Cancer support thread 91 - don’t borrow tomorrow’s worries

[LemonDrizzle10]

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Thanks everyone for your good wishes for me today. I've gone from a standing start to a Usain Bolt sprint and my head's in a whirl.

Spinal oncologist was fabulous. Straight talking, honest, just what I was hoping for. In summary he sees surgery to strengthen the spine and remove the pressure, get me standing and walking again, as an utmost priority. Also concerned about getting on with it quickly because of the risks of me being immobile for a long period, which would presumably also affect recovery times and outcomes. After the consult he was going to speak with radiotherapy and oncology to ensure that what he wants to do surgically won't interfere with subsequent treatment to address the mets.

Called me while we were driving home, radiotherapists have given green light, just needs to confirm with oncologist. Consultation to discuss the operation planned for Tuesday lunchtime, if I'm happy to go ahead he'll admit me then and have surgery on Wednesday. I'm reeling a bit now at it all being quite so fast, of course I can say no or ask for longer to decide and I may do that. It's major surgery involving anchoring strengthening rods through 3 vertebrae and into the pelvis.

I'll try and get a call with my oncologist in before Tuesday just to get her perspective on the plan.

Does anyone know what the chemo /radio regime is likely to be for breast cancer bone mets?

Great news @EachandEveryone the Patience Inn will be holding a virtual celebration for you tonight. At least you are only fighting one battle not two!

@SewingBees that is good news too. Good that you are operable and the surgeon is cracking on so you won’t be in pain for much longer. I would think that over the weekend your brain will catch up with the plan and you will be ready for the next step. Why delay?
Treatment for breast cancer is changing so quickly due to the new drugs available. Hopefully the oncologist will have a suitable cocktail in mind but it may not be what they used even a year ago.

I was late for yoga due to a red lentil soup massacre scenario just as I was leaving home. I had to clear up before DH got home and slipped in the gore. I’m proud to say my squats are getting deeper every week!

Energy levels now up to at least 60 percent of normal. I’m off to a folk concert tonight. It’s a farewell tour for my favourite local band. Bittersweet. But I’m so happy to be buzzing around again.

Are you going to see Show of Hands by any chance @TopOfTheCliff ?? I had tickets to see them in Nottingham last year and couldn’t go because of chemo.

@dotty2 absolutely! Steve and Phil live in the town where I was their local GP and Miranda has had BC and sent me lovely birthday wishes when we were both going through chemotherapy. Phil is standing down but the other two will carry on with their own careers. End of an era! They are so good!

Fantastic! I’ve heard them a few times, including once at Lincoln cathedral which was amazing. Have a lovely evening.

@Yorkshiregold just popping on to say I'm another with cervical cancer - well, clear as of last scan.

I was diagnosed at stage 3c, the tumor was around 5cm and it had gone into two lymph nodes.

Too big for a hysterectomy so I had twenty five sessions of radiotherapy with five weeks of chemo at the same time and then three sessions of brachytherapy after.

Treatment wise I got an easy ride with very few side effects other than developing DVT in my leg that's left me on blood thinners. Recovery after treatment was trickier as my energy levels were on the floor...but I finished treatment early July and am pretty much normal now on a day to day basis. Not as fit as I was before but getting there.

Happy to answer any questions once you have your treatment plan - the in between bit when you know there's cancer but not sure how 'bad' it is is the worst.

Bleurgh

I feel rough as a badgers bum

Temp normal, so I guess this is just the joy of chemo / immuno

@TopOfTheCliff 60% of your normal energy level! That’s fantastic!

@KentishMama and @HerbalRefreshmentt thank you for sharing your experiences. To be fair to my GP I do trust them not to make it too inconvenient, they are (nurses and reception team included) all really top notch. It's more the knowledge that in either ~5 years (DD would be in year 11) or ~10 years (DS would be in year 13) I'd have to start visiting hospitals and planning surgery and time off work and all of that AGAIN... ugh, not if I can help it.

And that's the good case scenario assuming I haven't had a cancer recurrence between now and then. Just feels like a much more obvious choice to whip 'em out now, I don't quite know why it was me and not the oncologist to first suggest it.

@KentishMama I'll be on Zoladex for at least a few months while I have the mastectomy & reconstruction and recover from that. So if I chase that with an oophorectomy, I'll report back with a comparison for you 😁

@isaxx the amazing disappearing seroma! That's so weird. Hope it has stayed gone this time!

@SewingBees really glad your consultant was so helpful! That sounds like a heck of a lot to process though. Hope you are doing okay with it.

Oooh @isaxx we didnt celebrate the vanishing seroma. Has it stayed away? Hooray!! Coffees all round with some seasonal spirits in them.

@Tilllly hope you managed to get some sleep. I like Sookie as a name fwiw 😊

Have you got some crap telly lined up to watch? I'm working my way through rewatching all of Buffy during recovery from surgery/chemo periods.. Below Decks also gets commonly mentioned as something good to watch when feeling like shit!

@AllotmentTime Yes please to a report back on oophorectomy. I'm here for today!

@SewingBees You've got this. We can be "big surgery recovery buddies". Mine is Tuesday, so I'll have a head start.

(OMG I made myself laugh out loud about 'head start' because it's skull surgery, so I'm definitely losing it over here. Shoot me now.)

@AllotmentTime I did thanks. I can't believe how sick I felt. I'd had this idea that I'd avoid taking any drugs for side effects and just weather thru, but laid on the bathroom floor looking at a bit of vomit... grim grim night

Cyclizine seems to have helped but I feel washed out. I was watching Brookside but I've run out of episodes till Wednesday 😭

I might just start Gilmore Girls again

@KentishMama
I love a good pun
But calm down a bit, you're getting ahead of yourself 😁

@Tilllly You need some good Netflix companions for this phase. My chemo watch list included Grace & Frankie, Schitts Creek and ... Virgin River. The first two for laughs, the third because of Jack.
And take the supporting meds. This isn't a time for holding back.

@Tilllly do take all the drugs. After a while you'll work out what helps and what you might not need.

Second Virgin River if you haven't already seen it. It's just the right level of entertaining crapness.

@KentishMama
DIDNT YOU HEAR ME?

Getting AHEAD of yourself...

<<<no one appreciates me>>>

I will Twig, I couldn't get the cyclizine in fast enough when it hit

All 3 cats were in the bathroom with me - and now I think they're cuddling up to me in shifts
I know it'll just be coincidence but it did feel like they were looking after me

@KentishMama very happy to be surgery buddies. What does yours involve? Sorry if you've already said upthread.

I think watching the Dr Death series earlier this year was a bad idea! It's given me all sorts of ridiculous ideas about rogue surgeons crippling people through arrogance and incompetence. I should have stuck to Virgin River (which I sort of gave up on in series 3, should I stick it out?).

What's everyone doing for Christmas decorating? This is most definitely my thing, though my husband will do it through gritted teeth. But he won't be able to get the decorations down from the loft alone. I'm wondering about asking my sister to come over and do it, but she lives 2.5 hours away. I'll ponder on it, she may be pleased to be asked.

@SewingBees palliative rads are usually 1 or 5 shots to one area. Drug regimen - depends on your hormone profile like everything else, if you are ER/PR+ they will likely start you on the palbo/letrozole (unless you failed that and recurred on it, then faslodex) and denosumab cocktail. Its all pill-based targeted therapies (NOT chemo) for the first few rounds, the heavy stuff is saved for the end or visceral crises.

@Tilllly I appreciated your pun. Very skullfully done. Go to the head of the class. 😁

@AllotmentTime I see what you did there 🤣

That's helpful thanks. I was on Tamoxifen pre recurrence.

😂😂😂

Aaaaahhhh!

Queuing at the till in Waitrose laughing to myself now. I've hit peak Mumsnet.