 days a week.

kurri DS is always tired although it doesn't stop him playing rugby 3 times a week .

Right must go as have to pick up DD and then take her to dancing. Thank you all so much for your help.

Gracie just a quickie as I too am about to head out on the school run .
Speak to the school senco before getting a private assessment , as most of the schools in NI won't accept a report from a private practitioner as a basis for any form of statement or IEP .

Hugs to all , back properly later .
I am soooooo late !

Hi all quick update not read posts but good wishes to all who need them. Dh went into theatre at 8.30 this morning. He is still in there and will be few more hours still. This has to be longest day of my life! All ok so far they have said so good

Blimey Turning, that is a hugely long op. Hope he's out soon, then you can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Ned, how annoying that choir diva apologised. Was much looking forward to lifting my top at her. Year One sounds a challenge. Great that it's just part time though. Very sensible I'd say. Bet it feels good knowing what the plan is.

Kurri, your poor DD. She's got all those Christmas concerts to get through. How did she do it??

Horrid still here. Just grumped our way round Sainsburys, with DS apparently 'needing' the whole of the biscuit aisle. Obviously evil-kill-joy-mummy said no, then managed to smuggle a bar of Green & Blacks into the trolley for me when he huffed off ahead.