Cancer Support Thread 84 - gently crunching our way into autumn

[mowly77]

New thread as old one about to be full. As those who have been around far longer than me have said: Welcome. Pull up a chair, help yourself to a biscuit, a large gin, or a detox tea. Or all three. This is a supportive thread for anyone with cancer to discuss how things are going, ask for advice etc., vent, scream, or discuss life in general.

Please feel free to join for support 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.

Hope it goes well @Gilead, I’m just finished with chemo so got radiotherapy on the horizon. No idea what to expect.

Just called to chase to post treatment CT only to find that the registrar I spoke to didn’t actually even put the request through. Ugh. No annoying as I’ve been so stressed over it. More waiting now!

Morning everyone.

@Gilead good luck for your RT, and I hope you are still able to enjoy your birthday tomorrow at least to some degree.

@TopOfTheCliff - I was sorry to see your post over the weekend about your DH. I struggle a bit with knowing how much to lean on my DH, and when to try to hold back to let him have a bit of emotional space. Sometimes he offers to take on the mental or physical load when I don't really need it so I'm left feeling he must have spare capacity, but I guess sometimes my need comes at a time when he is also at a low ebb, and hasn't got reserves in his own tank. I hope you find a way through together.

@AGreatUsername - that's really rubbish, sorry to hear that. It's so frustrating when the stress you've been investing turns out to need to happen all over again.

Things are OK here. I had quite a nice weekend, in spite of everything. Lots of cuddles with the cat (Thanks again for the kind words - she actually seems on really good form, so I am having to stop myself from thinking that maybe the diagnosis was wrong...we've all been down that rabbit hole with ourselves, I suspect. You're right @mowly77. It's a very weird thought having a pet with cancer when you're a patient yourself).

I also went for a bra fitting with a lovely woman who specialises in post-surgery and now have a bra I can run in, which feels very positive (though I haven't tried it out yet). She also reassured me that my scars are very neat and she's seen a lot over the years, so that made me feel better too.

@peaceandove that is very confusing! The staging of a breast cancer is much less commonly done now. If you look at the Macmillan site a stage 2 cancer would need to be larger than 2cm or spread to 1-3 lymph nodes locally, neither of which appear to apply to you. If you run your details through the Predict tool for prognosis as you have explained them you get a survival at 5 years of 99% and at 10 years of 97%. I guessed your age though. Are you still on annual review? Querying the staging would be the obvious thing to do. But it does sound as though you can take comfort from all this.

@AGreatUsername that is so frustrating! Did they say how long the wait is likely to be?

Thinking of you @Gilead . It Will All Be Fine! @Toughie the radiotherapy process is very high tech but quite interesting. I didn’t get any side effects at all but I was probably lucky. It just all felt a bit impersonal.

Another dull day at Tops Towers enduring what must be endured. DH seems to have calmed down. We had a nice club event yesterday and he was given a Lifetime Achievement award which has cheered him up. He is a lovely human being and I am lucky to have him.

Regards to all on a dreary Monday
Top x

No, no idea on the wait but I suspect it’ll mean. I results before Christmas now! Which is both a blessing and a curse maybe

*No results before Christmas that was meant to say!

Just seen your message @dotty2 . You are right it is a balancing act knowing how much to lean on somebody else. I guess communication is the answer. In our house we show love through the medium of cake which is why I am getting fat! Hooray for the new running bra! And for the neat scars.
Top x

Thank you, TopOfTheCliff. It is very confusing, and something I will raise when I go for my mammogram in the new year. I was 49 when I was diagnosed if that makes any difference?

Thank you everyone, it was okay. I’m in every day until the middle of next week with a review the following week.

Phew! I just got home from the hospital after the progress scans and THE TUMOUR HAS VANISHED!! The radiologist (who was the one that made me cry back in September) was so excited she shouted "Mazel tov!" which puzzled me. I cried a little bit. It is such a relief that the chemotherapy is doing its job. Tomorrow I go back to find out the plan. Meanwhile I am celebrating with tea and cake in Top Towers traditional fashion.

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow @EachandEveryone xxx

Top x

Gilead - glad it went well. I finished mine last Friday, and so far feel fine, so fingers crossed for you!

Wow Top - fantastic news! Enjoy youur celebrations and I'm so happy for you.

The radiologist must be Jewish. Congratulations its fab news. I have the big meeting tomorrow this will be the first time its been a long 8 weeks.

I dont know why that has been underlined. Im terrified I can feel a mall lump in my right groin now so Im thinking its spreading whatever it is 😕 im also having the odd whistling sound when I breath in. Very rarely about once a day but I do notice it. I falling to pieces😃

@TopOfTheCliff that is just amazing news, I am so pleased for you!
So good to know the treatment works, and so glad it has worked for you.
Mazel tov indeed.( I did look that up to check I wasn’t being rude🤣🤣)
Onwards and upwards.❤️❤️

Brilliant news @TopOfTheCliff .🌺🌺

@TopOfTheCliff amazing news! Congratulations, I’m so pleased for you.

@EachandEveryone Thinking of you tomorrow. Although horrifying, once you know the extent there will be a plan put in place, your MDT already know and are planning for the best options for you. Best of luck.

@TopOfTheCliff fabulous news, I'm so pleased for you!

@EachandEveryone I'll be thinking of you tomorrow too Xxx

@EachandEveryone I'll be thinking about you tomorrow.

I've got my first RT tomorrow and DM has her lumpectomy with the same surgeon who did mine 7 weeks ago.

I'm also having a repeat of the hormone blood test I had to determine which hormone therapy I need, the last one said I was post menopausal but I've been bleeding for three weeks so I think it was done too soon after I stopped HRT.

@EachandEveryone - thinking of you today. Good news or bad, we'll all do our best to support you in your next steps.

@MrsMontyD - how strange to be going through this with your DM. Wishing you all the best.

@TopOfTheCliff - what excellent news. I'm curious what the surgical plan is for a tumour that can't be detected any more. But cake sounds like an excellent plan in the interim.

I'm off to a Look Good Feel Better workshop today. I fear my eyebrows are on their way out, and I'm hopeless with make up, so it will be good to get some advice on how to draw them on. My skin is also getting sore because of my endlessly dripping nose. The glamour. I might put on a nice frock since I have so few opportunities to dress up.

@dotty2 , I had a ‘complete response’ on MRI after 4 rounds of FEC, no sign at all of the tumour. I had surgery to remove the area where the tumour had been and the area around it. I was overjoyed, as I’m sure @TopOfTheCliff is, at the news that the tumour had gone. Couldn’t believe I’d been so lucky, as they told me it rarely happens. However, pathology found some live cancer cells in the removed tissue so I had another 4 rounds of chemo, this time Docetaxel, in case there were stray cancer cells roaming around. I can only hope now that anything left has been zapped.
No idea what the plan is for Top, but fingers crossed the good news continues!
In other news, I had a delivery this morning. I have a fab small group of friends who have been really supportive over the last few months and they sent me a bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of chemo. Am going to have to wait until my taste buds have returned to normal though before I pop that cork! I’ll be thinking of you all when that day comes. x

Fabulous news Top. I’ve very happy for you.

The LGFB workshop was good. It felt like quite a positive thing to do, and I got some helpful suggestions and came away with lots of nice freebies. I'd recommend them if you get chance to go.

We don’t have anything like this where I live but I’m seriously thinking about trying to get one started up on a very small scale.

@MrsThimbles contact them- they do online sessions too, and have useful webinars/ exercise stuff.

Ooh @dotty2 there is a LGFG course near me in January. I will investigate.

Today I went to see the surgeon feeling optimistic. He explained his plan to do a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy at the end of January which was what I had expected. Then he went a bit off piste talking about an area of calcification the radiologist had mentioned. He wants to excise it "in case it is precancerous cells in the milk ducts which wouldn't respond to chemotherapy". If so I "might need further surgery like a mastectomy". Whoa matey where did that come from? Also the MDT has changed its mind about genetic testing on the NHS just after I sent off my spit to California for £350.
Now I am wondering if perhaps I have a third issue after the two BCs which is why they are reconsidering genetic testing. Hopefully this is just pre-surgical chat covering all the bases rather than a new issue. I think I will have to ring the BCNs to see what they think is going on.
Going to the clinic is always a bit unnerving. They throw things into the conversation unexpectedly and I don't immediately realise but the implications go on rumbling round in my head for ages.

Hope @EachandEveryone is okay. I've been wondering how things went today.

Regards to all
Top x

You can tell Im new to all of this sorry if this is confusing.

he said the PET scan showed a gathering in my groin (which we knew) very slightly in my liver and thyroid which he isnt concerned about. No idea where primary is so I need an MRI 🤔 honestly. Its more likely to be lower GI so he is referring me to gynae and collorectal. He said he would like to know the primary before I start chemo. Either way I will be starting chemo Platinum (?) he also said the cancer is viral led. So now im wondering if i shouldve had smears after my total hysterecomy 😕