Cancer Support Thread #71 - here to help if you’re dealing with cancer in any shape or form, come in and say hello.

[Brassica]

Hi again everyone and welcome to the 71st new thread for cancer support.

All those who are currently being treated, have been treated in the past, have worries and concerns and/or are having tests are very welcome to pull up a chair and chat, vent, rant, pour hearts out, share milestones and anything else! We are a very friendly and all-too experienced bunch on here and there are no questions too small or silly to ask.

Our previous thread is here .

Anyone with any type of cancer (female or male) 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've got a loved one with cancer then your best place for support is probably on the Life-Limiting Illness board.

Please can I invite current members to reintroduce yourselves below for latest situations and stories so far.

snows so good to hear from you and that sounds like very high tech bandaging....I'm impressed!
Fingers crossed that you lose the drains double quick and are soon adjusting to the new you xx

Snows, great to hear that you are feeling perky and the op went well. And you'll be out on Monday, that's amazing! It was me asking about bald scalp care, thanks for the tips!

I've reported the 2 posts above....

Snows. Lovely to hear from you. Sounds as if all going well so far.

WTF. Good to hear that you are feeling good and even better that you bare approaching the half way mark. From now on you will always have fewer sessions to come than you have already completed. I know that sounds daft but counting down like that helps me to get through

Sorry to see posts here that needed top be reported. Thankfully I didn't see them but I hope they didn't upset anyone

I am experiencing a bit of mild skin reaction to the Rads. Nothing major but a sore under the breast that was treated. So far keeping it moisturised a a little nit of hydrocortisone is helping but thank goodness this didn't happen in last weeks extreme heat. That would have been very unpleasant

Little bit of hydrocortisone!! If there was a little nit under there no wonder it is sore!!

meercat the reportable posts were just some spam and nothing specific to us here....I think they had appeared on other threads too.
Hope your irritating nit clears up soon 😂 Did they prescribe the hydrocortisone for you?
I can't wait to be counting down. I've just had my pre chemo blood test so fingers crossed all is well with the results and it can go ahead on Monday. With living on my own, it's a bit of a palaver getting support in place for chemo week and involves military precision planning so doubly annoying if I get a delay. However, to quote Love Island, it is what it is....

8WTF99* It is what it is.... is my breast care nurse's favourite saying
Snows glad to hear you are out the other side of the operation. I hope you are comfortable.
miles fingers are crossed for you.

I've had a bad couple of days with additional family stress that I could do without. I've also got a chest infection and they have given me some heavy duty antibiotics to clear it before surgery. My GP rang me today, she's just had the breast clinic letter and she was so lovely I nearly cried. Says I can ring her any time and if I continue to struggle with sleep she will prescribe. She has forewarned me that because they are having to do surgery first when they would have preferred to do chemo first they may want to do a mastectomy instead of lumpectomy. I just want what will give me the best outcome but of course it's a much bigger op.
Cried today for the first time since finding the lump 5 weeks ago.

Have you told your DC yet Skap? That was the worst part for me tbh. My boys (20s) visited me in hospital yesterday but I suggested DD (16) waited until today. I'm out of the hospital gown and wandering around in my PJs now so will just look normal to her. It must be horrible, having just got your head around Chemo, being told it's surgery first. Everyone's treatment plan is so different you just have to trust your medical team.

WTF I hope you are good for Chemo on Monday.

Meercat hope the cream works, you seem to be knocking off your treatment sessions nicely. I'm glad my radiation treatment will be finished before Australian Summer kicks in!

Waves to everyone else x

Oh Skap, sorry you had a sad and stressful day yesterday (but glad your GP was lovely). Hope today is better.
How are you feeling today Snows? Hope you are reasonably comfortable.
Crossing fingers WTF's bloods are hale and hearty, and that meercat's sore bit clears up quickly.

I am absorbed in a proper grown-up novel for almost the first time since I had surgery at the end of May, Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls. It's a brutal story (retelling of the Trojan War) but so well written.

meercat23 thank you so much, it does sound very similiar to yours, so gives me an insight into what to might be happening.

WTF99 and Bloodybridget, thanks a mill for the kind words and reassurance.

It means so much to me and I really appreciate you all taking the time to post.

Sorry to hear you have an infection Skap, you didn't need that on top of everything else.

Snows, hope you are feeling ok today, telling my ds1 was really hard, and he didn't take it well, but he's been a superstar since as has his girlfriend and many more, ds2 is disabled so that has been harder but he knows I'm sick and will be out of the house more than usual soon so he's prepared for that.

Bloodybridget you have inspired me to look out an old favourite, probably the shellseekers or a Barbara Erskine and park myself and read

Thanks again everyone and hope all imminent results are good.

Hello. Basically was diagnosed with tonsil cancer at the end of June this year. I had no symptoms and only went to the doc because a neck lymph node flared up. After a week’s worth of antibiotics did not shift it, I was then referred via a 2week rapid referral to ENT where a needle biopsy of neck lump came back as positive for metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. A subsequent PET-CT found the primary to be my left tonsil.

An effigy tonsil!

So far my clinical classification is T1/T2N1M0

I’m 42 and have a 6year old boy.

A couple of days ago I had both tonsils out,, 8 biopsies taken from around my oropharynx and a left neck dissection.

I need morphine to swallow. After I heal I’ll have radiotherapy to look forward to.

Don’t care - as long as it gives me more time with my boy and my poor partner.

Hi @fatandlumpy - so sorry you find yourself here, but welcome.

You sound to have had a really tough couple of months, and it must be miserable being in pain when you swallow.

Are you still in hospital or have you been allowed home?

Thanks @Toofaroutallmylife.

Yeah, op was on the first and I was let home on the second. Been spaced out on morphine since I got back, but as I said, i’m hoping the pain will be worth it. My neck is 3times it’s normal size though as the surgeon also took most of my left cervical lymph nodes.

Here’s wishing everyone the swiftest and best responses to all our treatments.

Xxx

fatandlumpy welcome to the thread. I've only been on here a couple of weeks but everyone is very supportive in spite of each going through difficult times. I hope you have good friends and family to help out.
Snow How are you today? How didyour DD take it? Will you be in hospital long? I wonder whether they do things differently in Oz, here they seem very keen to discharge asap. I told my boys and it's a relief. They took it quite well and I've promised to keep them fully in the loop from now on.
ellenanora5 did you get a clearer idea of the plan? How is your wound?

I'm usually an avid reader of crime and thrillers, just as I like a bit of gritty tv. At the moment all I can manage to read are gentle rom coms (thank you Katie Fforde). As for TV it's repeats ofThe Durrells and Lewis rather than Killing Eve.

f&l sorry to see you here. Sounds like you're not having a very nice time at all. Hope you're feeling more comfortable soon.

I'm having a nice weekend prior to my first dose of taxotere, with herceptin and perjeta, tomorrow, assuming Friday bloods were ok. I must admit I'm a bit anxious about what side effects I'm going to be getting. It's hard knowing that I'm deliberately subjecting myself to feeling crap!
I'm also undecided about cold capping this time.....found it really tough on the last treatment. My daughter is coming with me tomorrow and is staying with me tonight so we can get there in time....I'll talk it over with her later.

Have a good day everyone

fatandlumpy, gosh that must be agony for you and so uncomfortable, like Skap I've only been here a couple of weeks and the support here is wonderful, how has your little boy been since you were diagnosed.

Skap the wound on my breast is ok still a bit sore and stings quiet a bit, but I now have some sort of swelling under my arm, I think it's fluid, it's very uncomfortable but hopefully I can get it sorted soon.

I'm glad your boys took the news well, I'm sure they will be an amazing help to you, how's the infection, have the antibiotics made a difference yet.

Hope everyone is doing ok today.

Hi Skap - yes i’ve Got truly wonderful friends and my MiL is down to help with my boy and OH. I am very lucky.

Thank you WTF99 as well. I feel like 1/2 my throat has been ripped out, which it has, but thank God for our NHS.

Ellen, we haven’t told our little boy everything. He knows that one of my tonsils was bad and so i’ve had to get it removed. We’re going to use the C word until I start radiotherapy. We’ve been spoiling him rotten these past few weekends as his Birthday was the 16th of July.

X

Ah was he, it's great that you could spoil him, he deserves it, we all do

Glad you have great support around you, I've been very lucky that way too.

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today so I think I'll try get out for a walk in a bit, get some fresh air into me, clear the fog a bit.

I haven't been posting recently but have been lurking. I have been doing the absolute "no no" which is turning to "Dr Google". I know it's wrong :( I had my second operation on Friday and hoping for a clear enough margin so I can move onto rads. I had the results from the last operation - and whilst I got a complete radiological response - under the microscope a tumour was removed and 10 lymph nodes affected which has sent me into a bit of a tail spin. Just keep on focussing on that number - TEN!!!! Even found a calculator last night that actually works out your percentage of it coming back and of course I entered my details. Trying to keep busy today and not do anymore indulgently morbid searches

Oh gib - stay off Google! How are you feeling physically since the op? Take care and try not to worry before you have conversations with doctors. Fatand lumpy hello, welcome, very sorry you are having to go through this and are in such pain atm, hope it eades within a few days. Greetings to everyone else, wishing you all whatever you need most right now, whether it's a good result from a test, a nice outing, or some bloody side effect fucking right off.

I have had a gorgeous day with DP and a friend at an RHS garden, which was looking just amazing. There was a flower show on and we stayed till the end and got several bargain plants!

Hi all. Sorry you've been finding things so tough skap, and hope you're improving quickly snows. Glad to hear you've had a good day bridget.
Welcome f&l, hope we can all help you to keep going.
Good wishes to everyone else.
I have had a much better weekend than the last one with the chemo side effects. The different anti sickness meds (Endem) have definitely helped. I've still been feeling crap, but nowhere near as bad as last time. I'm also getting more tired now, however I am more than half way through the chemorads now so will start counting down soon.
Have just had a conversation with DP about what we're going to eat when I can taste anything (other than metal) again. I have a mental list of curries, afternoon tea in various places and fish and chips by the sea.
I'm another who cannot read or watch anything gritty or challenging at the moment. ITV3 seems to show endless Miss Marple, Poirot etc and I've been watching them when I can stay awake.

I'm on the unit....bloods all good so treatment going in though will be here ages as new drugs have to go in slowly. About to habe the hat of doom which I'm dreading but will give it a go again.
Hope everyone else is ok today.

WTF thinking of you with the hat of doom. I hated it with a (cold) passion but it did work for me. My hair has thinned but not so anyone else can see.

Red it is so good when the taste buds start working again. For me it was about 2-3 weeks after chemo ended that it started to come back and I can taste most things now except for chocolate which still tastes like lard. That is probably not such a bad thing though!!