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.

Tutti adding another voice of reassurance. To be honest it's best to try and not read anything into anything that happens with hospital appointments and whatnot. All you can really be sure of is what you are told by a member of your team. They have rules and systems and different staff are more flexible, procedures seem to change randomly and arbitrarily... I imagine they have some sort of priority system and you would be higher on the list because you have cancer and because the results may have a bearing on your treatment plan. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they suspect that you have secondaries, just that you fit the criteria to screen for them.

I'm glad you're having success with the Dead Sea salt :)

missy I hope you enjoy the mindfulness and walking

chewing I hope your nap was refreshing. How is your hair doing? Has it all come out now? Apologies you might already have said. Mine has been thinning quite dramatically today so I suspect this will be the cycle I shave it. My Titty-bob is losing its bounce and I've got quite a noticeable baldy bit at the back.

mrsrhod I hope you've been enjoying your week with DH :)

mum I hope they don't introduce naked nurses, though I suppose it would be a bit of distraction from any bad news

royal I'm sorry you're now unwell as well. Stress takes such a toll on the body. Do you have any Difflam or anything? I hope you get some news soon, and that you feel better too I find warm Ribena very soothing for sore throats, but most people seem to think it's gross!

I've been feeling a bit grim today, though nothing too dramatic. Bit of nausea and just tired really. Despite not leaving the house I managed to tread on a very small, sharp bit of rusty metal which made a deep pinprick size hole in my foot and left little bits of rust. I think I managed to squeeze them all out, and I've smothered it in Germolene, but I will keep an eye on it and go to the Minor Injuries unit or somewhere at the first sign of any infection.

I've been thinking about Sleepy and her family a lot. I really hope she has had some more time with them

Sorry Tutti I don't know how reassuring that actually was

Hi Leslie. I had a lay down but couldn't sleep so am hoping for a lie in tomorrow.
My hair has started to drop out a bit more and has definitely thinned out a bit. I am wondering whether it will just drop out for a day or two every chemo cycle and then stop again. Very strange but I do have thick hair like a bog brush and it's doing its best to cling onto my scalp
Sorry to hear your titty-bob has gone a bit flat but I've found that shaving your head is quite liberating really. I have thought about shaving mine much shorter but I'm a wuss and the weather has turned a bit nippy now .

I have been thinking about Sleepy too

Oh, forgot to say, I hope the Germolene works on your foot and fingers crossed there's no infection.

at your bog brush hair!

I'm welcoming the nippier weather as it's been too hot to wear my wig, plus my head seems to get so sweaty now I don't have much hair to soak it up! I've been having the couple of days loss each cycle too, then easing off.

It's complicated by one of my targeted therapy drug causing excess hair growth though not on my head, it would seem. I'm getting random hairs on my hands and arms, and my eyebrows are completely bizarre. They're simultaneously moulting and growing new hairs. They are all tufty and unruly and some of the new hairs are very shiny ginger, which stand out from the usual dark brown. Obviously my forehead is where the battlelines have been drawn between the hair loss and the hair growth drugs

Thanks Lesliei It makes sense and it isreassuring, but it seems like a weird zone of walking along life's pavement, scared witless to step on the cracks. Does that make any sense to anyone ?
This really is a mind game, or as I like to call it since my language descended into the gutter... a mind fuck

More importantly. The nail. You are up to date with your tetanus jabs aren't you ?
Sorry about the hair , there are a few issues going on. To cheer you both up, mine is entirely self inflicted. I've been really boring with my hair I felt; and ought to give it a last hoorah before it drops out/changed/whatever. So I got it dyed with very exciting stripes/highlights.

My daughter's verdict...... I look like the savoury snack .... the Frazzle

at shiny ginger eyebrows. I have heard stories of hair growing back curly and ginger in the style of Ronald McDonald. Nowt wrong with red hair but must be a bit of a shock if you were previously mousy grey. As I have stopped dying mine it is a nice peppery silver at the moment.
I'm off to bed now. Night all.

at Frutti Frazzle. I am well jel of the hidden rainbow hair

Oh. I like that. Think I'll give the wild shiny ginger eyebrows a miss though if that's alright with Leslie

Night all.

Good morning lacies.
Thanks for the well wishes. I am feeling worse as far as the cold goes. I do not want the DC to catch it what with school now and all. I can't remember having such a nasty cold in a very long time. Ths idea of a cold was so scary during chemo! Luckily I did not back then.
leslie feeling for you. And that nail! I hope it is all fine. I am so tired of meds I am only taking Ibuprofene for the miserable cold feeling and throat pain.
In a funny way this cild has sort of kept my mind off the imminent scan news
Am feeling tired now..so will try to get sone sleep..

Thinking of you Sleepy a lot.

Morning all ! We have a tiny corner of signal in our holiday chalet and I've very much had sleepy on my mind so wanted to check in. Thinking of you and your family sleepy.
Royal sorry you're poorly and still waiting for results, very rubbish and I hope the cold goes soon.
My new eyebrows are sparse and spread out! Like they've earmarked new territory but haven't enough hairs to go round. My hair is a fluffy frazzled disaster! Not colourful like yours tutti but completely uncontrollable. Mostly vertical in fact. I go back to work on Tuesday and I hope my hair will distract everyone enough to hide the fact my brain cells have gone AWOL over the last six months...
Right, off for ice cream before it rains, love to all.

Morning Lacies.
Sorry about the cold Royal, the only saving grace is that as you say it's stopping you thinking about much else.
I have a mental image in my head of a Lacies meet up; brillo pad hair styles, some sporting a Ronald McDonald on a bad hair day, vertical fluffy, completely wild and out of control eyebrows etc. etc. It would be enough to send hairdressers over the edge, but it's made me smile a bit if I'm honest !!!
I have one eyebrow hair already that appears overnight and grows 2 feet. It sticks straight out. DD says in a singy voice (the one that you use for very small children and mentally confused elderly)... "Are we having a speshul Unicorn day today Mummy ?"
I'm not going to come out of this well, considering the starting position and the fact that pre chemo I look like I'm a cross between a unicorn and a bacon snack

I hope you all have a lovely day and are feeling better (Royal).

I'm also thinking of you Sleepy xxx

Tutti you made me smile despite my misery you really do bring something "speshul" to the thread. I am now visualising that meet up..a bad hair day lacies get together

we wouldn't need name badges to identify ourselves at any meet up. Just head for the nearest person with crazy hair or dodgy eyebrows! Not Boris or Donald obviously.
Sorry to hear you're still feeling poorly royal
Rabbit of ice cream. It has been tipping it down all members. Proper 'Yorkshire weather' although I'm nowhere close to it. It must be hard to get back to work after so long off. That is what worries me but I will just have to go with the flow and take it easy when I eventually return.

I bet you all look beautiful really :)

I was getting a bit down about all the hair weirdness and spots and all sorts of other unattractive side effects. But really none of that matters (that much). I'm here and I'm relatively healthy considering. Others aren't so lucky, and I know my family and friends don't give a toss about my wayward hair, or at least they're not worth worrying about if they do :)

So that's a cheerier note for today!

pepper enjoy your ice cream :) I'm sure it'll take a while to ease back into work, but hopefully it'll all start to come back quite quickly. I didn't go back to work after treatment, but I went back to uni a couple of months after chemo. I found lists very useful. At first I would write down everything. I divided even the most basic tasks into smaller steps and ticked them off. It helped them seem less daunting and then gradually I didn't need as many reminders.

royal sorry you're still suffering. Can you alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen? Might give you more relief. As distractions from worrying go, it's not much fun!

Tutti I know what you mean about the pavement. I think it does get a little easier as time goes on

Sleepy you are still in my thoughts.

I'm not entirely sure if this is appropriate to post here, but I hope you will all forgive me if not. I was brought up Catholic, but I don't really believe in a God, however much I'd like to. And I have no idea what anyone else here believes.

But a friend elsewhere mentioned this lovely blessing, and I found it quite comforting...

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand

I hope everyone is having a pleasant day

Hello lacies, I'm getting some very amusing images of you all with your ginger eyebrows, striped hair and random hair growth.

Royal, sorry to hear you're feeling worse today but don't worry about the dc, they'll be exposed to loads more germs when school opens again. I just hope you don't catch any more. I'm glad those days are over but dd2 is going back to university in two weeks to do freshers week again so will no doubt be catching freshers flu...again.

Leslie, ouch, that sounds nasty, feet are so tender. I hope it's not getting inflamed. I stood on a bee once, I can't go barefoot in the garden any more after that.

We do have rain in Yorkshire today and the leaves are just beginning to turn, we're having a lazy day. We have had a couple of days out but have done loads of decorating this week so DH is exhausted. Ive awarded him a day off.

I'm still thinking of sleepy, I think she lives in the same town as me. Hope you all get your little/big ones back to school next week without any dramas.

Thank you for sharing Leslie that was beautiful.
My faith, though a private matter, gives me much comfort and peace.
I truly hope sleepy is surrounded with her loved ones and is comfortable. Though strangers in reality, we are with her in spirit and think of her as if we personally know her.

royal I hope so too. I think that's all any of us can hope for really, to be comfortable and loved until the end. And to find whatever meaning we can in life. It's something I've been pondering a lot recently. I'm glad you find comfort in your faith :)

mrsrhod I hope you had a relaxing day. The weather sounds lovely, and much more like proper Yorkshire weather it's raining here and I had to put on a jumper. I'm thrilled.

Leslie, I'm wearing socks for the first time in months! However, the weather forecast for next week is showing 22 degrees again, what's occurring??

Good Morning. Looks like it's going to be a lovely warm day in my part of the world today Lacies, hope it is for all of you, and that the socks stay in the drawer.

Leslie, that's a beautiful blessing. Hope the foot is better.

Royal, wishing that your wretched cold is on the wane and you're perking up a bit.

DD's UCAS form has to be in by Friday (they're earlier for Medicine) so we're doing the last minute "negotiations" and polishing off her Personal Statement. I really want her to go to her favourite university but she is insisting on being closer. I've got my work cut out.

Sleepy, you are in my thoughts and in my prayers.

Morning everyone
Sleepy is always in my thoughts too

Good morning everyone. Thinking of everyone, hope today is restful for you all. Thinking of you Sleepy.

I'm in Yorkshire too, but not a rain lover , I had to cancel a long planned day at the races yesterday as it was so horrible! Hats, dresses, high heels and rain don't go together!

Back to school tomorrow for me and first day at secondary school for dd- I think I'm more nervous than she is!

Goodnight Lacies especially lovely Sleepy

Offering a big hand squeeze for all those who are awaiting results or appointments or treatment or anything else less than pleasant this week

Good luck to everyone starting back at school tomorrow. Fresta I hope DD has a wonderful time!

Tutti good luck with DD's application. It's been a few years now since I sent mine off and I think it might've changed anyway. Does she need to give a preference now? Otherwise hopefully she will change her mind again once the intitial panic of your diagnosis wears off :)

royal I hope you're on the mend

Night night

We had that blessing in the back page of my Dad's funeral mass booklet. Always brings a tear to my eye.

Morning all, packed DS2 off on his trip and settled DD to her new school and now have time to start feeling nervous about going back to work.
I'd convinced myself that vertical/fluffy/greying hair was fine and no one really notices anyway, then one of DS2's classmates came up and said "Why is your hair all grey and funny?". They're 10, I just explained that I'd had very strong medicine over the summer and it had affected my hair and I was going to look odd for a while yet.... (but I didn't cry which was my first instinct). But children just say out loud what everyone thinks.
Good luck all waiting for or getting results today, I hope all goes well or you manage to distract yourselves
royal are you feeling better today?
fresta hope today goes well!