It's not summer yet, but we are on cancer support thread 69. Join us if you've got cancer or are having cancer-related tests.

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Good evening lacies and welcome to another thread. We filled the previous one rather quickly with dog stories

Hello to any new posters. Feel free to join us if you've got any sort of cancer, or if you're waiting to find out if you have it. We are always happy to share our experience and hold hands, and even happier when we get to wave goodbye to people who have had the all clear :) (please do come back and let us know either way - sometimes people just disappear into the sunset, leaving us wondering whether they were OK or not!)

It's helpful if you can post a quick (re)introduction, even if you're a regular on the thread, to save people having to remember or to refer back to previous threads. There's no need to "catch up" - just join in whenever you want to.

Born have a cry. You have had so much to get your head around.

TQ I’m SO frustrated for you. This is kinda important

That's lovely news iVampire. Not the colonoscopy obviously but that it's sounds like there's nothing to worry about.

How frustrating TQ. You need to know if you're putting yourself through this for a reason and surely they should have some idea after 2 month

Born I'm not surprised you got emotional. A nurse fastened my hospital gown earlier and I burst into tears and I'm not normally one to cry unless it's something serious

Hope you're feeling better after your sleep Leslie

I'm still in hospital on the same antibiotics which aren't working. They managed to get my temperature down yesterday for a blood transfusion but I couldn't have one today as my temperatures been high all day

Slightly worrying thing happened when I went for my ultrasound scan on my kidneys and bladder - after she'd finished scanning me she asked if I'd had my bladder removed slightly worried about why she couldn't see it

Golly purple what an ordeal you're having 😕 hope your temperature starts to behave soon. And where is your naughty bladder hiding!?

Eek posted too soon.
Born hope you've recovered from your crazy day. You're right, the NHS is awesome...

Leslie do you find you're sleeping really deeply? Is that what gives you the sense of panic? Maybe the bunnies will come for another visit over the weekend

👋 to everyone else xxx

Born we all have 'those' moments. We can't be super-heroes all the time - sometimes we are just heroes!

Purple sorry they can't get your temperature down. At least you managed one transfusion yesterday. I hope they've found your bladder by now.

My consultant rang back just now - still a bit mixed really. They have apparently lost my CA125 test so I will have it done next week, which means another 2-3 weeks before I get clarity on that. The new tumour is the old tumour and has reduced slightly. But other nodes are showing growth from being not big enough to measure to being nearly measurable, although he did say they could just be signs of an infection, not cancer. So still none the wiser. Consultant said 'stable' and what matters is change over time, so I guess we'll see what the results show in a couple of months' time.

Leslie how are you doing today?

Absolute nightmare 😥
Consultant just phoned to say the bike test showed a problem with my heart which puts me at risk during the surgery. My heart rate went at to 180 but wasn't pumping enough blood.
I e been out on Bisoprolol (?)
He also said he isn't operating a list til April so can I change consultants?
I'm so upset as I'd felt completely safe in his hands.
My new option. Is to go meet my new consultant on Monday, and then redo the bike test on the 11th plus have an echo. The op will then be In The afternoon of the 11th.
Does this sound doable?
My head is just a shed at the moment 😥

Born I’m really sorry you’re facing all this confusion. I’ve not had a similar op so I can’t advise, but would it be worth meeting the other consultant on Monday anyway? They may be equally lovely and might at least answer some questions? Sending hugs xx

Born, that really sucks.

Do you have to fast for operation? might make the bike test hard.

I'm going to suggest I do the bike ride and echo on Friday as I have to go get my blood cross matched anyway so could do it all in one trip.

Yes, I have to fast from midnight and I'm concerned doing the bike test and all the walking down to the cardiology department for the echo and then the operation in the afternoon will be far from conduisive for a relaxing day😢

Hello, can I join you please? I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Wednesday. They've said it seems to be small and they think they've found it early so I'm hopeful and trying to be positive. But contrary to me telling me friend earlier that I'm a tough old bird, I'm not. And I'm scared.

Have my first appt on Wednesday with surgeon to make a plan, but I really don't know what to expect now.

Harry welcome and sorry you've had to join us. There are quite a few of us here with breast cancer so I'm sure we can answer any and all questions! Getting a plan in place will help. Sounds like they'll offer you a lumpectomy with radiotherapy after if it's small and early, so fingers crossed you feel reassured after meeting with the surgeon.

I think that's what they will say @KnickerBockerGlooooory. Reading some of the posts on this thread is heartbreaking and inspirational at the same time.

Hi Harry, you sound like you are in a similar situation to what I was in. I had a small lump, caught it early. I had a lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and currently having radiotherapy. It does get better once there is in plan in place and I felt a lot better once the lump was removed. If you want to ask any questions please go ahead or pm if you prefer

Thanks @CazY777. How long did it take to recover from the surgery?

Welcome HarrySnotter, but sorry about your diagnosis. Good luck for your appointment on Monday

Borntobe hope the new consultant will be able to reassure you

TQ sorry, you didn't get a more straightforward answer. Hopefully the next scan will show a more significant reduction.

purple any improvement yet? I hope they have you on more effective antibiotics now.

KBG I'm sleeping more deeply at night. But the panicky feeling is from the breathlessness. They've increased my dose of midazolam and that seems to have helped.

I basically slept all day yesterday. I'm a little more alert today :) my sister is visiting.

I'm feeling much better. They've changed my antibiotics and my temperatures back to normal. I'm just waiting to get my nephrostomy tubes changed but that won't be until at least Monday as apparently they don't do weekends

I see my oncologist on Monday but I don't think there's any chance of getting on the trial after I've had yet another infection. I've just read this book With The End In Mind and it's a really interesting read and not as gloomy and miserable as you'd expect. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who's terminal

Glad your sisters come to see you again Leslie and I hope your syringe driver is doing its job and you're comfortable

Welcome Harry try and keep busy until your appointment. The waiting around is honestly the worst part

I'd say it took me about 6 weeks to get back to normal, I didn't have any drains. Up until that point if I lifted anything too heavy my armpit would ache, not straight away but a bit afterwards. My armpit is still a bit numb and feels strange, but it's better than it was so the feeling is coming back slowly. I had my surgery in early December.

Ok, definitely won't do that again!

purple
Could she have meant your gall bladder?
Did she scan up under your ribs? that would make sense. Your gallbladder sometimes doesn't show up if you've eaten fats(milk in tea, cheese etc)
Was your bladder empty? It shows up on ultrasound only if there is fluid in it, ie it won't show up if you've just had a wee (as I've found out to my cost several times )

A gentle hug for you, HarrySnotter- this is probably the worst part, when it's all you can possibly think about and you feel terrified and weirded out by the shock.

Two I didn't know that, how interesting. I wonder if that's why you're not allowed to wee before ante-natal scans?

Ah Two that would make sense! I did go for a wee before the scan. The doctor said my scan was fine so I'm guessing they aren't worried about a missing bladder

Hi,
Haven't been on here in ages, I hope everyone is as well as can be. Leslie I hope you had a nice time with your sister yesterday and that your sleep is more restful.

I've been in hospital for the past week or so, home now thankfully! I got a nasty case of neutropenic sepsis - I've never known pain like it in my life! Thankfully I'm recovering well. I have to get a PET scan this Fri to see if the chemo is working. Fingers crossed!

Harry Sorry you have to join us. Good luck with your appt on Wednesday. Hopefully you'll feel better with a plan in place.

TQ sorry you're none the wiser about what's happening with you, I hate not knowing stuff. I'm glad they said you're stable though, that must be a relief. XXX

Purple good luck for your oncologist meeting tomorrow. Glad the antibiotics are working now

Born sorry you have to go through that test again, it doesn't sound fun at all. Hope your new consultant is nice.

Waving to everyone else.

Tahiti I'm glad you're home. I hope you are feeling better. Fingers crossed for your PET scan :)

purple is that the book that rocket mentioned on the previous thread? If so, I found a bit of it available free and posted a link there so if anyone is interested it might be worth a look. Sorry, I'm too lazy to find it again I'm glad the new antibiotics are working and that your scan was all OK. Do you have any idea when you'll be allowed home?

I'm awake just when everyone else wants to go to sleep! So frustrating. My dodgy shoulder lump is quite painful. It now fills the whole of my collarbone plus most of that side of my neck. It feels bruised and when I put weight on that arm or move too much it really hurts. Bloody cancer. I'll see what the nurse says tomorrow.

Waving to everyone. I hope you've had a restful weekend ready for whatever the week ahead brings