The Great Cancer Recovery part 3

[TopOfTheCliff]

You may have finished active treatment for cancer, be in remission or NED. You want to look forward not dwell on the past. You know you ought to be eating well, exercising more and picking up the threads of your old life. Join us and share the ups and downs of recovery. We understand!

Here are some resources we found helpful:

The Mountain Lion
https://www.cancerpal.co.uk/post/what-it-s-really-like-to-receive-a-cancer-diagnosis

Peter Harvey on Psychology of recovery:
https://workingwithcancer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf

Resources from Penny Brohn:
https://pennybrohn.org.uk/our-approach/resources/

Breast Cancer Now Moving Forward:
https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/support-you/moving-forward

Get your Oomph Back with Carolyn Garritt
http://www.oomph.london/home.html

Charity providing treats for cancer patients:
https://somethingtolookforwardto.org.uk/

Exercise is good for you:
https://www.webmd.com/cancer/features/exercise-cancer-patients

Any more suggestions? Post them below

There is also a thread for those suspected to have cancer, or newly diagnosed and facing treatment, and also a thread for those with Stage IV cancer who want to talk to others in the same boat.

Sounds like your DM is in the same place as my DM was @TopOfTheCliff, including the incontinence! We had an incontinence nurse around but she was hopeless and talked more about herself and she did about my DM. I have always said the same about assisted-living as well!

I've had a fantastic weekend in Manchester with DD, we've done loads of things, I'm still here, I'm going out for breakfast then I have to Uber back to DD's to get my car to drive back down to work. That's the only thing about being away for the weekend, I feel like I still need another weekend at home before going back to work again!

I hope you had an easy trip back to work @SierraSapphire and caught up on yourself again.
All the cancer threads are very quiet this week. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. At least there are no anguished newbies arriving.
This thread is much quieter without Penguin. We are all steadily pulling away from the rawness of dealing with a cancer diagnosis and recovering from the treatment. Every week I am getting a bit stronger and fitter. I am a bit twitchy about my mammogram next week and a slightly knobbly scar in my armpit that probably needs checking. Meanwhile I am trying to be a good friend to the lovely people in my life. Today I helped some friends move house, shifting furniture from a barn to their new home. Tomorrow I am visiting several friends, getting a haircut and seeing my DD. Keeping busy!
How are you all getting on?

I had an appointment for a medication review with the pharmacist at my GP practice. I was able to have a good chat with him - much longer than a GP appointment. I discussed my worries about vitamin/mineral absorption because of my replumbed small bowel. He ordered a wide range of blood tests for me; I didn't realise he could do that. I've now had a call from the surgery to see GP about results.

In general I've been feeling very under the weather this week and have spent a lot of it snuggled under a blanket reading. Not sure whether it's the time of year or a bug of some sort.

I am in need of a haircut. I wonder if my hairdresser could fit me in this afternoon.

I got back to work okay thanks Top, i've had an okay week and I'm working at home today and meeting a friend for lunch, then I will work from the gym for the afternoon and hopefully a swim and spa later on. I am managing to keep up with my lunchtime walks instead of just staying at my desk, and I have also started recording what I eat this week to try and lose a few more pounds that I've put on since I started the job, it's going okay, although the recording is tiresome.

I am also still waiting for my CA125 results, my consultant works a week on a week off at the hospital as she's also in an academic, so she wouldn't look at them until next week, obviously I'm hoping they're still low. Follow-up anxiety is still a big thing, hope everything is still clear for you @TopOfTheCliff and your blood results are also okay @MissMarplesNiece - it's a bit rubbish that things are only followed up on when you mention them rather than it being a fairly obvious issue with the surgery you've had.

Sending sympathy on the test results @SierraSapphire I guess the anxiety never really fades.

I’ve had a good week exercise wise. Managed a 50 length swim one day which is the longest I’ve done for ages. But not a great week food wise. Need to get out of Christmas snacking mode! DD1 is going back to uni this weekend and the building work is nearly done so hopefully things will feel more ‘back to school’ and less indulgent from next week on. I can lose weight when a switch flicks in my head but I sometimes find it very hard to find that switch.

I start my new (temporary) role on Monday and was feeling nervous but positive but I have been thrown an odd curve ball. I spoke to my new boss this week and they told me that they have been referred under the 2WW and are having lots of hospital appointments and tests. Obviously my first thought is for them, keeping my fingers crossed for an all clear for them. But I feel oddly anxious about it, almost like I felt I would be up to the challenge if I put cancer out of my mind, and this makes it harder to do that? I know that sounds horribly self centred, but I hope that perhaps you might understand where I’m coming from.

Just dropping in to let everyone know @Penguinsa has landed and getting stuck in to her new life.

Ah that's good news @thesandwich - big change for her.

Yeah I get that @dotty2 - when someone's going through investigations of course you don't want them to have cancer but it brings it to the forefront, and then if they get the all clear, which obviously you hope they do, you can be left with feelings of having supported them and it being okay for them, but it not being okay for you because you actually did have it. Hope it all passes quickly and you can get on with the work.

I managed an outdoor swim and spa after work, so feeling good about that. I got a busy weekend with various friends as well, and I think DD is going to be coming back on Sunday for a few days.

I had a lovely week away with DH doing a road trip west of Sydney. We went wine tasting, to an Elvis festival, visited friends on a cattle farm and bush walked in the blue mountains. Oh and played pickle ball for the first time which was really fun and something I hope to do more of.

I’m having a colonoscopy on Thursday so looking forward to that being over. Best wishes to everyone who is waiting on results.

I’ve had a good week and am working on making better choices. I’ve started exercise classes at the gym this week - did an aqua splash and two sort of ‘recovery weight training sessions’ designed to ease you back in. I’ve also kept up with my physio exercises and the nerve pain on my left side is improving a bit.
Gone to low sugar/low carb and trying to have an eating window between 12 and 7. I’m going to try and lose a bit of weight.
Saw a couple of friends for dog walking and coffee and another for lunch, we had dinner out with another couple - posh steak! Got some freebie tickets to see Beauty and the Beast in the city tonight.

I decided against the job after reading some of the training materials - they were also terribly disorganised. So back to the drawing board there. I have two students I’m tutoring. I’ve decided that I’m going to focus on the health, fitness being social objectives rather than smashing myself with a job that I know I won’t enjoy. It’s also difficult with more surgery at some point and a UK trip later this year. Supply genuinely seems to be the best option if I can cope with it. But will keep applying for jobs I actually want. I’ve got an application in with a local library - might sign up for a qualification - but very expensive and can’t get student loans until I am a citizen.

I’ve got six more days of immunotherapy left!!!! I really hope my energy levels and sinus situation improve when I come off them! The exercise in particular on top of dog walks in the heat just floors me. (We go reasonably early but it’s still very hot, hat weather.)

I think you are right @TopOfTheCliff we are all starting to gain a small amount of distance…The Nolan sisters thing in the news affected me a bit.

@Remaker your trip sounds fun! Hopefully the holiday rush has died down a bit. Love the Blue Mountains!

@dotty2 I had a similar situation with one job, a friend’s mum had been through it twice and we were told that our boss was having chemo. It was an extremely difficult situation. We were told there was a curriculum in place etc but we got there and there was nothing. He was trying to keep going when he should have been on sick leave.

@MissMarplesNiece hope the tests show a vitamin issue that can be sorted. Low iron etc can make you feel horrid.

Too hot here for me today.

i know everyone needs well wishes for their upcoming tests and results but gosh @remaker, Colonoscopies are just insult to injury.

I needed to hear that @TopOfTheCliff That the veterans on this thread are feeling less raw. Just less than a year in for me so it gives me some hope that i will not always feel like this.

My New Year’s resolution is fairly simple: to leave the house more. And I’ve been working hard to do that. Went for lunch today and there was a hobbies group annual dinner last night. And a lovely long beach dog walk with a new friend and his 3 lovely young dogs last Sunday. I had forgotten how nice it is to do that: just chit chatting with other random dog people and talking about the “lovely” weather.

I’ll trade you some warmth for some artic cold @FairyWren7 It’s cold now but next week is going to be brutal! We’re expecting a maximum of -8 next Wednesday! With minimums of -14, who knows what the feels like temp is going to be 🥶

Good luck everyone!

Aww thanks@Lilgreygoose . Small positives but now I only have a small amount of colon left I only need to take one sachet of bowel prep the afternoon before. The second one at 6am the day of was always hard to stomach so I’m glad to not need it. Also living in Australia everyone gets sedated for them so I will have a nice sleep and know nothing about it. Certainly not what you do for fun but it will mark 2 years since my diagnosis and providing all is clear I will be able to stretch out my follow up appointments from 3 mthly to 6 which will be nice.

We’ve been having wild weather up here @FairyWren7. Trees coming down all over the place including 2 houses down from us and another at the end of our street which brought down a power line. One of my friends has had no power since Wednesday! Hopefully it has all calmed down now.

@remaker - at least it’s just one packet of that stuff. It’s bloody horrible! Fingers crossed that all goes well for you.

You’ve had storms over there haven’t you. We’ve had a couple of days with big thunderstorms but we haven’t had high winds for a while.

@Lilgreygoose that sounds too cold to me!
I’m in agreement about going out more and am doing a bit more myself. It definitely helps with mood as does exercise.

We’re indoors watching the tennis coverage eating cheese and biscuits - life seems to be stabilising a bit… fingers crossed.

@Remaker I hope this week goes well for you. It will be good to get past this hurdle.
@FairyWren7 your weather sounds a bit dramatic. Ours is just gloppy and cold and grey.
I had a lovely trip to London for my DS29 and Dfiancé's engagement party. They have a huge gang of friends, some of whom I have known since they were toddlers. My XH and his DBs were there too and all very friendly. It was a good occasion. We wandered beforehand from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden and had a Greggs sausage roll in Leicester Square. Living the dream!
Now I am home and have grasped the nettle and phoned the BCNs to ask if I need an ultrasound for my ballbearing sized lump. I am having my mammogram on Wednesday but want reassurance that is enough for the lumpy scar. It is almost certainly nothing but I thought that 2 years ago. Trying not to let my thoughts go to bad places…
Today I am taking DM90 to a hospital appointment so will get going via DDs house to walk her doggy. I am keeping my New Years Resolution to be kinder to people I care about. I am booked to see the Bridget Jones film with friends so that’s a fun thing to look forward to. I think if DH gets his DPs probate and tax forms completed this month we might book a holiday to celebrate too.

Now I need to do some exercise to rid myself of the looming dread of Wednesday.
Have a good week folks.

Best of luck to everyone undergoing investigations and waiting for results.

It is cold and wet here. Life feels busy and is pretty much back to how it was pre cancer, which is good in some ways but less so in others - I feel quite pushed for time and am not exercising as much as I would like. I am also still lacking hair and look very cancer-y. I wonder if I should give up on it growing and embrace shortness. It looks like a permed mullet at the moment.

My new year's resolution is to be tidier, but that is not going brilliantly (I should probably be tidying now!).

Ah yes @demivolte I remember looking in the mirror one day and realising, fuck I've got a mullet, just as I'd thought my hair was starting to look a bit more normal 😂.

Fingers crossed for you @TopOfTheCliff - well done for making the contact, and fingers crossed it is just a knobbly scar.

I got home to a letter from the hospital, so anxiously rushed to open it, but it was just the report from my appointment and no CA125 result.

It is definitely get better @Lilgreygoose, obviously other than blips around scans and other tests. I often don't think about it much, especially when I'm busy, although I guess it's always there in the background informing my choices about what I eat and when I exercise. I can't say I'm really in the mood, but I am going to go to an exercise class in a little bit, and I upped my walking too. although now I've sat down on the sofa. I could also quite easily snooze for a bit!

@demivolte I think short hair suits me best so I will probably keep it that way now. I’m having my highlights done on Thursday. Do you like short hair?
Meanwhile I have brought trouble down on myself with my call to the BCNs. They have cancelled my mammogram and booked me into the 2ww breast cancer clinic in 10 days. I shall be bricking it until that is out of the way. I am however quite proud of myself for being brave and getting it out in the open instead of putting my head in the sand. I really don’t want to go down the rabbit hole so will be distracting myself as much as I can. @Lilgreygoose it does get easier most of the time!

Ah, I’m sorry you have to deal with that stress @TopOfTheCliff but you have done the right thing to tackle it head on. Keeping everything crossed for you.

Another one here keeping my hair short after an unfortunate brush with the mullet.

I’m on the train home after my first day in my new job. No cancer chat (phew). Lots to take in and I feel a bit daunted not to mention knackered. I’m very pleased I’m WFH tomorrow and don’t have to do a full day as I have a flexible contract. Will drive DD to school and fit in a swim. I like my normal potter-y life but it will do me good to tackle a challenge

Sorry you're having to cope with that @TopOfTheCliff - I feel like someone else had a very similar issue and it turned out just to be scar tissue, but I can't remember who it was. Hopefully the same for you too.

Well done on the new contract @dotty2 - I am completely in the swing of working full-time now, though I do miss pottering around, I do like the structure and the social contact. Hope you get in the swing of things soon.

I did make it to the gym and did a functional strength class, I suspect I'm going be a bit achy tomorrow. DD has been back but she's been with her boyfriend so I've barely seen her, but hoping to see her tomorrow before she returns up north.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with that @TopOfTheCliff, but it's definitely the right thing to do. Fingers crossed it is something nice and straightforward.

Well done on getting to the gym @SierraSapphire.

I've never had short hair but have just been googling and there are some nice styles around. At the current rate of regrowth it will take about 5 years to get back to the length it was (which wasn't even that long) so maybe it is time to abandon that idea.

I always had shortish hair, bob length, other than during Covid, but I lost a lot at the front as the first time the cold cap wasn't pulled forward far enough, so now I have a fringe for the first time since I was 18, which is a revelation, I feel so much more stylish and everyone says it suits me, the only positive that chemo has given me!

I wish the weather would get a bit warmer, and lighter! I'm not as achy from the gym as I expected to be and actually I could probably go and do some cardio this morning but it's quite difficult to motivate myself when it's so cold. Work's pretty busy as well, so do I just get in and get on with things, although I know I should really be prioritising my health! But also DD's around today so I might take a longer lunch, I aim to exercise five days a week anyway so it's fine to miss one.

I'm also trying to plan our holiday to Italy in March, doing four cities and my friend's has organised most of it so far, she's retired and she's happy to do it, in fact she's probably more bothered about what we do than I am so that kind of works out, but I'm bit overwhelmed by guidebooks, I think I need to turn to googling old Mumsnet threads for the highlights!

Ooh @SierraSapphire I like the sound of your Italy trip. I am going to plan some treats to look forward to, to get me through the next 9 days. There is an expensive puffin fairisle jumper I like (that DM says she will buy me) and DH and I are overdue a bike tour so I will look for somewhere warm but fairly close. I think I will order the first as it will cheer me up even if it is bad news, but not book the second yet. I have a gnawing lump of anxiety in my gut now, which from experience won’t go away until this is resolved. One bonus is I am losing weight again slowly. I have a big bike ride on Saturday and the weather forecast is a bit wild but that will be quite fun. Also there is the posh dinner dance I bought a fab dress for in September and have been waiting to wear. Lots to keep me distracted.

@TopOfTheCliff hope you are going ok. Fingers crossed it’s scar tissue.

I’ve got some books out from the library about how we process trauma. Exercise going well - small changes on the scales in the right direction. The weather is cooler today thank goodness!

I’m sorry that you are dealing with this extra stress @TopOfTheCliff . The waiting is the worst!

I’ve just had my last solid food for about 30 hours. I’ve made my mango flavoured jelly and have packets of chicken soup, apple juice and lemonade ready to go. I don’t normally drink juice or fizzy drinks as they make my bowels misbehave but I figure the whole point of the next 24 hours is misbehaving bowels so I may as well have some treats! It’s going to be 36 degrees here today so I will be feet up, aircon on, watching Netflix and the tennis and making my way through a smorgasbord of clear fluids.

@Remaker hope you are going ok with your colonoscopy today.

I rarely pop in but just wanted to say fingers crossed for you @TopOfTheCliff , you are always so wonderfully supportive on here, hope all is clear