Tamoxigang New Year, New Thread, *46*

[BetsyBoop]

Hands round a for everyone.

Ah, honey, what a good idea. I might try it. My dd would definitely approve of little mix, but possibly not of my singing along. I haven't got a big appointment like you today, but i am having my wound checked and i'm desperately hoping for enough progress to go ahead with chemo next week and I'm ANXIOUS.

On a slightly absurd note, colleagues of my DH have very very kindly arranged for a local restaurant to deliver a daily meal to us. The food is great, but there is no way we can consume 5 starters, 5 mains, 5 cakes on a daily basis and it's mounting up. Even my teenage DSs have shrimpy appetites. Anyone want to share?!

wren what a lovely thing to do, that's really thoughtful, how funny that you have mountains of food, my DC will help you clear it up
Good luck with your wound today x

wren that's so funny! (and sweet of DH's colleagues). I'm a journalist and work from home so work not that challenging other than mentally - got two pieces i've got to try and finish by tomorrow. one nearly done....
honey doing the same with music. lifts your spirits, been singing while making lunch and DCs dinner. procrastination of work...!
wren or any other lumpectomy people - could your surgeon tell you anything after the op? just reading through my letter and they say surgeon will see you in recovery but you probably won't remember. i know i won't remember as i just had my thyroid removed and was completely freaked out when the surgeon told me at my bedside we'd had a whole conversation post-op which I couldnt' recall. Since it's a day surgery and i won't see him again until my results 10 days later I want to know whatever he knows, as soon as i can. I guess they can say if lump was bigger than expected? Can they tell anything from nodes before histology? this last 10 days wait is going to be awful....

Wren, that's lovely. When my sister had her double m last year members of her church organised a rota and food was delivered daily for the evening meal. It took a lot of stress off everyone. There was also a food surplus in her house. :)

I'm waiting on the postman for my appointment letter from the consultant. Nothing today. :( I just need want to know what he needs to talk to me about. :(

harriet, my surgeon did come and see me post op. She said the op went fine, but I think she meant in the broadest possible sense. There is no way that she would have told me anything more serious at that point, and it would only have been partial info without the full histology. The bits she did know (that she'd taken extra as she was concerned that there were unclear margins) it wouldn't have helped me to know right then and the rest she couldn't know until after histology (that there was a positive node from the SNB and yet more unclear margins). So I think it's a friendly thing but is unlikely to tell you anything results wise.

My surgeon came to see me post op but I was still in recovery waiting to be brought up to the ward so he spoke to my dh. He told him that everything had gone well and that my sentinel node was enlarged but that it didn't necessarily mean that it was cancerous, histology later showed that it was though :( I don't think they can tell the size of the lump at that stage though, you do really have to wait for the results horrible as it is

Wren how lovely of them, how long are they doing it for ? I'll share anything chocolaty !

My surgeon told me that had identified and taken 2 sentinel nodes and that that was usual. Nothing more than that.

Good news - hamster found this afternoon (not before the bugger bit me).

Bad news - I need even more chemo than I'd been told. Most likely two lots of in patient of 4 weeks each time and possibly longer. Consultant thinks that it is unlikely one lot of chemo will work and I need to be prepared for two.

Thankfully I'm happy to have the chemo locally so less upheaval. London consultant will be in charge of my care and will ensure they monitor the local hospital closely (I have a few concerns so I'm pleased they will be doing that). I will have the bone marrow biopsy in London, which I'm happy about as I had a horrendous experience at the local hospital and really can't face that again.

I have to begin chemo within the next two weeks and have another blood transfusion within the next week.

I am going to celebrate hamster return with and

Wren how lovely. Could you see if they could deliver every other day instead? Hope you got on okay today. Waiting really is the worst of all of this.

Hooray for safe retrieval of hamster, pickle. Definite non hooray for extra chemo. But if that's the best possible treatment, it's good they're going to do it. Is the biopsy next?

To my great relief the plastics BCN thinks I will be able to go for chemo next week. Tiny bit touch and go, but it is amazing how the healing has speeded up. I've now lost my battery pack (bit of a relief) and just down to the fish collagen now. Love the stuff.

We're going to ask the restaurant to go down to two meals a week for us. I've just eaten two slices of cake post hospital out of sheer nervous exhaustion and just can't afford to have this much around all the time!

Wren fab news about going for chemo next week. How long will you need to have that for? Cutting the food deliveries sounds like a good idea and that way it will also last for longer (I assume it's been arranged for a set number of weeks?)

Biopsy will be after first lot of chemo to check if it has worked and to decide if I need more chemo. I'm trying not to get upset at the thought of a Hickman line. I love my nightly bath and love submerging up to my chin. I won't be able to do that for months with the line in. I asked about a portacath but basically that is only suitable when you don't have to access it several times a day (my chemo will be 2 x a day for 10 days with one type plus another type as well on days 1,3 5 so some days I will have three doses of chemo drugs).

I cannot tell you how much better I feel now the hamster has been found. Ridiculous how upset I was but I think that was mainly because ds wanted to get a hamster to be able to talk to it about his worries.

Hi harriet, I get my results on Wednesday - I'll be thinking of you!

I didn't see my surgeon in the operating room but then it wasn't a day surgery. She does rounds every evening and every morning and was able to tell me that evening that she had removed 2 sentinel nodes and that they were clear. The hospital does initial analysis during the op, I understand, unless something has been lost in translation. I'm now at the point where things are starting to itch. (I've asked my son how to say that in French and he looked at me blankly. It's entirely possible that he doesn't know what I mean in English!! However after consulting a dictionary we have arrived at an appropriate phrase!)

Wren - how nice of your dh's colleagues! When I was living in Texas, I was a member of an early childhood group, and we had a food rota for the first few weeks after someone had given birth - a bit like LilRed's sister's church. I thought that was such a good idea that I have done something similar here; it was gratefully received but definitely seen as unusual, not to say a bit bizarre .

Good luck for tomorrow Goodness.

just hopping by to wish goodness good luck for tomorrow, I hope everything goes according to plan. You are bound to be nervous (understatement, much?! ) but it sounds like you have the best possible surgeons operating on you so I'm sure you will do just fine my lovely. :)

Will be thinking about you tomorrow Goodness Good Luck x

Malt, pickle, our restaurant bonanza is unlimited as far as I know, and I'm pretty sure that it will last as long as my treatment, amazing though that is. It's pretty exciting to unpack!

I completely get it about the bath, pickle. I've only been allowed to shower since my reconstruction. It's not the same, is it?

Good luck tomorrow, Goodness.

How are things, Honey? Ready for hand holding when/ if you need.

yes good luck tomorrow Goodness. keep us posted when you are able to.

wow that's a serious chemo regime pickle - have they given you any indication of how you will feel - what side effects to expect? I assume that as you are staying in they will be be on hand to sort anything out asap .

Good news on the wound Wren - fortunately you have come nowhere close to HNDs record on wound healing!! Your meal delivery sounds amazing - I would to have that as I hate thinking of evening meals (and my teenage DD would hoover everything up).

I'm getting my wounds checked/ dressing removed tomorrow - I'm not anticipating any issues (I'm guessing I would know if something was amiss??) but my appointment is not until the evening.

harriet I got my results sooner from BCN after both. It helped me enormously. I felt better prepared for my appointment with my consultant.

I had an appointment with my GP today and ended up in floods of tears again. Will it ever get any easier?

Hugs for mummy wheel nothing wrong with crying at the doctors, I'm not sure it gets easier but you do learn to live with it a bit more

Goodness best of luck for tomorrow

Wren that's amazing ! Thought you were going to say a week or something ! Good news about the healing

Pickle I'm sorry you've got more chemo than you thought I guess you need to take it a day at a time and not think too far ahead ( I am very bad at this but do as I say not as I do lol )

Hi to kitkat and betsy. Thought about plucking my eyebrows today then thought no I'm just glad I've got them I don't care if they're shapeless !

Hope everyone has a good evening

I wanted to wish goodness good luck for tomorrow. I will be thinking of you xx

Popping in to wish goodness all the best for tomorrow.
And well done wren for the healing. I'm fine but knackered, walking 5 miles a day on the school runs may be good for me, but it is tiring, especially as wee-est barra is doing some sort of growth spurt/sleep regression thing.
Hi to all and hope you are doing ok.

Dear All we are due to have first consultatation tomorrow. As this is pre surgery I am not sure how much we will be told. Other than the helpful questions on the breastcancercare website which generally seem to be aimed at post surgery www.breastcancercare.org.uk/breast-cancer-information/about-breast-cancer/diagnosis/questions-you-may-want-ask-your-doctor I was wondering if with the benefit of your experience there were any questions you think it would have been useful to ask but which at the time did not occur to you at the time. If you have any thoughts please post or drop me a line.

Thanks for all your help - I have found this thread so much support since last week.

Good Luck for tomorrow goodness I will be thinking of you. Sending lots of love to you and your family xxxxx

good luck tomorrow goodness, thinking of you.
mummywheel were you nhs or private? Wonder if nhs BCN would have results any easier but would like them the moment I can get them I think.
so Wednesday a big day for both of us updating but fabulous news your nodes were clear. Look forward to hearing what comes next for you....

Hi everyone, well it's been quite an afternoon,
DF has got cancer on his vocal chord, squamous cell? they have said they hope they can treat it with just (?!) radiotherapy, he has to have a CT scan on Monday then go from there,
I know I was expecting it but it was still a shock, we saw a lovely Macmillan nurse and had a cuppa and we were able to ask questions, I just hope it hasn't spread,
In a way it does feel better now that we know, but will need some hand holding please. will be thinking about you tomorrow goodness

Good luck tomorrow Goodness

honey, thanks for letting us know. Glad you have a bit of news, and if it's radiotherapy they're looking at then that counts as a low key response in this strange world. But it must be a great shock to have it confirmed as cancer; give yourselves time to process it all.