38th tamoxifen - waiting for summer in the bus shelter

[Gigondas]

New thread.

Swimming in the sea?! NotJ

That's lousy, Trice. Why did they do review like that?? Lots of fresh fruit and veg helps boost cells I think. Seem to remember munching on asparagus when mine were low, but can't remember if there was any science behind that one.

Hats off to Flippy, as have never been in a Nee-nor. Hope you're okay now.

Song still there, Topsy. Am humming along and I watched Luther too - Mr Elba is indeed delish but was scary. I can always hit an intruder with my drain.

Night all. Hope everyone sleeps.

Morning all
Sleep well ?
Have a feeling I will get my poisoning appointment letter today , they said a couple of weeks and it's 2 weeks tomorrow
Dreading it even more after hearing about flippys nee nar and Betsy being so sick. Hope you're both ok today?
How's everyone else ?

i was awake at 4am malter with my brain already whirring round stuff. weird how even when on the outside you feel quite relaxed and ok it still comes out in dreams or sleep patterns or whatever. all good though.

dreading it makes total sense but the sooner it gets underway the sooner it's over with? does thinking like that help?

sorry to hear of everyone's awful chemo experiences. still a bit awestruck by everyone keeping their sense of humour and perspective - sure i'd be wallowing in a pool of self pity!

ambulance flippy - crikey !
Hope everyone has a good day
T has a rehearsal with accompanist this afternoon (singing exam next week) and then piano lesson later.
Am planning to draw and listen to stuff on iPlayer radio - yesterday it was On the Beach,which was a bit scary.
I may buy more jaffa cakes.
I am smelling divine after putting on my delicious vit E cream courtesy of elibean

Hello everyone, can I come in? In the past 2 months I've had a mastectomy and node biopsy (10 nodes affected clear CT scan)and diagnosed with stage 2 invasive breast cancer triple positive. I start my chemo FEC-T on the 16th with Herceptin joining the party after the 3rd cycle. DH and I are still reeling about all this as it's such a shock. I was initially diagnosed with mastitis, then DCIS, now this! However, life goes on as normal for the sake of 6yo DD and 10mo DS but I'm clinging to the positive stories for dear life.

Goooooooood morning tamoxigang,

Last infusion today

Rolling Stones were fabulous, well worth watching if they're on iPlayer!

malt it's really not so bad, there's a few rubbish days of feeling sick or having a bad tummy etc. but most of it just a low level feeling of crapness or just feeling tired, or even actually feeling okay :) I only seem to post on my worst days as it seems a bit boring to just say I'm tired but feeling alright every single day! Plus that's when I need a bit of encouragement/advice. Perhaps I shall try and report in every day of this cycle so you can see it's really not that bad! :) honestly, the time will fly by. I can't believe it's been nearly six months since I started, where does it go?!

MAS hope T's practice goes well! And your drawing. I hope the cream helps :)

swallowed I've found throughout this that I've gradually dreamt about each part of the whole cancer "journey" (it's a journey, man...) and that's been my way of processing things so maybe you do the same? :) grr at it keeping you awake though. Have you tried meditation?

Eek at smee and topsy watching Luther. Last series was super scary so I don't think I'll be watching this one. Did you watch the Fall? I had to stop watching that as it was beyond creepy! I did have to check under my bed after that

Anyway I have some apple cupcakes for the trolley and hugs for all, have a splendid day :)

Hello picture sorry I cross-posted. Welcome in :) help yourself to cakes and snacks from the trolley, and have a

I'm here for bowel cancer but there's lots of lovely ladies who will know more about what you're dealing with and will be able to answer almost any question you can throw at them :) in the meantime, sorry you've had to join us as no one wants to be in this gang but lovely to meet you

Picture sorry you have to join us but I hope you get as much support from the ladies here as I have ask anything, moan, tell us your worries and happy times just dive in x

Ruby thanks so much for that you have made me feel more confident about it. Last infusion wow ! Is your treatment finished after chemo or what happens next for you ?

excellent that it's last infusion ruby ! will they make you carry on with capecitabine ?
Welcome PictureThis - rotten for you to be here but we can lighten the experience I hope.

Welcome picture, though sorry you have to join us. I'm a relative newbie (1st cycle of FEC-T last week, doing chemo first) but the ladies here couldn't be more lovely - any qus just ask away.

Ruby - hurrah for the last visit, hope all goes smoothly today

Malt - please don't take me a typical, or start to worry. I knew beforehand that if anything is going to make anyone sick it will be me, I've always been like that since having sicky migraines as a child. Even allowing for that it hasn't been that bad really. Yes the few hours immediately after and yesterday morning were rough, but mostly it's just been niggling nausea, not even as bad as morning sickness. I have confidence they will try and make it better next time. Even if it's like this every time it's still very doable. :)

gigs how's the pain today, I hope it's easing

Smee hope you are recovering well after your op.

Chemo brain kicking in and I've forgotten where everyone else is up to, so for anyone needing them

Hugs to everyone feeling iffy.

Malt, everyone's experience of chemo is individual to them, and lots of us get through with no or only slight nausea. This used to be a big se of chemo, but these days there are so many anti nausea drugs that there is one suitable for everyone. I remember being asked about my experience of morning sickness as there may be a link between how you experienced that and how you will be on chemo.

Welcome Picture, bugger to bc and all that, but this is a good place to hang out! I was negative on the hr/pr but I was a Herceptin girl for my sins, so if you need anything ask away!

Cars in for service and MOT today, fingers crossed it behaves!

Hi Malt - don't worry too much. I've not been posting much as I am back at work full time - I was sick and nauseous and very very tired but even so I worked every day for a few hours and was back full time after about 5 days.
Saw onc yesterday for review and he has written up some differenet sickness meds so fingers crossed for next cycle!!

Thanks ladies
Kitkat great to hear that you're able to carry on working
I didn't have morning sickness just used to feel a bit queasy when I brushed my teeth. In fact can't remember the last time I was sick apart from too much wine
Bored today there's only so much shopping/ coffee/lunches you can do !
No letter again about an onc appointment fed up of waiting

Cartwheeling for Ruby and her last infusion. Good job it's virtual, or the drain would cause a mishap.

Picture, of course you're still reeling. Welcome to here. I've been on the thread since 2010 when I was about where you are. Life is ahead, I promise. I am v.much still alive and well even with comedy implant emergencies

Malt and all those starting chemo, honestly it's doable. I was hit by sickness on FEC, but like Betsy it was predictable as that's what my body does. If you didn't have morning sickness that's a v.good sign.

Fingers crossed for Snail's car and for MAS buying jaffa cakes. I had quite forgotten those

Off to see BCN in a bit who might even take my drain out, though I doubt it as still draining quite a bit. Be nice to get the dressing changed though.

'morning all!

Picture, welcome from me too :-)
Your odds are pretty darned good, if that's any consolation to you at all. Well above 80% on the new stuff.

I'm one of the old timers here having been diagnosed back in early 2011 with an aggressive s*d of a lump that was HER2+, and having also found that Herceptin hated me (only 1 in 100 women on Herceptin find that to be true).

Top tips - very dark room at night, & take Omega 3 and Vitamin D and lactoferrin and curcumin. No 'woo' to it - it's all good science these days. And all adds to even more chance of success. Oh, and have a really good network of friends. That halves the chances of it coming back. They don't know why. But it does.

Even the people whose lumps are Very Rudely Behaved and start sneaking out into other bits of the body find that the new chemotherapy stuff can keep it under control as just a long term nuisance, most of the time.

Hope that helps a bit.

Just checking in from chemo suite! This is the end of treatment too, no more capecitabine, and not seeing Dr W again until next May! I'll have a CT scan in October and see my bowel nurse then but that's it really. Kind of terrifying! Good job this is the last one as my neutrophils are borderline and I'm anaemic again so need another blood transfusion

smee good luck with nurse! :)

snails fingers crossed for MOT!

malt glad you're feeling more positive about it! Any sign of the letter yet?

Hurrah re end of treatment!! But, as you say, also eek in a strange way.

hooray for you ruby !! can understand the feeling a bit scared too- but any anxieties am sure you can just go back to them. Good luck with transfusion vampire girl

Morning all

Welcome to all the newbies and sorry you have had to join but great bunch here who will brighten up your days.

picture I'm another triple positive - have just had my 12th herceptin and all going well.

malt try not to worry too much about the sickness. Onc told me how sick I was when pregnant was a good indication of how the chemo would affect me and he was right. I had hyperemesis with my 3 pgs and was violently sick with chemo but unlike pregnancy they can give you lots of anti-emetics to help.

smee so pleased to see you home. Hope you are resting.

Hugs to kurri if you are lurking. Missing your posts.

No news from figgy anyone know how mrfiggy got on?

for ruby and end of chemo.

Hope you are a little less sore and stiff gigs and getting plenty of rest.

Before this turns into a mammoth post. No news here - mega bored at work as most of my department off on holiday but I'm heading off to windy sunny Scotland next week. Waves to everyone and hugs to those having a tough time.

hi picture your story has scared me! not your fault obviously. just that i'm at the 'we've found stuff in situ' stage (found by accident as i had a breast reduction and they send the removed tissue to the lab) and waiting for the screening to see if anything else is there. i'm so sorry yours went down the track of yep, more there. almost ashamed of myself for being like oh god don't let that happen to me.

can't remember who asked me if i meditate but yes i do but waking up at 4am isn't a real issue for me. i'm an early riser anyway (usually 5.30-6am) so if i wake after 4 there isn't much point trying to go back to sleep and i just enjoy it as extra chill out time in bed and play fb games or read or watch something.

currently doing the try and fit everything into a weight allowance level of packing whereby you go through everything over and over removing stuff till you end up with the utter bare minimum and inside the weight allowance. i had the bright idea we'd go hand luggage only seeing as it'll be 40 degrees plus so hardly need many clothes. bit of a challenge to say the least though now i'm doing it.

Hi All
Busy morning here as am trying to liaise with my temporary work replacement - but have been looking at the recent postings. Now at Day 8 of first chemo cycle, so having seen various suggestions on what to eat and vitamins/oils to take, wondered what was best for T-FEC (or FEC-T for that matter, as I think that Betsy is at similar stage!) Fortunately, not feeling nauseous on the T ... or at least not nauseous so far.

Still no letter here always thought things would move quickly if you had cancer but obviously not !
Will ring if it doesn't come tomorrow ( I'm sure I said that yesterday )
Dolly mixture for the trolley

sherbert lemons on the trolly here (desperate tate buds!!)

Have you still lost your taste buds Kitkat ? Sherbet lemons yum :)

Hi Everyone. It is such a lovely busy thread and I hope the newbies are all ok and finding life with the tamoxigang as usueful as I do.

Still under the watchful eye of the tissue viablility nurses twice a week and saw topsy's surgeon on Friday as mine was not doing a clinic and i was concerned about infection but it all seems to have settled down a bit now. Still have a hole either side of the flap they brought round during LD flap construction that is leaking exudate and still have armoured dressings. Much better than the pump though (sorry you still have the horrid heavy cumbersome smelly thing gigs). gearing up for my holidays in two weeks time and hoping and praying that they holes heal up (though doubtful) so that I can go swimming with the kiddies !

Will be going shopping after work so if anyone wants something special for the Fat Boy Trolley, let me know