**TAMOXIFEN** 4th thread

[MaryAnnSingleton]

here we go !

MAS, glad the counselling started well. Must have been a relief to feel comfortable with her. Glad too you're not obsessively ironing. I met a woman when DS was tiny who ironed her baby's babygrows and socks. I nearly fell over in shock.

I love all this talk of holidays, but sadly am not off for another two weeks - got another round of chemo before then, and DS doesn't break up until the 23rd.

SR, glad the PICC worked well today and I hope the CMF tablets aren't too brutal this time. I have no experience, so can't help, but sounds like it might be worth at least trying taking them at night. Can you take a herbal sleeping pill with them to help knock you out maybe? I'm using those Nytol ones at the moment and they've helped me a lot.

Thanks Smee.

By the way I should also have mentioned Sugar Sands beach which is nice. Further South than Craster but North of Amble. I have only been once but we had a lovely BBQ!

I'm not feeling bad today - decided to take one tablet last night and 2 with breakfast so am hoping to improve energy as the pm progresses. Steroid still helping as I can tell from my red face! I made an amazing lunch - deep fried, stuffed courgette flowers, plus courgette fritters and banana fritters. Don't usually deep fry anything but was inspired by having grown the courgettes!

I have a light coating of fuzzy hair now by the way - quite encouraging!! Its over most of my head but least at the front unfortunately.

Ironing babygor's ?? good grief.

glad you're not feeling too bad today SR and hooray for courgette flowers (am afraid of deep frying !) and fuzzy hair

we have some tomatoes !! green, but growing -yay !

Hi, yes we also at last have a few green tomatoes on the plants!

I have been really sleepy all w/e. Keep dropping off when I sit down! I guess its the combo of rads and chemo SEs.

Pennies - how is your hair I wonder? I keep looking at mine to see how long its got! (About a centimtre but thin and a bit patchy! Great look.)

Tomato here, as have only got flowers on mine.

SR, sorry you're feeling so sleepy, though it's hardly surprising with what you've been put through. Hair growth though not a good look is still growth, so hooray for that. Am sure it won't be too long before it's looking spiky and deliberately funky.

Bit depressed here, as saw Oncologist this morning and have to delay next chemo for a week, as my blood results are worryingly low. They nearly kept me in, but as obs are healthy, said it was okay to come home. Onc was lovely and said it just shows the drugs are working. (a bit too well imo!) They'll reduce by 20% for next cycle (presumably in an attempt not to kill me.)

Hope everyone's had good weekends. Pennies and RWU especially. Haven't heard from you for a while.

Smee, sorry about your chemo being delayed. Had you been feeling rough? I never know whether you can tell if the counts are dropping too far. I realise I've been lucky so far in that my counts have held up thus far. I have got very lax about taking my temperature as I did it religiously for a while but it was always OK.

No need to be too re tomatoes as they are really tiny and have only just appeared! The birds will probably eat them before we can!

Have done a few useful admin jobs today - booked DH onto a ferry to collect DD from her year abroad in Germany, bought binocs on-line, and yet again spoke to District Nurses to say no dressings have arrived for my line - this is the 5th time I've done this!! They are lovely but their admin appears to be shambolic and hopeless! Fortunately my hospital sneaked me a few dressings as long as I don't tell anyone...

Hope your counts take a turn upwards very soon Smee.

Love to others lurking. I hope you're OK.

sorry you are being delayed smee hope the blood perks up - good to know the nasty chemicals are doing their work but still....
our toms are tiny and very green - hope they do ripen and aren't eaten by critters.
There's a new profile pic of RWU on facebook and she looks beautiful
Ds on a school trip to London today - in fact all week. Did I say that before ?
Btw - have entered a competition to design a t shirt for Evans for breast cancer awareness week (for Breakthrough Breast Cancer) so keep your fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed for t-shirt design MAS. That would be something; seeing your design out there. Really hope they pick you.

SR, I feel a bit tired, but that's about it. To be honest I was amazed they were so low, but Onc says it's not uncommon. They work out how much of each drug to give you dependent on your height/ weight, etc. Some women they get just right, others way off, as it depends on how your body takes to it all. Hopefull I'll remain infection free, then after this I'll sail through.

• okay you two, so I'll stop my tomato envy. If you've got carrots further ahead than teeny seedlings though I might have to stop posting.

Don't worry - carrots are microscopically small! Same for beetroot.

Good luck with the design MAS - that's exciting. Hope your DS enjoys London. My DS is at a bit of a loose end so we're going to make banana bread now.

our carrots seem pretty wee too

Looks like you're stuck with me then.

MAS, hope DS had fun. At least it's cooler for him today. If it had been last week he'd have cooked.

SR, banana bread; I want some now. All your fault for mentioning it....

we would miss you smee ! ds seems to have had a good time - St Paul's & a city walk tomorrow.

coincidentally dh pulled up a few carrots this evening and we had them in our tuna and bean salad -very thin but nice !

Well done for the carrots MAS - our's are too small to be edible! Still we live in hope.

The banana bread is very good (sorry Smee!). I tired a different recipe and its less cloggy than my usual one. It has walnuts and raisins in too!

Waiting for District Nurse again. She's back from her hols and seems surprised my prescription stuff still hasn't arrived, even though I have ring the DN office at least 5 times and left messages...Perhaps they get overwhelmned with more seriously poorly people.

Am feeling pleased because went to little local carpet shop yesterday (same who did kitchen vinyl recently) and they've quoted a much better price than I feared to get our stair carpets done. We had the loft converted 3 years ago and we're only now getting round to having new carpet put all the way up to the top. Had to save up for a while! And these jobs seem so much easier when I'm at home. Very useful. DH, DS and I have even agreed on the colour so it should be easy now. Yay!

Hello all - glad tosee the thread so busy: will have to catch up later though!

I have had a red tomato and eaten it. Yay!! It was a very precocious one thougb, none of the rest are anywhere close.

I have been madly working on the school fete, DD's delayed birthday party and the school trip, so am now knackered and twitching.

Glad counselling has started well

Sorry, clearly that should have said MAS not

Am still miffed about my carrots. They're barely plants! And now there's Cakes with red tomatoes. Sorry you're knackered though. Tomatoes must be good for energy, so I hope more ripen.

Banana bread sounds mmm, SR. Am impressed by baking amidst all your treatment. And by carpet. Sounds lovely.

Might do as I never do and have a daytime snooze. Probably imagined due to knowing bloods are so low, but I feel wiped out. Got stacks of work to do, but maybe I should listen to the Onc for once. zzz from me then.

Happy snoozing smee. Low bloods equal tiredness so go for it. I know it goes against the grain, but listen to the onc just this once.

Am seeing mine for a check up on Thursday so no doubt I'll be told off for something or other. Got to take dd as well as dh has double booked himself and can't pick her up from school. Should be interesting. She'll have imploded with boredom before we even get into the room (time keeping is not dear onc's strongest talent)

Cakes - I hope your appt with onc goes well. How often do you have these check-ups ? And good luck too with all your busy stuff.

Smee - hope you are asleep and not reading this!! It feels odd to me too, to sleep during the day but sometimes you just have to, and it does you good. My sleepiest times have been the couple of weeks after each general aneasthetic and then last w/e when I was very dozy. The baking is therapeutic for me by the way as I enjoy cooking. So its not an effort. Trouble is I'm now piling on the lbs tho - since being on CMF.

Waiting for a carpet-cleaning session that I won in a competition recently. If they want any publicity in return I shall say no, and pull my scarf off - that'll larn'em.

Hi SR - check ups every three months for two years It's standard practice in Coventry, drives the onc mad mecause he also works in Birmingham where it is a bit more lax, and he thinks three months is ridiculous. But I'm happy to take it, because we've already established that I am rubbish at checking for myself.

Putting on weight is a problem during all this. I think it's the medication mainly, not all the lovely food. It is certainly hard to shift it again. I really am trying, but it is not going without a fight.

Baking sounds like lovely therapy. Don't give up on it.

baking is def. good therapy - I have just discovered (through a US friend Boston cream pies - haven't tasted one, but they look wonderful- will send a link - )
We in N Hampshire are checked every six months for 3 years - seems sensible i think - everywhere varies,some people only having a yearly check.

boston cream pie

Mm, think I'll have to make this. The writer goes on a it doesn't she!! But it does look yummy.

'tis American,that's probably why - I picked that one as out of all the Boston cream pies it looked the yummiest...lot of work though,3 different parts...I don't understand cups though.
Am feeling a bit gloomy as over half of book group can't make it tonight -and i've bought all the wine and crisps and a bunch of roses :-( (and it was my book choice too)