Tamoxigang cancer support thread 54: A new thread for a new year!

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Welcome one and all to the wonderful Tamoxigang thread! May 2016 bring us all health and happiness

If you are new here, then an extra big welcome to the club nobody wants to join. The thread is for people with any type of cancer, and also those who are waiting for results. So don't be shy. We are more than happy to hold your hand while you are waiting for a diagnosis, and we will be here to celebrate or commiserate, whatever your news

No question is too big or too small, someone will usually have an answer, or an idea of where you might find one. You can laugh, cry, shout, swear, and, of course, eat chocolate it is a bit of a safe haven from the mad world of cancer, the head-tilting and talk of bravery, and all the nonsense that comes with this diagnosis :)

So feel free to introduce yourself. And oldies, feel free to re-introduce yourself if you'd like.

We only have one rule here and that is no Googling!

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I haven't had a prescription for any laxatives yet, may have to ask if things don't get moving soon. Just a bit reluctant to add more drugs as feel like I'm rattling at the moment with all the pills and jabs. Trying dates as don't have any apricots in, and I think getting moving is good advice.

mysillydog- that's great news for you, you must be so relieved. Is the pain getting any better?

Fresta you sound far grimmer than you should be, so perhaps hospital can sort you out with other anti-nausea meds.
My post chemo (Eprirubicin) constipation last week was partially sorted out by my Scanxiety - in a fairly brutal way (tmi)! Fortunately, the scan results were fine and I am on a further three doses of Epi until I reach the maximum safe dose. This fits in well for me as this treatment will finish just before I go away on holiday at Easter and I can then get onto the next type of chemo when I return.

Lily it sounds like you've had good news too, lovely to hear. Easter is early this year so not too long to wait for your holiday either.

Fresta, keep drinking plenty, the hotter the better works for me.

fresta I hope the dates help. Constipation can cause nausea in itself, so no wonder you're feeling grim. Some of the anti-sickness drugs can cause constipation. I was actually prescribed ondansetron for that purpose. It does feel a bit like swallowing a spider to catch the fly and so on with all the drugs during treatment. I hope you feel better soon

Mysillydog wonderful news! I'm really pleased for you.

Lilymaid great news about your scan and the treatment fitting in so well with your holiday plans :)

Good news Lily, I'm glad you are holding steady.

Mysillydog- that is great news. Such a relief for you.

Great news silly dog

Lily glad you had good scan results and that you have a holiday planned

Hope everyone is ok, I'm not working till this afternoon so have come back to bed in the warm for a bit

Hello everyone, just checking in.
Had my colonoscopy and it was normal. Some random biopsies were taken but I expect them to be normal too.

Thankfully my time here has been short. You are all a fabulous bunch and I wish each and every one of you the best. Special thanks to you Leslie.x

good news Lily, silly and Dotty.

have just spent the night being sick. Have had more episodes of sickness since finishing chemo (probably about 3/4 in the year and a half) and just wondering if anybody else has noticed that their stomach is more sensitive to food? It could just be a bug as I still feel grotty now but other times I don't feel that bad in the morning. The boys and I all had the same things last night and they are fine.

Annoyed as I have had to reschedule my pre-op until next week.

Lovely to hear good news form so many of you. Hope you feel better soon speedy and sorry you had to delay your pre-op. I'm not sure about chemo making your stomach more sensitive but I guess anything is possible. You could try regular live yoghurts, I always find they help settle an upset stomach and bananas.

Good news on the constipation, dates, orange juice and prunes have got things moving a bit, hoping to avoid more drugs. Still feeling weak and a little bit nauseous, is it normal to feel spaced out and wobbly after EC? Went to bed at 8.45 last night as just couldn't even focus on a book or the TV, despite really wanting to watch something. Just want to sleep. Am almost wishing to be back on the Tax, had got used to that.

Dotty that's wonderful news! What a relief :)

Speedy I still get nausea now, but not sure if it's from the chemo in the surgery (each consultant blames the other!). I don't throw up that often anymore. That's mainly because I recognise the signs and take antisickness tablets immediately. I threw up in a tube station on a friend's hen do a year after my chemo ended, and I was the only sober one there! I hope you feel better soon

fresta good that you've had some improvement. I hope the early night helped a bit :) I felt out of it a lot during chemo, though not EC. Sleep is definitely the answer!

Thanks Fresta and Leslie. It's just very annoying. At least after the chemo finished I didn't feel constantly nauseated anymore so maybe I just have to put up with the occasional bout of actual sickness. Before I started chemo I hadn't been physically sick for four/five years!

Very annoyed as I have so much work to do before my op and really needed to be in the classroom tomorrow.

Glad you are avoiding the drugs Fresta. I have been a bit like that lately but putting it down to my diet not being as good as it should be.

Last Herceptin injection on Thursday!

Dotty fab news xxxx

Hope everyone else is having a good (or at least restful) day.

Well I got my blood results back and they are back to normal, but GP still wants to do more investigations as I am still not right and the 1st blood test showed inflamatory markers so I am having a scan on my abdomen on Friday to see if there is anything going on there, possibly a chest xray (had a clear one 8 weeks ago but still have a cough and sore chest) and seeing cardiologist next Fri to see if my shoulder pain is related to palpatations rather than anything more sinister so still waiting for tests and results here, the good news is Dr isn't worried about the lump on my neck as she thinks it is reactive to the inflamaton rather than anything else phew

Still completely stressed by it all at this point I just want to know whatever is wring even if it is bad news at least I can deal with it the waiting is awful as u all know and ds has got it in his head webrbgoing to disneyland paris for his birthday in Aug and I just want to book it at the moment I am just too scared to to all x x

Hello all. It is so uplifting to hear good news above!
lozwil hope you get some reassurance soon. Waiting for news is always tough and hopefully it will be good news all through.
I met with the radiation therapy team. They reassured me as to how my heart and lungs are to be protected to the best possible capacity and they said there was nothing to indicate statistically that a five week gap between chemo and rads would put me at risk( i want to start after half term ).
I woke up today with a sore throat and feel like I may have caught a cold:( i was told that even though my chemo is completed( been a week now) that i should still be careful about infections and fever, so I am going to take it slow and be careful for now.
My legs atill ache too from the Taxol. The aching is dull but it has affected me a lot. It only started towards the final chemo weeks. Something to be alerted to for those of you on the Taxol weekly or otherwise!
Sorry for whining :)
A big wave to all of you.

It's my birthday today, it's been the worst one one ever. I feel crap, been checked out at the hospital, blood pressure and stuff ok. I'm just a wuss. Sickiness easing a bit, just feel weak and light headed. Hoping it will pass soon. Hoping will feel like celebrating a little more by the weekend- sent DH to buy Lasagne for tea as my fave and can't be bothered to cook. Have had some lovely perfume and treats from DH and DD and my mum and dad came round and made me sandwiches for lunch which was nice.

Sympathise with the achey legs Royal, mine are the same, it will pass in time I'm sure.

Sorry you have more tests and waiting to come, lozwil. Hope things come out reassuringly and you can book that trip.

You're not whining at all, royal! Hope you feel better soon and can plan some nice half term things.

Happy birthday Fresta. You're not a wuss, you just feel rubbish and that's fine.
And you're not whining Royal, you're going through a lot.

Happy Birthday Fresta
I'm sorry it's not a great one, put your feet up today and you can always celebrate when you are feeling better
Royal no need to apologise for whining, not that you are.

Hi all, I am just posting as I went to the gp with soreness/lump/puckering in my right boob on Monday. He seemed to think all was well but I don't (and they are my boobs so I know them pretty well!) so I asked him to make a referral anyway which he gladly did. God, it's hard isn't it? I have fast forwarded to every possible scenario and I haven't even had an appointment yet. I have two children and even looking at them can make me feel like crying. I feel very detached from dh and the world in general tbh.

Thanks all for your kind words.

Happy Birthday fresta I am sorry it is not like what you would have wanted it to be. I understand how you feel. I had my birthday just two weeks after my surgery. Let us hope you will feel up to some celebration in the next few days and that your next birthday will be a blast having done with all the treatment:)

Hello reikizen sorry you are going through this and YES it is hard. What makes it hard is feeling "lonely" even when you have people and family and friends around you. So you were right to come here as we do understand and will be here for you. We have been through a lot here and can offer advice, opinions and experience. However, hopefully you will get some good news and your stay here will be short
what you are feeling is normal and to be expected and you can come and share it all with us here. Best of luck.

Royal , you can complain here, it's really tough going.

Fresta, happy birthday, it sucks being ill on your birthday. I hope you manage to enjoy your lasagne.

I have spent the day in hospital being checked out for a trial. I am now far too tired to cook or eat. Ice cream it is.

Royal, sorry to hear you may be coming down with the lurgy, but not surprising I suppose. Good you've managed to arrange the rads for a convenient time.

Fresta, Happy Birthday but such a shame you're not up to celebrating. You seem to be having a really bad time, I'm sorry.

Reikezen, well done for getting a referral although as you've now realised, the waiting is awful. Your description of feeling detached is absolutely spot on, we all know exactly how that feels. If you don't want to talk in real life this is just the place for you, keep away from Dr Google too, it's largely outdated.

So today I picked up my monthly prescription for tamoxifen and for the first time ever I've got a new brand. Apparently the chemist chain will have negotiated a new supply contract. I'm a bit apprehensive, apart from the tamoxifen element the list of other ingredients is totally different. I really hope these don't cause any new side effects, I've been lucky so far. Has anyone had a brand change which has caused problems?

Mrs I've seen lots of talk on the Breast Cancer Care Forum threads about different brands - in general people who have posted and have had difficulties seem to get on best with the original brands rather than generic copies, but that's not to say you will notice any difference.
Helloreikizen - I hope that you are one of the 9 out of 10 who don't have anything nasty, but we all know what you are going through at the moment. Feel free to vent here!
Sorry you have had a rotten birthday Fresta and hope that you can get decent meds to sort out the worst of your SEs.
Sleepy - hope that your day in hospital was worthwhile and that you get on a trial of something that works well for you.
Royal I had a bad chest cold/cough over Christmas and it has taken me about a month to get over it - but this is the first one I've had in the 2.5 years (largely on chemo) since diagnosis. Take it easy, if you can - and as for aching legs - I had these on every hormone treatment I've tried and I found it very hard especially at night. A pillow between the legs helps a bit.

Happy birthday Fresta. I hope you managed to enjoy the lasagne. It is rubbish when you feel awful on your birthday.
Royal- my achy legs did ease over time. Hopefully you haven't caught a cold.
Lowzil- fingers crossed you have answers soon.
Reikizen- welcome to the thread. Hopefully you won't be here long (in the nicest possible way) but keep posting when you need to.
Sleepy- hope that you find a suitable trial. Ice-cream sounds good.
Mrs- a friend changed over and didn't have any problems.

Sorry- that was very short but need an early night as back to work tomorrow.

Reikizen, welcome. Though the waiting bit feels far from welcoming. We've all been there. Brains deliver up every scenario of disaster known to humankind, eh. But it's impossible to die from cancer in a boob. Even if it is indeed cancer. 9 out of 10 boob mysteries aren't.
Even if it is cancer, 9 out of 10 cancers are well behaved enough to be squashed completely by modern treatments.
And if it's the 1 in 100 lumps that is cancer AND rudely behaved, teams can normally keep people going for years. More of a long term annoyance than anything else.
Stay well clear of google, as other wise voices have said. It's nearly all rubbish on there. Might as well look up information from the Stone Age.