**Tamoxifen** the 30th thread !

[MaryAnnSingleton]

Am wheeling the trolley over....

Where as in my house whilst I have been window shopping on House of Fraser website (3 dresses , 1 pair of shoes , and 2 of Mary Portas arm shruggy things) DH and DD put X Men on the tv !

at hamster food! Supposed to be sorting out stuff I found under the bed yesterday, but not getting on very fast! Made a coffee cake so will go and ice it and put some on the fbt.

:) kk cake is nice may have some more for supper...
Time for a Am trying to dig down to the window cill, don't know how it managed to accumulate so much junk...

Cake ?

Everyone gone to bed in my house .
Back to school tomorrow for the DC (yippee)
I shall be going soon , it's the only place I can keep warm .
Has anyone else found they feel the cold more post treatment ?
I've always been a windows open whatever the weather person , but I'm always cold these days

Yes but then get really hot when sleeping - it's a weird thing like in pregnancy as got really hot then. But my internal thermostat is shot .

And how long does it take to start seeing hair regrowth?

My hair grew back really quickly after the first lot of chemo . But after the last session it seems to be taking longer . Or at least growing back finer .
Do you have any re growth at all ?
I think the first time round I had a fairly convincing "lesbian social worker" hair do by about week 6

arf @ lesbian social worker hair !
That pie sounds amazing topsy and jane's coffee cake !
Dh made a fruit cake from his Be Ro book and very lovely it was too,
Didn't get much done today- still tired and feeling a bit lost-I think this is the chemo. Meant to be going to MILs next w/end ~(Friday pm -sunday) and that makes me feel a bit unsettled as it's the usual going away feelings on top of feeling tired and having to cart a truck load of medicine with me. But I mustn't be weedy and whingy.

Ds off on another jolly tomorrow to South Bank - GCSE music trip for a concert...

topsyturner My gay exercise class instructor actually said I looked like Lesbian when I ditched the scarf!! I think it was a complement..... That was about week 6 too I think, last treatment was February and I stopped bothering with the wig / scarves when we went on holiday at Easter. My hair came back really full, curly and darker, now it's back to thin and lanky.....

I definitely felt the cold during and after my treatment, I wore an attractive blue fleecy hat from a mountaineering shop to bed! I think DH was quite pleased to see the end of that look! I found the effects of the chemo were definitely cumulative, by the last treatment I was struggling to walk any distance, sleeping half the day and really feeling the cold, as well as my white blood cell counts taking longer and longer to recover after each treatment, and they never have recovered to normal levels. My oncy used to fret about it but I am still here and I don't seem to go down with things (do take a few supplements though ). However I'd say that week 6 was also when I started to feel around 80% recovered.

at lesbian chic hair. I wish my hair was coming back thicker copthall (think I may have seen you on another thread about schools in sw London?) but looking at baby down I can see , I don't think so. Only 4 weeks out so probably too early to tell (but eyelashes doing ok and can see signs of eyebrow return).

No plans now as friend who was coming for lunch has had to cancel as ds is sick.

Another huge at the lesbian chic here too!

Gig, I didn't realise you we're South London too. I've just done applications for DS to do sixth form up here, and the feared Primary apps for DD3 for next September. Are you quite near to me then?

DD3 has been illing a tad over the weekend and it's burst into full blown rotten cold. I'm generally a pull yourself together sort of Mum, but she had double pneumonia in Feb and spent a week in hospital on all sorts, so I get a terrible knot in my stomach when it goes on for a couple of days minimum. Her temp is 38.9 at the mo, so we've declared a day in bed watching rubbish.

Hope all tiredy ones are having a better start to the week.

And coffee cake? Don't mind if I do

Yep I am in Twickenham. Sorry about poorly dd3 - have sent big gig into school as needed a break from chatter she is fine in herself and seems over her bug but I am always nervous you will get the call to pick her up as it recurred.

Arf at lesbian chic here too. I was more Bobby Charlton cover over, as thanks to cold cap I had a bit of fringe and a bit at the back left. Looked insane.

Gig, my hair grew back in fits and spurts after last chemo. Had quite a lot of coverage after 6 weeks, but then it stalled. Also came back curly, though that's gone now. Dodgy Football Manager's Perm's never a good look..

Blimey Frank, double pneumonia's a bit eek-making. Hope you're not C-Beebed out yet.

Hello to Copthall from me. Lovely to meet you and utterly fab to hear you've got this far. Mighty glad to hear the paranoia eases at some point too.

MAS, I like Gig's point about asthma, diabetes, etc being chronic too. Must be very tough, but maybe a good way to try and think of it. Huge warm hugs from me too. xx

When does Gracie finish?? I've lost track, but it must be now?

Right, got to work. Coffee on though if anyone wants to distract me. Ned, where's my bit of birthday cake..?

I think that gracie's finished rads by now - yay if so !
Yes,agree with the chronic thing - I do feel that is best way. Weird rashes on legs improving and hands ok,not worse which is good. Must do some work today.

arf @lesbian social worker hair - I fear that may be the style I am currently wearing - although I don;t have the excuse of 'it's growing back from chemo' - it just doesn't grow sensibly any more, - just goes into thick tufts on top of my head, and I get the hairdresser to take a lawn mower to it every six weeks.

Mine (which used to be long) fell out in one big wig shaped clump - just detached from my head, - very bizarre. Apart from a couple of Arthur Scargill wispy bits, which DS kindly shaved off for me (after he'd had a good laugh)

I also felt the cold - I wore a hat in bed as well - but I was winter chemo too. And I agree with Copthall - chemo effects definitely cumulative for me too, had my dose lowered and delayed for my last one as it all got a bit too much.

Frank - your poor little girl (is your DD3 the little one?), that must have been very scary for you (and her ovb.) - no wonder you feel a bit panicky when she comes down with anything.

yes gracie has def. finished at the end of last week I think - so hooray for her.

MAS - big hugs - sorry you are feeling wobbly - but I think up and down days are probably very much the norm. You've had a lot to deal with in a very short time, and combined with the physical effects of the chemo - you are bound to feel a bit knocked about. But you are doing well my lovely xx

Glad bigGig is better now Gig, and back to school.

How were your Mum and Dad Smee? - doing OK I hope.

I went to yoga this morning (I think you have to do quite a lot of yoga to work off a slice of cake unfortunately). And have been buying wool and fabric for my home made Christmas presents.

Just seen a lovely Nuthatch on my bird table scoffing the peanuts

Waving to all.

Mum and Dad were good thanks, Kurri. Bit addled, but delighted to see us which was nice. Mum's more confused than ever, but mostly not too bad. It's nearly a year since my dad had his stroke, so looking at them muddling along, am v.aware it could be a whole lot worse. How is your mother's house sale going??

Belated hoorays from me then, Gracie. Sorry I was absent to join in the celebrations. Hope your skin's okay??

Swinging in to say hi and fling homemade chocolate brownies (with chocolate icing ) on the trolley for you all, my lovely ladies.

Sorry to be awol for so long - few days away + half term + lots of very hard-to-understand work= distracted and not very happy me.

I'm not going to attempt to catch up, so hope you are all OK - hugs from me for all who need them.

Oh, and I also have home cooked honey glazed gammon for everyone who prefers savoury FBSs.....

I'm off now to interview someone who does clever things with weeds

It's good they are muddling along Smee - that's really what my parents did. Do your Mum and Dad have any help from SS, or are they still managing OK? (If they need any aids for walking, or physical needs it's available. My parents had things to raise the sofa and armchairs up, and a thing to raise the loo seat, so they are easer to get up from, and handle things on the bath and up the stairs to grab onto for balance. That kind of thing)

Mum seems to have had quite a few people come round to look at the house - no offers yet, but some people have had more than one look, so there is a bit of interest. It's probably not the best time of year to try to sell though. The estate agent is arranging for people to come round while mum is at the Day Centre, so she doesn't have to be bothered showing folk round, agent does it all.

Hello Sometimes x-posted, lovely to see you back. Did you have a nice time away (despite the work issues)?

smee I think the paranoia was dealt a fatal blow by my Breast Surgeon telling me that having survived five years I now had statistically less chance of dying of BC than the average woman so I should now start to worry about all the other things that are likely to kill me, he loves his stats, bless. I have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, exercise etc (but then I did everything right in terms of risk factors for BC too) but he went on and on about heart disease so much I went away positive I was at imminent high risk!!

KurriKurri Every treatment but the first one was delayed and lower in dose, worried me a lot at the time but obviously made no difference in the end. And my hair decided to fall out at a school mother's coffee morning, the first at DD2s new school, and the first time I had met most of them. There we were making polite small talk (which I am terrible at the best of times) and wisp by wisp it slowly started floating down and lodging in my nice white wool cardigan. I kept self consciously trying to brush it away but that would just dislodge more of it. By the time I got home half of it had gone, but randomly rather than in clumps so it was sort of Scrooge/witch chic!! Not a good look for first impressions.

gigondas We could probably wave across the rooftops! It took forever for the fluff on my head to grow enough to go public. I suppose it can only have been half a cm when I first ditched the scarf in exercise class (sweaty scarves are really disgusting) and I have a very disturbing picture of me in a wet suit on that first holiday looking less lesbian chic than psycho navy seal!! I reasoned no one would see me again. When it got to around 2cms I forked out for an expensive cut and colour and that was when I really noticed it was different. I suppose it lasted a couple of years before reverting to normal.

Yes I should really resist the urge to go on those scary South West London school threads, I wish I had known when they were 11 what I know now, one is at uni, one in sixth form but I'm not sure it is anything anyone wants to hear around here!! Perhaps it is something they put in the water, when it should be Valium!

That sounds like a sensible kind of plan, KK. Your Mum doesn't want to be dealing with all that nonsense.

I did, KK! A few days by the sea is always a treat, and we got bumped up to a suite With views over the pier! Double

Oooh Sometimesiwonder I am off to do something really ignorant weeds, would love any hints on a cleverer approach?

really ignorant with weeds

Good to meet you Copthall! I shall report back on the weed thing, but I think it is for commercial use rather than just weedy gardens like mine, sadly. However, we shall see, if and when I catch the bugger in......