Bluestocking Women's Pub - cheapest bar on the internet.

[EdithStourton]

The thread in which Gosie's mysterious adventures will continue. All women welcome to join us for a virtual tipple, fun, support and arcane knowledge. And tractors.

Thank you everyone for all the good wishes. The results were as well as they could be. If I never hear the word margins again... Fella took the day off so we went to a Gail's (sticking it to the anti-semites!😀) for a cake and a brew. Then a wee walk to see a heronry, with an unexpected colony of nesting cormorants, a pair of common sandpipers and a surprise female pied flycatcher. We followed that with a bird of prey centre. A flying display was completely upstaged by a wild red kite. We don't see many of those round here.

I'd resigned myself to hearing they were still finding precancerous cells so they were going to whip the whole thing off. A bit dramatic but I was trying to prepare myself for the worst. As it was good news I think they could have just rung me, or even texted me. Feck it! A 👍 would have been perfectly adequate.

I've got to wait now for the radiotherapy. I knew I'd be getting five doses but I didn't realise it was five days on the bounce! While I was waiting for fella to pick me up I made the mistake of reading the leaflet 😲. Not doing that again! It said I might need a tattoo! Although I'm hopeful it's all cutting edge nowadays and a tatt won't be required.

I have purchased a haddock and cheese fishcake from the fishman. The oven is currently heating. This might be the highlight of my day.

Well, apart from today's Senior Flex class where we did drumroll seated star jumps.

Enjoy your cake and brew @lcakethereforeIam - you certainly deserve a treat.

Fabulous, Cake !! I am overjoyed for you! (I really am, for every person who beats the odds).

Radiotherapy for me was every day for 4 weeks, I think, a long haul. Some people say it makes them exhausted, but I felt no impact at all, so I suppose that's possible for you. ( I was nearly 25 years younger than I am now , however ).

The tattoos are tiny little dots on your "areas of concern " which help guide the radiograoher. I barely notice mine now, but I knew a few women who were quite upset that they had to have them. Don't know if they still do that.

Oh good Cake - the circumstances aren't what you'd wish for, but the best possible outcome given that you are in them is a decent result.

I hope you enjoyed the birds.

@WearyAuldWumman I oftentimes restrain myself from comments of the 'Can you just fuck off, then?' variety. Also, I sometimes struggle not to insult the intellectual grasp of poster. There was one the other day who hadn't read the (very short) thread properly and parrotted some mantra. The issue had been explained, but she didn't try to engage with that at all.

Well, my afternoon's chores are an hour behind. The ironing will have to wait as B&B need a walk and the farm shop will shut in an hour and I need fruit and veg quite urgently.

Wow! Four weeks! Brutal. The leaflet said there was another newer technique that didn't require a tatt, so I'm hoping that's what they'll go with. I've no real objection to getting one though. If it's necessary, it's necessary. Was rather unexpected although I can appreciate it as an ingenious way of solving a targeting problem.

Yes, length of radiotherapy seemed to be different for each person?? But treatment has moved on in leaps and bounds since "my day" that I wonder what the recommendations would be now.

I envy you your birds. I'm stuck at home today trying to Get Stuff Done.

So, so happy for you!😁

From a fellow Fifer, albeit living far away these days, thank you.

@lcakethereforeIam I am glad you had reasonably positive news and have been able to celebrate with cake and wildlife.

Very relieved to hear the positive news, Cake!
Obvs it would be a trillion times better if none of this was going on, but it sounds OK, and you sounds OK, and that's OK by me
You're absolutely right about the grrrrrrrness of making you wait and then come in to be told 'Ah shure lookit, it could be worse, it could be better, but lookit you'll be grand', or the medical equivalent, you were imagining the worst as a defence mechanism when you didn't have to grrrrr.

I'm glad you and DH were then able to go and enjoy treats and birds.

Thank you Android for illustrating the contents of my brain i.e. the team of quokka nurses, Dr Bessie Badger, horde of gerbils, and caravan of support camels I invoked to accompany Cake to hospital today.

The only problem is that we'll never know whether it was the quokkas, the Badger, the gerbils or the camels who made it all OK, so from now onwards, every Stockinger who goes to a medical appt is going to have to be accompanied by the same support menagerie in its entirety

Lovely to hear of your excellent results Cake. I'm sure it was worth the wait - although it would have been even better without it!

Good news Cake, I'm really pleased for you!

In other news, I have an interview! Which means I need to do some preparation.

Great news, Cake! I had a tattoo but it was one tiny dot; I still didn't want it, though. And when I'd started my radiotherapy, they suggested extra sessions & I went for it. I think I did a month altogether, & it did get a bit too much towards the end (although I was fighting a ghastly organisation in my spare time which didn't help my emotions, after the operation & all). Give yourself time & space to get over it all. Today's outing sounds perfect.

This my viburnam today. The flowers are white when they fall, though I think the leaves go pink/red tinged later.

Go Magpie!

You're very welcome, @MarieDeGournay ! I cut & pasted a bit of your post into the AI & that was the result.

There was a pub in Macclesfield called The Cock in Treacle. Now, I'm not one to kink shame...

That's so funny! A vast, powerful and possibly dangerous technology being used to make my silly ideas into funny images😄Love it!
I'm saving the image for future use, so any of you who have medical appts - just let us know, they'll be there!

Great news, Cake. When I had a tattoo for radiotherapy after my lumpectomy it turned out to be a tiny dot marking where the beam needed to focus. I'm glad you only have five sessions to do. When I had it nearly 30 years ago. I was part of a trial to see whether 15 more powerful doses or 25 less powerful had the best results. I was put on the 25 dose arm of the trial which meant 5 x 88 mile round trips a week for 5 weeks. One of drawbacks to living in the medical desert that is rural Mid-Wales....

Best of luck, Magpie, keep us updated so we can schedule a range of support animals when needed😄

Android, your viburnum is beautiful!

The gerbils were very excited at the idea of seated star-jumps @WearyAuldWumman and decided to incorporate them into their exercise class.

Bloody hell 😳

I'm relatively lucky regarding travel although it's not my local hospital. I can get the train. Unfortunately the last time I checked the bus to the hospital leaves two minutes before the train gets in, then it's an hour until the next one. It's walkable, a couple of miles (uphill 😥). The exercise will save me money and do me good. I'm concerned because, according to the leaflet, radiotherapy may cause fatigue* so I'm worried I won't be able to make it up the hill. I'll slowly cross that bridge if I get there.

• I'm totally going to lean into this at home

"Android, your viburnum is beautiful!"

Bet you say that to all the androids!

It is an exceptionally beautiful example in those photos.

Here's a more general one, though it's heavy on the book larnin' & light on the G&T/tea & cake front.

Great news Cake - I'm happy for you. Tattoos are very fashionable anyway, innit.

Stop. Just stop now.