Cancer Support Thread 89 - the best thread that no one wants to be on.

[LemonDrizzle10]

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Lemon drizzle coming up @lucysmam!
My neighbour has just passed two slices of her glorious homemade Bakewell tart over the fence!
I’ve just finished 10 sessions- all the travelling has been the hardest part. Going to have a sit down then go to the beach tomorrow.
Thankfully dog seems OK - she’s still happy so hopefully caught it before it becomes too much of a problem.

@lucysmam enjoy your lunch 😋

@LemonDrizzle10 Congrats on finishing radiotherapy! A slide of lemon drizzle (as if it could be anything else) for me too please.

A friend is coming to pick me up in a little bit. She's told me I need to dress up and that I should skip lunch but nothing else. I'm desperately hoping she's booked afternoon tea to celebrate me finishing chemo last week. It will be lovely to see her either way but am I wrong to be devastated if it doesn't involve cake?

@Atreus have a lovely time! Sounds exciting. You’ll have to save your slice of lemon drizzle cake for later!

Ooh @LemonDrizzle10 you have inspired me. I’ve got a courgette two eggs and two lemons to use up before I set off for the ferry. I think there’s a cake in there somewhere. Congratulations on finishing radiotherapy.

Storm Betty incoming. I hope the ferry isn’t cancelled.

@LemonDrizzle10 Congrats!!

I could be tempted to make a lemon drizzle now if there weren't a coffee cake in the tin not even half eaten.

Just reporting back in to confirm that my afternoon involved an OBSCENE amount of cake 😀

@Atreus so glad your afternoon involved cake! One of my friends has asked if I'm planning to do anything to mark the end of my chemo but I wasn't sure what so sort of shrugged 🤷‍♀️ Maybe it should involve cake!

I'm busily adding to my list of crafts to do before The Eras Tour next year 🤣 Maybe though...I actually need to make a start even if the girls don't join me 🤔

@Crimsonbow i have bought those headphones - will report back.
@TopOfTheCliff - laughing at the cancer bingo. How about the offer to email liaison nurses about anything…. But they don’t reply!
I asked about whether I’m ok to get the flu vaccine and no answer. Have booked it anyway. Will not be on chemo at the time- should be ok.

I love Fridays...the lack of sleep is epic. Thought I'd beat it by staying up instead of tossing and turning my way to a midnight snack, tonight. That did not work <sigh>. Midnight cereal happened at 11pm...I am still feeling rather awake 🙄

@TopOfTheCliff did you sail from Plymouth with Brittany Ferries? I arrived back from Spain yesterday and saw people waiting to board maybe you were in the carpark. Have a wonderful and much deserved break from treatment.

@TopOfTheCliff did you sail from Plymouth with Brittany Ferries? I arrived back from Spain yesterday and saw people waiting to board maybe you were in the carpark. Have a wonderful and much deserved break from treatment.

Morning all, and I'll have some lemon drizzle cake if there's any going!

Has anyone been thrown into the menopause as a result of treatment?

I finished treatment about six weeks ago and have just received a text from my GP which basically says 'your oncologist said you'll need hrt, so we've sent an evri conti patch prescription to your local pharmacy'.

Discussions pre-treatment with my consultant were simply that I would be thrown into menopause due to treatment and as I'm only 36 would need hrt to help prevent osteoarthritis but mentally I kind of parked all that and just focussed on getting through treatment.

I dunno, I was expecting maybe more of a conversation, maybe even blood tests at some point. I don't have any menopause symptoms - thought I was getting some immediately after treatment but think that was more related to treatment.

Suspect I need to make an appointment as whilst I'm happy to take hrt I don't know if I want to take it if I'm not yet actually in menopause.

There just seems a distinct lack of information about premature menopause available!

I had both my ovaries removed so that was instant menopause, however, I was well on the way anyhow so I haven't noticed any difference so far.

There was no discussion, it was just pointed out to me that it would happen and that was that.

@ClashCityRocker instant menopause here as well. Am a bit older than you at 43 but I had no symptoms prior to treatment. The pelvic radiation literally fried your ovaries so it's a given really. I had no menopause symptoms until about six months post treatment but it's well and truly kicking my arse now (hot flushes and 5 hours sleep a night!)

I'm on the fence about HRT but I have an appointment with the Oncologist Menopause doctor in November so I'll see what they say I guess.

@ClashCityRocker there's plenty of cake left - it’s mumsnet cake (a bit like the chicken) so it’ll last for weeks!
I had an obscene amount of cake too yesterday and it was all very nice.

I have one (bought for hospital) and I love it. Use it most nights. Had it playing Harry Potter audiobooks or music to block out the beeps and ward noise.

I took a peg to attach charger wire to my bed, lots of snacks, peppermint oil, my Snoozeband, squash and comfy slippers.

@ClashCityRocker im another one who was thrown into surgical menopause at 36. I am not allowed HRT however and have gone cold turkey. I’ve had terrible hot flashes since, and am generally really hot. I have had trouble with vaginal dryness (if I don’t use my maintenance it can get sore when walking distances) and have been prescribed Yes! Lube applicators for this which really help. I also have noticed weight gain, I’m putting on fat waaaay easier than before which is scary as I am quite the cake addict myself!

Sorry, missed the entire point of my reply, which was that there was no discussion here either. No support offered. No mention of what I could expect, nothing. I feel very let down as we do not have oncology menopause people here either. I am having a DXA scan in a few weeks to assess bone density as I cannot have HRT, but I am taking calcium supplements to try and help. Got to say my nails look great 😂

Hello Flora, when I started micro blading my eyebrows about 5 years ago I had them done in the Uk and one of the questions I had to answer concerned chemotherapy. This was a few years before I was diagnosed. Then about 2 years later I had them done here in the Middle East and again chemotherapy was mentioned as standard on the questionnaire. Again it wasn’t relevant to me but honestly having had it done and having heard what the women here have said about chemo and everything that it affects I would leave it for another day if I ever had to make the choice.

I know that’s not what you want to hear and I’m sorry. But the process is quite long and involved and it hurts at times and I’m concerned that it may hurt you even more and you’d end up even more swollen and puffy for longer than usual. At one stage when I was first having had it done I was regretting it and had I been able to I’d have gotten up and gone home. And that’s the problem with micro blading. Once you’ve started a session you have to see it through to the end or you’d have one eye eyebrow or part of an eye brow done on one eye and nothing on the other.

I had it done because my eye brows were silver and I could never get the hang of an eye brow pencil.

Regards

Thanks for the responses about menopause! I'll book an appointment with my GP and go from there I think.

@ClashCityRocker when you make the appointment worth asking if any GP has a special interest in the Menopause - and go to them

@Lisdeflores if you saw any cyclists cowering in the rain that was us. The crossing was rough but we slept through it.
Today I rode 45 miles but my bike battery ran out of juice. I managed to charge it at a candy floss stall at a fair! Now recovering happily with a nice cup of tea at our holiday house. This is Sizun with its lovely Enclos Parossial.

@Florabritannica the lady who did my microblading wanted a letter from the oncologist to say it was safe for me to have it done. Her insurance would not cover the treatment without this letter.
She did say that if I wasn’t able to go ahead with the treatment she would teach me how to use a template to create eyebrows, might be something to consider?

@TopOfTheCliff charging your bike at a candy floss stall is hilarious!!!

Happy adventuring @TopOfTheCliff ! Charging your bike at a candy floss stall sounds fun - did you sample their wares?

I am tired today! Finally slept from somewhere around 5am - 9am then was up raring to go 🙄 We've been to town & sorted dd2's school trousers (which need about 10 or so inches taken off the length so I'll do that tomorrow), and her new specs. I need to book appointments for myself and dd1 next but going to ring to book tomorrow so I can definitely book them close to each other.

I'm still getting the random hot flashes - must remember to ask when I speak to my oncologist next.