The Lacies are back for cancer support thread 56 - all welcome!

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Hello again, and welcome to our 56th thread. Some of us have been here ages and others have just joined. I hope you've all made it safely over to the new thread.

An extra special welcome to anyone who is lurking and feeling a bit shy. We are all quite friendly and we definitely don't bite, so please do say hello if you'd like to.

All are welcome here. We started off as a breast cancer support thread many years back, but all cancer types are welcome and at any point in the "journey", even if you haven't yet been diagnosed. We have all had different experiences but there's almost certainly someone here who will understand how you are feeling.

Our previous thread is here.

I have started the new thread a little early, and I will explain why in a moment.

Good morning all. Yes I do recall being told they keep the stuff they take out during surgery for a certain eriod of time . I think it is standard procedure.
Weebarra, what a relief it is not lymphedema although it is better managed these days but of courseno one would ask for it!
I don't remember what grade my cancer is ( yes strange I know) and I really don't bother about it. I can do without that bit of information untill it is vital at some point. I try to limit what I know in terms of numbers, degrees, etc..as it can be overwhelming but I do like to be informed re treatment that is for sure.
Have a pleasant weekend all.

Morning Lacies. Have been reading the old threads and making notes; lots of really brilliant advise.
It's felt very productive.
I always carry a notebook in my bag and happened to have started a new one at the start of this "journey" which has now been designated the cancer notebook...
It had two entries
24/6 Yes it's fucking cancer
2/7 Definitely fucking cancer Mums net ? Surgery Bra

I don't think I was going to turn it into a best selling bonkbuster somehow; so I've filled it up with gems from the other threads.

Am going to buy a really nice new cancer book today and go swimming.

Has anyone else got something nice planned for the long weekend ?

Apparently yes, our tumours our kept. Mine's going to get a trip to France to be analysed. Lucky thing!
It's not a long weekend here in Scotland, but it's DD's 3rd birthday party and DH is golfing away all weekend. This should be fun...

Oh Happy Birthday wee's wee one . Hope you have a lovely birthday
My little one (17) has just graced me with a morning grunt. She's got till Monday to revise the UKCAT and seems to be over flowing with joy.

Morning all. Happy birthday to your little one weebarra
It is tipping down here so a typical bank holiday. Dh is away camping so it's just me and ds. I am hoping to do a bit of decluttering in the kitchen as we are getting a new one shortly. It has needed doing for years but since I've been diagnosed dh has had an urgency to get things done
Tutti enjoy your swim.
Weebarra I am having visions of our tumours travelling to exotic destinations

Morning chewing I'll be the one swimming in the ever decreasing circle 'cos I've only got one good arm
It's not fair that the tumours get to go on holiday when we're not able to

Morning all. I'm glad you're getting your thoughts together tutti, you sound very organised.

I'm with you Royal, I don't feel the need to cling onto those numbers, grades, stages etc. As long as I'm getting the right treatment. I still haven't read my histology report two years on. I know others need to know every detail though. Whatever gets you through.

Lovely day here up north, we're off to Leeds where I am hoping to see lovely autumn clothes in the shops. I love autumn. Also need to get DD some new boots before she returns for university, good excuse to look around the shoe shops.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Some lovely posts this morning!

tutti don't swim too fast you'll create a whirlpool to drag everyone else down . With regards to keeping a diary, I went out and chose a book first time round before treatment started and kept notes as and when. Then I wanted to add photos and grab sections of posts here and emails etc so transferred it all to my laptop. It's no work of art, and I've no intention of finding a publisher but it's been hugely therapeutic for me.

chewing hope the rain doesn't hang around all day (it's reasonably bright here luckily) but enjoy your declutter in peace and quiet

wee happy birthday to DD! And how exciting for your tumour:-)

Happy birthday Wee DD!

Tutti, I've just finished rads and managed to dodge the chemo bullet thanks to the OncotypeDX test.

Will do chest MRI in October and see onc then as there's query dodgy bits on a lung same side as BC, which may just be (and probably is) granuloma, fingers crossed.

And I'll be having the Zoladex versus ovary removal discussion then too. Oh the joys of multi-layered decision making!

In the meantime I'm trucking through the Tamoxifen - after a few hiccups I'm dosed up to the eyeballs with glucosamine and am quite enjoying the odd hot flush as I was generally always freezing before.

Oh and apparently my tumour is also in a fridge indefinitely...lucky bastard is the only part of me that's currently cool, it's 40 degrees here in France

Arm still totally numb - how long does that last does anyone know? And what are the signs of lymphodoema?

Big wave to all

Well, the party is over. DD is having a well earned nap and my boys are chilling after being very helpful!
Chickie - much of my right arm is still numb and my mastectomy was in May 14. Lymphodema is when your arm swells up and gets sore. Apparently 1 in 5 women who have nodes removed get it.

Mysilly Yes I was surprised that I was discharged whilst still having herceptin maybe that's why I feel a bit numb about it all! I have one more echo to go but so far my ejection rate has gone up rather than down and they seem pleased with that so at least that's one less thing to worry about.
Wee hope you DD enjoyed her party I had both my granddaughters for the day yesterday and I was shattered afterwards, they were both very well behaved but they are 18 months and 4 years so still need a fair bit of looking after!!

sleepy thinking of you. I hope you are comfortable and rested and being well looked after.
Would love to hear from you when you can.

Right. Hello all. Here I am...lured here by the loveliness of mrsrhod.
I don't tend to last long on group threads, I'm never able to keep up and then just disappear out of guilt. So I apologise in advance for not adding much to what seems a caring and mutually supportive group.

I'm awaiting biopsy results on a lump the GP felt definitely needed biopsy, and one the radiologist immediately said yes, that's highly suspicious in my opinion, consultant agreed, they all looked sombre and give me the impression that they were pretty sure what the results would be - soooo I have two weeks to swing madly between pretending all is well and frantically trying to organise things I've always put off like wills and guardianship for my children. Results on the 7th, consultant says they'll figure out an initial plan then based on results but probably start with checking out the lymph glands etc.

I know nothing about any of this - but am prepared for a steep leaning curve. My aunt and great aunt both survived BC, had mastectomies and lived to see their children grown, married and with kids of their own, which is everything I'd ever want I realise.

Welcome outlaws although sorry you're here iykwim
The waiting for results part is always hard. Everyone here is really knowledgeable and supportive though so stick around. You don't have to keep up with everything, just pop in when you can.

I planned to sort my will out when I was diagnosed but still haven't got round to it yet I must admit. Are your children very young?

Thanks chewing - yes, 2 under 4, little lad is still on the boob, will be sad to have to wean him off earlier than expected...but I imagine that'll be the least of our troubles. I'm worried I'll end up taking the strain out on them when things kick off - pain and exhaustion will not be conducive to good parenting in my case I don't think. Poor mites.

That is very hard. I hope you have lots of rl support.

Just DH. I grew up elsewhere, all family, childhood friends etc. are there. Don't want to bring them into it as there's nothing they can do but feel bad and worry from a distance. But I'm pretty even keeled most of the time so I hope that stands me in good stead in times to come. I guess MN is my best bet! Thank you for being so kind.

Hi all. Just joined mumsnet so hope I'm doing this right. Really glad to have found this thread, it's nice to chat with people who understand. I had my mastectomy in January, no rads or chemo (thanks to Oncotype DX). Just Tamoxifen for the next ten years, I know hot flushes are common side effects (thank god for my fan in the bedroom), does anyone else get nausea or a very dry mouth?

About the numb arm thing, I guess it's different for everyone but I found a combination of an amazing physio, pilates and yoga helped resolve a lot of that. My physio has also done wonders for the tightness in my scar bless her.

Hi inwith, very glad to see you've found us. Don't worry about keeping up and trying to work out who everyone is. There's a lot of experience here though. Breast cancer isn't just one disease, there are lots of different types which I was amazed about when I found myself here two years ago. The waiting for initial diagnosis is awful so vent your frustrations on here if you want to spare your DH. If and when you get a diagnosis there will probably be someone here with experience if it. We have one rule and that is stay away from google as it's mostly out of date. If you must, stick to Macmillan or Breast Cancer Care. At least you know that this disease is survivable, many don't believe that when they first arrive, so you have that in your favour.

Hi missy, welcome. I'm on tamoxifen, have been for two years now and I do get hot flushes but I haven't experienced nausea or a dry mouth. Do you have a BC nurse who you could speak to, particularly about the nausea? You shouldn't have to put up with that long term.

This on oncotype test seems to be a great step forward. It wasn't mentioned when I was diagnosed but I'm 8/8 ER+ so I think they were quite clear about my treatment. See, I do know a few facts about my diagnosis.

Hope you're not too worn out after the party wee, nice to see you again. Your little one was just a baby when I first met you two years ago, time flies!

Hi Outlaws. I'm new to this game as well and hope that I can help along the way. I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday and the lacies got me back on my even keel.
FlyChickie and Wee, I found a lot of recommendations for Emu oil re the numbness and have been using it for a couple of days. It might be placaebo effect but I think It's helping. (Did some gardening this morning and felt tickling like I had a spider in my armpit .... that's because I had a spider in my armpit
Swimming today was great also and my arm doesn't feel like such a "dead weight". Might be worth trying.

Sorry Missy didn't say hello, so slow at typing (and drinking a delicious
-non alcoholic cocktail) ,that I didn't see you post.

Thanks tutti and mrsrhod - I will wade through this thread and others when I can...I tried earlier but only got as far as talk of exam results before bursting into tears about whether I'd get to see my kids take those...or see them off to uni...so I gave up, but I'll get my big girl pants on soon. Ooof, my little wee babes, they're all I care about or can think about.

Outlaws. My heart goes out to you. Having young children and potentially cancer must be absolutely terrifying, these fears and feelings are an entirely natural reaction.
Cry, shout , howl at the wind, do whatever gets you through this initial shock and fear, but it's not an automatic death sentence.
I think it's thread 37 or 38 on here. There was a lacy who had three friends diagnosed, all still breastfeeding; I wont quote how many years later she was posting, as I can't remember, but the kids were in far flung parts of the world, all grown up' and all three women survived .
If you need big girl pants at any stage, mine are bloody massive

Welcome Outlaw and Missy
Don't worry about keeping up with everything or replying to everyone it's just impossible with so many people sadly
I'm still here 3 years on after 2 ops, rads and chemo. I was so shocked to get breast cancer at 41 with no family history I kind of thought it ran in families. People lots younger than that on here though.
Advice I would give would just take one day at a time

Hello and welcome to our new joiners. I echo what mumto2 said re the threads and taking one day a a time. We are all here to support one another although we are each different .