**TAMOXIFEN** 4th thread

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we go !

hey cupcaked - am glad you found your way here - hope the chemo ladies can be of help -and hope we can support you.

Already feeling better supported than sports bra (have had nasty seroma since surgery, cakes, disproprtional to the size of what prompted the surgery, now red and sore and am so hoping it doesn't interfere with next chemo Tuesday). Good to hear life at the other end of FEC. Well named isn't it

Hi there Cupcaked, glad you found your way over here, and that your chemo is going OK. I didn't chop my hair before treatment, although it was quite long and v. thick. When it left the building it happened quite fast - came off like a hairy hat, and I was left with a few wispy strands (think Arthur Scargill) which I did shave. It is a bit of a shock to the system, but once you finish, it does grow back reasonably quickly. The seroma sounds a pain, I hope that settles down for you soon.

The strawberry tea sounds lovely MAS, with some great prizes, and I'm sure it will all go brilliantly on the day.

I've been at keep fit. So am red and sweaty (attractive). Looking forward to the weekend now, DH gets 2 days off so hopefully we can do something nice. (although I've got a dental appointment on tues.)

DD's recital went "OK" apparently, although she turned over two pages at once in one piece and had to make it up. (She doesn't think she got away with it)

Have a good weekend all, and take it easy all the treatment ladies.

Loving the picture of a hairy hat!

Seroma is a major bummer cupcaked, sympathies. Mine wasn't sore so probably not as icky as yours - but it did not hold up treatment. let's hope yours isn't infected and things can go ahead.

Poor dd KK - so easy to do when stressed. I bet she did great.

Off to get exercised up and sweaty myself now - shall be going out for a drink later to ruin all the good work: but it IS a Bank Holiday. I'm sure one or two would not hurt. Yay!

Sorry about the Bounty everyone - didn't mean to upste you
Hi Smee, I don't quite get my CMF regime either. I know its basically 4 cycles but won't get a total grip on it till I start! They told me it would be spread over 4 months but I haven't worked out all the dates. Just have to go with the flow.

I had rads planning this morning and found it very relaxing - nearly fell asleep on the machine

However my chat with nurses re a Picc line was not so helpful. Although I'd been advised by the hopsital just to go along, they said I should have had an appointment. Had quick chat and they've provisionally booked me in for a week on MOnday but the nurse didn't think I was in any serious need!! So now I'm on a quandary and don't know what to do. AGGGGHHHHH Plan to ring the nurses who know me and had all the fiddling about last chemo and see if I can talk to one of them next week.

Went to Ness Botanical Gardens on the way back as its beautiful here today and I thought it would take my mind off needles and veins etc- laburnum arch was looking splendid and I enjoyed it. Also had a nice lunch of course.

Cupcaked - welcome. I've had WLE in January for a 15mm tumour, one infection, One axillary clearance and 4 lots of chemo so far with 4 more to have but in half doses over 4 months. I generally feel fairly well (certainly better than I feared) except for the 7-10 days after chemo and I also have only a few wisps of hair!! I'm starting rads on 14 June and now have all the dates for that which feels good. I think rads will be a doddle compared to chemo (famous last words I hear you all say!)

My DS is also doing GCSEs and the rads dates are cleverly planned to start after most of them are over!

KK - sorry about the turning over 2 pages problem - pity they didn't give her a page turner. My DD was in the middle of one of her grade 8 piano pieces when she realised she'd put the sheets of music in the wrong order! I'm sorry to say she failed, but passed on 2nd attempt! (Its the only exam she has ever failed so far so lets hope it taught her a lesson about preparartion)

poor dd KK - but it sounds as though she mnanaged to wing it.
glad the rads planning went well SR - they played music during my rads planning -(REM as i recall) and sometimes during my rads too - it was in the hot weather and the room was mercifully cool,in fact it was positively chilly.

my exercise of the day, apart from walking into town is the making of chocolate & vanilla cupcakes without using a food processor - lots of arm work there ! I'd forgotten how joyful it is to lick the bowl

Already feeling better supported than sports bra (have had nasty seroma since surgery, cakes, disproprtional to the size of what prompted the surgery, now red and sore and am so hoping it doesn't interfere with next chemo Tuesday). Good to hear life at the other end of FEC. Well named isn't it

Oops dunno how that got posted again, pls ignore. Am lying in bed with bloody fluid running down my chest into my pjs after they stuck a scalpel into me this afternoon 'for drainage' aaarrgh every bit as sore as sounds! Seems not to be infected (so far anyway) so hoping 2nd chemo still on for tues.

Sandripples, picc partly depends on how well you tolerate a lot of hunting for veins? pros and cons as you know, not a black n White decision. Make sure u r well hydrated before any chemo, makes veins fuller ( I speak from more experience finding veins than offering them) but am sure u know that.

Lovely to hear u all getting on with real life. I am getting very tired of everyone I talk to wanting to talk cancer cancer cancer the last 2 months. Very boring now. I prefer talking piano exams and cupcakes!

And hope the ds ok with the gcses, sandripples, mine
has his a bit more spaced out from now so maybe can deal with hairless mum bit better- for chop tomorrow morning and good riddance to baby fairy hair which gets everywhere. Painted toenails blue this afternoon, inspired by Grazia, but their models were missing all the hairs stuck to toenails too

good luck with hair chop cupcaked - did at your hairy blue toenails

Poor you Cupcaked, with the scalpel. I hope it doesn't delay your chemo starting.

Yes I think you're right, it does depend on how well I can tolerate the vein-hunting, and I think the answer is 'not very well'! I was Ok to start with but after antibiotics pain and then aneasthetics pain and 4 lots of hunting/stabbing around for chemo its got me more and more anxious. So I will ring the nurse team leader on Tuesdya and A she knows me and B she can give an informed view on how likely we are to succeed with the 'butterfly' needle x 8 sessions.

O yes, its totally vital to thnink and talk about other things! I've just watched the BBC Dig-in video clips on planitning out French beans. Should have done this before we planted our's out though . We did it more or less OK but there were a couple of useful tips I could have done with! I think most have survived the way my DH and I planted them so not bad. Some are twirling enthusiastically up the poles already

Apparantly they like to have their feet wet - wet today so they'll be happy.

The seroma sounds horrible Cupcakes - I had it a little, but not enough to need drainage. Hopefully it is sorted now, and your treatment will go ahead as planned. Blue toenails sound good, (despite hairy additions )

Good luck to all the DC's doing GCSE's (is there a break for half term now?) Have a good weekend everyone.

Hi KK, yes its half term now. OUr school is running 2 revision days next week so my DS is going to those.

We are all going to see Pygmalion now at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. I'm pleased DS has agreed to come as he doesn't wish to be seen with dear parents very often

Have a good w/e.

hope you are feeling a bity better today cupcaked.
How was Pygmalion SR ?
Am attempting strawberry & vanilla cupcakes later -then I think I'll feel easier about my tea menu.
Bought a bottle of Pimms yesterday - to convince myself that summer is nearly here.

Hi - Pygmalion was great thanks, MAS. We all enjoyed it and I could see my DS laughing away (he was in front of me) so I'm really pleased. I took him along to a play last year and he wasn't impressed - he was at that in-between age when children's theatre was babyish for him but he didn't appreciate adult stuff. So it was a great success - especially as a last minute booking after rather a boring wet day! The Exchange has a very high standard and the theatre is a modern building giving a theatre in the round, built INSIDE a very large old building, so its a fun place to go.

Hope CC is feeling OK.

Bit windy for gardening today. My DH has gone sailing for 2 days - will be good for him as he gets a bit cooped up if he stays at home too long!

Hi all

You have been busy. Sorry to hear about the seroma - scalpel sounds a bit drastic! Hair chop horrid but necessary, I guess - loving hairy toenails!

Just off now to was out head lice solution. YUK! Have done dd, now it's my turn as a precaution. Grrrr!

Pygmalion sounds really good SR, lovely that your DS enjoyed it so much.

Sorry you've got the dreaded head lice to deal with Cakes - I've been there too!

Hope you're feeling a bit better today CC.
Pimms seems an excellent idea MAS, I may get some later. (I'm feeling rather guilty because I ate rather a lot of minstrels while watching Eurovision)

Disaster in the garden today. We have a huge lilac in the garden outside the sitting room window, it is beautiful, - covered in blossom, lots of birds on it etc. Well it has completely snapped off at the base in the wind. It must be about a foot in diameter at the base, but it was obviously a bit rotten and just went. Made a terrific crash - we're lucky it didn't hit the window - it landed on my border, but I can't assess the damage there yet. I'm feeling slightly stunned - I loved that tree We'll have to get it all chopped up, and then maybe buy something to replace it - but it won't be the same

sad] about your tree KK - what a shame. It's obviously very windy in your area as well then. I hope it hasn't done too much damage in the bed.

Cakes - yuk re the dreaded head-lice - its always really grotty realising that a DC has them - I also remember it well. In fact I just threw out a bottle of the special shampoo this morning - it had been in the bathroom for about 10 years.

I daren't go out as its so cold but will put on a fleece and be brave - a bit later...

glad ds and you enjoyed the play SR
How sad about the lilac tree KK - must've been extremely windy. Great for sailing SR !
Dh doing window boxes,old bath and hanging baskets -sunny and warm and breezy..
I have always feared the head louse - poor ds was slathered in Biz Niz everyday of junior school 'just in case' - it seemed to work as there was never any evidence..poor boy hates the stuff-it doesn't smell awful, just herbal.
Am doing vanilla & strawberry cupcakes today to see what they are like. A friend has offered to bakes scones which is a huge relief as i'll need lots - I always think I need to do stuff on my own which is silly.

Blimey take all the help you can, MAS or you'll be baking for ever!

How sad about the lilac tree. I bet the scent was gorgeous as well as the colour - and now just gone. Flipping heck it must be windy there - thought it was bad enough here.

my head a bit of a mystery. DD had 28 lice plus eggs (I like to keep a tally of the louse deaths ), but I seem to have had several eggs but no louse. I guess I may have had a few and they dropped out after dying from the lotion, (some of dds did this). Oh ick, how I hate head lice, Luckily dd is rarely affected - just seems to get some about this time each year. I am a bit of a manic checker so they rarely get a chance to get well established. Bleurgh!

Well it is a beautiful sunny afternoon out there now, - you wouldn't believe it had been so windy earlier. A friend of ours has a wood burner so he will take the wood off our hands. And we will go out tomorrow and choose a replacement - any suggestions?, something with blossom that doesn't get too tall so we don't have a repeat performance!

Glad you have some help with the baking MAS - strawberry and vanilla cupcakes sound yummy.

Hope your DH has a good time sailing SR, - he certainly shouldn't be becalmed this weekend!

I read something recently about how if you have chemo, you should make sure you exercise your brain by doing a crossword or some sort of puzzle each day. Or write something (letters, e-mails, journals etc.)just to keep things ticking over. So have decided to try something in that line each evening.

Have been away from here for a while trying to 'move on' as I am now 3 years past last chemo and will soon be 3 years post rads as well.I am back looking for a hand to hold as a very dear friend dx with me has died and I am reading a eulogy at her funeral on Tuesday.She died of a different but possibly realated cancer.She was only 48.

Pranma, so sorry to hear that. Hope you can get the strength to do it from all your lovely memories of her. Will be thinking of you on Tuesday.

Also sorry about the lilac tree and the lice (got that tee-shirt too), but glad to hear about the minstrels, green beans, Pimms, cupcakes (of course!), and Pygmalion.

CC is a different woman today: cannot describe how liberating it was to get rid the old lady's rapidly diminishing hair: number 3 razor cut all over so much better than the death by 1000 cuts which was happening all week. The wig isn't half bad so instead of the planned rush back to duvet, I stuck chin out and strolled up the road to meet pal for coffee. She had great idea to go out for tea with the DHs (mine has been seriously neglected in every respect lately, feel sorry for him) and sent me off to buy a new frock. So I melted the plastic a bit, got the slap on and discovered that I might have lost the taste for wine and beer but hey, vodka and cranberry still goes down a treat!

Seroma blown up again today, scalpel infliction stopped working Sat morning, so I need to try to find a surgeon tomorrow morning (on a bank hol..) to sort it out again before the next chemo on Tues but hey, even that doesnt feel like such a disaster since I got rid of the dandelion clock head. Onwards and upwards

Pranma, so sorry to hear about your friend, especially hard given that you were DX at the same time. Tuesday will be a difficult day for you, but perhaps in some way a comfort to read a eulogy and a way to say farewell to your friend. You are doing very well in moving on, but of course this is a hard time. I'll be thinking of you and hand holding in spirit next week.

CC - so pleased you are feeling more upbeat, the hair chop was obviously a success, and a new frock is always good thing. Seroma is being a bit of a bugger isn't it? - hope you can find a surgeon tomorrow.

hello pranma - am so sorry about your friend - it must be very hard for you -will think of you especially on Tuesday - do stick around here for handholding. I haven't been on the BCC forum for a long while so haven't 'seen' you there.
Cupcaked - sorry about the seroma flareup but well done you for the hair cut and brilliant attitude (and what a nice friend ) Hope the wound heals up quickly and this week goes well for you.
Strawberry cupcakes were a success -was careful not to go mad with pink food colouring - will try to link to my illustration facebook page so you can see the evidence (and if the link works,the lovely things donated for my tea)