Cancer support thread #73 - come in, we're here for you.

[Trumpton]

Welcome to the new support thread for anyone who has cancer, at whatever stage of treatment, is worried about symptoms, or is waiting for tests or results.

This is the place to worry, moan, ask questions, share experiences and good and bad news, and celebrate milestones!

If you've got a loved one with cancer then your best place for support is probably on the Life-Limiting Illness board.

Our previous thread is HERE

Current members, please do introduce yourselves smile

I lost a tooth today. Just the start, I expect. Pretty depressing.

Pops into Patience Inn to avoid storm.
I am much more of a lurker these days.
@Bitoffun, sorry to hear about the cancer spread to your jaw. What steps will be taken regarding this? Hope you've got plenty of support in rl. Sorry about the tooth loss, having something so visual happen is shit.

@CointreauVersial, Pleasesd to see you are almost done with treatment. I've been told it's all internals only post treatment as they can feel something before they can see it and scans are not so good at picking up endo cancer. Best wishes for your final treatment next week.

@Borntobeamum, I have a genetic counselling appt coming up soon and lynch has also been mentioned. Hope your appt goes well and that the family see the checks as reassuring. My children already have three yearly checks for another condition and have coped very well with it.

@Bloodybridget, hope you continue to do well. How are you?

@redspook,do you know what will happen next regarding your tumour? Good that it has shrunk but understand how you feel about it still being there.

@skap and @Trumpton, hair twins indeed! I think of you both and am always keeping an eye on this thread willing you along.

Sorry to see so many new people here and that some of you are having issues with appointments and treatments etc. Stress on stress not great.

I'm going to start prepping breakfast at the 'Patience'. I'll have a fry up. Will stoke the fire, the wind is shocking.

Love to all

And love to you, catnidge.

I've got an appointment on Tuesday for dental surgery- they want to take a tooth and some tissue to establish what's going on. I'm hoping to avoid the worst of It by presenting my fallen soldier! Or at least get a £2 coin .

@BitOfFun really sorry about your tooth, that is crap. Hope the dental team come up with something helpful.
@catnidge thanks for asking, I am fine. Nice to see you here! I'll have a bacon roll, if you're offering!

@Bitoffun, hope they don't take another tooth! You definitely deserve a tenner not £2

@Bloodybridget, bacon sandwiches at the ready and @Bitoffun Yoghurt for you if that's what you're having today.

Just off to give the dog a quick walk, seen one tree down so will go somewhere open and not stay out too long.

Hi @catnidge - funny, I was just thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you are! Fighting fit, I hope. Thanks for the info on follow-up, but I must say I was quite surprised. In my fevered imagination, if the cancer came back it could pop up anywhere in my body (like Hungry Hippos ), because there's no uterus for it to come back to. So I couldn't see how they could be sure to pick it up with just an internal. I guess the likelyhood is it will reappear in the gynae area (what's left of it....).

@BitOfFun - oh, that's rubbish. I hope you're not in too much discomfort. Definitely demand hard cash from the tooth fairy!

I'm still in bed, munching hot cross buns and listening to the wind howling outside. Stay wrapped up warm, all of you.

Has anyone periods changed with having chemo?

@Squiffy01 yes mine stopped as soon as I started chemo (I have inflammatory breast cancer and have been on EC followed by paclitaxel + herceptin since October - I was on the previous one of these threads). No idea if they’ll come back later, the consultant did warn me the chemo would likely trigger menopause. I’m 43.

@Piggles39 thanks for the reply.
I’m three rounds down and am only 5 days late but was freaking out I was pregnant. Don’t know why cause I have had a period since we last had sex agessss ago but I just know I shouldn’t be so now I’m worried.
I didn’t get much information on how it would effect things when I asked they said they don’t really know as everyone is different. Super helpful obviously.

Well they raised it with me more in a “you weren’t planning on having a baby were you?” type way, I didn’t get any guidance on what else it might mean. I’ve been thinking I should ask more, as I’m borderline ER+ which presumably means I won’t be allowed HRT, and I’m not sure if some of my symptoms might be menopause rather than ‘just’ the chemo.

I’m popping in on this thread, having read it all, and some of the previous ones too. I have an urgent recall after first mammogram. I’m 53. I think I probably did have an earlier invitation that I didn’t take up. Feel extra bad now. I don’t have any lumps that I can feel but one breast sort of aches, and has done for a while. I’m very scared. I’m not a positive person, even at the best of times.

@daisypond sorry you find yourself here. I think for me (like many other on this thread) the waiting and not knowing is one of the hardest bits. Fingers crossed for you.

@Piggles39 yes I was told that it can effect fertility in some people. That’s all no statistics no other info. Which is a bit shit we were just about to start trying for number two when we found out. But we have one 17 month old munchkin that we are very thankful for so I’m trying to look at it in a positive which is most fine, some day I fail miserably.

Grrrrr....half way to the hospital, sitting in a jam on the M25, when I get a call to say my brachytherapy has to be postponed until tomorrow because of "missing components" for the machine. My last ever treatment, how mean!

@CointreauVersial how annoying for you! And your last one as well did they give you any indication when it will be now?

Oh that's frustrating Cointreau. Will it be on tomorrow?

daisypond Is it a repeat mammogram or a breast clinic appointment? Hopefully it's just that they haven't got a good picture. Waiting for tests and results is very stressful though. Keeping busy seems to help.

Had a hair raising trip to radiotherapy today> I have to cross the Humber bridge which I don't like at the best of times but in this wind...

Yes, it will be tomorrow afternoon, thank goodness.

Haven't posted for a while, but have been reading all of the comments to keep up.

Piggles I was on the mini pill before treatment, so didn't have periods in any case. I was told that the chemo would push me into menopause, and I have had some symptoms (hot flushes, no periods). At my age (48), they think it unlikely that my periods will return after treatment.

I've been suffering since my last chemo, and been in and out of hospital (again!). I was hoping to get through one cycle without being admitted to hospital! Still, my last round is on 21st Feb, so the end of this phase of treatment is in sight!

I'm really struggling with fatigue and eating at the moment. My mouth is really sore, so can't tolerate anything spicy or hard (even porridge is difficult), but worse is that everything tastes horrible. I have a really awful taste in my mouth all of the time, and everything tastes revolting. Has anyone got any suggestions for how to cope/what to eat? It's really getting me down, as there's nothing I want to eat, which obviously doesn't help with the fatigue!

I was wondering about you zorgo. Both pregnancies I had hyperemesis, vomiting for the full 9 months. Plain boiled rice and those milky food drinks (complan?). I ate my bodyweight in chocolate ice cream on chemo even though it tasted all wrong I found the coolness and texture soothing.

zorgo I was only thinking about you today and wondering how you're getting on.

Docetaxel is hard work. You have my utmost sympathy as the mouth/taste thing is truly ghastly and the brief mention given to it in any info on side effects really doesn't even come close to describing how horrible it is. For me it was the texture of food in my mourh which I couldn't stand, as well as the taste. I found sweet things to be marginally more tolerable, so smooth custard was good, with a bit of honey drizzled on the top. I could also tolerate tomato soup. Any semblance of healthy eating went completely out of the window and i just had whatever i could manage. I did lose quite a bit of weight on the last couple of cycles but appetite and taste buds do recover once you're off it....hang in there!

I was using a lot of difflam mouth wash as well, just to ease the mouth soreness. It's not a solution really but does give you a bit of respite.

meercat how did you get on with the cardiologist?

@CointreauVersial so sorry your last treatment was postponed, grrr! I did cry when my last chemo was delayed. Here's to this time tomorrow.

@daisypond it's horrible waiting for appointments and tests, keep posting here, you'll find lots of support.

@Zorgothslugofdoom I think the food and drink issues made me more fed up than anything else, I mean what is life if you can't enjoy eating?? For me, strong and spicy flavours often worked, but obviously not with your poor sore mouth. Can you eat bread and butter? Leek and potato soup? Does the bad taste last the whole time between treatments? You have all my sympathy.
Warm wishes to everyone here, wherever you're at.

Zorgo sorry to hear that you are having a tough time. Not too long now until the 21st and you can start saying goodbye to the side effects.

WTF Visit to the cardiologist was all good today. The echo showed that heart function is holding up well and so no need to stop the treatment. Very relieved about that.

He was not happy about the high blood pressure or swollen legs though so has prescribed a diueretic to take on top of the BP medication. He also got loads of blood tests and I have to ring his secretary on Wednesday to see if anything else is needed.

Good you're able to continue meercat. I'm hoping I'll restart once the heart meds have had an impact.

WTF Have they given you any indication of how long they expect that to take?

CointreauVersial That must have been really annoying. The M25 is a pain at the best of times, pity they couldn't have let you know before you left home. At least it is only a day but when you were looking forward to being at the end of treatment today that must have been frustrating and disappointing.

@Zorgothslugofdoom yes it’s the hot flushes which are making me think menopause (although I seem to yo-yo between being suddenly incredibly cold, and then very hot, which I’m not sure quite fits).

Food-wise, when I can’t manage anything else I’ve been having homemade banana yoghurt (just plain yoghurt, bananas and a dollop of honey blended together), milkshakes or frozen yoghurt ice lollies. The lollies are really nice when my mouth is sore. I’ve heard that frozen grapes are also good, but haven’t tried those yet.

Thanks skap,WTF, Bloodybridget, Meercat and piggles! The horrible taste seems to be constant - I'm even trying not to swallow as it is so awful! I have found soft savoury food to be the least revolting to eat - but I can't even eat bread at the moment as my mouth is so sore. The soreness is improving, so I'm hoping to manage spicy food by the end of the week, and am hoping that it will disguise the awful taste. It's so depressing because there's no escape from it, and it just makes me feel sick! My sympathies go to everyone else who has suffered from it!

Will be thinking of you tomorrow CointreauVersial - final treatment! Are you planning to celebrate?