The Great Recovery part 2 - After Cancer treatment what next?

[TopOfTheCliff]

You may have finished treatment for cancer, be NED or in remission, or it’s just a lull between storms. You don’t want to dwell on the past but look forward to the future. You know you need to eat well, get fitter and pick up the strands of life again. This is the thread for you with fellow travellers. Join us!

There is the General Cancer thread for those in active treatment:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/general_health/4969445-cancer-support-thread-92-christmas-happy-hour-at-the-patience-inn-7pm-tonight?page=10&reply=132553156

And there is the Stage IV thread for those whose treatment is ongoing:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/life_limiting_illness/stage-iv-cancer-incurable-roll-up-roll-up-this-thread-is-for-you?reply=132555664

I dropped out of UMIST in the late 80s @MissMarplesNiece and yes, it has changed, other than Affleck's! I'm in StayCity apartments St Peter's Square, the view is looking out towards Oxford Road. I love it here!

I never thought Afflecks would still be there. The area around Tib Street used to be one of my favourite bits of Manchester - it was so scuzzy in those days but my favourite fabric shop was there. I imagine it's all been regenerated now.

Oh my first proper job was as a research assistant at MMU on Oxford road in the mid 1990s! It was a partnership project and I was based on the partner site so I only went in about once a month but I have happy memories of that time. Enjoy your weekends everyone. We went to the RSC in Stratford last night to see Midsummer night’s Dream which was fabulous.

The Northern Quarter is a mix of regenerated and scuzzy! Ancoats has definitely been regenerated though. DD is at MMU, known as Manchester Poly of course in my day. I spent my grant in Afflecks and the Hacienda though, and came home. Shame, I think my life wouldn't have turned out as it did if I'd stayed in Manchester rather than ending up in London, but I was doing the wrong course (engineering). And I can't imagine being without DD but I could have some without all the trauma and cancer!

Back in my day in Manchester, the Corn Exchange was also a bit of a hippy paradise. It was smartened up, became home to some expensive shops and lost its attraction.

I had a bit of a sliding doors moment in Manchester too. I was with DH but not married then and he was in another bit of the country. We were both applying for jobs and hoping to end up together. He had an interview for a job in Manchester and really wanted it, and my supervisor was making noises about getting more funding to keep me on, so I was hoping we might end up there and could live in Hebden Bridge. (I also like hippy-ish and slightly scruffy places!!) But he didn't get the job, and I got offered one in London, so we ended up moving there together. I don't really regret that, as I loved that job and we had a great time with lots of friends also in London at the time. But there are other opportunities I sometimes regret not taking more - the chance to do a year in Australia (but we both had an ill parent at the time, so it didn't feel right), moving out of London when we did (but there were good reasons for that too). But like you I remind myself I wouldn't have my DDs if we'd made different choices. But could also do without the cancer, obviously...

@Remaker - I forgot to say earlier, thinking of you and will keep my fingers crossed for an easy ride for you next week.

@dotty2 like you my life has taken turns that changed it’s course in an instant. When I was a med student in Bristol I used to cycle in from Clifton every day. Little did I know that my beloved DH2 was cycling up Whiteladies road to the BBC where he worked. Thirty years later we met and married. We could have had gorgeous Nordic blonde DC together if our bikes had collided!
Instead of being a country GP I decided to follow DH1 to London and was married with a mortgage within 2 years. But je ne regrette rien!
Happy Easter weekend to all.
Top

Happy Easter everyone! My birthday as well, made it to 51, so happy about that.

I would like to say je ne regrette rien too Top generally that's true for me but the Easter egg hamper from F&M well. 😂Firstly DH brings it in and puts in by me not good when on a diet thankfully I have been swimming and done 100 lengths and KFC on way back was out of all food so I did have spare calories so I eat a 50g gold chocolate praline egg, it was nice but the label was also gold which didn't taste as nice. Then as it passed midnight I decided it was my birthday and ate 2 more small eggs, about 35g each so not too bad with strawberry and cream truffles. DH also had a gold egg and the dark choc truffle one. Then I asked DH to take the box away from me as it clearly wasn't going to end well for my diet if continued. It was torrential rain so he just left the box downstairs. But took out the tin with the egg for DD as she's not keen on chocolate but does love tins, since put it in her room. That left about 600g of chocolate eggs still in the box which I was happy for DS to have but not all in one go but in the night they all disappeared. Argh. Hopefully DS has just stashed them somewhere rather than eaten the whole lot in one go. Not heard him being sick at least. One also contains marzipan I discovered later which may teach him not to snaffle chocolate. At least it solves my diet issues.

And Amazon is helping with my crazy shopping, it cancelled 2 of them. So nothing else silly is due.

It was lovely at the pool yesterday, a lady came up to me and told me I was very fit with all the swimming I did and said she couldn't even do 10 mins and I do over an hour each time.

All the best for the hysterectomy Remaker Will go out for a lovely meal later. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Happy Easter everyone and Happy belated Birthday @Penguinsa

Fun to read everyone's memories of Manchester. I've only been there once but feel like visiting it again now.

Thanks Summer. Hope you had a good Easter, had a lovely one full of lovely meals out, beautiful walks, boat trips and a castle.

Hope the hysterectomy goes as well as it can today Remaker.

@Remaker best wishes for your surgery today.

yes, thinking of you @Remaker

Good luck from me too @Remaker!

I've spent most of Easter weekend either studying or working, I did fit in two yoga classes and a swim. I have pretty much finished my Master's assignment a week and a half half early, which feels like a massive achievement because of the last two, one was two months late and the other year and a half late!

I heard a bit of a podcast about exercise and circulating tumour cells, I've never really thought very much about the mechanism by which exercise reduces the risk of recurrence, but apparently it is the increasing blood flow during exercise literally just destroys the cells because they are actually quite weak and fragile, interesting! And a reminder to keep up my cardio!

Ah you guys are the best. The womb has left the building and taken all her besties with her. And I am delighted to report that she left laparoscopically- woot!

Im still on all the drugs - surgery was about 12 hours ago - but so far all is well. I’m on the Oxycodeine clicker which I haven’t been needing much but it helps me to sleep. I need the help as I have those inflating calf squeezers on all night and those bastards are loud! Also when any of my meds need attention it’s like a flipping fog horn going off, complete with flashing red light.

My gynae surgeon was delighted with how tidily my colorectal surgeon had worked. Apparently I have very few adhesions.

The gif was a mistake but I kinda like it!

That's brilliant news Remaker Hope recovery continues to go well. 😂re gif.

Have to go back to sensible eating, I wasn't bad calories wise, only 300 over once my daily 1200 target after exercise taken off but within that I did have a hot chocolate, a cake and 3 small Easter eggs (about 120g combined) over the Easter weekend. So my weight went 1kg up but think it will go quickly, normally does with sugar and salt. I got about 4 hours exercise in over the weekend so happy with that esp as some was hill walking.

DD and DH are off to Oxford offer holders day. DD was very happy at her river tours job she got given £100 tip by one man, second highest tip they have ever had. Though want her focussing on her A levels not tempted into work by money though its very sporty so keeps her fit and mentally healthy so its great overall. DS appears to be improving too and now using oven, toaster, microwave and bathing a lot and doing his hair / shaving and walking around garden / seeing the silkies. I have got a bone scan come through for May, still no news on MRI letter so will need to chase that.

Lady I met swimming does the waiting list for breast reconstruction at my hospital, I will need to be super nice. 😂

@Penguinsa very similar story here. With encouragement DD has decided to quit her burger joint job to focus on her final year of school. However she’s just about to start her seasonal job of netball umpiring. That one we are all in favour of - the hourly rate is great, it’s exercise and she loves it. She’s been placed into a high performance dev group this year, mentored by a former international umpire; it’s great for her self confidence.

I think sporty jobs are perfect especially when they pay well, hope your DD enjoys it. My DD loves hers keeps her fit, meets people, good social life with it and pays well.

@Remaker so glad you are out the other side now. Take all the drugs! May recovery be speedy and uneventful.
I am slowly getting back to normal after the Zolendronic acid infusion set me back. I had a good physio session today and did some good cleaning up at the In-laws house. Unfortunately the bad fairy seems to have stopped picking on me and is having a go at DH instead. He was attacked by a random car passenger while cycling to the dentist today. Knocked to the ground, kicked and punched. Luckily it was a busy public area and lots of people took videos/photos. The police were there quickly and have found the driver. DH is okay, battered and shocked but alright. It seems he triggered a very angry man into a crazed attack for no obvious reason. Life is never dull round here!

Oh no @TopOfTheCliff poor DH! What a terrible experience. Fancy just launching into someone like that. I hope he makes a quick recovery physically and mentally.

That's terrible Top! Your poor husband.
Sometimes you have to wonder what goes through people's heads.
I hope he's not too badly injured but sending best wishes x

@TopOfTheCliff thats awful.hope he’s ok. Hope the police have got the attacker.

Thanks folks. The police have stopped the driver ( and presumably her passenger) and are coming here tomorrow to see DH. He is unusually quiet this evening. I think he can’t quite believe how much violent hatred was unleashed on him for no obvious reason. And his jaw hurts!

@Remaker So glad to hear your surgery went well - hope your recovery goes smoothly. 💐

@TopOfTheCliff Your poor DH - to be on the end of violence like that must have shaken him up so much, I hope it doesn't put him off cycling. I get the impression from your use of the phrase "presumably her passenger" that the driver was a woman? There really are some nasty people on the road these days.