Hi all
Been a bit quiet of late just getting on with the 'life ’ thing decided that I need to get fitter [not that i was before being a size 18 but I tried] as the last three years have taken its toll and have put on 2 st on the herceptin & omnitarg trial - nearly a year now .So went to see my practise nurse for exercise on prescription she looked a bit shocked apparently one of the criteria is recovering from cancer - well we stretched it a bit and I am now doing water aerobics & Pilate’s You have to give the teacher your med form filled in by your advisor they get quiet when they read it but I just said that my time might be some what limited but what the h— got to get on with it! Anyway I’m enjoying the exercise.CT tomorrow so a little scared results after Easter — nice to be back on the blog again
xxJan
Hi All,
Welcome back Jan, and welcome back me too! Sorry I haven’t been around - I’ve just been ridiculously busy lately.
Dawn - Happy Happy Birthday and so sorry it’s late. Hope you had an utterly brilliant weekend.
Yes I’m OK for April 24th - that’ll be great, and the same place is ideal. They really left us alone to get on with it, and didn’t try to push us along even when it got really busy at lunchtime.
Those secondaries and work forums look interesting. To answer your question, Kay, I’m back to my full hours now, except I keep taking the odd couple of hours off to use up my mass of annual leave entitlement - my boss tried to get them to transfer it into pay, but they won’t, so she keeps saying ‘just take a bit of time off whenever you’re not busy’. It’s really helped with the Herceptin weeks, when it all goes a bit crazy.
The first couple of weeks were lovely - just remembering how to log onto the computer, reading emails and chatting a lot! Then it became a bit of a drag as the honeymoon period had worn off, and i hadn’t had time to rebuild my caseload, so there wasn’t quite enough of the real stuff to do - just lots of dull admin tasks. At the same time, it seems everyone took their cue from the fact that I was back at work, so all the social invites they’d been holding off started coming in. I’ve got too busy and too tired. I’m just starting to get a handle on it - well, no I’m not really. I honestly haven’t ironed for about 5 weeks! The basket’s overflowing and everyone’s wearing crumpled garments. The rest of the house and bills etc are in a similar state. And I’ve been trying to book a holiday and do various other time-consuming things on the computer which takes up every evening.
Anyway, shouldn’t complain, I’ve had some lovely walks and pub lunches with friends, and seen ‘South Pacific’ with my friend in.
Back to your question, Kay, at least you won’t have the caseload problem as you have all the kids there ready every day. Your problem will be not getting swamped with work from the start. Make sure you do just a couple of hours at first, and keep it as short hours for as long as you need. Definitely err on the side of caution - you can always step it up a bit if you feel capable of more.
Well, lovely to catch up a bit, I must go and check out some other threads then tear myself away from the computer.
Love to you all, and look forward to seeing lots of you, I hope
love Jacquie x
Hello Jan, Hello Jacquie
Jan good for you for going for exercise, my chemo nurse for the last two times has been having a go at me (in the nicest possible way )to try to get some exercise…she is writing a paper and has been reviewing data that says the only thing that helps with chemo fatigue is exercise,only trouble is I am sometimes too tired to put one foot in front of another!
best wishes with the CT, I have one coming up soon…
Jacquie - glad you are up for the 24th, I think its a good place too…better than the Ritz, never thought i would say that.
Anyone else out there who would like to meet up on the 24th central london ? All welcome,
love
cathy
Hi Everyone
Welcome back Jan.
Well thank you all so much for the lovely birthday greetings. What can I say. I had a fabulous weekend … would you like to hear all about it … no??? yes???, ah well, tough if you said no, am gonna tell all, and boy it may get long!!!
Saturday, as you all probably know, John took me to Rowhill Grange at Wilmington for the night. We had a lovely suite, with a fantastic 4 poster bed and the bathroom, was absolutely massive with bath in the middle. We used the spa facilities in the afternoon had swim and hot tub thingy I wore my old wig, but was a bit self conscious about it have to say. Then I had a facial in the evening at 6pm, and the lady who did was fantastic. I told them when we checked in about my “condition” and she volunteered to take me on (was booked with someone else apparently). Her name is Victoria. She works voluntarily at Bromley hospital, giving had/arm massages, and other things and knows quite alot about dos and don’ts for people with cancer. So gave me a lovely facial, but no head massage that normally goes with it, and gave me a few freebies too. It was lovely and very relaxing, although we chatted all the way through it.
John had lovely bubble bath waiting for me when finished and then off for dinner at 8pm. Have to say, i am not into all this fancy food stuff and was a little worried with the menu, but had salmon to start and pork for main, and both dishes were lovely. Not so sure on hubbys’ he had ox cheek to start - put me off straight away sound of it. Not sure he was that keen on it though. LOL. Also had a bottle of laurent perrier rose (hubbys sister upgraded to this from normal bottle of champers) and it was lovely!!! And the night continue … quite romantic have to say.
Next morning, up and showered by 8.45, yeah know, was supposed to have lie in, but body clock was not having it. Jack is a very early riser nowadays up by 6am most days (YUK), but brekkie finished at 10 anyway, so had a lovely full fry up and boy, was it delicious. I then had another treatment at 11.30 which was for body bronzing. But when went in, Victoria my lovely lady, said she had been up all night worrying about it, rang one of her colleagues from hospital and they both thought it was not a good idea for me to have it. Said that although she was going to rub as gently as she could she would still need to be quite firm and would obviuosly increase my circulation. She also said where I have the cannula inserted, my veins are probably quite weak and it might do more damage than good for her to rub hard there too, She would go ahead and do it, if I wanted and signed a declaration, but she prefered me not to for my own sake. So I ended up having another sort of facial, head stimulation or something and a lovely hand massage and as couldn’t have manicure (as had false nails last week), she gave me a free nail varnish, so chose a really pale pink for Sophie to have. But had a lovely time there and recommend to all,
AND THEN …
We were supposedly going to meet Johns brother-in-law and sister and the muppets at local pub/kids play area for lunch, and he was moaning that they had decided they wanted to see where he worked and were already on the bridge!!! He then had to stop for petrol and was on the phone again. We pulled up at his golf club, and he said “oh they are in the carvary, so we will go in the back way here where the weddings use”. OK I thought. Anyway, there was Sophie, Jack, sis and bruv-in-law waiting. And Sophie came running out and said “Mummy, mummy, Grandad and Tracey are up there”, and I thought, Whoa, whats going on here … but kept walking and then saw a load of balloons with guess what, yep, 40 on them and then it HIT me. I walked in and there was 80 or so people cheering and clapping me and I just tried to hide then got all emotional (am now typing this). He had organised a surprise party for me, and there were people there I have not seen for a few years, all my friends and children and my family too. It wad amazing. I was completely shocked as I had absolutely NO idea about it at all. But boy, did I enjoy myself, although was completely knackered Sunday night and yesterday. Going round to talk to everyone and open pressies etc. I am still in shock I think and am so amazed that I never realised what was going on, or that John had got my emails and contacted people or the amount of calls between him and my friend Tracey too!!!
So all in all, I had a fab weekend, a great 40th birthday and cannot believe all my friends and family. Only downer was as still having to wear my glasses, all pics will be yuk, although all my pics are yuk anyway, as not photogenic. Grandad (my Dad) is coming over today with his camera, so if any nice ones will send to you all. Apparently Grandad had been at my sisters’ all last week and I didn’t even know.
Well enough of me … anyone still awake.
Hope you are all doing OK and had a good weekend. I am fine for 24 April as far as I know. Have got heart scan this afternoon and next herceptin is week today. So fingers crossed todays results are OK. Getting nervous now.
Anyway, will post again later and will not be all about me, I promise.
Take care and lots of love
Dawn
xxx
oh dawn!!
Just a quick one as I am supposed to be working
Thats really lovely , how wonderful !! what a fantastic thing for your OH to organise and how incredibly loving and supportive of him ( I am having a little cry here thinking about it)
Glad you are on for 24th!
love
cathy
Ahh Cathy - thanks for your message. Touching. Made me a little tearful writing it actually, as was so touched, shocked and absolutely gobsmacked by it all. But was a fab weekend have to say. I still cannot believe John did it either …
Can’t wait to see you all on the 24 either.
Take care and don’t work too hard please.
Love
Dawn
x
So glad, Dawn, you had such a fantastic weekend - your John sounds an absolute diamond!
Am struggling a bit at the mo - sore throat and stinking cold - but your news of the weekend really made me feel good.
Lots of love
Kay xx
Is this an open invite? Don’t want to gatecrash…
Manon
Hi Manon
definitely this is an open invite. I am going to PM you now,
Cathy
Oh Dawn, that sounds absolutely lovely. You’ve made me cry. That’s so special - what a man!
What a fantastic idea - and to carry it off without you guessing is well beyond the capabilities of most men!!
I’m so pleased for you hun,
lots of love Jacquie xx
Hi All
Kay hope you are feeling better today and the cold is clearing up.
Glad you all liked my story - bit of an epic I know. Yeah I still cannot believe I never guessed.
I hope that everyone is doing OK and having a good week. Mine is OK, although feeling little glum after heart scan yesterday, just get down, as they won’t tell you anything like things look OK and so now I am worrying and hopefully about nothing. But one of the ladies on another thread ended up in hospital last week with shortness of breath and other things. They thought was a blood clot on lung but turned out to be heart failure and could be down to herceptin, so now I am worrying, I know I shouldn’t be soooooooo hard,
Apart from that OK got my girlie weekend to get ready for now.
Let me know how you all are. Jacquie and Cathy hope you not working too hard and Allie of course with her chocs!!!
Kay what have you been up to and how are things going for you.
Everyone else hope things good for you, and apologies for not mentioning everyone individually.
Speak to you all soon
Love
Dawn
xx
where is the meeting on the 24th ? sorry prob under my nose .xx
Cafe Rouge opposite St Pauls cathedral,
just posted you on the other thread…
Jacquie xx
Hi All
manon, thanks for your message - I really like your policy and I am going to use it myself, I think it will help me to have a line of thinking prepared.
Dawn try not to worry about heart scan, my thinking is that it is unlikely to be the first you hear of the heart problems . I know that isn’t neccessarily right - but probably! Hope you hear soon, I really think they have to develop a better system of giving results…its just too much like this.
Everyone else - hope you are keeping OK. I am a bit fed up after 6 taxotere, but am also not happy as now finished and dont know where I am yet…old dilemma.
love
cathy
Hi Cathy
Have sent you an email … and the others too.
Love
Dawn
xx
iv booked it , iv booked it , yahoooooooo get in at 8am fly back at 6pm !!!
60 return which is great !!
Hiya all,
Gosh, I’m exhausted this working thing takes it out of me. This morning went to a local primary school to talk about Fairtrade chocolate, I thought it was 2 classes one after the other. I ended up talking to the whole school except nursery class in 3 groups. They were so much fun but they were very exhausting. I am part of a scheme based in Wales were entrapeneurs( thats me I think!!) go and talk to secondary schools (mostly year 9 &10)about starting your own business. Thought I was only there till 11 but I left at 12 in the end and I still had 3 deliveries to do.
The good news is I haven’t got to go to the dentist this time of the liver bird meeting so probably catch 730 and will be in the big smoke about 11
Kay is your cold better? I’ve still got my runny nose:(
Dawn- have you recovered from your birthday celebrations or is there more in the pipeline?
Tracy- your flight is cheaper than my train unless I book about 6 months in advance!
Well think I’m off to the pub for a glass or two…its much easier to give my injection if I’ve had a drink:)
Take care all,
Allie
really? wow well next meet you could all come over here if you book ahead !
Hi all
Hope everyone is doing ok and having a good weekend (despite the weather). Just got back from a 3 1/2 mile walk so am feeling quite pleased with myself - furthest I’ve walked probably for 5 months or so. (Seems to have tired hubby out more than me - he’s fallen asleep in front of the rugby!!!). Daughter (and boyfriend) back tomorrow but apart from that a quiet weekend for me - still recovering a bit from my cold. Permanent runny nose, Allie, like yours (You sound so frantically busy by the way - hope you aren’t getting too tired).
Back to work on Monday afternoon for a couple of hours. Quite apprehensive about it really. Expect I will be shattered even after a few hours! It will be good to see the children again though - and most of the people I work with.
Really looking forward to meeting up again - and meeting you for the first time Tracy. Are we meeting about 11?
Hope you really enjoy your weekend in London Dawn, and that Chicago is fantastic.
Love to all
Kay x
i will be in london around 9 am i guess so will find a cafe to read and watch the world go by (if i dont get lost on the tubes) !!!