The Great Recovery! After cancer what next?

[TopOfTheCliff]

This thread was suggested on the general Cancer Thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/general_health/4895824-cancer-support-thread-90-still-the-best-threads-no-one-wants-to-be-on?page=15&reply=129923637 as a place to come when you are recovering.

You may feel your treatment is over and you are cured or at least NED, or it may just be a lull between storms, but you want to step away from the daily grind of chemo and radiotherapy and look to the future.
Most of us come out the far side of a cancer diagnosis battered and unfit and probably overweight from the steroids and the comfort eating. Where do you start? How long will it take ? Should you diet to lose weight or try to exercise more? Then there is the huge mental hurdle of putting Cancer behind you and not worrying about recurrence with every twinge.
I am a veteran of the Cancer Thread having had breast cancer twice in two years and I managed the recovery after cancer no 1. Now I have to do it all again but in good company I hope.

Oxford Uni offer for DD for Economics & Management. Very happy. 😻

@Silkiebunny
Congratulations to both DD and you, fantastic news. X

I’m over Covid now, managed a 10 km walk with my dog along a nearby disused railway line. Air pods in and enjoyed every minute

Woo @Silkiebunny that is fab! My DD1 read PPE at Oxford and had a wonderful time. Her college was stunning. Will DD live in in her first year?
I’m cold and bored today. Must get motivated to do something useful.

Thanks Top and Rose Very happy, DDs heart was set on it. Her college provides accommodation all 3 years at very reasonable prices - I am relieved from a cost point of view its not LSE as well. Its a beautiful college and the twin of the one I went to at Cambridge. Great start to 2024. Though now we have to have celebratory soggy Papa Johns pizza which is DDs favourite. She has said no champagne for her but I will be drinking some if only to take the taste of the pizza away.

@Silkiebunny thats fantastic news. Brilliant start to 2024. Sorry about the pizza!

Huge congratulations to your daughter, @Silkiebunny And my commiseration on the pizza!

Thanks very much Dotty and Sandwich I can live with the pizza knowing the accommodation costs a quarter of the price of her second favourite at LSE. 😎Though I can't say I'm looking forward to it and its put the diet back another day but some things are worth that. Just got to get the grades now.

@Silkiebunny my mathematician DS reassured me saying that 95 percent of students get the grades needed to take up their place.

Today has been a bit meh. I was very busy yesterday so decided to take it easy today but the house was only 11 degrees. I found even with full thermals and bobble hat I was cold which made me hungry and I had to eat a slab of the slightly stale Christmas cake to keep energy levels up. Then I went to the pharmacy to pick up some pills but when I got home I didn’t have them. I think I left them on the counter! I finished the day with an exercise class which warmed me up and made me feel I had achieved a small win on a crap day. Tomorrow is annual mammogram day so I am slightly wound up about that too. Hope the rest of you are having a more upbeat time.

@TopOfTheCliff Hope tomorrow goes OK. I’ll be thinking of you.

Thanks Top Hope the mammogram goes as well as it can and you feel better afterwards. Yes I got the data re DDs course at Oxford and 97% get to go there who get offers so odds are very much on her side now after starting at 20 to 1 against. I have now had some rather bad pizza and some champagne and cinnamon pie. DD is on cloud 9 and non-stop talking but that's lovely, she missed a lot of school today and stayed here with me to get results wearing the fleece I bought her for Christmas. 😍

Love your photos Fairywren how exciting to tour Australia Dotty I want you to be as exciting as possible this year. 😎As Fairy is touring Australia and Sierra in New York so I'm think something like Antarctic trekking would be good and photos are always appreciated. Especially penguins.

@Silkiebunny well done to your daughter, what a brilliant start to the year.

@TopOfTheCliff hope your mammogram goes well.

Its my Birthday today and I'm 6 sessions of radiotherapy down, 4 to go. I'm feeling fine on the whole, although I am a bit tired tonight. The hot flushes are settling down a bit, touch wood, or it could be just that its so cold. Feel a bit emotional with it being my Birthday and everything that's happened , last year of my 40s.

Thanks Octopus Happy birthday and hope rest of radio goes as well as it can. My 49th was in chemo though thankfully not chemo day so I did a trip abroad for 50th to make up, if you get the chance to do something lovely for your 50th go for it. I had hardly any effects from radio and only a few weeks of hot flushes then pretty much stopped, even sleep all in fleece here. 😂

@TopOfTheCliff I will be thinking of you today. The yearly mammogram is difficult to attend for me, to go to where it was all diagnosed is not my favourite place. However, the results will be clear, and hopefully be with you quickly.

@Octopus45 I hope you got as much out of your birthday as possible. Start planning for exiting your 40 in style! I went through all treatment mainly during lockdowns, so didn't have the ability (or energy) to go shopping and treat myself. However, last year I gathered all the money I had been gifted, and went very specific shopping. I now wear my up yours to cancer diamond earrings! Ok, they are probably not as big as most, but they are my symbol 😀

Thanks @Icantfindanewname, I'm going out for a family meal tomorrow night and hopefully meeting up with some other friends next week. Also seeing my Sister at the weekend, so I feel very fortunate.

One of my friends came round last night and she's planning a trip to Amsterdam in April. I'm thinking I might go the April after my 50th when the Tulip festival is on.

Happy birthday for yesterday @Octopus45 and sending best wishes for the rest of radio. Lots of people get minimal side effects so I hope you’ll be one of them.

@TopOfTheCliff I’m sure a mammogram brings it all flooding back, especially having been through the whole shitshow twice. Maybe you could treat yourself to having the heating on??

@Silkiebunny I actually have a very unboring few weeks coming up. I’m off to Cornwall with visiting American friends next week and then in early Feb DH and I are going to Tromso for a few nights, taking the opportunity of a trip while Dd2 is away with school. It’s a combination of a bucket list trip for him, with the hope of seeing the lights, and a celebration for my 51st birthday since I was in chemo for my 50th. So no penguin pics, but maybe a lights one if I’m lucky.

Have a lovely meal out Octopus I love flowers, tulip festival sounds great. I've booked for the orchids at Kew again this year. Wondered about Chelsea flower show but was crazily expensive and reviews said super busy.

Dotty That does sound exciting, Tromso will be brilliant and love Cornwall too.

Trying to get back to swimming and dieting again today, I have at least not gone over calories to maintain weight at all. I need to get a mammogram, although they are not great at detecting lobular, not had once since my treatment ended in August 2022. I was offered one in December 22 but declined as son in hospital and close to chemo finishing. Then I seem to have gone off list. I would prefer a different hospital as find it difficult to go back to where first diagnosed always alone and been trying to sort that but struggling to get appointment. No lumps and clear chest CT and head CT so fairly confident its OK but supposed to be done annually for 5 years. MRI would be better but they said no to that.

Cleaner coming on Saturday which is great, hardly ever have them but they were so great in my chemo. Having the house decluttered helps so much with that. Though Christmas and birthdays have brought a bit back which need to sort.

Thanks gang. The mammogram was fine, just a frisson of fear in the waiting room but I was in and out in ten minutes and the radiographer was lovely. Results in 2-3 weeks so I should be post hip surgery by then. Also I went back to the pharmacy and picked up the medication I left on their counter yesterday. They hardly needed me to explain my forgetfulness.
To celebrate I am going sailing tomorrow with my friend which will be brass monkey weather but fun! I’m digging out the balaclava and ski socks tonight. Then I’m having my highlights done and a haircut. It’s nice to be energetic again. I need to tackle the Christmas clutter too. And plant some broad beans…

@Silkiebunny For our Christmas present, my nephews & nieces joined together to give my DSis and myself tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show plus 2 nights in a 5 star hotel near by. A fabulous present and I'm so looking forward to going. But, at the same time I'm also a bit worried about whether I'll have enough energy to see me through the day.

Happy birthday @Octopus45. Hope the next year is a much better one.

Glad your mammogram is over @TopOfTheCliff Going back for that definitely fills me with dread. I’m hoping it’s one of those things where the anticipation is worse than the actuality.

Physically I’m getting stronger- able to do much more in yoga, but I’m still getting very mentally tired and need to sleep in the day. My concentration and memory are poor too. Don’t know whether it’s the radio, the letrozole, the PTSD or just the whole thing? Hoping for some improvement soon.

Have a lovely time sailing Top

What a wonderful present MissMarplesNiece I've been to the Hampton Court one and the orchids at Kew due to go again in a month but never to Chelsea one.

Went swimming but awful traffic there so didn't get as long as usual and just did 67 x 15m but, jacuzzi and steam room and coffee with DH. DH is deaf again with his ears and hearing aid refusing. DD got her Oxford TSA score and was very happy with it, top 7%, and I got 3 e-mails from her on it.

Thanks everyone for my Birthday wishes. @tam23 I hope that you start to feel better soon. Well done on doing the yoga.

@TopOfTheCliff glad your mammogram is over and that you're feeling energetic.

It sounds as if everyone's got some great plans. I'm still doing ok with my radiotherapy, although I do feel a bit more tired today. I'm struggling to do anything like enough exercise at the moment, a combination of things time with already fittings appointments around work, the cold weather etc. I have been doing Get Fit with Rick videos when I get the chance. I'm also just wanting to eat stodge, although tbh I'm like that at this time of year anyway. Weight wise I'm at the top of the range which is normal for me at the moment, I'm not overweight, but I'm one of those people who doesn't carry weight well, quite small boned, although feel that I shouldn't be bothered after everything.

Morning all! Can I say again how lovely and friendly this group is 😘

I received a telephone call on Wednesday afternoon asking if I could attend hospital at 7am on 24th for the next (and hopefully last) reconstruction surgery. I was led to believe it would have been another couple of months - y'know Dr strikes, winter pressures, it not being an urgent operation... I'm going into the hospital this pm to have a chat about recovery etc. This surgery will be a fraction of length of the last one, so hopefully much quicker to recover from. I have spoken to our academy to boost my fitness even further, and they are more than happy for me to attend as many sessions before the op that I possibly can (not just the ones I pay for!), such a supportive business 😁. I have spoken to work, and though it drops someone else into an emotional court hearing, which I had wanted to see through to the end to support our staff, it's gone down okay. I feel excited, but nervous 😬. Please keep as many fingers crossed as possible 😊

@Icantfindanewname that's great news- I think a bit of under promising and over delivering is great with op timescales- hope it all goes well.

I love this time of year to plan fun things in, so far I have family holiday to Lanzarote in April, weekend away to Brussels or Amsterdam with friends in November and off to friends in Warwickshire with all my uni friends and kids (32 kids and adults!) tomorrow.
Still need to plan a summer holiday and try and go away with my husband as he feels left out!!
Have a big trip with friends to Ibiza booked next year for all our 50ths!

Also setting some health goals- finishing the South Downs path which I've done half way but progress hampered last year by treatment - 4 days walking left. And a local 3 peaks challenge possibly.
Started back to yoga and some weights this week. Effects of cough (covid?) and zoledronic acid now not hindering me- no excuses.

@Icantfindanewname - that's such good news, and I will keep everything crossed for you for 24th.

@myrosehasleftme - fantastic to hear of your plans. Though your weekend sounds very full on. Hope you have a great time.

I have had a good week in terms of my health goals - I've ticked all my exercise and eating boxes. Unfortunately, I'm really struggling with anxiety and low mood. My dad has a pre-cancerous blood disorder and has had to have a bone marrow biopsy this week because his latest blood tests were worrying. It has come somewhat out of the blue as he's been doing well for the past few months and he was on good form at Christmas, it has sent me spiralling back into the anxiety I experienced waiting for my own results, making me feel despairing about the year ahead etc. I know I need to not borrow tomorrow's sorrows, but I had so been hoping 2024 would be all about my recovery, not family illness, and that already seems to be going the wrong way. (He lives alone and is 3 hours drive away so the logistics of offering him support if things are bad will be very tricky.)