Cancer Support #70. Please post on this thread, not #69, If you have cancer or are undergoing tests for cancer. Rant, rave, scream, cry – whatever helps. Supportive lurkers for Leslie welcome on #69.

[TwitterQueen1]

Thread #69 is filling up with messages of support for one of our own who is very seriously ill. Leslie told me a few weeks ago that she didn’t want any such messages to get in the way of those who need support through their cancer treatment so we are starting a new thread just for those who do have cancer or who are having tests. Could we respectfully ask lurkers and supportive posters to confine their comments to thread #69? Thank you.

We normally start with a brief introduction to our cancers – I’ll kick off. Ovarian cancer dx March 2017. Now on third-line treatment with a trial providing targeted and chemo drugs taken orally.

Thanks everyone
Mrs I guess it must be like being released from jail.... scary! I hope everything is clear.

Molly Welcome. This thread is absolutely for those awaiting test results too. It's a very worrying time. Hopefully we can wave you goodbye soon though.

royal you do make me laugh, typing as bad as ever!

It is great news indeed TQ, I hope you have something in mind for a little treat to self this evening!

Wow tq 20% is amazing!!! It's a huge reduction. I'm so pleased and hopeful it continues to work. It brought a little tear to my eye. But a happy one - just after I've seen Leslie's dad's message on fb about her funeral so it's cheered me right up.

That's so encouraging, TQ, I'm really happy to hear that!

Really great to read about your shrinkage TQ

Hi molly sorry you find yourself here, but welcome all the same. Waiting for results is so hard

MrsRhod do you get your results on the spot?

Great news on the shrinkage tq.

I am having the strangest reaction so far to Chemo. I had my third session on Tuesday and felt totally spaced out last night (was asleep by 9) and can't even contemplate getting out of bed this morning. Yesterday on the other hand I made my Pilates class and even had a glass of wine when my eldest son and wife popped round. I find it hard not knowing how I will feel from day to day!

Makes it difficult to plan doesn’t it Snows. I would guess it’s good to grab those moments when you do feel up to Pilates and wine even if it’s not following a predictable pattern, and listen to your body.

I got a call yesterday about my outstanding result, and I am officially triple negative. I understood that this was quite a bad diagnosis but my consultant said don’t be too concerned - ideally you’d want to be ER+ but given that I’m not, HER2- is not a particularly bad thing. So I guess there’s no point in stressing over that.

I got ants in my pants yesterday and just couldn’t settle to anything. Didn’t know where I wanted to sit, didn’t have anything I wanted to watch, couldn’t fancy any food, all very meh and annoying. Hoping for more peace or activity being possible today.

Brassica I know what you mean about the ants in the pants syndrome. I have had days like that too as well as some days when shifting myself from my laptop and couch seemed impossible. Not physically so much as mentally.

I am totally confused by the results thing. My tumour turned out to be ER+ and HER2+ I had no idea before surgery that they would be testing for these so it was a bit of a shock to hear that I would be getting Herceptin and Paclitaxel afterwards. They may well have explained this but there is so very much information coming at you it is hard to take it all in. I had sort of thought it was a bad thing to be positive for ER and HER-2 Well ,come to think of it, none of it is good is it.

I hope you get a better day today.

Ants in pants seems to be the thing. I have spent most of the past 12 hours reading obscure boards on MN as I can't concentrate on anything else, at least it's bedtime here now.

Evening everyone.

Feeling a bit weird from my anti-d withdrawal, and have found it hard to look at screens for the last couple of days, but wanted to come and say hello.

Great to hear good news from TQ AND iVampire.

So glad you got the all-clear 2018: hopefully you've skipped off into the sunset by now.

Hello to new people waiting for tests/ results. We all know it's the pits!

purple the attached picture is how I see you in my head.

I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be having my rituximab this week, but the hospital haven't sent an appointment through. I'm starting to get the feeling that I've slipped a long way back on my doctor's list of priorities. I suppose that's a good thing, broadly.

TQ. Brilliant news about the tumour size reduction x

Oh of course Toofar, I remember you mentioning your mum on a previous thread Well I hope your weekend was at least bearable

Snow I always found that days 3, 4 and 5 after chemo were the worst days then I slowly started picking up after that

Oh wow! Miles I didn't realise those wheelchair things existed! I'll definitely have to look into them. Macmillan did put some stabilisers on it just incase I somehow managed to wheel too fast and flip myself over. No chance of that, I'm lucky if I can push myself faster than 3 miles an hour

TQ and iVampire, I'm so pleased to hear about your results. Nice to get some good news here! Waves to Royal and MrsRhod.

Purple, had Seaham run out of ice cream? Or is there just nowhere to buy it there? When I was home at Easter we went to Shields for Minchella's :) I laughed when I saw they had teeny bottles of Monkeys' Blood with fancy schmancy labels for sale - I didn't ask the price, but I suspect it would have been a huge mark up. Eeeh, gentrification or what!

Meercat, HER2+ used to be 'worse' (hesitating to use 'bad', 'worse', 'better,' as you say, it's all shite) but in the last 10 years or so, Herceptin has made a massive difference, and there's two other approved targeted treatments for HER2 now, with more in the pipeline (pertuzumab - which I think all women with HER2 BC get in England) and neratinib. Added to the targeted hormonal treatments, HER2+/and hormone+ BC now has one of the best outcomes. The Americans - AJCC - recently changed their staging guidelines taking into consideration the type of BC as well as tumour size, node involvement etc, and downgraded several stages. It would make my initial Stage 3a dx into a Stage 2 dx - I'll take that! - although I'm not sure at which point it would apply. Anyway, that's a waffly way to say that HER2 is certainly not the bleak dx it once was. Brought home to me very sharply at one point by my surgeon basically saying he wouldn't have fancied my chances 10 years earlier - they do have a way with words...

Hope everyone is having as nice a Sunday as they can. I'm going out with DSD and DS for a curry later and then back for Line of Duty.

Hi all,
Sorry I'm not great at keeping up with threads!

I had a PET scan on Friday, won't go to MDT until this Friday so the earliest I might hear anything is the following week. Waiting to find out the plan of action is agonising.
A small part of me is worried that we're wasting time and should have just cracked on with chemo. But I have to keep hopeful.

I hope there are some distractions possible from the waiting shestood. It must be hard.

Just remembering rawroar was waiting for news, did you hear back?

I’m on 6 days post first EC chemo and have been floored by weakness for the last three days or so. Literally unable to move from the bed. I laugh at myself now for thinking the first session wasn’t so bad! I hadn’t really appreciated that how you are on days 1 and 2 mean nothing. Did anyone else find themselves the same, and if so does this tend to repeat in subsequent cycles?

Brassica. At my first meeting with my oncologist I asked whether I’d still be fit enough to go to the gym. How she kept a straight face I do not know. I had 7 cycles before surgery. Think the first 3 were EC. I also had the GSF injections for about 10 days after each chemo. I had horrible joint pain from about day 3 to day 6. By cycle 4 I could stand it no more and got prescription cocodamol from the GP. This definitely helped me get through the rest of the cycles.

I’ll be honest and say I only had one “good” week between each cycle which was the third week.

However not everyone is the same and there are some people who still manage to exercise and go to the gym. (Although I would have avoided a gym anyway as I was having chemo through the winter and didn’t want to increase my risk of cold/flu as gyms can be quite germy places).

Flippy even the icecream shops looked rubbish! I've never been to Shields, might give that a go next time

Brassica I was the same on days 4/5 with no energy at all. I had chemo every 3 weeks and found it either got easier or I got tougher as it didn't seem as bad towards the end

I'm back in hospital despite having a stoma and only 3 quarters of a bowel I have another fistula. Waiting for the surgeon to come round to see what's happening but he said he's not sure there's anything he can do and he'll refer me back to my oncologist, no idea what he's going to do as he said not to see him anymore

Oh purple, god that sounds horrible. Are you in pain? You poor thing. It sounds mistaken to refer you back to the oncologist when this is more of a physical problem. I guess he’s thinking that’s the HCP who has most recent case history but still... I hope you are being kept comfortable and have someone with you.

Sorry to hear that Purple. I hope you've got some good pain relief. Puzzled as to why you would be referred back to the oncologist... it's surely a surgical matter. I hope you get some progress soon.

Sorry to hear that Purple. I hope they manage to sort it quickly for you.

Hello everyone, brassica thanks for asking after me. I had some very unexpectedly good news yesterday. The pathology department sent my biopsy for a second opinion and they have decided it is not melanoma at all. Still have to have 12 weekly skin checks and be very vigilant etc but unbelievably relieved and shocked.

Sending strength to everyone. Thanks for being such a supportive safe place to talk about cancer. It made a huge difference to me.

That is brilliant new RawRoar. So pleased for you.

News!

That is fantastic rawroar, I remember how scared you were and so glad the news is good. Let’s hope we don’t need to see you in here again!