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.

Hi everyone!
Hope the weekend is going swimmingly for all and that trumpton has made it to the wedding.

bridget was it you who said about not having bounced back as well this time? I'm definitely feeling that today and think I must be getting cumulative effects of the chemo. I feel better than this time last week but just not as well as I think I should be at this point in the cycle. Nothing specific though.

I took a walk up to the high street as there's a carnival in my town today but felt quite vulnerable and exposed so didn't stay long and now back to the safety of the sofa. I'm becoming a hermit!

Plans for tonight are takeaway with my lovely fella whilst watching strictly. I'm.looking forward to that.

Just over 4 weeks to my last chemo. 🤞.....I can't flippin wait

Trumpton, that's good that you got effective pain relief. Hope you're enjoying the wedding. ellen glad to hear you have a treatment plan, and that you should be able to fit it in with your DS. WTF yes that was me. Last time I had three really good weeks ( because chemo #3 was then delayed a week), this time I wouldn't say I've got to "good" at all. I know reactions to chemo are cumulative but I still thought I would have spells of feeling fine. It's quite manageable, of course. Have a lovely evening with your DP. Has your sense of taste improved at all? My poor DP is tired and asthmatic atm so we are a pair of old crocks!

Wedding went well . I lasted from the start to the first dance then slid quietly out . What an absolute joy to be there . I’ve been in bed about 90 mins now and going to settle down now .
Happy sleeping all of you .

Morning lovelies.
I managed to get to Florida, though 50 hours late due to Dorian. I’m happy we were able to come though very sad for those who have lost everything in the Bahamas.
I’m feeling quite strong, and so happy I e managed to come.
The heat is oppressive at times, but we have a dodge Camero convertible and we leave the hood up and make use of the air con.
Just back in the hotel after a lovely day, and we have Mango Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory!!
Love to you all x x

Mmm mango cheesecake.
Feeling much better today , dd2 went back to London on the sparrow’s fart flight this morning.
Dressing change tomorrow . A friend is driving me as DH goes away until Friday at lunchtime . He has taken some persuading to go but all I am doing is gentle walking and resting and dd1 is close by .
Hope the quietness is due to everyone being on an even keel .

Morning all!
Hope everyone is ok? I've kind of lost track of where everyone is with surgery, chemo, results etc.
I'm still having issues with my tum, after a bit of respite over the weekend. I'm seeing the oncologist tomorrow so will be discussing again but not sure what can be done. I'm hoping it will ease when the chemo finishes and it's just the targeted therapies that I'm having 🤞 Apart from that I'm doing ok really though have definitely not bounced back as well this time, similar to you bridget
My blood test is due on Friday for penultimate chemo on Monday. I will be doing very little on Thursday in the hope that the drafted neutrophils reach the required number, especially as I'll be a day early.
I've got a couple of colleagues who are mates coming over later. Is it odd to be feeling a bit nervous? It's a while since I've socialised with more than one person at a time, and they will have news of the world of work, which has become something of a distant memory. I'm sure it will be fine. I'll let you know.....
Have a good day everyone

Hey WTF, hope the resting works for your neutrophils! I have bloods tomorrow so am resting today (tho may have buggered it by cooking my lunch and emptying the dishwasher!). I can understand feeling a bit nervous about seeing work colleagues - it's like they're coming from another world, when your world/focus has changed so much. Hope it's an enjoyable visit, anyway.

Trumpton glad to hear you are feeling better. It will be good for your DH to have a break, it is hard for our families.

Borntobeamum brilliant that you are enjoying your holiday! Were you able to get travel insurance? Njot that anything untoward is going to happen!

Waving from my sunny garden at everyone.

I haven't posted for a while so have lost track of everyone - however, good wishes to all undergoing treatment or waiting.
I am now almost two weeks past the end of my treatment, and I'm only just beginning to get my head straight. I had five weeks of simultaneous chemo and radiotherapy, followed immediately by four sessions of brachytherapy. The last two weeks of the combined therapy just got worse and worse, and the brachytherapy was like torture. To be honest, I feel traumatised by it all.
I'm still suffering from side effects, and am still on anti sickness drugs. The exhaustion is getting better very slowly, and I am disciplined in getting out for a walk every day. I managed to walk for forty five minutes this morning, but have been collapsed on the sofa since I got back. I'm trying to be patient, but I just want to be stronger than this and not feel so feeble.
I can't imagine having enough energy to get through a normal day, but common sense tells me it will come.
As I got towards the end of the treatment, I was told that most people on this treatment don't manage it (the chemo in particular). That didn't make me feel any better.
Sorry about the self pity - I should feel so much more positive at this stage but I don't yet.

Trumpton glad you are resting and mending. The not driving is very frustrating.

WTF I fully understand the nervousness. Have you seen these colleagues before since you've been ill?

Bridget waves back from my sunny garden. Last year after years of trying I managed to find a gardener. I love my garden but with rheumatoid arthritis and other stuff I was finding the donkey work too much. The "gardener" cuts grass and chops things down but doesn't know a eed from a plant. I do the weeding and general pottering.

redspook my that sounds gruelling. Are you saying that most people don't actually finish the treatment? I think a 45 minute walk is a massive achievement after that lot.

I've seen a physio today about the cording. She massaged it with much brute force - ooch. It's impossible to do it correctly to myself because of the location so I have to get DH to do it. Results appointment tomorrow.......

@Skap .
Will be sending positive vibes for tomorrow .
I am healing well and can have a shower !
Had one this morning wrapped in my patented clingfilm bra but it’s good to get official . Shooting pains in boob are nerves repairing themselves .

redspook we already had insurance in place from last year when I just declared anaemia, and that’s all I had at the time. We had a yearly policy so rang to update before we risked booking. They wanted an extra £110 to cover my cancer and Left Bundle Branch Block I have it al covered. It’s with ‘Big Blue’ insurance x x

I will also be thinking about you tomorrow, skap.
Yes, I was told that most people don't finish the chemo in particular, either because their bloods aren't right or they just can't take it any more. Looking back on my lowest points (unable to walk from one hospital dept to the other, throwing up in the hospital car park), I'm not surprised.
It was much worse than I thought it would be.

Redspook, I'm so sorry you had such a horrible time with the treatment. No wonder you feel traumatised. Be gentle with yourself, you have done really well to get through it. [Flowers]

Skap good luck for results.

Hope everyone has a good night (or day for Snows).

Blimey redspook that sounds ghastly! You've done fantastically well to get through it.
skap will be thinking of you tomorrow
Fingers crossed for bloods tomorrow Bridget
trumpton good to hear you're progressing well.
born your holiday sounds amazing!
Hoping meercat brassica elen and snows are ok....and anyone I've missed.

My evening has been nice. Mates from work were lovely and we even managed to get up to the high street for some Chinese food, which I didn't think I'd be up for.

Got an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow....not sure what I'm gonna say to him. Wasnt supposed to see him until just before my last chemo in a few weeks but the nurses booked me in for an extra appointment as I think they were not happy with the state of my poor tum when they last saw me.

Sleep well everyone....zzz....

Oh so you don't see your oncologist before every chemo, WTF? Does he tweak your meds if necessary without seeing you, or can someone else who has talked to you do that?

I'm pleased I slept through till 5 this morning, just had my nighttime extra breakfast of tea and toast! Back to bed soon. Hope everyone else is comfortable and peaceful.

WTF. Hope your oncologist is able to tweak things so that you don't have such a nasty time with each treatment.

Skap. I hope you get the very best results possible today. The massage fir the cording sounds unpleasant. I hope it has worked though.

Trumpton. The cling film wrapping for a shower is genius. I wish I had heard about that earlier this summer. Would definitely have tried that.

Born. Your insurance has done well by you. Mine just told me that I would not be covered for anything cancer related but as we are only going to France and Portugal we will be covered anyway by the EU arrangements. Well until Brexit anyway!!

Redspook. Your treatment sounds very tough indeed. I am not surprised that people cant get through it. I am in awe of you walking for 45 minutes . No wonder you were exhausted.

All going on OK here. Anastrazole side effects not any worse. Hair still shedding gently. To be honest I am probably a bit paranoid about it now but I will ask when I see the oncologist in a couple of weeks. The hot flushes are bearable. Finding it more difficult to cope with some of the family stuff at the moment. Nothing I can do but it is hard. I seem to be very emotional about it all but that is probably getting mixed up with suppressed emotion about all the cancer related stuff too.

Hope today goes well for everyone.

Oh meercat....so sorry about your family stuff. I hope things feel better soon.

Just out from my oncology appt. He has given me codeine to try to bung me up. He also said that I won't have to continue with the perjeta after the chemo finishes as I wasn't node positive. I'll be continuing just with the herceptin into next year. This is good news as it's the perjeta which upsets my tum and it means I'll only be getting it another 2 times....think I can cope with that! Just to say that i have a friend who is on it long term and doesn't have this issue, so its not inevitable.....guess ive just been unlucky.

I'm off for a pedicure now

Hi everyone

Skap, do let us know how the results appointment went and we all have everything crossed for good news.

Redspook, it’s good to see you back on here. Your treatment sounds like a medieval form of torture so I bet you are glad to be out the other side. It is really impressive that you got through it all when most people don’t. You’re obviously made of tough stuff .

Meercat, sorry to hear about the ongoing family heartache. Is the ex-SIL making things hard for your daughter? I hope they can find a way to make the split as quick and amicable as possible, it must be hard to watch from the sidelines.

Snows how are you getting on with rads? How does it compare to chemo for you?

Diary, yes I’ve got TNBC like you. I hope you get the date for your surgery soon so you can have something to aim at and feel more under control. Same to you Alphaecho.

Mustard when do you get your results from your op?

WTF, sounds good that you can drop perjeta if that’s what’s making you so poorly. You’ve more than done your stint with tummy troubles. Good luck for penultimate chemo next week. You have managed to sneak ahead of me as I’ve got stuck on waiting for the ante-penultimate. 13 down, but number 14 postponed again yesterday because of neutrophils this time. Honestly it’s like whack a mole - my platelets were perfect yesterday but now something else has decided to defy me. We will try again on Friday so please cross fingers that all blood components play ball this time.

Skap, how's the cording feeling today?

Shouts out for a few people we haven’t seen for a bit. Are you ok?
@MilesJuppIsMyBitch
@kepisback
@fatandlumpy
@porolli
@BenWillbondsPants

Oh hiya!

@brassica

I’m fine - started radio on Monday and just off to catch the bus to get zapped again tonight. Will report properly soon. Apologies for not checking in - been busy trying to fight for my job etc... but more details on that later

Much love all round!

Xxx

Thanks for all the good wishes.
All good news!
Well after a sleepless night and a 1 1/2 hour drive I was finally seen two hours after my appointment time. I can't get annoyed because the doctor just takes ages with every patient, me included but it was a stressful wait.
The lymph nodes were clear and she got clear margins. The cancer itself had been measured as 13mm on the scan but in reality it was only 7mm but was embedded in a large area of DCIS. She removed the DCIS as well as the lump.
I now wait for an oncology appointment. Apparently I am borderline for chemotherapy (not normally given if the lump is under 5mm). I am HER2+ and Herceptin is only licensed to be given with chemo so for that reason it will probably go ahead.
Phew.
The cording is getting worse. Doctor seemed unconcerned and I have to do exercises and massage.

Oh wonderful news for you . Hooray for clear margins !

Cording sounds horrible. I am a week behind you and have been waiting all day for your news .
I felt great yesterday but have definitely done too much today as dh is away !
But had a lovely drive out this morning .

That's good news Skap, though I'm sorry if you have to have chemo, and about the cording.

On my way home from oncology appointment, long waits for that and bloods - oncologist says the thing about resting boosting neutrophils is a load of nonsense! So apologies for passing it on!

That's great news skap, you must feel so encouraged (although I'm sorry it looks like you are facing chemo). That's a major step forward.
Thanks all for your positive comments - it's easy to forget that the treatment is over as in many ways I feel that I'm still in the middle of it.
Think I need to have a word with myself, as there are so many on here who I am sure would like to be where I am now.

skap clear lymph nodes is very good news indeed! And fab that they got it all out.
I must admit I thought chemo was a given for her2+ (but I'm certainly no expert) and yes definitely if you're gonna have herceptin which has been a game changing drug for women with this kind of cancer.. I know I've moaned a lot about chemo but honestly it is entirely doable and if it gives you the best cbance of not having to go through this nightmare again then definitely go for it and dont be worried. Sounds like you and i are in similar positions exceot my lump was a bit bigger so no debate for me re chemo. .
Hope you get a nice oncologist. Mine has the personality of a mattress.....but I think he knows his stuff so....

And skap 're the rcording, don't underestimate the effectiveness of passive stretching.....arm stretched over the back of the sofa whilst you're watching tv for 15 mins or so....so that it's a bit uncomfortable but not actually painful....I'm sure that's what sorted it for me...and I have lots of respect for physios...have worked with them most of my professional life...