Tamoxifen bus shelter -42

[Gigondas]

Dragging trolley onto new thread.

Morning all, only a flying visit as I'm off for round four this morning, T and Herceptin, I've been loaded up with my 8mg (twice a day) of steroids since yesterday and if's not been too bad at all. Maybe the fun begins when mixed with chemo!

Anyway Happy Birthday mas, have a wonderful day and drink lots of Prosecco.
Lily I'm fine after last week's adventure and would do it all again in a heartbeat but would maybe ask for the GA a bit sooner..like at the beginning
Talk to you all later

Morning all

Many Happy returns MAS xx (the biscuit is one of those iced party rings, or an iced gem if you prefer )

Hooray for good news snails - have a fab time in French France.

Gig - have nice 'day of woo' - hope it help with the pain and you feel nice and relaxed afterwards. My shingles is very up and down - I get maybe a week when I hardly notice it, then it seems to come back with a vengeance - last night I was very prickly and my eye was sore too (which seems to be a new additional pain I am getting with it now). But I just took ordinary pain killers as DH is away and I so of feel I need to be reasonably alert to see to the dog in the night etc. But certainly if I take the drugs I feel very groggy the next day - so am sure that is what was making you tired.

Foofoo - have a nice day with your mum, but don;t knock yourself out cleaning for her - I'm sure she will understand. Great she is doing your ironing - will she do mine do you think?

MAS - yes to getting a cushion for your mum, my Dad had the same problem as he was sitting a lot - he had a sort of inflatable pressure cushion that SS gave to mum. Hope your Mum is OK - I got a pressure sore on my elbow when I was in hospital during chemo (because I had to have my arm in one position for days) - and they are nasty I was given a sort of thick foam bandage to wear.

Good luck at the onc. Kitkat - and hopefully they will give you a better idea of what is going on this time

Shooting - -it is so sad for that boy's family - and sad that you know your DD is going to have to deal with losing a friend, - bastard bastard disease

Eeugh to the Cabbagepatch's bits, I haven't had my breakfast yet - now I don't want any. Men's bits are revolting - I am reading The Bell Jar at the moment and Sylvia Plath says about seeing mens bits 'all I can think of is turkeys and gizzards'

He is a strangely attractive chap with his clothes on though, and quite a nice person I would guess.

love to all - good luck with all appts. if I have missed anyone xx

Wow we are chatty today. I don't clean or iron ( mr gigs calls me pig pen) so am resident source of mess .

Kitkat good luck with surgeon and enjoy your lunch out.

Picture hope no 4 goes well.

At men's bits but agree kurri. Am iimpressed with your reading -am enjoying the detective story jk Rowling wrote under an alias (cuckoos calling) at moment so would recommend.

Malt- big gig in year 1 now as June baby so only just 5. She seems to be doing better in concentrating (is there full days)- think likes new teacher plus we have her in spare room to sleep so doesn't get disturbed by mini gig .

Coffee and tv time now I think. Also to look up a fashion fights bc tee shirt to wear when next see pigeons...

Morning all. I've dropped in for a few mins to pass some time between school drop off and heading out again to my first onc appt.

Gigondas. My DDs are 9 and 11. A relatively easy age. The are capable of being pretty independent, when they need to be...

Good luck mom of 2 with your appointment and picture with your treatment, hope all goes well

Gigs got mixed up as lots of my friends kids are starting school at the moment, glad she's getting on ok year 1 can be tricky,depends on the school but for some it's a big jump between being very play based in reception to more formal work

Have been back to bed again after the kids left for school think its getting to be a bad habit now

Hello - MomofTwo - what time do you have to go to the hospital today? Oncs are usually a nice bunch IME - and hopefully you will feel reassured about you treatment. 9 and 11 are nice ages - good fun and I'm sure they will help you through all this just by being themselves.

Gigs - I'm reading the Bell Jar for book club - so don't be too impressed although I am really enjoying it, its very sad (especially in the light of what happened to her), but also funny and she writes beautifully.

Ooh fashion fights BC - thank God we've got fashion on our side - we can ditch all that old chemo nonsense now

malt - don't worry about going back to bed if you are tired - it is important to pace yourself, and rest when you can, otherwise it catches up with you - if the kids are at school then that is a good time for you to recharge your batteries.

Happy B'day Mas - another year older is good.

Good luck today picture, may Tax and Herceptin be as kind to you as they were to me.

Positive nodes are a bummer really and momoftwo, and it is disheartening I know to hear that the pesky cells have travelled - but that does show they've done their job and foiled a sneaky escape plan! There are lots of us here that had positive nodes, and we plan on being here quite some time!

I have a temperature apparently, although my bloods are ok and I feel well. They'll recheck it in 30 minutes and if it's still up (37.5) then they'll check with the onc and may have to delay things for a week. Oh bugger.

What a pain picture sending cooling vibes to you
Do they normally take your temp, mine don't

Thanks Kurri
It's just a shock I think from rushing round working etc but I don't sleep well so appreciate an extra hour or so in the morning

I think it's because of the herceptin as one of the side effects is it can raise your temp. Temp now 36.9 (cooling vibes worked) so Herceptin going in yaay.

Phew Picture - glad it came down, - delays are v. frustrating.

I'm back from onc. She is lovely.
She recommended joining a trial, Onc Type DX. This would categorise my future risk, and you would be selected by the trial to pursue chemo or not. Or if I felt strongly about it, I could just proceed with chemo anyway, and not take part in the trial.

I have a VERY extensive family history of cancer (sister, mother, 3 female first cousins). I also had a mole removed last year which had atypical cells. I decided to do the chemo. If the cancer came back I would be gutted if I turned it down when given option to do it.

I will start in about 3 weeks time. 8 sessions, 21 days apart. 4 Taxol, 4 AC (can't remember the order..)

Tears are close today. I've been sailing along until now, just thinking surgery and radio. no problem, i can do that...

Taking deep breaths and trying not to go there. I pick up kids from school in 2 hours time.

So. -- what do you advise me to do in the next 3 weeks?. Stuff I won't be allowed or won't enjoy during my chemo??? A fancy dinner, plenty of good wine??

Oh plenty of good wine is a must even with chemo . I don't have any specific advice as chemo has been kind to me so far. The only things I did do was get a really good wig, get my eyebrows tattooed and researched having a portacath as I didn't want a picc line.

mom just enjoy your three weeks doing normal things. Once you start chemo you will find that you have one week when you feel rough, one week when there is a possibility of your immune system being compromised and one week when you feel well enough to do normal things, something you can really make the most of. With my group of friend that included dinner parties and binge drinking wine, tables may have been danced on and wigs and prosthesis thrown across the room in fact it was pretty essential to our coping strategy

My friends and I had AC (i had F as well) and some had Taxol. The adriamycin is very effective but also tends to affect your white blood cell count, making you vulnerable to infection, my friends and I all experienced that side effect but once they have seen how you react to the first they can give you white blood cell boosting injections.

malt agree with kk Your body is having to work hard to keep replenishing all the fast growing cells the chemo kills off along with any cancer cells (and of course the irony is there may not be any of the latter). When you feel tired your body is telling you to slow down to give it a chance. I was sleeping pretty much 20 out of 24 hours in the first days of my last cycle. My Oncy also said to try to eat lots of protein to help it along.

kk agree about goolies, but his hips and bum are another matter, and almost on the Enrique scale. Although obviously it is the nice intelligent person I am attracted to........ He does liken himself to Sid the sloth though www.google.co.uk/search?q=benedict+cumberbatch+look+alike+sid+the+sloth&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Akg4UrbFLpHxhQfk-4C4Cg&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=672&dpr=2#biv=i%7C0%3Bd%7CFma2iMOLDdtvvM%3A

gigs i look forward to seeing you in a fashion against breast cancer t shirt. Please can you wear a pink tutu and feather boa too.? just to show solidarity of course.

That sounds really sensible given your background to do chemo. Have you thought about being tested For brca gene given your history mom? I have been as has smee.

You Will be able to drink and go out on the chemo so don't think it's all bad. I would maybe think about treAts that you can enjoy when having your tired days (DVD , nice pyjamas etc). Are you likely to lose your hair? In which case may want to think of wigs, scarves, hats Etc i think it's a good idea to wig shop while you have hair so can match style etc

When chemo starts, take all drugs they give you to manage side effects. If you are suffering , ask as there is always more they can do. Also try to keep a note if how you feel as you will find a pattern of good and bad days so can plan to do more on good days. Chemo is horrid But it's manageable and it is being done for a good reason.

Gosh how superficial did that sound! However, it was really important to me that I still looked like me and not me the cancer patient. For others I've met it's not an issue. I suppose the root of it was to maintain my normality as much as possible. One top tip I did pick up from here was to drink loads of water the day before, the day of and the day after your chemo, stops the nasties hanging around in your kidneys.

thank you all for kind and lovely birthday wishes- but I have to grumble that Waitrose's coffee machine has broken and there were no croissants !! -appalling !
Have bought nice pistachio ice cream and fancy wafers for pudding tonight- not sure what we're having for supper though.
It's secondary bc group tomorrow- it'll be first time since my abrupt departure. Hope they've forgotten that.

So pleased your onc. is lovely MomofTwo - it really makes a difference when you feel comfortable with your HCPs.

Tears are totally normal - when you get told what your treatment is and know when it will be starting - it suddenly becomes real - not the ghastly dream you hoped it would turn out to be! And its probably good to have a bit of a cry - it helps I think.

So - what would you like to do? can you plan a few nice outings, stock up with some things to do at your appointments (nice new book to read, DVD's etc) - Don't assume you will feel utterly dreadful all the time on chemo - people react very differently, some peoples bodies deal with it very well others less well. I reacted quite badly - but I still had a good few days during each cycle when I felt OK and could do stuff - maybe not at quite my old rate - but enough to enjoy myself and not be stuck in the house.

sorry I have cross posted with loads of posts - the phone went when I was in the middle of writing my post!

at Sid the Sloth. there are a couple of pictures on there where he looks like Michael Barrymore - which is pretty worrying!

Good to hear I don't need to give up the vino! For some reason I thought alcohol was out. So that is a bright moment for me today!!

Thanks for all the advice.

picture not at all! I want the same, to look as normal as possible. Good tip on the eyebrows. Anything possible on eyelashes?? I always wear mascara, I can't imagine not having any lashes!

gigondas. My sister is getting tested later this week. She only finished radio theraphy last week, her cancer journey only started in Nov. I'll get tested once her tests are complete. Dr thinks if not brca, it's some other genetic mutation. Ever before I was diagnosed, she gave me 80% chance of getting it.

Mom the best thing about chemo is that as you are taking anti sickness drugs , it's almost impossible to get a hangover !
(Believe me , I tried !)

As for hair loss . Head hair going never bothered me . I really missed my eyebrows and lashes though .
I went on the Look Good , Feel Better course that Macmillan do . It's run by a make up artist , and they can teach you how to draw your brows on .
You also get a fantastic bag of freebies !

Kurri - that's a good idea. A few outings. I have at least one in mind, must make a phonecall and make that happen. And would be a nice treat to look fwd to during my 'good' weeks also. Something to look forward to..