CANCER SUPPORT THREAD 66 for those with cancer or awaiting cancer test results. Rant, rave, laugh, cry, joke, scream - whatever gets you through the day.

[TwitterQueen1]

Welcome to the new thread, and the club that nobody wants to join. Our previous thread is here

Anyone with any type of cancer is welcome. And we will hold your hand if you're waiting to find out whether or not you have cancer at all.

If you have a loved one with cancer you can get support on a different thread here

For old and new posters it's very helpful if you (re)introduce yourself in your first post with a summary of your diagnosis (chemo brain is a real thing and my memory isn't what it used to be!).

What a pain purple! I don't understand why they do that either. It seems like such a waste - of the bed, and of your time sitting round waiting all day. It must be even more frustrating when freedom is in sight!

Simmi sorry, you've had a rubbish week rest up. I hope the weather improves for you soon!

emac welcome, but sorry that you've had to join us. Good luck with the radiotherapy

Thanks Leslie - sorry you’ve had a rough time of things lately. Hope you’re having a nice weekend and your bladder is behaving!

KBG I’m in Melbourne, Australia. Weather is very unpredictable here - I could be back in UK

emac sorry you had to join us too. I also have bc and have young children (age 4 and 3). I’m currently going through chemo (2 months in to a 6 month plan) and then will have surgery and radiotherapy too. Glad to hear you’re finding radiotherapy more manageable. I think with young children you just have to get on with things although it is tough.

Xxx

Morning everyone

emac welcome! I also found radiotherapy to be the easiest bit of this whole chemo marathon. Managed to get a 7.30 appointment and was at work by 9 everyday feeling fine- other than having to stop for a wee at every service station. That’s specific to pelvic radiation I think though

I think it’s one of those things that affects you really badly or not at all, and probably a bit of luck in there. I preferred it to the chemo anyway!

Leslie talking of weeing- hope that’s all going ok! Thinking of you.

I’ve woken up with crazy swollen eyes and really sore neck (front bit!). It feels swollen but I find if you prod something enough it generally does! I’m on my Capecitibine free week so I guess it’s most likely an allergic reaction to something at home. I hope so anyway. No time to be ill today as the puppy graduates from puppy school this morning, then a disco for 150 5-10 year old girls this afternoon. Anyone love the Frozen song and want to help?

and for everyone

Hi @emac80 glad you found us

I am absolutely wiped today. No idea why but utterly wiped

Will try to keep up

Please tell me your 150 little girls was a mistype Namechange and that you meant 15. The very thought makes me feel faint... are you quite mad?!

KeepCalm REST! I think your body is trying to tell you something

Purple I hope you're finally out and enjoying your own bed.

Leslie I hope you're resting too and that yours and everyone else's wee issues are resolved.

Simmi1 waving to you in the land of Oz and everyone else.

TQ I wish it was! I’m a Rainbow leader and this is one of our big events for a few units together, plus some Brownies. It will be a crazy afternoon but the girls love it! I’m dressing as an elf too inc a very fetching red tutu!

@TwitterQueen1 I've cancelled my brunch plans and friend is coming here for homemade soup instead...... consider me told!! X

Oops, where are my manners? Welcome emac though sorry you find yourself here.

Hi everyone, hope you are all having a comfortable day. Haven’t caught up with the thread yet but I just called in to say I’m back in hospital. My temp spiked this morning and my breathing was a bit weird. I’m in an A&E side room at the moment while they run the whole sepsis bloods work up. It’s blimmin’ freezing in here!

Oh no Symphony. Not where you want to be, I'm sure! I hope they can get to the bottom of it quickly and get you home again your A&E has side rooms? Fancy!

TQ wee issues seem to be sorted, thank you. How are you this morning?

Namechange I hope it all goes smoothly. We used to do a similar event when I was a Beaver leader. Exhausting, but fun. And I hope the swelling has resolved. Do you have allergy tablets?

KeepCalm very sensible. It's definitely soup weather :)

I'm watching ER with a cheery young-person-dying-of-cancer storyline and trying to catch up with some knitting. Feeling a bit less gloomy today so that's good :)

I felt exhausted when I was one of the organisers of a whole-year disco, and that was only 90 little blighters!

I hope allergies settle and potential sepsis isn’t. And that everyone is having a calm and pain free Sunday.

I’ve been a bit stupid. Kept running on a sore hip (the old bone marrow aspiration side, as always) and have completely buggered it (please note careful choice of technical term there). I’ve reached straight for the codeine and a hot-water bottle!

I'm home and absolutely shattered, I'm sure I feel worse coming out of hospital than when I go in. Lazing around in a hospital bed does nothing for my energy levels

Namechange The thought of having to deal with 150 kids is enough to put me in a coma
*
Symphony* I hope you're getting sorted and home soon. Sepsis is awful, I was in for 8 days but that also included E. coli so hopefully you won't need to be in for that long

Sorry to hear everyone is so tired and having a tough time. symphony I hope it's not sepsis and you get home soon.
I had chemo #2 on Fri, so am just dealing with the first few days of sickness and general bleughhh feelings. I was borderline neutropenic when I got chemo, so I'm super paranoid about infection now.

Namechange you are mad! I barely cope with my own kids right now!

Waves to everyone else! XXX

Tahiti the first few days are grim. I hope you emerge from it soon.

Namechange I hope it went well

purple definitely. I always feel exhausted after a hospital stay. I hope you get some energy back soon

Ouch iVampire I hope the codeine helps.

I've got a sore throat now. Argh. Hopefully dryness from the oxygen machine and not an infection. I want to start my chemo tablets on Monday because I'm sure if I wait another week I'll just pick up another bug. And I just feel like the cancer is ravaging my body and I'm doing nothing.

The codeine is definitely helping, now it’s mixed with prosecco! I smell deliciously of Deep Heat too

lesley my oral chemo was way less hostile than many of the regimes described here (despite it having a list of potential side effects that would scare the pants of most normal people), So fingers firmly crossed that you can start it, and that you get on well with it.

Could you manage hot lemonade and honey as a throat soother?

Morning all

Haven't caught up on all the thread but and to those going through a tough time at the moment.

Symphony. sorry to hear you have ended up in hospital again. Hope things have got sorted out and you will be out soon.

I had a nice weekend with friends here. They brought food with them which was great and their own towels so I haven't been left with vast amounts of extra laundry! (very considerate friends).

Have the usual slight dread now as I am on the chemo countdown to Wednesday. Start steroids tomorrow and will go into hospital to have bloods done.

Hoping everyone has a better week this week.

MrsT I wish someone would bring me food After losing my appetite over the last few weeks and losing 2 stone these steroids are definitely making up for it, I've done nothing but eat since getting out of hospital. Just as well I spend most of my days in my pjs as I don't think my clothes are going to fit for much longer

How are you feeling Leslie? Did you manage to start your tablets today?

Hi purple. I eat a lot before chemo as I know I will have about a week afterwards when I won't have much appetite. After losing quite a bit of weight when I was first diagnosed I am steadily putting it on now. I know I will put weight on with the Anti-depressants. But like you I spend most of my life in PJ's and baggy cardigans with pockets for all the tissues I need for my dripping nose.

Just wanted to ask whether anyone-else has ended up having "issues" with friends after diagnosis? My friends who came at the weekend I have known for over 30 years since University but I did have another friend who I thought I was quite close to. She came to my wedding about 6 years ago, I gave her her first job in contracting which has ended up helping her with a lucrative career change, we worked together once since. Anyway since I told her I had cancer in the Summer she has not been in touch once. Not a text, email or phone call apart from the first one responding to me telling her about my diagnosis. I got offers of visits and to let her know if I needed anything in that email but that's been it. Is it my fault for not getting back in touch with her? My uni friends have kept in contact even when sometimes I haven't replied or haven't wanted to talk on the phone as they understand I have my bad days/weeks and can take some time to surface. It just feels weird now that I am going through this major thing in my life and she just hasn't been there at all. I actually don't know now whether I am bothered about seeing her again because she has missed this massive thing that is going on in my life and I don't think I could go back to the friendship as it was. Has anyone else had this or is it just me?!

It does seem to happen quite often sadly Mrstraveller. People just don't know how to cope, I guess if you can be bothered you could try getting in touch and see if she responds?

iVampire I hope you're more comfortable this morning after the codeine/Prosecco/Deep Heat cocktail!

purple I'm glad your appetite is back. That's probably a good sign that things are getting back to normal :) how are you feeling otherwise?

I started my Lonsurf tablets this morning. The side effects don't look too bad, apart from fatigue and infection risk, which I have anyway.

Hi Mrs, I had to pop on and reply to your question about disappearing friends.. I have one ‘friend’ - she lives just a couple of hundred yards from me. She hasn’t been in touch with me AT ALL since my diagnosis! I knew she knew, as other people in my area told me that she had told them... and yet nothing... I spoke to her once as I heard her outside talking to my daughter, so I went out and said - probably rather too brightly - ‘hi there stranger!’ Anyway, her response was just so much ungenuine concern... we chatted for literally a minute, and she went on her way and i haven’t heard from her since. My partner actually brought this up with my breast care nurse as he was so bemused by it (I am not wasting my energy worrying about it!), and she said it’s REALLY common... in her opinion it is people who for some reason won’t or can’t deal with cancer... their problem; definitely not yours....

Yes Mrs I've had issues too. The latest one is a 'friend' of decades' standing who picked me up from chemo once or twice last year, but who has pretty much completely ignored me since last Christmas. Then she suddenly 'remembered' me last month and turned up on my doorstep demanding to know what my oncologist had said... Weird. I told her she was being intrusive and she couldn't just ignore me and then demand to know everything. We don't speak now.

Another friend pretty much told me I was too fat to have cancer. My brother hasn't been in touch all year. I find it all very odd.

Good afternoon all

Hope we're all as ok as we can be today.

Sorry to hear about friend issues. I'm been very fortunate as I seem to have made more friends! (Some lovely ladies with BC as well).

Well I've got another bonus week as my bloods haven't come up again even though I had the horrid injections which were supposed to help raise them! Had my chemo outfit all planned for tomorrow, constipation remedy sorted etc! Never mind my body obviously likes 4 weeks between infusions!

Yes, the friend thing! I've got a friend who I spoke to every day, until I got cancer. Then she stepped right back. I think she just can't deal with it. Obviously I sympathise a bit, but in the meantime, I'm here with cancer and minus one friend I really needed. Ho hum.

FuzzyWhiteLegs. I know what you mean about not wasting energy on it. I just find the behaviour strange more than upsetting really. Oh well that's one off the Christmas Card list! (if I can be bothered to write any this year).

TQ - yes very odd behaviour indeed. I hate lots of intrusive questions. This stuff is just so personal.

Ranout - That's great that you have made new friends. I have met some lovely, kind people through this. Hopefully might develop some new friendships too.

mrs another one who has had issues with some friends after diagnosis in 2014. I was quite hurt by a couple of people I was very close to and it did make me question things. I think they had no idea how to behave. 4 years on and things have settled back again. My major issue is my family. My brother phoned me once about a month after my diagnosis, I haven’t heard from him since. I’m pretty hurt by that, not that we saw each other much at all but we used to email quite regularly. My parents haven’t visited me once and we are not really in touch anymore. My dad only ever wanted to know what the test results were and what the consultant said and my mum just didn’t seem capable of offering support.