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Original poster

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

986 replies

WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo · 03/05/2018 19:14

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 :)

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
TwitterQueen1 · 16/06/2018 19:06

Purple Ascites is basically the food support system for the cancer (that's my understanding anyway - could be wrong), so surgery won't cause it. I had 8+ litres drained off my stomach the 1st time, along with another 500ml drained separately from around my lung. Whilst cancer is present the ascites comes back quickly and I had to have another 6 litres or so drained off about 3 weeks later. I started chemo very soon after that and the ascites went.

If you had an internal exam your 'bloat' could be swelling or bruising? or if they pumped gas into you yesterday it could well be that.

purpleunicorns · 16/06/2018 19:06

Ouch that sounds really painful Leslie, I hope you've got some strong painkillers.

Lol at Mrsp Grinthe advantages of my swollen stomach is that I'm also using it as a shelf. Every cloud and all that

purpleunicorns · 16/06/2018 19:13

Wow 8 litres? Shock that must have been so uncomfortable

My internal isn't until Monday as everything got pushed back a couple of days due to the pet scanner being broken so I'll probably be even more swollen after it.

Unless it is just a load of gas, in which case I feel sorry for whoever is doing my internal Grin I've put on over a stone despite me losing my appetite and I'm feeling quite nauseous too. I think I'll mention it next week when I speak with my consultant

Dulcedelecherocks · 16/06/2018 19:24

You guys have so much knowledge! Are adhesions like internal scars then? How do you know that's what's causing you pain? My scar still hurts sometimes and other times I have what feels like muscle pain. I've no idea what that is.
I've never heard of ascites either. Is it causes by cancer?

Sorry I'm crap at remembering who said what and as I'm on my phone I can't see the posts once I start typing.
Purple and Leslie hope you feel better soon and everyone else too!

addlebrained · 16/06/2018 19:59

Grin oh mrsp That did make me guffaw!! Everyone was asking me why I was laughing and I don’t think they found it as amusing as me Blush

Mrspotter12 · 16/06/2018 21:51

I'm afraid I have an odd sense of humour!!!!

Mrspotter12 · 16/06/2018 21:54

I have a "zombies ate my pancreas" shirt and suggested to my friends that I got a "zombies ate my boob" one & they were appalled!

TwitterQueen1 · 16/06/2018 22:10

It could be ascites Purple. Putting on a stone in a month and feeling sick despite having no appetite was one of the factors that drove me to the doctors.
And it was terribly uncomfortable.

Definitely mention it though they should pick it up when they examine you.

Petalflowers · 17/06/2018 05:31

Hi, all hope everyone is okay.

A long term poster asked what my former name was a couple of pages back. It was 228Green, or something like that. The thread was Tamoxigang (sp?) then

I still recall an active poster back then called Pink who suddenly stopped posting. I always wondered what happened to her and hope she is okay.

Taytotots · 17/06/2018 06:32

Hope you are feeling better Leslie. Horrible not being able to drink - especially when it's hot.

Dulce yes adhesions are bands of internal scar tissue that can form after operations - basically organs reactions to being handled. They cause problems when they join stuff that shouldn't be joined - they thought my bowel obstruction post op might be due to them, also was the original suspicion when I went to a+e with tumour as I'd had prior abdo surgery.

Mrsp hope you found somewhere to balance your tea Grin. You could do a whole t-shirt range - put me down for a colon one Wink.

Purple good luck for Monday. Hope they get to bottom of it.

addlebrained · 17/06/2018 08:13

Ooh yes sign me up for a colon t-short too please Grin

Thought of you lacies when my pests were watching the Emoji Movie and I noted that the Glitterball was in the room containing all the apps never used!! Imagine my horror and disbelief?! Wink

Hope you are all having nice weekends, missing tea-rests notwithstanding... Brew

Thymeout · 17/06/2018 09:40

Purple - de-lurking to say that 'free fluid' in my abdominal cavity, which showed up on an MRI, was one of the reasons why my local hospital thought my Borderline ovarian tumour was cancerous. There's a tick-box index of significant features and I had quite a high score. But when I was referred to a specialist unit, my surgeon told me immediately, from the same scan, that he didn't think it was malignant.

So, as with a raised Ca125 level - mine was 5 X normal - it isn't always a sinister sign. Irritation can cause surplus fluid, as with a blister. It might be a result of radiation damage?

Hoping you get some answers soon and best wishes to the glitter gals Glitterball

McZeba · 17/06/2018 12:02

Hey all, sorry I ducked out the thread for a while. My Chemo is all finished now so I suppose I have been trying to feel less like a Cancer patient!! I do pop on and have a read - I wanted to say to MrsPotter that I had the annoying numb-but-painful arm and this spread under my arm and around my shoulder. It does go but takes a long time, its very hard to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. I managed it with soft massaging strokes and sometimes some ibuprofen gel.

purple and Leslie I hope you are both feeling more comfortable soon.

Chase amazing news!!

noodles I hope things turn out to be benign, if not then this group of Ladies will be here to answer Q's and support you every step of the way

MrsP sign me up for a Zombie at my Booby T-Shirt Wink

Original poster
WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo · 17/06/2018 12:16

Oops Mrspotter I hope you didn't burn yourself ShockGrin might've been embarrassing trying to explain that one to a doctor

McZeba how are you doing post-chemo? I hope you've been able to have some normality :)

I'm feeling a bit better today and going to try some mashed potato later! Exciting.

Waving to everyone and thinking of those with appointments etc coming up this week Glitterball

OP posts:
McZeba · 17/06/2018 13:08

Leslie I have had extreme fatigue - but I think some of it is mental as I have just kept pushing through, working as much as I could and then I took a week off...... I've done nothing but sleep!!! I start Radio in a weeks time and am back to work this week coming. Its still a rollercoaster but I'm holding on tight x

noodles44 · 17/06/2018 13:30

Thanks to everyone for the warm wishes and advice.

I have checked the Macmillan site regarding telling children (thanks, Dulce really useful). I am wondering if I should say something now (I was originally thinking I would wait until I had a definite diagnosis) but I will be having a removal op whatever, so don't want them to get wind of anything before I have told them in a way I am happy with.

On another note, I have just been bra shopping after realising on Fri that my fairly decent one was not that good when whipping it off in front of numerous people! I thought it might make me feel slightly better if I have a couple of new ones I can flash about!
Post lump removal op, are the sloggi type bra tops the most comfortable to wear?

Glad to hear you are improving Leslie I hope the mashed potato goes down well and you can move onto something more exciting soon.

Mrspotter12 · 17/06/2018 15:01

mczeba thanks for the info on the arm- it's such a weird sensation! Did you massage up and down or around?

Mrspotter12 · 17/06/2018 15:06

Noddles I went bra shopping and treated myself to a bravissimo one, £32 but looked nice and had pockets for my prosthesis as I knew I was going for a mastectomy.
I only told my girls (12 & 9) when I knew what was going on. When u had the lumpectomy I told them it was just for a look see (luckily one had had an eeg and the other had had an mri that week). Once the doc confirmed a mastectomy was the way forward, we sat and told them that it was breast cancer and that the surgeon had said I wouldn't be dying from it.
Prior to that we had had conversations with the eldest about people who had had breast cancer and survived as she'd done the race for life.
Sorry for the essay but hope it helps xx

Mrspotter12 · 17/06/2018 15:07

leslie do scalds thank goodness. Hope the mashed potato went down ok!

purpleunicorns · 17/06/2018 15:26

Mrsp I think I'll need a "zombies ate all my insides" tshirt if I end up having this operation Grin

Good to know that it not necessarily cancer that causes the fluid Thyme, hope you and mczeba are doing ok now

addlebrained · 17/06/2018 16:36

purple - that would be an awesome t-shirt... there must be one of those in existence already?! Surely?!

YearOfYouRemember · 17/06/2018 19:49

Hi everyone.

I posted on my phone, first time, and it isn't here so will probably be the last ! Lol.

YearOfYouRemember · 17/06/2018 19:50

Oops. Was a different thread...

Kerala2712 · 17/06/2018 19:56

I’m de-lurking in need of some moral support- i’m approaching 4th cycle of 8 of chemo for breast cancer, am 32 weeks pregnant, have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, have just moved house, feel lousy, feel even more that I’m letting the girls down because I can’t really play or look after them by myself for long- just feeling rubbish. Keep having to go and lay down after very little. Planned section in 4 weeks no idea how we’ll cope, DH doing his best but shattered and worried too. Having ovaries out at same time as section then double mastectomy in November. Just feeling rubbish.

Petalflowers · 17/06/2018 20:08

Kerala - wow, what a lot to comtend with. Can’t be easy for you. Sending hugs to,you across cyberspace.

And [flowers