Cancer support thread #76 - newbies welcome!

[Bloodybridget]

Here's the next thread for anyone at any stage of cancer, from noticing a possibly warning sign, through tests and scans, diagnosis, treatment and beyond. Come on in for advice, sympathy and support.
The last thread is here.

If you've been on a previous thread, please come and say hello and introduce yourself!

If you are a relative or friend of someone with cancer and looking for support, please look for other threads; there is one in Life-limiting illness for partners - link to latest. This one is for cancer patients ourselves.

Hello to everyone.

I was diagnosed in June with stage 2 colorectal cancer - admitted as an emergency with a bowel perforation. I'm in my 40s with 4 youngish children. I am halfway through 6 months of oral chemo, and then will have a further 3 months shielding after that. I'm plodding along!

Great to see some good news. That's brilliant about your scan @TopOfTheCliff. Glad the surgery went well @Lizdeflores and hope you are getting lots of rest. And glad you can finally see light at the end of the tunnel @Trumpton.

I hope the surgery goes well @Fuckmyliferightnow. I always think it must be so hard for those of you who are waiting for surgery. At least an emergency admission didn't give me any chance to think about things before they happened. I found it hard initially not to let my brain go into overdrive with "what ifs".

@Starmer I think I would have preferred to go in straight away. I have to isolate for another 2 weeks before surgery. In the mean time I've convinced myself that it's spreading. I'm sure it hasn't but I don't trust anything anymore.

My dentist was great about fitting me in @Acinonyx2 - chemo seemed to be the magic word!

And I agree about the isolating. My oncologist said we needed to be "sensible" about shielding - so DH goes to work (hospital) and the children are all at school, but I'm kind of stuck in the house. It's certainly looking tidier! We're all in the ONS Covid study at the moment, so weekly swabs for now and then go down to monthly after next week. DS2 has opted out (despite the financial incentive!) but it does give me some peace of mind that we are all getting tested regularly.

The dentist had kicked me off their NHS list so they have fitted me in as a private patient

That must have been scary Starmer! Dh had a total colectomy so we have some experience with those parts.

Morning all

I hope you're all doing ok. Nice to see some positive news this week for some of you.

I think I'm coming down with a cold. The hospital weren't too worried yesterday (infection markers still low) but I can't help feel a bit worried. No temperature yet, just that scratchy feeling at the back of my throat. Yesterday I was very sick when I woke up. The doctor said the scarring from the mucositis means that it's harder to digest some foods - so roast lamb is now off the menu. Legs are still weak - just standing making a cup of coffee is really hard going. I don't have a lot of patience with myself and keep having to remind myself it's early days still

@Acinonyx2 as part of my pre-transplant assessment I was sent to the hospital dental clinic rather than my own private dentist. They whipped out a wisdom tooth a few days later. So maybe ask the hospital if they can fit you in.

Hi everyone.

I have colon cancer, no symptoms, picked up by chance during a routine monitoring scan for a previous ovarian episode. (Not cancer, but pre-cancerous for some.) Stage 2, like Starmer, but at the riskier end of the spectrum because, even tho' no perforation, the tumour was more active than it looked on the scan.

Oral chemo, discontinued half way through because of Covid. Onc said the maximum benefit is in the early cycles, so, fingers crossed he's right.

In limbo atm, waiting for results of CT scans, first check-up. Colonoscopy clear. Phone call consultation on Thurs, unless it turns out to be a Macmillan-nurse-with-box-of -tissues scenario. and they ask me in for a face-to-face consultation. Tbh, I'd prefer phone, whatever the result. Hate any sort of drama.

I'm the oldest on the thread, so far, with 3 grown-up dcs and 5 gcs. Much easier to cope with a cancer diagnosis at my age, and no dp. My biggest fear is dementia and not being able to look after myself. I'm a news-junkie so plenty to keep me diverted while I wait.

@Starmer - my dd and family are also part of the ONS survey. Youngest dgs - 11 - has already worked how many Ferrero Roche he can buy with his earnings.
@InOtterNews - mucositis sounds wretched. I ate a lot of M&S mandarin jelly, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and Ambrosia Rice with tinned pears when I was on a stomach-friendly diet.

Hello all, and welcome to @Acinonyx2 and @Fuckmyliferightnow. Wishing you both as easy a passage through treatment as possible.
@Lizdeflores I hope you're home, resting and comfortable. Have you got a stapled foot long scar? Be assured mine settled down to a very neat, pale, flat line within a few months!
@TopOfTheCliff excellent news that the vile chemo has done its stuff. Have you got a date for surgery?
@Zorgothslugofdoom I am sorry you have the anxiety about your thyroid. When will you get the scan and biopsy results?
@citybumpkin good luck with starting rads.
@Starmer it must be feeling like a long six months taking oral chemo, and having to shield. So all being well, you'll be out and about in April, more or less?
@Trumpton that sounds like a very good decision and I hope you don't have to wait too long for the surgery to happen. Weighing up peace of mind against having a bosom, no contest!
@InOtterNews it's a hard time for you, so sorry you were sick. Hope you can find things to eat that are easier to digest, and that you start feeling stronger soon. You need a maid!
Hoping @BitOfFun is doing OK. And all the other oldies from the last thread, plus everyone here that I haven't namechecked.

My lung surgeon told me this morning that the tumour she removed three weeks ago was a metastasis from my ovarian cancer, as she had expected - and I was pretty sure that would be the case. On the plus side, I don't have to have the rest of the lobe removed. I have a face to face appointment with my oncologist tomorrow afternoon; right now I don't feel too terrified/pessimistic - what I'm hoping for is that I won't need any more treatment for the time being, and that I have a reasonable interval before anything else happens. Like, two years, maybe?

Hello, please can I join the thread?

I found a lump in my breast back in August. Two biopsies later, they diagnosed a DCIS and I had a lumpectomy. Then results came back and it had become invasive, so today I went in for a "scrape" (why is the language so brutal?!) and sentinel lymph node biopsy which also came back positive so they removed up to level 2.

I am now back home with a drain, still sore despite the oramorph, and awake in bed at 5am having not slept at all. I am just finding all this really hard to digest - all along the way everyone has said they thought it was nothing and then all of a sudden it seems to be something. There's a wait of two weeks for results (apart from HER2 which I should know this week) but I have been told to expect chemo and radiotherapy.

I am 44, have a seven year-old DS and I have ulcerative colitis, for good measure. It is probably just because it is the early hours and I am uncomfortable but I feel so overwhelmed and scared.

Sorry - having read this thread I know that there are so many with far worse and harder diagnoses than me. It's pretty mind blowing to read the bravery on here.

@AlbertCampion
Your diagnosis sounds a familiar drip diagnosis to mine .
I never really had the bombshell that some people have just the gradual worsening of news .
I am a year ahead of you . Take heart . It will come right .
Always post on here there will be someone to hold your hand .

Thank you @Trumpton. Now it's day time I'm feeling a bit better but still generally wobbly. Nights are definitely the worst! This seems like such a supportive group - so glad I have found you.

@AlbertCampion
Wobbly is fine ,it’s a frightening time !

@AlbertCampion the gradual news is extremely draining. I'm about a month or so ahead of you. I find the overwhelmingness comes in waves - I'm feeling a bit calmer now the bulk of the 'news' stage is over so hopefully you will get to a plataeu of no news is good news. Also I've just exhausted my capacity to be terrified.

@AlbertCampion hello to a fellow IBD sufferer.I have had crohns for 26 years. Since ovarian cancer that has slipped down the scale of importance, I miss the simple days of being just a gastro patient!.
@Bloodybridget sorry to read your news my thoughts are with you x
I'm back home Thank you for all the well wishes I couldn't reply because I wasn't making any sense for a couple of days! They managed to get a lot out during the surgery and they are confident that any remaining cancer cells will be mopped up by chemo ,which starts in approx 4 weeks.
At least I is raining here today making it the perfect day to laze in bed listening to podcasts.I'm listening to Absolutely by Jane and Fi (ex women s hour) it's excellent and makes me laugh x

It's Fortunately not absolutley

@Acinonyx2 yeah, I do feel that the constant uncertainty just makes everything so much worse. I cannot believe I have another two week wait now. I'm so sorry you've had the same - it sucks.

@Lizdeflores wow, you are a seasoned Crohns patient! I've only been diagnosed with UC for five years, so I had just got to a place where I felt it was under control! Have you found that any of the cancer treatment has tipped you into a flare? I feel like that really would be the icing on the shit cake, so to speak.

@albert I was taken off all my BID drugs at the start of treatment. I had been on Infliximab which had worked really well for me and put me in a 7 year remission. So I was really worried about a flare but I haven't experienced anything yet. I guess the cancer treatment is depressing my immune system so maybe that helps.

@Bloodybridget bugger that news. You seemed to expect it? How has DP taken it?
@Trumpton waves. Hope you get sorted soon, will they be able to operate locally or will you have to go to Manchester?

@AlbertCampion sorry you are here but welcome. I had a similar diagnosis and the full works of treatment but all done now .Last year I spent many nights on this thread at 3am and the mutual support is amazing. Everyone has different loads to bear but all are tough. So hard about the drip drip news. You have one step completed with the surgery. I don't have IBS but I do have auto immune disease (RA). They stopped my drugs during chemo because of the risk of over suppressing the immune system. However the combination of chemo drugs and steroids meant I had zero symptoms while on chemo and I was allowed to re-start my RA drugs after it finished.

Hi all,
I just found out my HER2 result came back positive. My cancer is ER and PR+, which means I will also have to have chemotherapy.
Also my surgery has been moved due to a spike in Covid in my area and hospitals have stopped doing surgery.

@AlbertCampion hello and welcome, there are so many women on here with breast cancer, loads of expert advice and support.

@Fuckmyliferightnow sorry you got that result and have to have chemo.
@Skap I was expecting that news - but we saw the oncologist today and I do have to have chemo, six rounds 4 weekly from the end of November (we asked to delay a bit so we can still have a planned trip to Norfolk).
And this is the recurrence which means I will not survive this. I hope I can make the right decisions to have optimum quality of life.

@Bloodybridget I'm so sorry about this news. A trip to Norfolk will be more therapeutic than starting chemo a few days late.

@Fuckmyliferightnow They always give chemo to HER2+ patients as Herceptin isn't licensed without. Is there any chance they might start chemo before surgery if it can't go ahead?

@Fuckmyliferightnow sounds like you will be following me with the chemo and Herceptin / Perjeta for your HER2 BC . The good news is that in 40 percent there is a complete response to treatment
I’m going next week to discuss surgery. I really hope Covid doesn’t delay my op. We have very few cases here and in March they used the private hospital for cancer surgery. Fingers crossed!

@Bloodybridget thinking of you. You come across as a straight talking no nonsense person who I would like IRL. I’m sure once you get your head round it you will find your way.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. So sorry to read your update @Bloodybridget and thank you for welcoming me when you have such a huge mountain of your own to climb.

@Bloodybridget. So sorry to hear your update. I don't know what else to say but sending you both hugs. Xxx

Thanks so much for all the lovely messages.

@Bloodybridget I’m so sorry to hear your news. I hope you enjoy your time away and return with a clear mind for what to do next. Sending you very best wishes