Cancer Support Thread 83 - Here comes the sun (hopefully)

[Silkierabbit]

Welcome to a supportive thread for anyone with cancer to discuss how things are going, ask for advice etc or discuss life in general.

Please feel free to join if you are going through tests as well, hopefully they will come back all clear but if not we are here to hold your hand through the journey.

Named the thread in honour of the lovely LeslieKnope who did thread 62 in the same title who is sadly no longer with us but inspired me with how she was so lovely and kind with stage 4 cancer in her 20s and also the lovely PurpleUnicorns. Thinking of you both. Hopefully there will be some sun inbetween the difficult days.

May be useful to do introductions at start of thread. I am 49, lobular breast cancer, diagnosed Nov 21, after sent for tests then after being dismissed as nothing by GP in June. 46mm and 17mm tumours with 1 lymph node involved. Had 2 surgeries, currently doing chemotherapy, radio next then hormone tablets. 1 husband and 2 kids 16 doing gcses and 15 with SN and mute. 1 Maine Coone kitten, 3 silkie chickens and 1 indoor rabbit.

😂Nana

Well worth buddying up for chemo, I did with 2 others and its great even if your messages are just I feel rubbish today the so do I and discussing meds like a pair of 80 year olds. Just makes you feel much less alone. My one buddy finished quite a bit ahead of me but was nice to realise it does end.

So just not eating at all for 3.5 days?! I’m not sure I could manage that. Low calorie I could but not just no food.

I’m having 6 rounds, 3 weeks apart. There seems to be a lot of debate in the medical community on whether chemo is worth trying with low grade OC but my oncologist thinks we should try and I kind of agree, may as well throw the book at it immediately.

There's the fasting mimicking diet which also has some evidence behind it www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fasting-mimicking-diets-could-they-help-treat-cancer

I have a low grade stage 3a endometrial cancer and a high grade but stage 1a ovarian cancer. The treatment for the former used to be chemo plus radiotherapy but the evidence about that is changing to not favour treatment, and they said they wouldn't normally give chemo for stage 1A ovarian either, but because I have both and also they didn't expect any ovarian involvement at all they haven't some some of the other investigations they would have, I have finally decided to go for it, I was resisting it for just the EC. I'm not going to have radiotherapy though.

@SierraSapphire No need to fear the BRCA test - its better to know than not. I was not eligible for the test on the NHS as I have no family history of BC, but privately they got me tested ASAP. Quite the surprise when it showed up BRCA1+, but it got me a ticket to another line of treatment I would not have been eligible for otherwise, my ovaries out, and the knowledge that I could pass on to my much younger sister so she would have the choices and knowledge I didn't have. Its a GOOD thing to know, and if the NHS are willing to do it in your instance then go for it!

Hi, I had HER2+ breast cancer diagnosed in Nov 21. Started chemo in December every 3 weeks, lumpectomy in May including 3 lymph nodes. Currently undergoing radiation. Everyone at The Christie has been amazing.

Hi new members! Thanks for joining & welcome to the thread. We have an idea of what you're going through so you're amongst friends here - none of the usual MN bitchiness is allowed! @Theweatherisunusuallywarmisntit yes, it's been boiling 😄

awww @Silkierabbit did you take down your message? Yes I am mad on the steroids (i only even have the pre-chemo ones but they clearly last a long time) but I was in no way offended,. I definitely write and talk way too much on them, I just cant stop! Or was it the picture?The frozen peas did a good job!

Thanks @HerbalRefreshment - I'm not sure whether the NHS will test me, my great grandmother died early of some cancer but my mum can't remember which, I had a cousin die of breast cancer in her 30s and my aunt had ovarian cancer but not until her 80s. Nothing in my mum or grandmother, though the latter did have a hysterectomy my mum thinks it wasn't cancer. I've seen a few women say there's no cancer in the family but they tested positive for one of the BRCA mutations, which is interesting given it's supposed to massively increase your risk, I wonder whether in some people there are other things that override it. I'm more worried about my DD really, she's off to uni in September and doesn't really need this, she's not had an easy life but things were coming together for her.

@SierraSapphire There is an American charity called FORCE that covers hereditary cancer mutations, how to tell family, what they mean, different types, etc. They have a lot of good information and some forums:

www.facingourrisk.org/

@Theweatherisunusuallywarmisntit That sounds really tough - but one of the things that cancer has taught me is that I am actually the most important person to me and though it goes against my female conditioning, I have to do what's best for me not for everyone else - I've spent my life doing what's best for everyone else and look where it's got me. What's your gut feeling? Ignore everyone else. I'm pretty sure mine would be to have the surgery immediately - that's your best chance of getting the cancer out of your body. I know it sounds harsh, but IME your life is more important than your unborn child - if you're living with all this hanging over you, what is it going to do for your stress levels anyway - we know that stress in the womb can have lifelong effects on children. I guess I would be interested though in how fast it might be growing and whether there would be much change in prognosis between now and after you've given birth. So sorry you're in this position .

Welcome Thisway You must be at a similar stage to me and hope radiotherapy goes OK for you. Glad your treatment has been good.

Hope you are fine Mowly I only got that post removed so remove my photo, could not just get photo removed. Glad you realised I was joking, your posts just made me smile as I type so much now too. Its like I have to put every single thought I have down and also they can be a bit rambled now.

I very much enjoy the steroid induced posts that appear at times. I always end up feeling as if I know the posters a little bit more.

oh @NanaNelly I glad you enjoy them. Ha. My steroids have worn off now so I no longer feel the need to write down every thought in my head. I only ever take them when they put them in my IV on chemo days, although they send me home with a packet of two every week. So now I have a HUGE stash of them I'm too scared to take on any other days. But if I can persuade my onc to change my chemo or put dose up again I will however be deploying them in an experiment against nausea. So watch out ...

Glad you enjoy them Nana.

Floof is showing off his tail now and can jump on top of a wardrobe now. I am off steroids but seem to have continued the need to write every thought down and e-mail it to everyone. DD said to me today you need to message people less. 😂

You've reminded me of a question about steroids @mowly77 - a friend of mine said that she thought that not taking any of the extra prescribed drugs unless she needed them (she didn't) has actually helped to minimise her side effects of chemo, what have others found? I'm not keen to use things I don't need but then I guess it could go the opposite way.

Yes I was better on less steroids but they are to prevent an allergic reaction to chemo, prevent nausea and prevent swelling but also cause swelling in some people. I ended up just taking the one before in the end though at the start they like you to take them all. The allergic reaction they said its the first few when weekly they need to watch closely and if you don't have an allergic reaction to those almost zero chance will have one in later cycles. They said steroids had no effect on success rates.

I found steroids really affected me mentally as well as keeping me awake and effect was cumulative. I generally found the less meds the less side effects though obviously take oncology advise though I reduced sickness meds against their advice but was so much better the sickness meds gave me indigestion, pain in chest, bleeding and so I went from six ondansetron each week they said to one when on steroids then when off the second and third steroid days so nausea increases a bit I took two or three ondansetron a week, always the one with chemo and then waited to see if needed.

The additional nausea from no steroids was minimal maybe once a week I felt more sick for an hour or so. Take one ondasentron and sorted.

Just wanted to say, have had my last radiotherapy session today. Active reatment done. 2 surgeries, 8 chemo, 15 radiotherapy.
nothing to what others are going through, but active treatment done just 10 years of Letrozole and 3 of bone infusions now.
Now to grieve DH and my Dad I suppose.
I am very grateful for all treatment, I feel very lucky.