**Tamoxigang 53** Roll up, roll up... Anyone with any cancer (or test-waiting) welcome!

[MarthaCostello]

Good evening all,

The old thread had nearly run out when I posted so I have taken the liberty of starting a new one before it fills up completely.

I hope the title is OK - there isn't actually that much room, I was trying to fit in that people should come along even if they haven't been diagnosed yet.

If you're new here welcome to the Tamoxigang thread. This is a great place for anyone with any type of cancer (it originally started out as those taking Tamoxifen for breast cancer, hence the name, but has expanded). Please introduce yourself and make yourself comfortable! You're more than welcome here if you haven't been diagnosed yet too, sometimes people find it helpful to talk through their fears whilst waiting for results. And we will hold your hand until you find out, and hopefully wave you on your way with an all-clear :)

There is almost always someone around to chat, or to answer any questions. Nothing is off-limits here. This is somewhere to offload any fears and frustrations, in a safe place where someone will have been there before.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the gorgeous summery weather

PerfidiousPanda

I went to my appointment an hour early because there were a lot of warning about the car parking being a nightmare. I only waited 5 minutes and they invited me for my mammogram and they told me that they like people coming early. Your hospital might be different but just wanted to tell you about my experience. I have seen the consultant after mammo and then I had the ultrasound and then saw the consultant again. There were a lot of other ladies there too and it didn't feel like there was a very specific time for appointment despite the fact that my appointment said 2.35pm. Hope all goes well.

lily congrats on your DS landing his first job! I agree yiur team of health spceilaits are really doing their job and committing to getting you the best treatment. I truly hope they hit the right button soon.
panda as cratos said, probably best to go early and be there in time for the first appointmnet they set for you.
Have a peaceful rest of weekekd all.

lily fantastic news about your ds! My dd is loving uni and her subject but I do wonder what on earth she's gonna do with an anthropology degree at the end of it all
Lazy cottage Christmas sounds lovely. I'm having a frenetic town based one at the mo . I'm willing the meds to have a good impact for you.

Thanks to all for good wishes for my appt. I'm feeling a bit calmer and unsurprisingly my boob feels more comfortable when I've rested. Just overdoing it a bit I think. I have to lug about a heavy bag and laptop for work and I don't think that helps. Perhaps Santa dh will bring me a smart little wheeled case? I'd better let him know!

Hello to everyone and wishing you a good Sunday

Hello all, thank you to all who asked after me. I have lurked from time to time but always forget my password and then the whole reset process is so boring I usually drift off to do something else!! But now I have figured out I can log in with google so yay for that.

I am still catching up so please forgive this self centred post. It is also partly feeling that I have quite little experience so far so can't really add much in the way of helpful advice.

Surgery went really well. It was laparoscopic so recovery was also supposed to be straightforward and it really has been. I am still taking it easy and DH isn't working at the moment so he is enforcing that which is lovely. But all in all I feel pretty fine. Still get tired towards the end of the day but starting to feel like I need to get out for my daily long walks and try and get fitness back up again after so many months of feeling like shite.

I did see a bit of chat about alternative treatments and diet. I definitely think we should attack this on as many fronts as we can and that no single approach has the answer. I went to see a doctor in chinese medicine and he gave me some herbs and infusions to take. I also went to a very good homeopathic practicioner with dh and found that really really helpful. And of course the traditional stuff. In theory surgery removed everything although they are still waiting on full biopsy results. First week in jan we should have the plan for the next stage but at least 3 more months chemo seema fairly certain. The homeopathic pract. Asked me to at least really think about whether I want chemo if they are confident they got it all with surgery. But I don't think I am brave enough to reject it. I am (fairly) young at 37 and have bounced back from all the treatment so far. I think the risks of chemo are worth it to feel like I really gave it all I could. Especially as mine (colorectal specifically with exact location of mine) has a high risk of recurrance.

As for diet, yes I think it is super important and it baffles me that no one really recommends anything in particular. They really do act like it is irrelevant and I cannot see how it is. I have been making small changes. I used to drink several cups of strong espresso type coffee a day. I had to cut that out as it gave me severe abdominal cramps before treatment started. I have also stopped eating red and processed meat of any kind. And NO fizzy drinks at all (not that I drank that many before). And I am working up to a few more changes in the new year. Mainly I need to get my sugar intake under control. I am going to do a green smoothie challenge (1 green smoothie a day for january) and i want to do the Whole30 but it is a bit hardcore so am not sure if I am quite ready for it . I have an ileostomy now until all this is over so am having to watch high fibre foods a bit until I know what works well for me and what doesn't so that makes it all a bit harder at the minute.

So those are my thoughts, for what it is worth i can't wait for xmas!! Love this time of year. Will try to check back in soon, now i know an easier way to login!

Take care all of you

Thinking about you today Marshy GOOD LUCK 🍀 💐 xx

Marshy I hope your appointment went/goes well depending what time it is. And I hope you have a nice post appointment treat lined up

Lifeoverboard lovely to hear from you, I'm glad you're recovering well.

I'm trying my best not to be biased, as I'm afraid I am not keen on homeopathy, but I am shocked that anyone would suggest that you do not have chemotherapy if recommended by your medical team. It's a personal decision of course, but it is not a risk I would take. Sadly the only people I know of who declined conventional treatment have died, though I'm sure a few lucky ones have been fine, probably ones with low grade, slow growing cancers though. I was invited to take part in a trial having four rounds of chemo instead of eight, but like you I wanted to feel I had done all I could to prevent it coming back.

Alternative medicine practitioners seem to skirt around the issue, but the "natural" response to cancer is death. Before modern treatments, unpleasant though they can be, cancer would almost always have been fatal. Now many of us will have the chance of a long, healthy life.

Sorry, that wasn't all directed at you as such, I ended up on a bit of a tangent!

The tricky thing with diet is that they don't seem to have any conclusive evidence one way or the other for many foods. And it's further complicated if you have digestive issues. I'm impressed you can tolerate smoothies I hope you are not having too many issues with your ileostomy, and can soon work out what foods suit you.

PerfidiousPanda good luck for tomorrow I don't think it would do any harm to phone and check the time, you don't want to be stuck there for the whole day if the later time is correct, and I'm sure they wouldn't try and change your appointment because of their error. Though if you take the letter they will probably try and squeeze you in at the earlier time even if it was the later one.

Good afternoon to everyone else

Lily Well done tour DS, you must be very proud. Sorry to hear your chemo isn't having the desired effect. but it sounds like the doctors have some good alternatives up their sleeves still.

Good luck with your appointment toay Marshy, will be thinking of you and hope you get the all clear.

Nice to hear from you lifeoverboard, you sound like you are doing really well. I felt the same as you when the nurses said don't worry about eating healthily, just eat what you can. I know that's good advice for someone who is losing weight and struggling to eat during chemo, but surely the advice would be to eat as healthily as you are able in order to recover from the chemo and help bring your blood count back to normal afterwards. I too am making green smoothies, my advice is to put banana with everything as it gives a smooth texture and sweetness to mask the bitterness of any greens. My favourite is banana, avocado and spinach. I also add coconut water instead of plain water as it is rich in potassium and gives a tropical flavour.

I'm signed off for another 12 months. Mrs surgeon had a good feel and said she was "delighted" there was nothing to find. I was too!
Thanks for good wishes everyone.

Phew! So delighted to hear that Marshy - have a fab Xmas!

Excellent news Marshy

Brilliant news marshy, all set for Christmas now. I'm so pleased for you.

Thanks all. I know you understand the importance of a day like this in a way that most others don't really....

What a lovely early Christmas present, great news Marshy I a so pleased for you xx💐🍷

Panda Good Luck for tomorrow. I hope it brings positive news for you! 🍀 🍷xx

It always seems to happen late at night, but we are fast approaching the post limit, so I will make a new thread before we fill this one up. I'll be back in a moment with a link!

Here we go, thread number 54