Cancer Support Thread 85 - Hoping for a positive 2023

[AGreatUsername]

Starting a new thread as the old one is almost full.

Welcome one and all, this is a thread for those with cancer and those who are awaiting tests for cancer. We offer support, a place to rant/vent/cry and ask questions without judgement. As always maybe we can do a quick who’s who at the start of this thread for newbies.

Heres hoping for a positive 2023 for us all.

@Worried11111 and @TopOfTheCliff , wishing you both a speedy and pain free recovery. I couldn’t look at myself for a while after surgery. Still feel weird about my ‘new’ body.
Had my last radiotherapy session yesterday. I should feel elated but I don’t. Instead I am wondering why, 2 months after my last chemo session, my eyelashes have now decided to jump ship.
Anyone tried fake eyelashes?!?!??

@Toughie Eyelashes, & other types of hair/nails have different length growth cycles so they can come & go at different times. It may also take a few cycles to get them back properly. My fingernails are only back to a reasonable condition 2yrs after my chemo. I received some fake eyelashes from a cancer hairloss place but never used them - too fiddly & it would be mortifying if they went wonky or fell off!

Rest up @TopOfTheCliff

Also best wishes to @Worried11111 after surgery. Hope the blue wee has stopped!

Yes @dotty2 it starts off grim but she gets her revenge on all of them in a very satisfying way! It ends very happily.

Thanks @HauntedDishcloth I’m trying! I tried false eyelashes for a 60s party recently where I wore my porn star wig. I came home and found I only had one lash on! I think it probably fell off on the way home when we went to a windy cliff top to look at the moonrise. I hope so anyway!

I never got the blue dye. They don’t use it here just the radioactive juice. I suppose I am glowing gently instead!

Thank you @TopOfTheCliff - I will persevere!

take it v gently @TopOfTheCliff and @Worried11111
can anyone remind me of the on line calculator to predict hair loss during chemo? I remember seeing it on one of these threads? A friend of a very good friend has just been told she needs chemo unexpectedly.
Thanks.

@TopOfTheCliff
I read Stepping Up by Sarah Turner.
It was easy reading, bit heart warming and did the trick of keeping my mind busy.
Finished reading it today, 5 mins before the hospital rang to book me in for genetic testing. Fingers crossed for my daughter.

@Toughie I find the Eylure 3/4 length ones really good - I can’t get on with the full ones, I look weird with them going across my whole eye but these ones seem to blend in more. Never fallen off either (I’ve jinxed myself now and they’ll probably fall off Friday after the wig I’ve not worn yet blows off as well)

@thesandwich I think hair loss may be different for everyone. I lost all of my head hair after 1st chemo, so also my armpit and pubic hair (sorry tmi). I have still got some leg hair which I am not going to bother to shave and still have my eyelashes. Hopefully someone will come along and give pointers for the calculator.

You can also direct her to join this board, I can imagine how overwhelmed and scared she must be feeling. I was in her position a few months ago. I was told unexpectedly that I would need chemo few months after surgery when i was told i will not need it. It floored me but I am getting by day by day

I apologise for the bold font, I have tried my best to remove with no luck.

@thesandwich I have had 4xEC and one paclitaxel so far, on the accelerated pathway so every 2 weeks. I have cold capped throughout and didn’t notice any head hair shedding until the third EC. My armpit and pubic hair fell out after the first, and my eyebrows and eyelashes have only just started to go patchy. To try and slow the shedding on my head I cut my hair into a short bob (which I absolutely hate, I look like a playmobil it’s just awful but I’ll try anything if it means keeping my hair) and it seems to be working so far as the shedding has slowed right down touch wood. I have a 50p sized bald patch on the right side of my head behind my ear that I can hide, and my hair feels thinner to me but others can’t tell and I still look like I have a full head of hair; despite the shit haircut.

Thanks @WorryMcGee and @Makemineadecafplease - I lost mine after 2nd EC. Coming back now strongly everywhere except radio armpit.
eyebrows look better than pre chemo! Finished last may.

Today I really think I have actually started sprouting some new hair! It's still just fuzz but you can see the areas it's growing back now on my head. I am six weeks on from my last paclitaxel so I was worried that it wasn't growing. Phew! Another step in the right direction even if eyebrows and lashes are departing.

@WorryMcGee that’s interesting, as I was vaguely looking at some Eyelure ones on the Boots website. They seem to do ones specifically for people with hair loss, designed by a woman who has suffered cancer herself. I might try them, even though the whole false eyelashes thing doesn’t seem too popular on here!

@thesandwich is it this one? Someone linked to an online calculator for me and I think this is either it or similar:
paxmanscalpcooling.com/efficacy-safety/

Great news @TopOfTheCliff every little helps…
Thank you @Toughie thats the one I thought I’d seen. 🌺🌺

I've changed my name...I'm not worried11111 anymore. Now the surgery is done I feel much more positive. Onwards and upwards.
Noticed this morning that my wound has bled a bit, hospital have said it's OK though.

Congratulations @LemonDrizzle10 you are now my husbands favourite cake! I understand the fresh start though. Hooray for the new cancer free you!

I went out for coffee today. DH drove me to the club weekly meet up. It was nice and normal! Now resting again. I’ve got a dressing appointment tomorrow but all is quiet otherwise.

My new friend I met on a cancer FB page has now got her 4th episode, third recurrence. She is lovely but I am not sure if I can cope with chronic cancer. Is that very selfish of me? I am following lots of “carcinomies” on Twitter and I think it may be bad for me. Perhaps I will unfollow them and take up something else like following famous gardeners.
I think it is because I so dread the prospect of recurrence and going through all this grim rigmarole yet again. I need to pretend everything will be fine!

Sending love to all - especially those who are dealing with the recurrences.
Top x

@TopOfTheCliff I know exactly what you mean.
I've two friends that are waiting for cancer ops, I find it difficult to speak about cancer for too long. Right now I need to limit the conversations for my mental health.
Another friend has just called round, she sorted out the laundry for me! We had a chat about her half term holiday, she's off to a cabin with a hot tub. I was supposed to be on top of Mam Tor over half term. I went there in my mind just before I went under the anaesthetic on Tuesday! It's one of my happy places...Mam Tor that is...not under anaesthetic 😀

@LemonDrizzle10 - Ive just googled your Mam Tor, beautiful, anaesthetised imaginations are the best but I do hope you get up there again soon !! Completed my first of the 12 paclitaxel sessions yesterday. Woke up at 2, wide awake and buzzing, i think it’s due to the adrenaline rush yesterday, expecting (hoping) to crash & burn soon… like you do a few days after giving birth. Rosy cheeks & strands of hair already shedding. Is it the second day post chemo that the after affects start kicking in ? X

Oh @incognitodorrito, that doesn't sound much fun. Rosy cheeks sounds alright but the rest doesn't. Hope you've got your feet up resting.
Each session you have is one step closer to the end of the treatment- keep going!
My friend that came round to cook dinner for me and my daughter last night told me I looked really well, I pointed out it's the radioactive juice I've been injected with - I look tanned.
My daughter wanted to go back to Mam Tor in the school Summer Holidays. She wanted to stay in the cottage we stayed in last year that had 'Sheep TV' - lambs bouncing around outside the windows! I was going to book it after I'd got my biopsy results to celebrate good news. Sadly I had to ring my dentist to get an emergency appointment to get my dental work done instead.
My poor dogs know something is up- I'm not allowed to walk them, an array of people have been rallied to do that job. I'm hoping to feel up to going out with them over the weekend, with someone else holding their leads.

@incognitodorrito you are still on the steroid high that gets you through the first couple of days after chemotherapy each time. Don’t let’s second guess the side effects you might not get any!

I had my wound check today with my favourite nurse. All well but frankly I’m bored! I’m trying hard to sit still and do nothing to aggravate my wounds but it doesn’t come easily. I don’t feel like reading or TV and I’ve got nobody visiting today. I’m trying not to do online shopping! Although maybe I could order some new exercise gear…. for the fitness regime I am about to start.

Bored Top

i just want to sleep now but yes it Must be the steroids as I’m still buzzing and now making a big portion of vegan poutine as lusting after carby comfort food. I know the feeling re online shopping@TopOfTheCliff - cancer has had a horrendous affect on our credit card statements !!

I’ve bought new exercise wear today whilst recovering from the knee replacement I had done last week. I’m extremely bored as Ive had 2 months of being laid up prior to the surgery but on the plus side I’ve worked my way through a good few of Elie Shafaks novels. They’re very enjoyable.

Loving thoughts to everyone in the wars right now. Xxxx

I’ve just got a bath and nearly fainted when I saw my feet. Is there anything I can do will it go??

Yikes @EachandEveryone is that bruising? If so it should fade.

I have ordered 3 photo albums, a step ladder and some angle grinder sanding disks. I know how to live it up! DH is planning a revamp of the garage doors this spring. I think we need to inject a bit of glamour here - instead he is going out for fish and chips. But I quite like the mundanity of it all rather than drama. I said I wanted a boring life so I should stop complaining now I am bored.