Cancer Support Thread 92 - Christmas Happy Hour at the Patience Inn 7pm tonight 🎄

[LemonDrizzle10]

Old thread nearly full!

Have you got some anti sickness tablets?

Nibble ginger biscuits, sip water - all the usual

I think the first one is the hardest

@Icanneverthinkofausername well done for getting through the first one. You will know what to expect next time.
Just beware of the steroid fuelled shopping urges at 2am. It is hideously easy to start a mad shopping spree which seems so important and then forget all about it until the parcels start to arrive.

@Tilllly I hope you can get comfortable with the enhanced dose of morphine tonight. Does it help knowing where the pain is coming from?

Steady progress here with the new hip. I walked down my cliff to a park at the bottom to see the crocuses then walked back up. Total about 3km. Also did 20 minutes spinning on the exercise bike. All seems to be working. I am very thankful.
Tomorrow I am going to stay with DD2 and her in-laws as DH is away for the weekend. I have to be handed over like a parcel to be minded. We will walk by the sea with her lovely dog and she will feed me healthy food! I am quite excited to be going somewhere different, even for one night.

@lucysmam , my hot flushes are triggered by any kind of even mildly heightened emotion. Concentration, anxiety even an emotional passage in a book. It’s bloody annoying at work as I feel I look out of my depth and flustered when I’m just concentrating and I hate it when it happens when I’m driving, in heavy traffic or at a tricky roundabout etc just when I least need to be having to fiddle with the heating controls. Not much help to you but you have my sympathy! Also it is very mild at the moment and I went for a walk and a drink yesterday evening and was really overdressed.

Ah hot flashes. What fun. Mine are triggered at night by the slightest movement. If I turn over in bed my body interprets it as 'major gym workout about to start' and sets the sweat cooling system into action. So, I try to minimise movement, which is not great for sleep either. Can't win.

We're just heading home from town. Every time I stood in a queue - hot flash! Marvellous...won't stand, or sit, still then 🙄

@dotty2 you might be onto something with your overdressed comment. It is milder than I had expected it to be outside!

It was 15 degrees yesterday when I walked the dogs. In Northumberland. In February. I was only wearing a waterproof jacket over my normal clothes, no need for hat, gloves, down jacket or anything. Very bizarre.

My hot flashes are completely random it seems. My temperature seems to build gradually and then, boom, I'm boiling. I then take off every layer, cool right back down again, put a layer on again and the cycle repeats. Same in bed. Not sure what the answer is, though I do count myself lucky that I don't usually get really sweaty and I cool down quickly.

@Yorkshiregold yep I did the 6 weeks of radio and chemo followed by Brachy (three sessions over a week).

I worked through treatment aside from the week of Brachy, managed to walk to hospital. I'm not convinced that was the most sensible choice though but wanted to keep things normal for my son(and pretend to myself I wasn't sick!)

I found I was fine with everything but the fatigue kicked in on

week three.

Really hope it goes well for you and happy to answer any questions x

It does @TopOfTheCliff - I can stop worrying about bone spread

It's lessened but it's still painful
But tolerable now
Much better in the mornings

WWYD question...
One of my surgeries involved taking a graft from my thigh. The scar is about three inches long. It's been eight weeks since that surgery, and the scar hasn't been healing well, especially at one end. But finally closed properly about 4 weeks ago. Still looked a bit more red and angry than it should have... Anyway, fast forward to this morning, when it exploded on me and oozed a lot of yucky pus/blood. I've cleaned it and covered it in Germolene + a dressing. The skin has broken down in a small area only, maybe 1-2 mm wide, but it's a proper hole, not a tiny scratch if that makes sense.
This might be a spitting stitch, but I can't see anything...
So... Do I need a fairly urgent GP appointment to have this checked out and antibiotics prescribed? Or can it wait until the appointment I've already got scheduled on Thursday afternoon?

Answers on a postcard please.

@KentishMama Is the skin still red? Any swelling? Are you feeling unwell or have a temperature?

I suspect @TopOfTheCliff will have some good advice.

I always use betadine for any cuts or potential infection sites and it works a treat. Remind us, are you on any medication? I've realised in the last fortnight that Ribociclib is affecting how my skin reacts to irritants and how quickly it heals, like most chemotherapies. If you could be similarly affected then I'd be tempted to go to a walk in centre tomorrow.

@SewingBees Thank you for the quick reply. I'm feeling ok, and no temperature (mind you, I very rarely get a fever - never went over 38 degrees when I had sepsis!). However the skin around the wound is still a bit red, although I think it's less red than before it opened up. But that might be wishful thinking.

Medication: Zoladex, Exemestane, and a low dose antidepressant, Escitalopram. Nothing that should impact immune system.

@KentishMama it would be worth asking if the GP surgery nurse could see you to check the wound and take a swab? The result would then be ready on Thursday for your follow up. Also she might think you need some flucloxacillin or similar to cover you. (Every wound I had until now got infected with staph aureus. I blame DH so I disinfected him with Hibiscrub and escaped infection this time!)
I am home now with a more cheerful DH who has cycled about 250 miles and is happier.

Thanks @TopOfTheCliff! I've just taken the dressing off, and it was oozing more pus and the area of skin that's breaking down seems to be bigger this morning. So I'm joining the GP phone queue when it opens at 8:30... Yay! First day back at work, so this is the very last thing I need today...

This is more important @KentishMama 😙

On it, @Tilllly! I called the GP at 8:29 hoping to be first when they open, but alas, I am number 17 in the queue still...

At least you're in the queue!

Did you get to the top of the queue @KentishMama ? Good luck with work today

Just arriving at the doctor's surgery! :)

You have inspired me to contact mine to ask if they would refer me to Audiology for my deaf ear. It’s been on the jobs list for months. I think I need a hearing aid that side after the chemo affected my hearing.

@TopOfTheCliff Good, I'm glad you're making an appointment!

I'm back with a box of antibiotics. Doxycycline for 8 days. Not typically the first choice for a wound infection, but since my sinuses are also still infected, the GP is trying to kill two birds with one stone... And yes, they've taken a swab. Should her results for my next appointment on Thursday.

I had real problems with my lumpectomy wound @KentishMama - kept nearly healing and then breaking open again. Nightmare! I wonder if the wound clinic at the hospital may be able to help more, as this is their speciality?

Hope it heals soon.

Thanks @ajandjjmum , I'll keep the wound clinic in mind if the GP doesn't get it under control! Such a bother - I guess I'm lucky that it doesn't hurt much, at least!

Hey, I hope it's okay to ask this question. Those of you who have / had breast cancer. What did it feel like? I know I have melanoma and I do currently have tumours in my lungs, and peritoneum.. I had a (shit pet scan) 5 months ago and started targeted treatment recently (yay nhs delays)

Anyway. I have a really strong history of cancer in my family. I'm 32, my dad died at 50 from bowel cancer, his mum had bowel cancer, 2 of his cousins died from bowel cancer. My mum had breast cancer at 40 (same time as my dad had cancer.. they were actually put into the same room after my mum's reconstruction as my dad was having chemo and it was easier for visiting (I was 9).

The breast cancer history is also ridiculous. My mum had it at 40, her grandma had it at 80 (not really an issue), one of her aunts got it at 58, one of her aunts got it at 40, one of her cousins got it at 38 and died at 40 from it. Absolutely shite.

I have a firm lump that does feel a bit like breast tissue but it's also attached and doesn't feel great, it's like an identifiable lump but also feels like breast tissue ?

I feel like because of my absolute shit genetics I really need to be more aware.

Basically long story short.. I have shit cancer genetics, stage 4 melanoma and an identifiable lump in my boob, do I bother my gp because I'm really anxious about it.

@ShalommJackie
Of course you "bother" your GP
Or oncologist

Don't delay any longer

How is it @KentishMama ?

I think a photo is in order...
(For those of us that linger at Sporners corner)