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

Hi skap - I've been keeping a bit of a low profile, as have been unwell most of the last 3 weeks. Only started to feel "normal" on Monday - then back for round 3 of chemo today! Hoping this round will be better than the last one - anyone with a cough or cold has been told not to visit!

Was really upset this morning, as the nurse said that my hair is so thin she would have to pad out the bald bits if I went ahead with the cold cap. In some ways it's easier to hear it from them, as it's taken the decision to continue out of my hands, but it's still upsetting. Will be going to get a wig soon! Unsure what colour my hair will be when it comes back- I've been dying it for so long that I don't know what my natural hair colour is (probably white).

Wishing everyone a calm and relaxed weekend.

@Borntobeamum I am so sorry about your friend. Nothing I can say apart from that, it is just awful.
@Squiffy01 that's a real shame that the family in Australia are letting you down. Having offered, they should have made sure they could do it. Pants!

Chemo no.5 done . ( only had 4 really as had to miss last week but it’s still counted )
Appointments made for next 3 weeks . Bloods and chemo on same day . That suits us better .
Wig collected . I feel like Cousin It wearing it as it’s bigger than my hair but I am sure if I take it to my hairdresser after Christmas she can style it a bit for me . Hair is definitely thinning but not coming out in clumps yet .
I am on my bed under my heated faux fur throw ( try saying that fast 3 times) .
DD2 arrives home from London tomorrow morning . She says she is free of her cold . Let’s hope so .
Zorgo I had cold capping taken out of my hands as it tipped me in hypothermia and I had to be warmed up !
As you say ,it can be better to be told and not to have to make the decision .
Rumred weird that I had the dream of unpleasant staff member and you had the reality . Crikey my dream upset me enough without it happening in real life . Chin up chicken , most people you come across will be stars .
Borntobeamum I have been to two funerals in the last month both people my age ( but I am 67 ) it’s so hard .
Skap hope your skin settles soon .
I started a cold sore at lunch time but was able to ice it straight away and get Zovirax on it and i think it has receded !

@Zorgothslugofdoom what a shame the cold capping hasn't worked. I never started it and shaved my head when the hair started to shed. It never fell out completely and I now have a fuzz of patchy regrowth. I had about 70% grey before but it seems to be completely white now. I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how good the wigs are. I have two, a short crop and a chin length bob. Both in shades of silver grey. Other people say they look nice but they are a little bouffant compared to my real hair. Hope you have a better time this cycle.

Trumpton glad you got done and have your feet up now.

Hi I posted on here a couple of times about a year ago as I was diagnosed with caecal cancer. After a right hemi colectomy I was lucky to learn that it was stage 1 and I haven’t needed chemo. It’s been a tough year with anxiety but thanks to Macmillan I have had some psychotherapy which has really helped.
Tomorrow I have my one year colonoscopy again and it’s been a difficult week as the appointment is the exact same as last year and I’m so nervous about going back there.
Reading about everyone else and how they cope is so comforting, thank you 😊

MY hair LHS and wig on RHS . It needs trimming but it’s ok . I am not fishing for compliments but am surprised at how I feel about it .

@Trumpton that looks ace. Not what I expected, certainly not 'wig like'
@Borntobeamum how horrible for you. So sorry
@Allnightlong2016 it's the stress and anxiety that are flooring me at the moment. Glad macmillan have helped. I want to drink myself into oblivion but I know it won't help

I treat myself to a can of no alcohol g&t with ice and a slice . Tesco and M&S are good .

trumpton - I love your wig!

Naomi hope your DS's appointment went OK yesterday.
Zorgoth chemo is so hard, you just have to think that it's bashing hell out of any cancer cells that have the cheek to be hanging around (not that I was able to think like that when I was going through it). Sorry about your hair
Trumpton the wig looks great! So does your own hair, and I hope it comes back just as lovely. So it that your penultimate chemo done?
Allnightlong thinking of you today and hoping everything is just fine. Will you have to wait for results or can they give you an indication straight away?

My hair is growing quite well now, it almost deserves the name "hair", and I'm using shampoo again! But people still fall over themselves to offer me a seat on public transport, which DP reckons is down to the tell-tale bald margins/cap. I'm walking much more, went to a fab concert last night and wasn't home till after 10.30 (gasp).

Trumpton the wig looks great and not at all wiggy. From those pictures of you hadn't said which was your hair and which was the wig it wouldn't have been obvious. Great colour match.

Skap and Bridget. Glad to hear that your hair is growing back. The whole colour thing is quite strange. As you know I did cold cap so didn't lose that much but when it first started to come through my hairdresser could see silver corkscrew curls. What seems to be coming through now, especially around the edges where the cold cap didn't quite cover is very dark tufts. I used to be dark brunette many moons ago but haven't seen that colour in my hair for years. Who knows how it will settle but quite frankly who cares. Colour is the easiest thing to fix but I did quite like the idea of silver corkscrews!

Zorgo new hair does seem to start regrowing quite quickly meanwhile I hope you find a wig that you are pleased with I hope the effects of this round settle quickly and is much less stressful and unpleasant than the last one.

Allnightlong thinking of you today. I can understand the horrible Deja Vu feeling. I hope all goes well and that they can reassure you very quickly.

I shall be cooking our Christmas turkey tomorrow as my DD and DGS are coming over for the christmas pressie swap and they fly out to Boston on Christmas day. I am doing the turkey as DGS loves the leftovers and turkey sandwiches bit so they can still have some of that before they go away.

I hope everyone has a calm and peaceful weekend with only as much pre-Christmas hecticness as you want.

Morning all - sorry I can't remember everyone's names but someone a couple of pages ago was talking about their diagnostic pathway and the lack of communication. My experience was also terrible, and it seems I'm not alone by any means. I had investigations at two hospitals before my referral to the marsden, and the first I knew about that was the appointment letter, which arrived on a saturday. Even on the monday my gp and the radiologist from the hospital that did the biopsy were insisting that there was nothing to worry about, it was just a formality to confirm the benign diagnosis

I had my follow up appointment on thursday, where i found out that I will need radiotherapy. It's a bit of a blow as they were fairly confident the surgery alone would deal with it, but they couldn't get a good margin and it's grade 3 rather than low grade as the biopsy suggested. We're booked on a big three week holiday in january and after some discussion they're letting us still go and the radiotherapy will start in feb when we get back. I'm glad about that and hopefully we can forget about all this while we're away. Next step is a full body ct scan to rule out any spread. I'm apprehensive about this as at every stage, each investigation or procedure has found something just a little bit worse than before.

So not good news really, and I'm feeling a bit down about it all. Plus I find myself managing other people's feelings all the time. DH is taking it badly although he finds it really difficult to talk about, he has cried twice and he never cries

@meercat23 @Bloodybridget @rumred thank you. Sitting in my lovely hospital gown and very special dignity pants 🤪😂. I should have results today. I’m not planning on sedation so I can see myself, I saw the tumour last time and I need the reassurance for myself today.
Thinking of everyone not feeling their best today and everyone who’s in the middle of the Christmas rush xx

Allnightlong you can still see everything that goes on with the sedation, it is just that none of it seems so important! I mention that in case you would prefer the sedation but still want to see it all.

Oh the dignity pants ... I had managed to wipe them from my brain !

Allnightlong2016 hoping for good results for you today.

Daisy sorry to hear they didn't get clear margins. It's an unusual cancer isn't it? Perhaps that's why you got passed around? It's a shame when you need support that you find yourself propping up your family. Does your DH have anyone he could talk to?

Trumpton That wig is FABULOUS.

I had a nice surprise today.
I registered with Ellie's Friends a few weeks ago.
They do prize draws just for cancer patients. I got an email saying that my name had been drawn and I had won an Amoena headscarf.
My gift arrived in the post today and contained not one but two hats. One is the Marigold turban and the other is the Blossom headscarf. Both really lovely and beautiful quality. Way more expensive than anything I would buy . They do a range of mastectomy wear for those that might be interested.

What lovely news @Skap.
I have ordered a scrunchie hair piece that intend to dis-mantle and sew onto a beanie .

Daisy the DCIS I had was a slow diagnosis and it seemed that every appointment just gave me worse news . However now I am having chemo it feels as if things are moving in the right direction .

trumpton LOVE the wig!

But can I ask, what are the pants that you're talking about??

Skap congratulations on your win!
DaisyBD I am sorry to hear your news. I really hope you can enjoy your holiday nonetheless, and that the results from the CT scan are fine. It's very hard trying to manage other people's feelings - if there's no-one you can talk to who can just be calm and strong for you, you might want to ask at the hospital about the possibility of counselling.

@TenaKween .
Oh the pants ! the pants ! They are for after the masectomy that will now be April time . I was About a week away from the op when the Clatterbridge Oncologist ( who visits here ) decided that the cancer was too invasive to wait and wanted me to have chemotherapy straight away rather than waiting until after the operation ...which was a mastectomy with DIEP reconstruction . The pants are control pants and are very high to cover the stomach wound . They are delightful !
There you are ....

No ! Not those ...oh for a delete button ...
Oh the dignity pants ...
Paper knickers with a back flap for, ahem, easy access for the pipe !
Oh the sheer fucking glamour of my life ...

trumpton you have a startling array of undies!! 😂

@Trumpton that's a proper high waist

Proper harvest festival pants ...All Is Safely Gathered In .

Kidney-warmers!