Crack open the wine... it's CANCER SUPPORT THREAD 61!

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Some of us have been here a while and others have only just joined. If you're lurking, feel free to say hello. We are quite friendly really.

You are welcome to join us, whatever sort of cancer you have, or if you're waiting for tests to find out whether you have cancer or not (we hope not!)

Our previous thread is here. Do check it out if you're new as there's lots of useful information in the first few posts.

Best wishes to everyone who finds themselves here

The pasta bake suggestion was for TQ not Leslie

Hello everyone.
Swaying Sorry to hear the news was worse than you expected. I hope the chemo goes ok on Monday

TQ That's a lot of people! I'd take the easy route and pay for Chinese all round, but I hate cooking

I love pasta bake purple so I'll happily take that recommendation sorry to hear about your eczema. That sounds very uncomfortable. I hope you've got something to help.

Mrspotter I hope the antibiotics get to work quickly and that you soon have more energy! :)

I've got some Benadryl. Possibly wishful thinking but I do already feel a bit better!

I've made a huge chicken pie and some little mushroom tarts for the single veggie. I'm also doing a potato salad tomorrow + some green leaves. It can't be anything like a pasta or chilli or Chinese because people are arriving at different times so it needs to be more of a buffet so people can just help themselves when they feel like it. The DDs are making rocky road (which I can't abide) and I've got fruit & meringue nests as an alternative. And that will do!

I'm eating appallingly at the mo. I had a Tesco sausage roll for lunch and I've just had a mini packet of cheddars. That's it for today.

Leslie yes I've got the strong mouthwash from the hospital. It is helping (slowly).

That sounds lovely TQ :) I hope you have a great time with them. I don't like rocky road either.

Twitter the menu sounds delicious, I’m free this weekend, can I come along?

2 day countdown to chemo, yikes, thanks for the suggestions of what to take. Someone asked what drugs I’ll be having, they are Carboplatin and Paclitaxel. Typical I spend years hardly eating carbs and now I’m going to be given then intravenously for 6 hours! Any idea where I will have them? I hate elbow crook needles.

I had my hair chopped to a pixie yesterday. I hate it, can’t bear looking in the mirror, I fell asleep on the sofa and had to answer the door to a delivery chap, I looked like Kevin the Teenager with my bed head and tracksuit. My son bought me a Gucci cap to compensate so I will look ‘sick’ wearing that today - translation, apparently sick means cool!

Last question, has anyone used yoga or meditation to help them cope? I have always thought yoga to be a waste of time and was more likely to be found lifting weights in the gym but I am reevaluating. I had a wonderful conversation with a local practitioner yesterday who uses “The Quiet Way”. I am going to a session on Sunday to see if it helps. She made me realise that despite thinking I am approaching cancer positively I am actually negative, eg thinking of a battle, seeing chemo as a poison. In fact in a five minute chat on the phone sat in my car I began to cry as she made so much sense. I am interested to hear anyone else’s view?

Enjoy the weekend.

Hi Swaying you're having exactly the same drugs that I had. I also had Avastin (trial drug) but that was an added extra. It took longer than expected to lose my hair - it was somewhere between 2nd and 3rd treatments I think, and everything went - eyelashes, eyebrows etc. It came back pretty quickly though.

Assuming you don't have a PICC line, they will put a cannula in the back of your hand and attach you to a drip. They will start off with a flush (saline solution), then you'll get the anti-sickness, including Piriton, which will make you sleepy very quickly. Then the carbo and taxol and finally a flush to finish.

Chemo is your friend. Yes it's a poison but it's attacking the worse poison inside you. You need it and years and years and millions of pounds have gone into refining it to make it work. The whole process on Monday will be pretty much painless. Honestly. The most painful bit is when they take the plasters round the cannula off!

Boredom sets in quite quickly - hence the need for a kindle of some sort. The most annoying thing (to me) is when someone next to you has 3 visitors who take up too much space and talk loudly all the time and go on their phones. Luckily this doesn't happen too often.

Ask about mindfulness and wellbeing courses - they should give you a leaflet. You can go to at least 2 I think. I haven't yet, but will do soon. Also the Look Good Feel Better one - you get LOADS of fab make-up freebies. When they cannulate me I also picture myself at the seaside looking at the waves....

Swaying I hate my short hair too. It has been about a year and a half since it fell out but I am still surprised sometimes when I see myself!

I do mindfulness meditation every day using the Headspace app. I started before the cancer but I've found it especially helpful for dealing with all the uncertainty that cancer brings. I'm a lot better at just accepting my emotions now rather than trying to change them. It also helps a little bit with pain. I wouldn't use it instead of painkillers but there have been times when they weren't helping much and the mindfulness techniques were just enough to help me cope.

I do yoga sometimes too, but more for fitness than anything spiritual.

Everyone is different so there is no "right" way to approach it. But I personally don't see cancer as my enemy. I hate the fighting metaphors as the implication is always that people have "lost" or even "given up" when they die. I see my cancer just as part of me. Not exactly a friend as I'd rather it wasn't there, but not an enemy either. I try to welcome the chemo side effects as a sign that it is hopefully working.

I second TQ's Look Good Feel Better recommendation. It's a lovely treat :)

TQ I hope you have a good weekend with your family :)

And I hope everyone else has a relaxing weekend

Swaying good luck for Monday. Re meditation and yoga I downloaded the calm app for use in hospital and did find it helpful also the sleep stories work really well on my kids!. I also find yoga good but did do it before cancer, if you focus on the breathing can act as a sort of moving meditation. Yoga with Adrienne is pretty good on you tube if you want to try it (she is a bit hippy but not so annoyingly so you want to punch her - not conducive to relaxation!). I did scare nurses in hospital though as one thought I had collapsed when they came in and I was doing corpse pose on the floor .

TQ hope your meal goes well. Sounds lovely.

Penguins happy that you are leaving - in a nice way! Good luck with the rest of the tests.

I'm joining TQ in the appalling diet at the moment. Diarrhea from the chemo has set in so I'm on jelly, white bread, bananas and crisps mainly. Annoyingly it seemed to start in earnest after I finished the chemo tablets - and I was hoping for a respite in my week off before new cycle next week. Immodium helping a bit though.

Tayto I hope it improves soon I eat a lot of medicinal Haribo. Check with your team, but you can take a much higher dose of loperamide/Imodium than it says on the box, so hopefully you can find a dose that gets it under control.

Sorry to hear about your dire rear Tayto. Bananas and bread is good though! with loads of butter and sprinkling of sugar.

I have just been a total monster to lovely DD - I ran upstairs in tears yelling at her to shut up because all I've had today is the two of them telling me to stop stressing and that things will get done - but they're not actually doing anything.)

Eldest went out for the day after a strop telling me "All you had to do was tell me what needs doing.." I said I shouldn't need to (she's 23) and things like the dishwasher always need doing and that I need to rest. That was her one contribution to the family party..

Good to know Leslie - the box dose doesn't seem to be doing much for my dire rear ( TQ ).

TQ doesn't sound like you were being monster just snapping under pressure. Is very annoying when people don't use brains. On the plus side they may do now you've gone off at them a bit - I often find it takes me doing that to get through to my DH anyway.

Swaying you might get steroids to take for 3 days after each chemo, try and take them as early in the day as possible because if you don't you won't sleep. If it does become a problem speak to your doctor about sleeping tablets. I think all the lovely people on here have covered everything else

Good luck for tomorrow, are you taking someone with you? I got a bit teary the first time I went but luckily had my husband with me. If you're going by yourself you'll be fine, the nurses are all fantastic

If you sign up on the Trekstock website they send you a code for a free years worth of the headspace app. I haven't tried it yet but lots of people on here use it

TQ my husbands like this, "I didn't know anything needed doing!" he says even though the sink is full of pots that need washing I've got to constantly tell him exactly what to do, it's infuriating at times. I'm sure some people just walk around with their eyes closed

Your food sounds lovely, I love having a house full of people and cooking for them. If there's any key lime pie left over send it my way

purple leftover key lime pie? ha ha ha!

Tayto do you have a specialist nurse you can contact? I take up to 32mg a day. I also used to take codeine to slow my bowel, so that's another option if the loperamide isn't enough.

TQ you weren't a monster. I hope that everything got sorted in the end and you were able to relax. Enjoy your gathering today :)

I hope everyone has a relaxing Sunday.

Hello you lovely lot!

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post, apologies if on wrong thread.

I’ve been referred under the 2 week rule (although appointment that arrived in the post is just over 2 weeks away) due to symptoms I went to GP with on Wednesday.

The following was found a couple of months ago after having lost some weight off my boobs. I watched a waited a bit, but it’s not getting any better. I have swelling/thickening that is in my upper outside left breast. It kind of extends up into the arm pit. The arm pit its self feels water logged. My boob also has an ill defined lumpy bit. In regards to appearance, my boob does indent as well as the swelling protrudes if that makes sense. Can be seen when stood up straight and when raising arm. Can’t find lump when laid down though.

Currently loads of stress in my life and I’m hoping it’s just a case of being run down and an infection. I do feel a slight ache in the area but nothing that can be described as pain apart from the odd zap of a pain.

Has any of you ladies had similar symptoms due to benign causes?

I know worrying won’t help and I realise if it is sinister there is loads they can do now. Doesn’t stop me worrying though about the impact on my partner and family. They have dealt with enough in recent times.

Thank you for reading

Twoo of course you're allowed to post :) though hopefully you will only be here for a flying visit! Sorry, I've no similar experience, but I will hold your hand while you wait. When is your appointment?

Thank you ’Lesley’. I’ve a lot going on at home and this is the last thing I need (although I’m very aware that this kind of thing is the last thing anyone needs, irrespective what’s going off in their lives).

I’m on the ceiling with it all. Thank you again ‘Lesley’.

Sorry to hear that. Fingers crossed it's something harmless. The waiting and not knowing is so stressful

Just popping in to wish you luck tomorrow Swaying as it occurs to me I might not be up early enough in the morning I hope that it all goes smoothly and that you don't get too bored!

Just realised i didn’t answer your question Lesley, sorry, Its 2 weeks tomorrow, so the 14th.

Twoo I'm also waiting for a 2 week appointment for a breast lump although I'm slightly different as I already have cervical cancer. The waiting around and not knowing is the worst part of it, time drags. The chances are that it's nothing to worry about and that it's just a cyst or something

All the best for those having treatments this week, of tests. And those waiting for test/results.

It takes 2+ weeks to get the results of bone marrow aspiration because they have to grow the cells before they can do the testing. They are looking to see if the proportion of leukaemic cells is declining at the desir

Agggh - hit ‘post’ by mistake. Carry on...

.... is declining at the desired/expected rate. As bloods have been normal, they don’t expect to find anything bad this time round. The worse would be that clearance has stalled. But even though it’s relatively un-frightening this time, I expect I shall get more tense as results appointment approaches,

And they’ll be having another squint at my liver next month. It’s six months since they found the cyst and pronounced it benign, this is the ‘check it hasn’t done anything unexpected’ insertion in to MRI tube. I’ve done a mindfulness course since the last one - I wonder if directing attention to breath will make it a different experience?