The Great Recovery part 4

[TopOfTheCliff]

Time for a new thread. Welcome aboard!

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.

I really think it does reset the baseline @TopOfTheCliff I definitely find way more joy in simple things, like my first cup of tea of the day! Everyday ordinariness is wonderful.

I've restarted yoga (am going this morning) to help with balance and flexibility. I also stand on one leg when brushing my teeth (I've got an electric toothbrush with a timer, so I can do a minute on each leg). I was very fit before cancer, so it has been hard 'starting over'. After yoga I've got a few errands to run, might buy myself some flowers 🙂

@ineedlight I'm on Tamoxifen and not loving it. It's shocking to me that you are lactose intolerant and your doctor isn't prescribing the lactose free version! For me, the brand makes a HUGE difference to side effects. Not sure I'll manage 10 years of it, though. It's my choice.

I finished radiotherapy last week (after surgery and chemo). I’m on Letrozole and Zoladex now and waiting to start Abemiciclib in March.

It definitely does give a new baseline @TopOfTheCliff. I am taking forward saying no to things that I don’t want to do but trying to balance that with taking opportunities.
We have booked a holiday and I am very much looking forward to some proper relaxation and vitamin D. I’ve somehow managed to work throughout all of the my treatment and I feel like I definitely need the rest.

@TopOfTheCliff your location with boats and moors (and cliff?) sounds incredible!
@BatshitCrazyWoman to be fair it’s only in the last weeks that I started to think about it myself so I haven’t approached the GP yet altho the cancer nurse said to ask them. I’ve just started my 3rd brand 3 days ago and boy the insomnia is back too! Is there any particular brand that you found more tolerable than the rest so I can ask to try it?
@AlwaysALargeSauvignonBlanc beware of the possible fatigue lack after radiotherapy- I felt fine during it and for a week after then it hit me. But I’m sure it’ll be nothing like you probably had with the chemo. I’m also holiday planning - it’s made me want to do as soon as possible the backpacking type holidays of our pre-children lives (youngest just gone to uni). I know I’m chasing a memory of a more care-free existence.

@ineedlight I'm currently taking Crescent brand, and over the month the joint pain has gradually improved. I've had Mylan, too and was okay with that one. It was the Tillomed that was dreadful!

Thanks @BatshitCrazyWoman crescent may be one to try. For me Tillomed wasn’t as bad as Renochem. Early days on mylan and still have gastric problems but not as bad as last week.

Hope you can get the lactose free soon @ineedlight Enjoy holiday planning - I love planning holidays. My eldest is at university but youngest is still at home.

Enjoy your holiday @AlwaysALargeSauvignonBlanc

Not sure I will do 10 years on Tamoxifen either @BatshitCrazyWoman 5 years is a very clear benefit on the new predict figures but 10 years is more marginal at 1% extra and there's an additional risk of ovarian cancer which may be similar to 1% on some studies. Unless that's already in there.

Hope you enjoyed London @TopOfTheCliff and get the all clear in your checks.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Lovely weather for January here today, sunny, no rain and around 7C to 8C so DH and I went gardening and did that for about 3 hours then 30 mins of cleaning floors downstairs. We finished one garden path, two more to do and get stepping stones for one tomorrow, cleaned some things and cleared all the leaves and did the RSPB birdwatch. We always have quite a lot of birds in our garden.

@AlwaysALargeSauvignonBlanc how on earth did you manage to work through chemotherapy?You must be utterly exhausted. It will take a while for you to process what you have just been through so be gentle with yourself.

@MrsSPenguins you must be in a completely different weather zone from me. We have had storm Ingrid and are just clearing up with debris everywhere and structural damage to rail and roads and walls. Our London trip was great despite some disruption, and I am now recovering from a fun night out at the Dinner Dance.
The clinic visit was oddly soulless and dispiriting. I was early, so was the radiographer, and within ten minutes I was in and out with no small talk, no exploration of my concerns, just a robotic routine without eye contact or any apparent interest in me. I yelped once when she squished me, but that made no difference. Most unusual and disconcerting! Two weeks for results then I can relax hopefully.

Glad that your London trip was good @TopOfTheCliff That's a shame you don't get told straightaway the results, though it sounds very hopeful for it being all clear as they normally seem to do more scans / biopsies if concerned. I've been told straightaway but having said that mine have been when I've had concerns so it maybe different.

Yes weather here has allowed us to garden 3 times this year - we have to watch forecasts closely and plan everything but once out its nice to be outside (if muddy thanks to DS). DH went and collected all the stepping stones for path 3 yesterday and they are now in the garden ready to be laid - they are hedgehog and squirrel stepping stones. They were quite hard to get hold of but after ringing round lots of garden centres I managed to find one selling them almost half price, with stock in but it was quite a distance away but only one other centre further away had them and full price.

That sounds fantastic @MrsSPenguins . I designed a coat of arms for Tops Towers with a hedgehog and a squirrel with “ It will all be fine” as our motto. Your stones would fit the theme perfectly.
I managed to plant some onions, weed the strawberries and plant out some Tayberries this week. I have some new raspberry canes to plant and the potatoes are chitting. I try to nip up to the allotment between rain storms, of which we have had many!

I am feeling quick sick at the moment, not sure why. It may be reflux, or stress, or my awful inner ears, or a hangover from exemestane which I have been off for a month. I don’t think it is anything sinister and I haven’t lost any weight and all my bloods were good. I can’t quite decide whether I should act on it. Maybe I will wait for the mammogram result and see what happens. I never used to worry about these things.

That coat of arms sounds wonderful @TopOfTheCliff Yes the stepping stones would fit in well, they remind me a bit of Beatrix Potter and will lead to our squirrel bench. Well done on the planting.

Sorry you are feeling sick. I doubt its the meds if you've been off a month. If you are worried about your mammo result if you phone them they may already know - I'ld be very surprised if its not all clear, well at least our one is a one-stop shop and you can tell they know instantly from the looks, comments to each other and whether they do further tests. Ours normally say at the time. I was not feeling sick but did get chest pains / tightness around then and I think it was nerves as its gone now.

The weather here is very windy and rain today but tomorrow is forecast to be nice for January and DH will take the afternoon off and we will start laying the squirrel and hedgehog stepping stones.

I don't know if @FairyWren7 is still reading. I hope things are going well for you and miss your Australia photos.

It feels like a barrage of medical appointments this last two weeks. Zoladex, Blood test, CT scan with contrast (checking my hips) and today I had my first zoledronic - going back to the chemo ward wasn’t as awful as I thought although I’m suffering now with flu symptoms. Have agreed with work that’ll work from home for the rest of the week. I might just sack off today as I think I need some time on my own (without kids etc).

Hope that your results are ok @TopOfTheCliff - it’s hard waiting but hopefully it won’t be long.

@MrsSPenguins sounds like a lovely pretty garden you have. Very therapeutic!

I think I’ve got half term sorted. Off to the in-laws for a bit then cricket camp for the kids. Away with friends this weekend. Let’s hope I feel well enough!

Thanks @Littlecaf Hope you have a nice weekend away and feel better soon.

DH took afternoon off and weather is nice here today for January so we went and started doing the hedgehog and squirrel stones path, cleared the leaves and also cleaned downstairs floors. 3 hours 45 mins and I moved all the stones into place and DH dug holes and put sand in for 15 of them, about 32 to do on this path. We were watched by a squirrel, our chickens and lots of birds were chirping and seemed very happy with our path.

Will have fish and chips from the van tonight.

@TopOfTheCliff sorry you had a sub par experience at check
up. It seems so dependent on who you get as well as the culture of that unit. I had third annual mammogram last week. Lovely, cheerful Australian lady, who asked me to wait while she checked she got sufficient images. Five minutes later she told me that I would hear within 48 hours if there was anything of concern, but that she could see nothing untoward. Empathetic, efficient, reassuring. Would that it was always thus.

Reading about people’s travails with ongoing medication and side effects is a corrective to the anxiety to lack of treatment options for TNBC. I just have to keep my fingers crossed without having to cope with aching joints etc.

Three years out feels good. I’m also putting to bed a lot of unresolved trauma from childhood and early adulthood which has impacted for long enough.One phrase I’ve found very helpful is cancer ‘strips away tolerance for nonsense’. I’m laying down things that are not mine to carry, as well as appreciating that first cup of tea in the morning and the hellebores and snowdrops in my garden. I am…..recovering.

Best wishes to everyone else in their process

Great news @GrannyGoggles

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

@GrannyGoggles it is great to hear from you. Congratulations on three years. Me too! I think with TNBC we can celebrate at three years because more recurrence happens early with this nasty bastard so we are over the hump.
Thankfully my results arrived in the post today and after a bit of gibbering I opened the envelope and saw the magic words Normal mammogram!
As per the new usual my hypochondriacal symptoms have settled. I think I must have been a bit unwell last week as since Monday I am feeling more energetic,less sick and my joints are better. Maybe it was all fuelled by the mammogram stress or just a bug from London. Either way I am riding a 100 km bike event in the rain tomorrow to celebrate being alive and well. I was pondering whether I actually enjoy these masochistic outings or do I just go along to please my DH and be the sort of DW he wants? I can’t answer that.
Since New Year we have dealt with a ton of difficult issues, including the wrecked van, my pension nonsense, the storms, broken boat, the mammogram and elderly DM. I think all that was building up and bending me out of shape. I might have to go back to yoga to align my chakras. It certainly worked before.

@Littlecaf sometimes being a cancer patient feels like a full time job! I hope work are understanding.
@MrsSPenguins well done on the path construction. I’d love to see a photo of the result!
I think we are coming to the end of thread 4 so will set up the next one as the resources at the top are such a valuable find for those following us along the path. I will post the link.
Have a dry weekend if you can folks

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/general_health/5483933-the-great-cancer-recovery-part-5

Here is the new thread in case this one fills up while I am getting drenched cycling up hills tomorrow. What a way to celebrate five and three years survival after BC x2! Each to their own.

Morning all, I've been keeping up with all the adventures and medical tests- @TopOfTheCliff you have really been through the mangle. I am in awe of you cycling 100k in the rain.
@MsPengiuns your garden projects sound lovely. It is great to see new growth in the garden.
@GrannyGoggles its good to read your updates. I love your phrase about laying down things that aren’t yours to carry. I’ll adopt that one- thank you.
I have been enjoying mini adventures to cinema for hamnet and theatre- a great performance of Woman in Black accompanied by a few hundred school pupils who after initial twittering were v well behaved and screamed in all the right places.
Looking forward to spending more time outside.
Thank you to all for this supportive, honest thread. And thanks for the new thread @TopOfTheCliff

That's great you have a normal mammogram @TopOfTheCliff Hope the cycle goes well.

Thanks @thesandwich Glad you enjoyed the theatre.

Hopefully more path today but am struggling to motivate DH - he has suggested tomorrow but its raining all day so he's now said 2.15pm. Will be glad when the days are longer and the weather better more days. Not sure when it will be finished - have 32 to do and did 15 last time along with other things so probably won't be today. Its lovely to see the bulbs coming up. Its quite muddy work at the moment with the weather and DS being out there so much. DS also has started taking nighttime secret baths upstairs though very easy to tell its him as there's muddy footprints, bottles knocked over etc. Last night he came up at about 5am but he's secret was foiled by the cat who went outside the bathroom making dramatic sad noises the whole time. So everyone was awake then and cat got his tuna early then all back asleep. I had a 5.30am clean but doesn't take too long.

You’re welcome @thesandwich. A gentler phrase than ‘Not my problem’, politer than ‘I don’t give a s••••’, but freeing all the same. I’m not yet at the stage of viewing cancer as a ‘gift’ which I was told by more than one person I should, and have no ambition to be there

I am acutely aware that I’m in a position of considerable social and economic privilege, that I’m lucky my cancer was caught early and I was able to access curative treatment.

It’s still a tough gig. Three years out from diagnosis I do feel more like me, albeit a changed version, one who definitely gives less shits, whilst also valuing the ritual of morning tea, admiring the snowdrops and relishing grandchildren’s hugs all the more

Thank you and love to everyone on this thread. It’s of considerable value to me

Hi everyone,
I’ve had a bit of a lengthy break. I’ve been a bit stuck with a big decision. Wanting to move back to the UK. I’m hoping to do this with the hubby and pets this year. It’s a big move and I’m worried about it but I just can’t settle here now.
I will catch up with the thread now and see how you all are going! X

@FairyWren7 lovely to hear from you. What a big decision! How does DH feel about it? Come over to thread 5 and tell us more!

@GrannyGoggles I am calling out those who’ve said to me to view cancer as a gift to politely fuck off! Honestly, what planet are those people on! It’s a shit gift. I’ll return it please, just give me the receipt!

But yes, I do feel very grateful that I had a cancer that was treatable and curable, and has ongoing treatment that helps prevent reaccurnace I often wish that I had what my friend had - a small amount of DCIS, lumpectomy with no other treatment. She didn’t even need radiotherapy. And then I catch myself and remember that it’s all relative to our experience. We get what we get. But we’re all human and we all have a different take on it. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that her anxiety about it returning is similar to mine.