Cancer support thread 62 - here comes the sun (hopefully)

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Good evening

Our previous thread is here

If you've got cancer, this is the thread for you. Introduce yourself and feel free to ask any questions. We also welcome anyone who is waiting for cancer tests. We know how scary it can be. So don't be shy. We will happily hold your hand and hopefully wave goodbye when you get good news :)

I want an ice lolly!!!! Damn this chemo

addled I know the feeling. I've been making the most of my ability to eat them before round 3 on Friday. So far I've found it wears off enough after about a week and a half so not too long to wait hopefully!. I didn't have a sore arm but have heard a lot of people who have it via cannula do. Defintely worth asking your team about.

Leslie have a lovely lunch. What did you cook?

I think I wore myself out the last couple of weeks. Feeling rubbish today so having a pyjama day. I think this also happened last cycle though on my break week so might be chemo related. Anyway twins are at a three hour birthday party (brave parents!) so at least I have peace and quiet. Also started reacting to my picc line dressing and they can't provide any alternative apart from cling film and gauze which I would need to have changed every two days . Might have found a solution online though - some sort of fancy silicon dressing.

Argh yes. I used to yearn for an ice cold drink. Fingers crossed your sensitivity wears off soon addled so you can have an ice lolly!

Tayto is it definitely an allergy reaction? I sometimes react to dressings and tape but not all the time (the exact same ones, I mean, so not different ingredients). Now they use a barrier film under my port dressing which helps a bit. This sort of thing. The skin around it has gone really thin and it just tears sometimes when they pull the dressing off.

Forgot to say I had a lovely lunch thank you. I made veggie moussaka and some salads etc :) it seemed to go down well.

Hi folks! How are you all doing? I'm 8 days post lumpectomy & sentinel node biopsy and I hurt!!! So am resting lots!

Purple So sorry to hear you need another scan and have another long wait. Hope it turns out to be nothing.

Sarah I've had lots of irregular bleeding, always needs checking out but its fairly common and normally benign. First and second times I was pregnant, third and fourth checks - clear on smear and womb biopsy and fibroids. Fibroids are almost always harmless. Also maybe check your pill leaflet see if mentions side effects. Very unlikely to be cancer though they may want to do a hysteroscopy to check.

Addled Hope you are feeling better soon.

Tayto Hope you had a good rest today.

Leslie Glad you had a lovely lunch.

Managed to get out on both days - looked at thatched cottage to buy yesterday and everyone loved it even DD who had previously told me I had the taste of a medieval peasant so may make offer next week. Fed and stroked lemurs today, a baby and Mummy jumped on DH and then went for a meal.

Leslie I'm not 100% sure it is an allergic reaction but whatever it is it is incredibly itchy. Taking antihistamines on top of all the other stuff. Will ask oncology team this week. Lunch sounds very tasty.

Penguins thanks I had a good rest. Watched two films with the kids after their party and we ate a lot of jelly sweets - definitely for medicinal purposes only . House sounds lovely. I always wanted to live in a thatched cottage when I was little.

Mrs Potter hope you are having a good rest and feel better soon.

Tayto it's frustrating when it's under a dressing so you can't even scratch properly! I hope the antihistamines help

Mrspotter I'm sorry you're in pain. Resting is very sensible. I hope your family are waiting on you! Do you have exercises to do? How is your daughter?

penguins that sounds like a lovely weekend :) fingers crossed for the cottage!

I'm seeing the asthma nurse later about my breathlessness. Some of it might be the cancer itself, but it's definitely being worsened by hayfever so hopefully there's something they can recommend for that :)

Happy Monday everyone.

Oh miles that’s crap! Much as I was nosey about updates, I had really hoped that yours would be so slow to progress that you’d still be waiting in a decade or few.

Has your nasty reaction calmed down at all? And how on earth are they going to work out which of your cocktail it is?

Leslie I hope they can get your hay fever sorted out. Despite being barred from lemsip, i’m OK for cetirizine, so i’m surviving the season without too much extra irritation.

And in pursuit of my quest to be the irritating one, I decided to celebrate the news that I might never need another bone marrow aspiration ever again by entering a half marathon for this autumn. I ought to be panicking now about ‘what have I done!’ but my 6 month review MRI is happening this week so my nervous energy is going in to that.

I assume they are going to do the same scans (MRI and CT) but the equipment at the hospital I'm going to next is much better apparently. I'm not feeling too bad apart from bowel issues (lovely, I know ) really painful spasms and either constipation or dire rear but they said that is down to radiotherapy and there's not much I can do about it although I'm so bloated I look pregnant

Addle I have pins and needles in my hands almost 3 month after finishing chemo, my veins ended up getting infected with all the needles and canulas they put in. Ask them to try your other arm next time to give the sore one a rest

Hope you feel better soon MrsPotter

Sympathies with the hay fever Leslie, I haven't been too bad the last couple of years but I'm really feeling it this year, it also aggravates my eczema so I'm a sneezing scratching mess at the minute

Wow ivampire! You're amazing, I hardly have the energy to walk to the shop. Good luck for your review

iVampire that's impressive. Good luck with your MRI. I'm glad you can take hayfever tablets.

purple sorry you're suffering too. If I get any useful tips from the nurse I will pass them on! and sorry about your bowels too. I hope things calm down soon.

I should be getting my PET scan results on Wednesday. I'm not feeling anxious as such, but quite unsettled. I hate how everything hangs on these results and I feel like I can't properly plan anything yet as I'm waiting to find out if I'll carry on with the current treatment plan. I'm preparing for bad news as I've had more symptoms recently.

Good luck for Wednesday Leslie - you’ve had so many treatment cycles though couldn’t they be the cause of symptoms? Waiting for results is rubbish...

Currently not able to leave the bathroom for long due to dire rear (first lot since starting chemo on Thursday AND am due for a CT with contrast in 2 h at the hospital - the contrast is for the bowel and gives you.... dire rear!) can’t bloody wait

Oh no. Good luck addled! Is it the contrast you drink or the injected one?

It's probably not the chemo as the side effects from that are very predictable. But it might just be asthma or my pulmonary embolism or drug side effects. Too many "co-morbidities"

Leslie I hope you won't be getting bad news on Wednesday, we all want your round for as long as possible. If they can't carry on with the current treatment is there a different treatment, hope so. I did think of you at the zoo as they had quolls.

Addle Hope you can make CT, doesn't sound much fun.

Tayto Glad you had a good rest. Hope you can rest too MrsP

Just wfh not feeling fairly good today.

Purple Hope your symptoms start to improve soon.

penguins hope you feel better soon too. And that you have some nice weather at home?

It’s iv and oral contrast Leslie - feeling a bit battered today actually and hope the waiting room/toilets at the hospital aren’t too busy

Best of luck for Wednesday Leslie I'm keeping everything crossed for you

addled fingers crossed for empty waiting room and loos! I've never had the oral contrast thankfully, just IV. Good luck.

penguins thanks. Yes, there should be other treatment options after this one. I'm not feeling negative or anything - I've been very lucky that this treatment had worked for so long, so if it's not anymore then I'm at peace with that. Just like to be prepared for all possible outcomes. I feel quite cheery though tbh. I'm hoping they'll have the pictures as well as the report

I'm glad you got see the quolls. They're so cute. Are you still having problems with occupational health?

The asthma nurse was very helpful. She has prescribed me a new type of inhaler to try.

I have some hayfever tips from the asthma nurse in case they are of use to anyone:

• change your antihistamines rather than always taking the same one as different ones might work better at different times (I always thought you should find one and stick with it, so I'm going antihistamine shopping later!)

• Vaseline around your nostrils to catch pollen

• put frozen cucumber slices on your eyes to calm itching/inflammation (apparently they contain an enzyme that helps)

• use nasal spray as well as tablets

Thank you purple that's very kind of you :)

That's good if there are at least other options. I've delayed Occ Health until 31 May but yes they are being a complete pain. But I am on leave from 30 July anyway so closer I get to that the better it is. By the time it takes to go through even if they force a sign off should get almost full pay until then. I'm worried though they will try and force me back in full-time in London in September but will just resign then if they do that. Work are asking me for ideas for future reports so I think they might negiotiate on full-time in September but we can manage anyway if not. I've just been looking at school places for kids, its completely different to London, if you don't get in your local one you get a school bus.

Ah how frustrating. Have you definitely decided to move then? Good luck with the school applications :)

Thanks very much, yes think we have decided to move, I think its more a heart that head decision but kids are super keen. DS and DD got so excited in the house, DS was dancing round it going I love this and I love this and I love this. And DD is excited its by a corner shop though I do wonder if the excitement of a shop will wear off quickly but she's been pestering me to make an offer all weekend. Though we will keep our house and buy the other one then sell this one so have option to return.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. Hoping you can hold my hand as I wait for tests. Saw my GP yesterday who has confirmed a definite lump in my breast and 'lumpiness' in the other breast, and I've been referred for a mammogram and ultrasound on Friday with a breast specialist.

I'm trying not to worry too much, but it's hard not to. How do you all keep sane when waiting for tests and/or results?

Hi Gin and sorry you're here. I hope you won't need to stay long :)

How do we stay sane? Well, some would argue that we don't... the waiting for results is the worst bit. Different things work for different people. I find doing mindfulness meditation helps a bit. And plenty of distraction. Try to stay busy so you don't have too much time to think about it all!

Thanks so much for replying Leslie. I'm trying to stay busy and not think too much about it, but it's hard. I'm physically super aware of that part of my body now and keep wondering what I can feel there...every twinge giving me cause for concern...I suppose that's normal and many of you have been through so much that I feel silly bringing it up.

I've just lost a very close friend to cancer so I'm more nervous about it all than I might otherwise have been.

It is sadly completely normal, but not silly. Some people become hyper-aware and end up diagnosing themselves with all sorts of diseases, and then once they've had their results all the mystery symptoms disappear.

Most of us have been in a similar situation at least once so we understand how you're feeling :) unfortunately there's no magic way to cope with it all - I wish I could suggest something!

I'm really sorry about your friend of course that adds to your anxiety. I am not sure what type of cancer your friend had, but remember that a) 9 out of 10 breast lumps are benign and b) even in the unlikely event that it is breast cancer, breast cancer is highly treatable now.