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.

Thank you chewingawasp for replying. Really appreciate it when I know you are going through a lot yourself.

Best wishes chewing. The procedures are such a drag but they do help loads in clarifying the situation.
Chemo is doable and hopefully it will do the trick and zap it yes.

Mishmash by all means do seek help and do not wait and suffer. I am sure they can do something about the pain and so glad the tests were clear.

chewing you ust be relieved to be getting on with some treatment at last, even if it is chemo. A pity they didn't do the bone scans and MRI at the same time though.
mishmash it certainly doesn't sound right that they have left you in so much pain and I'd agree you need a second opinion.
royal I do hope you get good reults and can go on your holiday reassured - easier said than done I know.
Rads is odd isn't it! fresta I was specifically told I could use aloe vera today as long as it was 90%+ pure, so that contradicts your consultant??
Very sociable in the waiting room though with everyone chatting away, they even had jigsaw puzzles out on a big table to amuse us with. Though I would prefer to complete paperwork while dressed, signing papers while topless in front of several people (all medical - not random patients!) seemed a little unnecessary. I am still a person after all.

Thanks for the welcomes.

Leslie hope you are feeling better after your A&E visit , fingers crossed you are still on track for next chemo. Hopefully you'll have more succsess with your next wig shop.

abitwrong hi , how are you doing ? It's tough waiting to hear back with results , tougher when you feel you are on your own.

sleepy hello , how are you getting on with the picc line? My veins went awol at my first chemo session (they ended up going through my finger) I was packed off to get a picc after that fiasco . . . .much easier for following chemo sessions.

minty hi and ouch ! All that prodding and poking is tough not to mention painful . Hope you had a lovely weekend .

pepper to doing the paperwork half dressed !
I was a little disappointed with rads, in my head it was going to be a bit more . . . . .star wars .

Re rads , I had 25 to the pelvic area and after I passed the half way mark it started to get sore , really sore by about no 17. The nurse who was sat in on my oncology appointment gave me a tube of diprobase cream. That and letting the air get to it helped loads.

chewing good luck with the oncologist tomorrow and getting treatment started
royal fingers crossed for good results

mishmash I don't know that much about breast cancer but I hope you get some relief for the pain you are experiencing

Thank you all for your advice. Definitely seeking 2nd opinion as I just don't feel right, my breast has pins and needles constantly, the area is bruised/shaded still and my collarbone (which they ignored at discharge app) is very painful. When I mentioned IBC (which is what I am worried about) the consultant smirked and said "I am not worried about that at all". Unfortunately my close friends neighbour was told the same thing and 3m later was diagnosed so her words were no comfort.

Afternoon lacies.
mishmash hope you get your problem sorted soon. Never worry about asking for a second opinion.
I saw the oncologist earlier and will be starting 'hardcore chemo' (his words) next week. They use the strong stuff for small cell cancer. It should eradicate it but it does tend to come back. I will also probably need surgery to the breast afterwards. Have been to the barbers and cropped my hair ready for the fall out. It looks quite cool

Afternoon all, chewing good luck with the hardcore chemo! were they any more specific about the drugs? Good that they're chucking everything at it.
I hope everyone else is having as good a day as possible
I saw my oncologist and my surgeon at one hospital then dashed to my rads appointment at the other hospital today.
Good news from the surgeon on the FNA on my "good" breast, that it was an oily cyst and nothing to worry about. Then the oncologist recommended trying acupuncture for the hot flushes and the cancer charity based in the rads hospital offers that so I was able to book a session for a couple of weeks time at the same time as a rads appointment.
She also said that the hormone treatment should ideally start within 4 weeks of chemo finishing, so I guess I'll have to crack open the tamoxifen this weekend - she did say the hot flushes shouldn't get any worse, but of course the other SEs are all on the table. Blood tests to check the progress of the menopause will be in 3 months or so.
My head is full all over again!

Hi pepper. I was beginning to think I'd killed the thread! Good news about the cyst and good luck with the acupuncture. The drugs I'm having are carboplatin and etoposide.

chewing good luck with the chemo .
pepper busy day ! Great news , hope the acupuncture does the trick.

I've got a scan tomorrow ready for the first of my 3 month checks , hoping my veins show up with me

Evening all,

chewing glad you now have a treatment plan and good news about the CT. Fingers crossed for the other scans. Also don't worry, the thread goes quiet sometimes. I think it just depends on what people are up to at the time :)

pepper good news about the cyst. I hope the acupuncture helps and that you do not get any other side effects from the Tamoxifen.

mishmash I hope you can get some reassurance and that the pain improves soon

My chemotherapy tomorrow is being delayed as my tonsils are still a bit iffy. There's a chance it is not actually tonsillitis, so I have some extra medication to take. Also they are leaving out one of the drugs, just for the next cycle. It's the one in the pump - yay!

I asked about testing my temperature and she said only if I feel unwell.

I hope you all sleep well. Night night

Sorry stila it must have taken me 15 minutes to type that so I didn't see yours. Good luck with your scan and I hope your veins are cooperative!

Night Leslie hope your tonsils are better soon.

Night chewing I hope you are managing to sleep. Most people feel much better once they have started treatment. I certainly did :) not that chemo is fun, but it is usually perfectly manageable, and certainly preferable to that feeling of not being able to do anything.

You may already have been given information, but if you're the sort of person who likes to know things, then the Macmillan website has a really good section on chemotherapy. You can look up the individual drugs or the regime. My oncologist prints the relevant pages out for patients. It has the most common side effects, which can help you to feel more prepared. Though bear in mind most people don't get all of them and most side effects can be very well managed.

And thank you :) I am resisting the urge to inspect them with my Maglite!

Thanks Leslie. My oncologist did give me the relevant pages from the Macmillan website which were useful and I am seeing a chemo nurse the day before I start the treatment too. It does feel better to have a plan in place as the lump has been growing fairly quickly since I first noticed it and I just want rid of the nasty thing.
Hope everybody has a good day. I have no appointments so will just potter about at home I think.

Morning everyone
Leslie shame chemo is delayed but yay to leaving out the pump next time
Chewing agree you'll feel better once you get started and we'll be here to help you

Love to everyone lets hope for some sun today I'm fed up of the rain !

Oh no Leslie sorry to hear the chemo has been delayed .

chewing I also agree about feeling better once you start . Hope you enjoyed your appointment free day .

Beautiful sunny day here , and my veins were absolute stars today now for the wait !

I have just had part two of my first cycle of gemcarbo, side effects have been manageable but I have lost 10llb in two weeks! I would have loved to do this pre cancer. I have sent dh to buy cream and coffee cake.

Sorry to hear about your sore throat Leslie, I never like it when they delay my chemo. Obviously they do it for our health, but I don't like to not be in (pretend) control.

Good luck Chewing, I'm sure you will be relieved when you are getting on with things.

Hi everyone - new to this thread & need to talk if that's okay. Next Friday will be my third round of chemo & I have coped except for a week with oral thrush (really horrible). The thing is since Monday I have managed to do a basic dinner for the family & nothing else. I am absolutely running on empty, so exhausted. I feel useless & tearful. Are there any supplements I can take to help me? Sorry my first post is a moan but my family would just say 'go to bed'.

Stila good news about your veins. When will you get the results?

Sleepy I'm glad it's going OK, though at the weight loss. I hope that slows down. Enjoy your cake

Welcome to the thread froufroulala :) I'm sorry you're struggling with energy. Your family might be right about going to bed, unfortunately. I know it's frustrating and boring. How are your blood results? I struggled with anaemia with my first course of chemo and had several blood transfusions.

Welcome froufroulala and sorry you are having a hard time. The fatigue brought about by the chemo varies from person to person and chemo regimen to another, but it is a very very typical side effect of all chemo so don't feel like you have to confront it or fight it. Relax relax relax and give your body the rest it needs to deal with this, and do try and drink as much water as you can( preferably lots!) I agree with Leslie's point about anemia and low blood counts being a strong factor in cases where the fatigue is overwhelming, so you may want to bring this up and have them check that prior to your next chemo.
Try to avail of all offered help and come and talk to us here when you are feeling down as we have all been where you are and some of us still are.
Take care

Hello all.

Hi froufrou, unfortunately sometimes rest is all you can do, are your kids old enough to get their own dinner or do you have a partner/family who can step in? I think sometimes others don't realise just how debilitating it is - especially if you've been struggling on to keep everything normal, you may have to spell it out for them that you need help - or do as they suggest and go to bed! though I can't sleep during the day, makes me feel worse. So I might just sit on the sofa and run things from there. Not sure about supplements, check with your oncologist/nurse before taking anything extra perhaps. My mum swears by an OTC tonic (metatone?) as she's getting through treatment for polyps which they suspected were bowel cancer but are thankfully benign.
I went through phases of being so tearful I thought I'd never stop crying.
Make sure you are drinking enough as well, I have had to really keep my fluids up and consciously drink significantly more than I would normally.
stila, yay for compliant veins makes everything simpler.
sleepy 10lbs in 2 weeks! Coffee cake is my absolute favourite, enjoy, and I'm glad the gemcarbo SEs aren't too bad.
chewing as you are so rare are they sharing/recording your cancer with extra specialists (I'm picturing boffins peering over their specs at you!)
leslie boo for your pesky tonsils, when are they hoping to be able to crack on? Is it a couple of days or do you have to wait a week? My clinic only "did breasts" on Wed and Fri so if you missed one you couldn't go in on a "lung" day you had to wait....
Waves to everyone else! Takes me so long to type everyone's normally moved on by the time I post.

See! royal and exit have both visited since I started typing. Luckily royal you have the same advice but say it more succinctly...