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.

He's weaned. It broke my heart but I'm proud of the little guy for having managed within a week. I've been quite stressed about the effects of the Zolodex and the Tamoxifen on the breast milk, but that was as quick as it could be managed.

Waiting for my chemo appointment is now stressing me out. I was told it'd be within 10 days and I'm on day 8 without any news. I tried calling yesterday but was told twice they'd just call me right back with information but nada. Doesn't inspire confidence atm. I expect in the larger scheme of things it's not much time, but I'm really feeling the minutes ticking away these days.

Hope all are as well as circumstances allow...good wishes to all.

Outlaws, this truly is the worst bit you're going through. The waiting, and waiting and waiting. I remember so well being in your shoes waiting to get a date for my chemo to start. I was convinced the lump was growing by the day, questioning in my head did the Drs know what they were doing etc. When the date finally came through I practically cheered. Hang on in there, you're doing so well especially with everything you've had to go through with your DS.

leslie, hope you're not feeling too bad with the chemo this time

We'll I won the battle with the caterers! Common sense has prevailed and dairy free butter will be delivered to the school and DD can dine almost the same as everyone else.

Small victories minty, glad they saw sense. Wasn't it great when people used to be allowed to make decisions?

Outlaws, my heart goes out to you. Stick in there and it will all kick into action. However, if you are worried that you are going over promised dates I would have no hesitation in ringing and being a bit of a nuisance.

Hi Leslie, hope you're doing ok

Dd2 returns to university tomorrow, sad day. She's having a long goodbye with her boyfriend.

Hi all, thought I'd check in.
A busy week - had consultation on Monday which led to me needing a nipple biopsy yesterday. Ouch and more - have a beauty of a bruise and its still aching.
The MRI was hard work - lying face down my head was absolutely killing me by the time it was over and had long lasting ridges on my forehead.
Is any part of this process remotely comfortable?!
I am worried now about the usual stay is only one night in hospital following the operation - WLE in my case (so far). Has anyone asked for more (private) and been allowed to stay? My home life is very far removed from a place of rest and comfort as I have a DS with severe autism so the soundtrack to our lives is one of shouting and screaming and head banging etc. it's impossible to shut off from it. The thought of 2-3 nights to get over the worse is very appealing!

Afternoon all, bit wiped out here after the storm last night! We had DD (7) in bed with us for much of the night, every time the thunder came she would leap up and grab me.... it was a loooong storm.
So, minty phew that the school saw sense, so frustrating that you have to fight though.
outlaws hugs for the weaning, so tough for both of you, and I hope you get your chemo answer soon.
mrs is your DD a trek away or does she manage to come home during the term? The house will soon be full again at Christmas - I can't believe people are discussing Christmas at work! I seem to have been in a bubble for my 7 cancer months and in my head it's spring, very illogical.
fresta I hope you get answers soon, hopefully a quick wallop with some antibiotics to get shot of the infection, but very unsettling for you.
leslie I hope the fog clears soon
rocket I remember the difficult early appointments where everything seem to be bad or worse news, I found it helpful a couple of times to ring the BCN before an appointment to get an idea of what they wanted to discuss. It meant I could prepare myself and any questions rather than being caught on the hop and be too emotional to think.
mysilly did your nurse say if the cognitive function is permanent or may get better? I find myself grasping for words occasionally and transposed some numbers at work this week in error - not all the time or anything just every now and then, it's like my brain has lost a bit of it's edge. Good luck at uni though I hope you enjoy the course - and a bit of normality again.
chewing how's the chemo SEs this time? Hope you're ok.
and tutti I hope you're alright.
I was thinking of rustcohle the other day and her baby. If you're lurking rust, I wish you well.
Waves to everyone else and hope the cooler weather suits!

Ah cross posts ( I do type slowly!)
rocket my hospital does the WLE and SNB as a day case but I was able to pre-arrange that I'd need to stay overnight as I react very badly to the GA - maybe you could explain that you would need to stay for 48 hours given your circumstances?? It might be worth a try.

Rocket, my 2 WLE were both day cases and physically for me that was probably about the right length of time so would have been hard to argue for a longer stay. Both times though they admitted me to a ward first so that if I needed to stay in longer I had a guaranteed bed for the night. If you meant fee paying as opposed to single room 'private' that's something I know anything about I'm afraid. Maybe have a word with your team and explain your home circumstances, although with the pressure on beds these days they might not want to give one up if they don't have to

Pepper, poor you with the sleepless night :(.we had distant thunder last night so although DD woke she did get back to sleep (I didn't!). I remember when I got my first diagnosis we had the most tremendous storm that had all 3 of us wide awake. I couldn't help but break into a spontaneous rendition of 'a few of my favourite things'.... just never quite worked out what I needed to be thinking of to get me through the months ahead!

Rocket I have no idea if you can get a longer stay in hospital. Quite often WLE is done as a day case, and I think your insurer will only pay if your surgeon says that it is clinically necessary.

Outlaws I really hope that you get a start date for you chemo today soon. If you have a sympathetic BCN perhaps you could speak to her and let her know that the uncertainty of when you will be starting chemo is causing you anxiety. Also I imagine that with young children you will need to arrange child care, so it is reasonable that you need a date for practical reasons.

Well done for getting your baby weaned, I can only imagine that it was upsetting having to do this. I saw some research conducted by Breastcancer Care that 10% of women under 45 who are diagnosed with breast cancer are either pregnant or breastfeeding. There are far too many younger women with this disease.

Leslie I'm glad you got your chemo done, and I hope the SE's are kind.

Pepper, DD is at our most local university, it's about thirty minutes away by car and she can get in the local train to come home. She picked it because she genuinely liked it, but she was choosing as I was having treatment so I wonder if she wanted to be close too. We visit the city about once a month and she always accepts the offer of a free lunch.

Rocket, as everyone has already said, WLE is generally day case surgery. I couldn't wait to get home despite the fact we had no kitchen and fitters in and the week after that we had the roof replaced. Not the same issue you have but still total chaos. It's not too bad in terms of recovery. It often goes along with having a few lymph nodes removed for testing and that bit is much more uncomfortable. It doesn't sound like you're having that though.

Outlaws, have you had any news today?

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Leslie, hope your side effects are bearable. So, glad to wave you off! Minty, it's good you have the school dinners sorted, I always feel happy when my dd is happy and sorted out. outlaw, sounds heartbreaking, but it's done now and your baby will be fine and won't ever remember this time. rocket, I'd only opt to stay in hospital longer if it is in a private room. I stayed one night after my axillary clearance and didn't sleep a wink as the ward was sooo noisy, I couldn't wait to get home for some sleep!

I saw my radiographer today for a post treatment checkup. He couldn't see any immediate cause for concern or visible signs of infections so we have decided not to treat at the moment and assume it's just fluid from the radiotherapy side effects, but will keep a close eye on it for signs of infection. Apparently in can take quite a few months for things to settle down.

Hi to all. WLE went well yesterday; and had bone scan today; left house at 8.30am and got back home at 4pm, so a long day and feeling a bit tired and sore at the minute; will catch up later.

Wow tutti, that's quite a couple of days you've had. I hope you can get some rest now.

Fresta I'm so pleased to hear nothing unpleasant was found. I think it can take quite a long time to recover from rads. It took months for my breast to feel anything like normal again, hope you're reassured.

Thank you all for asking....I have a date! Tis Tuesday, after a briefing on Monday. Whew. I was a bit of a nuisance and I'm not a pushy person so I felt very guilty but I got it, so yay!

Except now the babies are both ill and we're heading into our third sleepless night...sigh. It's odd not to be able to comfort the little one with a breastfeed. But all done now.

How bad are colds under chemo? Wondering whether preschool germs are something to start fearing...

Hi outlaws, well done for standing your ground and getting it sorted. I can't answer any chemo questions but I hope you don't get the cold too.

Well we delivered DD to her student house this morning, unpacked and brought her home again ill. She has been ill on and off for the last two weeks, been to out of hours at the hospital and the GP. Seems to be a uti but two lots of antibiotics haven't cleared it so we have another out of hours appt for later today. She's been so poorly with it, we couldn't have left her there. DH and I are meant to be going on holiday tomorrow so everything is all now under review. Hope today's doctor is good and gets to the bottom of it, no pun intended!

Evening lacies. Been busy with the DC and school.
I managed to read sone posts but not all.
Outlaws, I was having chemo this time last year and was worried about colds especially as I have two school age DC, but I realise now it is an individual thing as thoughwe had colds and even molluscum contagiosum, I was ok . The thing is your immunity is drastically reduced so your body is not as good as warding off the bugs with the chemo. I wouldn't worry though as your team will asess your situation each and every time you have chemo. Best of luck!
Mrs, sorry about your DD! UTIs are not easy to deal with! Hioe she feels better soon and that you get to go on your holiday if not tomorrow then soon.
Tutti, what a long day! But at least you got the lot done and over.
Leslie, how are you feeling today? Hope the SEs go gentle on you.
Waving to everybody else.

Hi Lacies, can I beg for your expertise...
I've got quite bad stomach pain and have had the usual constipation after the WLE, (Thursday) for which I prescribed myself lactulose and water. As you know had bone scan yesterday. Now I am bleeding from my back passage (fresh blood) about a teaspoon. Anyone else had this side effect ?
Wondering if it's a radioactive type reaction as had cat scan last week as well.

I have had a bone scan and did not have anything like that. Are you sure it is not a case of piles? It makes sense to have piles because of constipation. I am not aware that any scans cause bleeding as such. So it is most probably hemmeroids that have erupted, but if you are concerned Tutti then y all means have it checked. Best of luck!

I've never had piles that I know of, but I'm going to keep an eye on it (so to speak), which means try to ignore it.
Really can't face shlepping back to 23 hour ward for the third day in a row, which is what they'll suggest if I ring them.

Fresh blood seems indicative of piles. Anything darker and older looking would be a major concern. Try sitting in a warm bath with some salt or baking soda.

Thanks Royal. Going to add this insult to my current injuries; hopefully a good soak will ease of the stomach pain as well.

Tutti are you feeling any better? Constipation is horribly uncomfortable.

DD has a kidney infection and a third prescription for different antibiotics, she's still in a lot of pain. We will see how she is tomorrow, they usually kick in pretty quickly. We're going to Cheltenham, Bath and Oxford so roughly four hours from home. Hmmm, what will the morning bring? I won't send her back unless she is much better. It's only freshers week, she has a week to get better before term really starts.

Morning Lacies. Pain has eased off thank you.
Not sure it is constipation as I was forearmed this time and drank my own body weight in water the day before; and started dosing on the Lactulose the evening after the operation.
The pain was higher up in my stomach, under my ribs,so I think I'll just mention it on Wednesday when I get the dressings changed.
It's just typical though; thought I'd sailed through this one scot free.

MrsHodge. I do hope that the UTI gets sorted out. We're next door to Cheltenham, so pop in for a cup of tea !!

Hope all the Lacies are doing well today, thinking of you all.

Hola lacies!
I am in Spain for the weekend. Not read back yet so will catch up with everyone in the next few days. It is very hot here but I am having a siesta at every available opportunity

Looking for ideas for a Care Package for my cousin starting 6 months of chemo after breast cancer surgery.

Chewing has escaped . Hope you're enjoying yourself, you deserve it.

Janaus. Welcome. Your cousin is lucky to have you. Some ideas (not my own, borrowed from the lovely lacies)

Black Nail varnish to save nails
Ginger sweets for nausea
Difflam Mouthwash for throat/mouth ulcers
digital thermometer for checking for infections
Head gear from someone like annabandana
Norwegian hand cream for delicate skin on hands/feet
Some ideas/stuff from warpaint

That's a start hopefully; other good ideas at notanotherbunchofflowers.