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 :)

Gin yeah, I was a little perturbed by how concerned my doctor seemed about how solid it feels. It is very smooth and round, and does move about, which seem to be good things...?

It is so near the surface that I discovered it when I was pulling my pyjama top over my head and happened to catch sight of myself in the mirror. The light was coming from an angle which meant I SAW the lump before I felt it! And I understand what you mean about the uncertainty you have about yours, but I have to say I don't much like the fact that mine is visible!

I am a bit younger than you: 37, but only till the end of next week.

Yes I think smooth and moveable are good things. My doctor seemed to think mine was rooted which might not be so good, but I guess none of us will know anything for sure until we are properly investigated.

As you can tell by the fact that I'm lurking around on a cancer support thread before I've even had any tests, I'm finding it hard to think about anything else at the moment even though I'm trying hard to keep it all in perspective and even though I know 9 out of 10 lumps are perfectly fine etc. etc. I HATE uncertainty.

Thinking of leslie and hoping her appointment goes well today.

iVampire thanks for liking my username!!

just thought I'd add my favourite quote ever from Michael J Fox, which has helped me enormously...so much so that I may well have posted it before...but it does help if you keep repeating it....
"Don't spend a lot of time imagining the worst-case scenario. It rarely goes down as you imagine it will, and if by some fluke it does, you will have lived it twice."
he's referring to his Parkinson's disease but I think it works well in these circs too....I know it's easier said than done..but you know...try to keep it in mind....
leslie still thinking of you and I so know what you mean about almost feeling sorry for the consultant.....let us know as and when you can...xx

Gin I am a similar age to you and not noticed any bumps / lumps but every other part of my body it seems has suddenly developed issues over the last year or so and I am on my 5th lot of cancer tests. First four back clear plus smears clear so I do wonder if its perimenopause but doctors insist not and keep sending me for cancer tests. My friend who is a similar age has had issues like yours and was all clear. I think its very possible its an age thing but my doctor just laughs at that but there are several women on here with lots of issues around this age. Obviously I think you should always get checked but think its far more likely to be all clear than an issue. My doctors just say do you have periods and I say yes and then they say it can't be menopause but you can get symptoms for years before. I first started getting weird symptoms at 40 (irregular bleeding and clots) then a whole host of them a few years later. I am hoping they run out of cancer tests soon though there's so many types of cancer they may not.

Happy Birthday for later in the week Flourella

Good luck Leslie

Flourella your lump sounds like the one I have, I can see it and grab it between my fingers as it's quite close to the surface. I had a mammogram and ultrasound last week for mine but they said it's not cancer, he did mention the name of it but I can't remember. It's basically a fatty lump and they are quite common in my age range (I'm 34) fingers crossed yours is nothing to worry about

I just wanted to say hello. Been thinking of you all.

The hospital hasn't received the referral sent three weeks ago so waiting on surgery ringing me back to find out which hospital, which plan etc.

Gin I saw my GP on Friday morning, so been waiting since then. Hopefully I'll have the appt soon. The waiting is the worst thing for me. I just want to get it done and see what's going on. I'm 37.

Cheers penguins!

That is good advice, freddie. I've been knitting all day to try and keep my mind off it and it is working a bit.

Thanks for telling me about your similar situation unicorns. I'm glad that your lump turned out to be nothing serious.

Thanks for being kind to me earlier, Leslie.

Hi all xxx Leslie Thank you for thinking of me today, I did have my MRI and also a Mammo on the boob I have left. When they did that it really pulled on this 'mass' in my neck. I will be waiting now for the phone to ring, I know the MDT is tomorrow but I doubt my images will have been reported on that quickly so I have at least a week to wait.

HI to anyone new and waiting for results - sorry to say the feeling doesn't get any easier. I hope to return to the thread when I have some answers - I'm reading and thinking of you all x

Hi everyone - just wanted to say am thinking of you Leslie and I know what you mean about people watching your reaction etc. It is irritating...

Hi to everyone else and good luck to others and McZeba waiting for results too...

Am day 7 of cycle 1 of chemo and last 2 days have had awful diarrhoea so this morning I took loperamide with my tablets to try and prevent it - not sure if this is ‘allowed’ but things have certainly been better (as well as massively reduced food intake so as not to anger the beast!!) so I’m going with my new regime for now!

Thank you all :) it's still stable. So at least whatever the breathlessness is it isn't a sign of progression. I'll be carrying on with the chemo for now.

jaysus
I had a dent, in my case it was invasive ductal carcinoma. I've had a mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy, followed by a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. I am currently waiting on results from that on the 30th.
I am 44 and have no maternal history of cancer.
I was referred urgently but downgraded to a 9 week wait before getting a hospital appointment, but I asked for a cancellation and thank god I did!
I am still very new to all this xx

Glad to hear its stable Leslie I think you can sometimes get a seasonal asthma, not that I know anything about that, though with all the drugs and cancer it must be hard to know what causes what.

No news from hospital / doctors so either I've been forgotten (likely) or there's not cancer (also likely) though bleeding again, argh.

Year That's awful they've lost the referral, hope they can see you quickly. I had one lost for several months but thankfully just physio.

MrsPotter thanks for replying. I'm glad you were able to get a cancellation. 9 weeks seems a very long time to have it weighing on your mind! I really hope your results are good.
I don't have any maternal history of cancer either, but do on my fathers side. My aunt had BC twice.

I am very overwhelmed by this thread. Thank you all for replying to my posts and welcoming me on the thread. You are all so lovely. I am just sorry we are chatting under these circumstances

I wish enormous luck to all waiting results and those having treatment

jaysus my dads sister had BC as well and talking to her was the best thing I did while waiting. Well, she talked and I listened but it was what I needed.
Everyone on here has been so supportive it's one of the best places to be I think

That's fab new Leslie how often do you have to get tested to make sure the treatments still working?

It's good to hear from you year, fingers crossed you get sorted out soon with an appointment

addled did they not tell you to take lopemeride? I'm on that plus a prescription one - lomotil. Did you manage your scan ok? Do contact your team if it gets worse as they should be able to help. You can take more than the packet dose of immodium and they may be able to prescribe other stuff. Also eat loads of jelly sweets. I left my dire rear too long before asking as it was a known side effect but they told me they would much rather know so they can help and lower dose of chemo if necessary.

Leslie glad you're stable.

to everyone waiting on tests.

Good news from my oncologist - it is only four sessions of chemo I need, not five as I had been told, so I am half way through.

Leslie so pleased you're stable . It must be a relief to know that the breathlessness is not cancer progression - I hope they manage to alleviate that. It's a dull, wet old day here. I hope chemo is more entertaining!

I'm very pleased to hear your results Leslie stable sounds good especially if it means you can have your chemo still.

Welcome to all newbies I hope your tests come quickly and come back good.

I got admitted post my thyroid surgery with a build up of fluid at the surgery site resulting in me not being able to talk or swallow, after investigation and observation I've had the fluid aspirated and now home. Being in hospital is so tiring I find so having a restful day today reading books. The fluid has started accumulating again but I was allowed home on the promise I would go back if I have symptoms again, keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get as big this time.

I hope everyone else is keeping ok, good luck with appointments and results.

likeazebra that sounds really nasty. I'm glad they've drained it and hopefully it won't build up to that level again. And yes hospital is so exhausting. I hope you have a relaxing day of reading :)

TQ thanks :) I've got a new inhaler and it seems to be working already. How are you?

Tayto woooooaaaah you're halfway theerrrreee (channelling Bon Jovi) that's great. How are the side effects?

purple they scan me every few months :)

penguin I hope you get some news soon!

Mrspotter how are you getting on? I hope the pain has improved

addled did they not give you loperamide with in your chemo drug goody bag?! I used to take loads of it when I was on XELOX. Check with your nurse but you should be able to take much more than the standard dose as Tayto says. And there are other drugs available if necessary. Please do tell them how badly you are suffering though as they may need to adjust your dose and might want to give you other medication to help.

McZeba holding your hand while you wait

flourella what are you knitting? :) I knit too. I've brought mine to chemo with me. I'm working on a baby blanket as a gift.

Jaysus I hope you get your appointment soon. It's worth chasing up if not as it might've been lost

Year argh! I hope they'll sort it out extra quickly to make up for the delay

freddie that's an excellent quote, thank you for sharing :) I like the saying "don't borrow trouble from tomorrow" which I suppose is along similar lines really!

Gin I hope you're managing to keep busy

I'm at chemo today. I haven't started yet so it might be a bit of a long day!

Leslie sorry to be late but glad the news yesterday was stable and hope the baby blanket goes well today!

I'm trying to keep busy, just two more work days to get through before my appointment/tests and hopefully some news.

You guys are the best, I feel like Jaysus, thanks so much for welcoming us and holding our hands.

Hi Leslie

Firstly, I'm not sure what your situation is, but it seems that you have received the good news that things remain stable for you, which I am pleased to hear.

Secondly, knitting. How nice of you to be making a blanket as a gift. All my work so far has been selfishly all for me, though I've only been at it for a month, to be fair. I love the knitwear from the late-1930s to mid-40s, and it's hard to find vintage or even good reproduction knitwear from that era, so over the last few years I've gathered a stash of yarn and digital patterns and I send them to knitters to make up for me. That was getting expensive, so I thought, sod it, I'm going to see if I can do it myself! Bought some needles, watched some YouTube tutorials, picked a simple pattern in a thicker yarn and just...started.

It's going well, and I really enjoy it! We'll, not the weaving in ends or sewing on sleeves, obviously Currently knitting a tank top just to avoid sleeves for a while!

Gin I'm glad you feel supported. You're very welcome but of course we are hoping that you won't need to be here long. I hope work is busy enough to provide a distraction but not too hectic :)

flourella I've got incurable bowel cancer so stable is excellent news. That sounds fascinating. I'm trying to imagine the style you mean but I have no idea - can you post a link to an example some time? Only to satisfy my nosiness so don't worry if you can't be bothered I'm impressed that you've only been knitting a month and are already making clothes. I usually do small projects like squares to sew together because I get bored with big things. I have a jumper pattern I'd like to make but it always ends up at the bottom of my list because people keep having babies!

Leslie, very good news that your current treatment is working for you and long may it continue.

I've read enough on Mumsnet to know that posting links isn't as easy as it sounds. As you might be able to see, 40s knitwear tended to be close-fitted and high-waisted, with square shoulders. Intricate stitch work and Fair Isle designs were popular, not that I'll be doing anything so complex, at least for a while.

www.google.co.uk/search?client=tablet-android-google&tbm=isch&q=1940s+ladies+knitwear&chips=q:1940s+ladies+knitwear,online_chips:knitting+pattern&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipxNfRvJ7bAhUOZ8AKHadADEMQ4lYIPCgF&biw=600&bih=960&dpr=2

I'm not crazy about all the designs that that search brought up, but a lot of them are nice. Pretty sure from the preview that the link isn't going to work, but maybe you can copy and paste it if you are still feeling nosy

I have a niece and nephew who aren't babies anymore, but I might look into making clothes for them as Christmas presents. Though I don't think I'll force my retro fashion tastes onto them!

That’s good news Leslie! So glad to hear that re your scan.

And thanks to you and tayto - yes they did give me loperamide but I was only taking it when the diarrhoea came and this morning have instead taken a dose with my morning capecitabine. I also just took another dose to keep things settled as I haven’t been to the loo yet today!! Woohoo! Have managed to eat a nice (small!) meal at lunch time too! Is it bad to take it this way?! I will give them a ring in the unit tomorrow if this regime isn’t successful...