Morning everyone, Rosie, hope everything goes well today- doesn’t sound nice having two tyres in front of you!! I know what you mean about getting sucked back in to work, I found my good intentions to keep work load down started to pick back up again! Have 2 weeks off now so will try and do more relaxing if possible!
Thinking of you Jackie , hope blood tests are ok today.
Wildpurl, Joan, tij, Lisa, cassie, Nellie,Louise, jos, tulamo, good day hopefully for you all!
Rosie, I have cleaned and tidied up our bedroom this morning- so much for taking it easy!! I find it very hard not to be doing something! But am going to lie down and have a long nap this afternoon! You sound like you are easing back into school life though, be careful you don’t take on too much!!- yes I know I am a fine one to talk aren’t i !!!
Rosie, good you had a nap, I tried to but found my mind was racing too much! At least I will sleep tonight!
Jackie, all systems go then! - I had my sentinel node biopsy in march , so didn’t have that part done again on Friday, I wasn’t too sore after having nodes removed at all, I have removed dressing and can see my surgeons handiwork quite clearly now- it appears my nipple has been peeled off and tissue taken away around it and then nipple Sown back in place again! Quite remarkable! I can’t stress enough with the node removal to do the arm exercises as soon as you can- they really helped me heal up quicker, I know you are really worried about the surgery as I was, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as having a chemo session, the nurses etc are lovely as ime sure yours will be!! I will be thinking of you, and yes button up clothing is definitely the easiest .x
Yes tomorrow Rosie. (Gulp) x
P.s Jackie, the lady in hospital bed next to me had been in the previous day for full mastectomy and she looked so good I thought she was in like me waiting fir surgery not already had it!! She was also a primary school teacher aged 44, she had no pain, only discomfort which she took paracetamol for, she went home early that morning looking great! All the very best. Xx
No real news from me except that I have finished the jigsaw I started at the end of April which hopefully means the brain is recovering. At last we can get back full use of our dining table. Brother in laws funeral tomorrow. Sister in law is coping well but needing quite a lot of support, understandably. Fortunately less call on us for grandparent duty because daughter is on 2 weeks leave while granddaughter gets settled in at school.
Jackie, glad your neutrophils were good enough for the surgeon to proceed. I wish you the very best for the op. tomorrow. Hope you manage to dig out some button up tops.
Lovewine, you seem to be doing very well. Cleaning and tidying the bedroom, very impressed. Don’t overdo it though. Were you told anything about doing exercises. I was given them when I had the sentinel node biopsy in March but it seems to be a matter of choice whether I do them this time. I have quite an achy shoulder now so have started doing some of them. Glad you are pleased with your surgeons handiwork.
Rosie, you also seem to be having a busy time. No wonder you are exhausted, especially since I note your first post was at 5.30. Hope your appt with the surgeon goes well and he starts the expansion soon. It sounds horribly uncomfortable at the moment. I’m glad you have had some reports on your father. I would have thought that the anaemia and low blood pressure, separately or together, could explain his dizziness.
Hope everyone else is OK.
Morning everyone, Rosie, sounds like a full day today! Know what you mean about wanting to get on with it all now- how do you describe our situation now?- " I have breast cancer " / " I had B.C " or recovering from B.C ?, I agree with Joan’s comment so much when saying " has cancer gone" to " will it come back" !! It seems the anxiety will take a long time to ease!
Jackie, hope everything is going smoothly today for you.
Joan, thinking of you too on a very difficult day for your sister in law and family
Wildpurl, a new bed sounds really nice! I love putting finishing touches to a Newly decorated room, it’s the best but of all! You are also wise to cut down working hours, I am certainly going to try!
I have driven the half a mile to a quiet field and taken my dogs out this morning, will be taking it easy rest of day, might make a blackberry and pear crumble later! I really want to rub down and paint some of my tatty pine furniture and transform it into what people now call " shabby chic" , it’s already very shabby but not all that chic!! Will leave until next week I think.
Have a good day everyone else, hope all are ok.
Just a few quick words today, Rosie I hope your Dad soon feels better Lovewine glad you are not feeling too bad after surgery, I hope all you ladies are enjoying the sunshine today.
Just of to work, rads still ok at the moment no se’s so far, my hair is growing back really well now, 4 weeks since my last chemo, shame no sign of any eyelashes yet though, so still look a little peculiar, I can’t wait for my hair to grow enough to colour and style again, its all to do with recovery I guess, I still feel very tired all the time though, I hope it does not take too long to feel re-energised and normal again.
Have a good day ladied whatever you are doing. Cassie x
Funeral went well, sister in law pleased although understandably got very distressed at points. It could have been quite awkward because this was brother in laws second marriage and lots of his first family were there but it all worked out OK.
Had a phone call from the breast care nurse I saw last week. At the time she didn’t have access to the histology report so was just working from the notes she had taken at the consultants meeting. She told me then that they had found an area of cancer which hadn’t been visible on the scans (I can’t remember whether I mentioned this) but that it had been dealt with by the chemo. That freaked me out a bit, and started me wondering whether other areas had been missed. Then told me today that they had actually found two! The rational part of my brain is telling me that if the chemo has zapped all four area it will have done the same to any others. The panicky bit, of course, is conjuring up other scenarios. Hope the oncologist will be able to put my mind at rest on Monday.
Cassie, great news about your hair. I’m very jealous. hope it won’t be too long before the eyelashes return as well.
Lovewine, the blackberry and pear crumble sounds delicious. The fact that you are even thinking about renovating your furniture next week seems to indicate you are making a really good recovery.
Wildpurl, it sounds a very sensible decision to try and cut down on your working hours. I recognise the getting sucked back in scenario. Although My work is very flexible and largely under my control it seems that Once I told people that I only needed radiotherapy now the reaction seems to have been to try and draw me back in.
Rosie, agree with you about envying the adjustable beds in hospital. One of the few good things about being there. Glad the news about your dad is better. He may not have the same reaction to steroids as we had; it probably depends on the dose. My daughter said the dose I was given for the TAX was pretty hefty. She is taking a lower dose at the moment and hadn’t had any side effects. Hope you don’t find today too exhausting and get some news about the radiotherapy.
Joan, glad the funeral went as well as these occasions can do, hope you can have a quiet evening, can understand your worry about report, the chemo obviously did it’s job before your surgery, have you had any idea or appointments through when you are to start radiotherapy? - sorry if you have mentioned this already, still chemo brain!
Rosie, expect you are tired after your busy day, hope everything went well for you, any further news on your dad? Hope he has stabilised a bit more now.
Wildpurl, hope you have had a more quieter day today!
Jackie, I hope you are recovering now and everything went well for you.
Good evening ladies
Just a quick post. Op went well and I have to stay overnight as my drain has filled up quite quickly. Should be home in the morning. In a bit of discomfort and have been offered paracetamol, 'Brufen and/ or co-codamol. Hope I get some sleep - will ask for a tablet I think!
Joan I’m pleased today went as well as it could for you and your family - it must have been incredibly difficult for you all. Love to all x x
Well done Jackie, get some sleep and take all painkillers offered! Sure tomorrow you will not be in too much discomfort. X
Rosie, I have been driving just small distances locally, and yes furniture renovation can wait until next week!!
Expect you are really wanting to move on now to radiotherapy, hopefully you can get a date set to start soon, good too that you are soon to be " inflated " !! I too still feel like a cancer patient and think I will for quite sometime.
Crikey Rosie, is it as long as that! It seems to have flown past, it’s been a long haul for you, keep thinking of the end of it all- hopefully some kind of normality soon!
Hello ladies,
Hope you are all feeling well today, Jackie and Joan sorry I meant to send you both best wishes for your respective challenges today but managsd to trip over my puppy yesterday at the stables hit the concrete floor with a good old thump . I landed on my knees fell forward an headbutted a nearby bin. Interestingly I didnt put my arm out to save myself as I cant take the jarring to my reconstruction and left arm.
Luckily it was a plastic bin !!
Then I had to drive into Liverpool to drop off a file my OH had forgotten a round trip of nearly 40 miles then rushed back to take pup to vets - only for vaccination not crush injuries?
Got back from vets in time to collsct son from nursery.
Felt rather knackered especially as had mucked out horses stable for first time in months prior to pup sabotage. Took son to bed and crashed with him, no computer for me last night.
Joan glad funeral went as well as it could these things can be so difficult. Your SIL will probably need even more support in next few weeks now she hasn’t got the funeral to focus on thats when you notice the big gap your loved one has left.
On a lighter note your comment zbout your many hats made me chuckle, think I would have done the same if not cold capping I couldnt bring myself to go and look for a wig even though the breast nurse advised me to just in case. My sister sent me some beanies I wear them after cold cap to hide manky hair and warm me up.
Lovewine you are clearly made of strong stuff but try to take it slowly the furniture can just get shabier til you make it tres chic !
Jackie hope you have a decent nights sleep I find hospitals too noisy for much sleep but am a rubbish sleeper anyway - I didnt notice any difference to my sleep pattern when on the big dose of steroids fot TAX you will be home tomorrow and able to start healing. Plus all the pre surgery worry gone.
Rosie you must be relieved not to have to travel to Limassol again this week what a massive undertaking your rad sessions will be with all that travelling I dont know anyone who has had so much to deal with respecting their treatment you are a trooper.
Wildpur I would recommend a 4 day week I did that last year but took Wednesday off to break up the week you obviously love your job not many people can say that especially these days. I havent workrd since March and while I miss some of the lovely people I work with I dont miss the job. I dont intend rushing back after chemo finishes as once I am back it will be the same old treadmill , I really must buy a lottery ticket !
Well off to check on my multi coloured knees, feeling rather tatty and past my best at moment with grotty hair stubby eyelashes etc waiting for nails to turn brown and drop off. Did get excited today when found I had a hair on mychin have decided to keep it for a while out of respect for its fortitude in growing whilst I still have 2 tax to go and drawing comfort from the knowledge that if all else fails I shall be able to grow a beard post chemo give up work and run away to join the circus.
Tulamo, sorry to hear about your accident, you were lucky not to bash yourself up more. Hope the knees are not too sore. The last bit of your post made me laugh.
Jackie, so pleased your op is over and it went well. Hope you get home today even with drains. Take whatever medication you feel you need. I was told to take paracetamol and ibuprofen anyway for the first few days and did so religiously. Only used the a codeine a couple of times at night.
Lovewine, thanks for your reassurance. I have an appt on Monday with the oncologist which I imagine will start the ball rolling with radiotherapy. The leaflet I was given by the breast care nurse says that they like to leave 6 weeks between surgery and radiotherapy which would take me till around the 23rd if September but hoping they will defer it until we come back from Barcelona in the first week of October.
Rosie, great you don’t have to go back to Limassol this week although the ice cream does sound nice. Congratulations on not putting on any weight. I am rather over indulging at the moment. Rather surprisingly The scales are holding steady, can’t help feeling they are holding back then one morning they are going to record a good half stone!
Off with sister in law and OH today to visit a garden with a rather nice cafe. Doubt that good resolutions will last past coffee time. Hopefully will work it off walking round the extensive grounds.
Hi everyone, tulamo, doesn’t bear thinking about what could have happened with your fall!! What breed of puppy do you have? I like the tenacity of your chin hair, good to take pity on it surviving Tax! I have a peachy kind of " down " on my face- very attractive, so could be a candidate too for the bearded lady in circus too!
I am quite fair haired so lucky in some ways, no sign of eyelashes or brows yet though!
Joan, enjoy your walk around the garden and the tea room, hope the sun shines for you, it seems to be coming out here now, have just walked my dogs over fields and have eaten a massive bowl of porridge with raspberries and honey in it, followed by a bar of chili and cherry dark chocolate, so I don’t seem to be holding back on the food front! When I was weighed before my surgery last week I thought I would be heavier, but had stayed exactly the same despite all the gorging!
Rosie, are you going in to school today? A relief only going to Limassol once, will be very tiring for you when radiotherapy starts doing all that travelling, maybe more stops for ice cream! Have a good day today.
Jackie, hope you had a pain free night and are recovering at home very soon.
Wildpurl, weather is warming back up again, so you may get some wear this summer from your cardigan! What colour is it? Think I may look for some patterns for a winter jumper and then try a refresher course!
Tij, hope you are enjoying your bike! Cassie, hope you are ok too, Lisa how’s the plum gin going!? Best wishes to all.
Rosie, glad you are not on sulky step any more! Very annoying when posts go though!! Hopefully not long until radiotherapy then, do you have to have a C.t scan before it starts ? Must feel strange for you not teaching at the start of the new term, at least you can supervise and keep an eye on things! Will you be able to go on the patients bus for radiotherapy?
I have not much to report so far today other than had a quiet day, ordered some wool online to try and start an easy, chunky wool jumper! Also trying to book cheap train tickets to London to visit imperial war museum and also go and see the war poppies at Tower of London, I find history very interesting, which it think may have rubbed off on both sons as both went on to do history degrees, one on the Ancient world, the other son on modern history! Train tickets are proving to be very expensive for the two of us, think we could fly to Cyprus for less than the cost of an hours train ride to London!
I wondered about the scan as am sure have read other posts by ladies saying they go for planning meeting and the tattoo which is exactly pinpointed by C.t . Could be wrong though!!
Yes a flight to Cyprus sounds very appealing right now!