Oh Paddy, what a scary day for you. I’m sure they’ll help Sally get past the shock and find a treatment that does work that doesn’t send her into shock. Seriously though you look after yourself too. I’m sure she understands and will be home tomorrow. Good luck and lots and lots of love.
Angie
Hi everyone,
wow there are a lot of people to speak to , so sorry if I get them wrong. Carrieann hope you dodged the cold, I loved sending him to the dog basket!! Angie the exhibition sounded wonderful you must have been very proud of him and well done to you for keeping going despit all this BC in your head. Hope the bloods went ok today, I remember they were low at this point last time so hoping they are higher. Weetricia glad you were much better this time, long may it last! Everyday you still sound a little low, how is it going? I know you have a lot to woorry about. Nicky keep climbing that abyss you will probably meet me going down as you pass on the way up! Any day now and back to fun and meringues again. Have you been sick or is it constant nausea?
Jackie are you on the TACT2 trial? I may have already asked this, cannot remember a thing these days! I am on epi then CMF too. I have not been sick once on epi so far. When you have one drug you only get one lot of side effects so that may or may not be an advantage. Don’t worry just make the most of the days before it starts and the lovely days after when you feel better. Your idea of a good day changes once you start and you will probably find you are happier than usual on the well days. We all get excited about eating a meringue!! You can do this, we can’t all be lying! But we also all know how anxious you feel as it approaches.
Lisa, my twin hoping to hear you are ok. I kept a bit quiet until you had your dose 3 as I didn’t want to jinx you. It was chaos in the chemo room and despite my appointment being 9am I had my dose at 12 and had my cold cap on far longer than necessary. I was feeling under the weather, made worse by hanging around. Saw the Dr this time, they forgot to send me before when I queried why I was seeing a doc! Blood hanging on, neuts 2.3 so much lower but research nurse said I am holding up really well on my mega dose of epi, and looks good. I was asked if 2 visiting district nurses could watch but they ended up poking my port and after a fairly rough nurse poking it and missing so I got stabbed in the wrong place again, I was struggling to stay calm. They eventually harpooned me second timeand then all done quickly. Followed by 2 hours with the cap and reflexology to relax me. Total 5 and half hours! Still after seein one poor lady have an emergency and the chemo all go out of the needle into her body I was glad to get out of there. Epi number 2 was much better but 3 is going to be different again it seems. For the first time I went to bed with a sick bowl but did not use it. Was awake from 1.30 and watched 2 episodes of SATC before i could sleep, switched beds 5 times too to see if that helped and got up early. I have never had trouble sleeping in the early days before. I usually have 2 fine days before symptoms start but all in very early on dose 3, so will they go early? Haaaa bet they won’t. Nicky and every have yours lasted longer? Well I hope you are either all having fun or getting better. I get 2 doses in July , lucky me/us. LIsa really hope your next is better not worse, are Ma and Pa back yet? Paddy if you read this, I thought your post was lovely and it made me very tearful. Hope all goes well from now on.
Hugs to everyone
Lily x
hi lily 200
it works the other way for me, i am usually very nauseaus the same evening as chemo, and it stays with me for 3 days(not so severe now im on the emend now)
then i have found im extremely tired and fatigued for about a week. but like you say each cycle is different and we just have to wait and see.
nicky hope your recovery is going well, it may take a little while longer with this one, if you are like me. but i think and hope that im past the worse now and hopefully got a whole week, of symptom free.
piling on the weight though, im trying to be more careful, but its not easy because i find going for a coffee and cake with family or friends is sometimes the highlight of my day.
my tummy is really swollen, i keep wondering if by some miracle im pregnant but thats an impossibility so its just another thing to put up with.,
but im grateful for being able to get out and about, and i hope anyone not able at the moment, will soon be.
Paddy you say, you wish you could do more for your wife. the love and support you are offering is the best gift of all. its not always easy for the partners and you are doing marvelous. i hope sally is ok from now on.( they will really keep an eye on her now)… so i would try not to worry.
take care everyone, x
Everydaymatters,
You have totally described my good weeks. Yes always having tea and cakes or lunch out, because we can’t do energetic things. Mine is due any day from the look of my stomach. Just hoping BCN doesn’t notice or they will up my drugs!
Take care
Lily x
Hi all: Isn’t Paddy a star? I am sure our OH’s feel the same but don’t express it quite so poetically. Trust Sally is making a good recovery and they will be more aware of her problems next time.
Lisa: Hope No 3 is progressing OK, the first night’s disrupted sleep is a pain, I gave up last time and headed for the sofa with book - promptly fell asleep!!
Vertangie: Still hoping that the ‘It get’s easier’ theory will work.
Am going girly shopping on Monday after blood test as I am now down to Thur and Fri working - five day weekends!!! Hooray!!! Must try not to eat too much as starting to add lbs - not good.
love to all, keep well, and laugh a lot
J
XX
Morning Ladies.
I am here and just got my neuts back… 1.5. Not too shaby for 10 days mark. they could fec me right now technically. That’s if they could catch me LOL.
Hoping paddy’s Sally has got home today, poor lass, not what you need is it anaphylactic shock too, blurgh.
Had a nice little chat with Mum last night about steroids and she pointed out that they change your metabolism so you will gain weight regardless of what you eat and just to live with it, said we’ll get me fit and healthy after all the treatment is done. I can live with that.
Friend is helping me work out how to make a bra that fits perfectly. Started a thread about this yesterday… making my own mastectomy bra,
I like the fact that I can make it out of what ever I want and it will fit perfectly. Might have to try an Ameona one, have had no joy with the M&S stuff.
Everyday. glad to see you’re on the way up. My belly’s like a ball until the steroid start wearing off. I know I stop taking them on day 3 but it’s not until today. day 12 that it starts going down.
We need a new section of the forum… coping with steroids!
Ahhhh!
I’ve just sent a really long post and the bl**dy site has lost it, saying I wasn’t signed in!
In brief:
Feeling better.
1st 5-7 days the worst.
No sickness, just nausea.
Probably feel about the same each treatment (Twinning with Everyday here)
Belly like a ball, as per Everyday and angie.
Not putting on weight (sorry!) as don’t like very sweet things so fruit only for that ‘craving’
Bored when not feeling so good and energy levels down.
Feeling OK now and off to Cambridge tomorrow to look round with Hubby and daughter.
Sorry it’s not so chatty as the one I’ve just lost!
Nicky xx
Hi,
Nicky I am glad to hear you are up and about now, as i tend to shadow you. hope you enjoy your well deserved day out, I love Cambridge and always spend too much.
Mega impressed with making a bra! Wow and well done for upping your neyts Angie. Did you sort your vein trouble out?
Everyone else hope you have a lovely day if poss.
Lisa how are you? Slug on the sofa or worse? Hope to hear you ahve come up for air fairly soon. I have all my symptome quicker this time but not too bad . Dread night time as everything seems to get bigger or worse or I am just thinking about them. not sure which. Eating fruit like crazy to avoid bursting my bowels. Apparently constipation has to be taken very seriously because if you get a tear down below and an infection they struggle to treat it.
So hit the fibre and fruit everyone.
hugs to everyone
Lily x
Welcome back Nicky. Funny movies are the only thing for boredom IMO. It’I really recommend the stand up show Fame by Ricky Gervais, he talks about raising money for cancer research and takes the mik in a really good way. I laughed so hard my it actually hurt. especially the bit where he said if he ever gets cancer he wants express treatment cause he paid for the machine. with all the money they’ve raised… too funny. I guess you do have to have a dark sense of humour though.
Lily. 2 dried figs a day and bye bye constipation. I promise. Syrup of figs is a good natural thing too. I’m also eating dorset cereals every day for the fibre and the goodness from the nuts and dried fruit again. I’ve found dried fruit to be more effective than fresh. Most health food shops do bags of dried figs.
Fresh Figs are lovely with a little parma ham and a drizzle of olive oil and honey. yummy, fast and impressive and I think it’s nearly their season. Of course parma is cured rather than cooked so am probably not allowed to eat it boo hoo. Still I didn’t ask so I didn’t know 
Of course. Baked version where you stuff a bit of brie in the fig, wrap in parma and bake for 10 mins would be perfectly safe… must… find… figs.
Anyway back to work for me.
Lots of love
Angie
ball is now passing I’m glad to say and I’m not eating as much.
Hi
Angie - don’t worry I have a very dark sense of humour and went to see Ricky Gervais live for both Fame and his previous one (can’t remember title) Very, very funny. On a similar subject I don’t know if any of you watched the Green Wing series on TV. It was really off the wall and weird humour - just as I like it. The funny thing is a lot of it was filmed at my local hospital so each time I go for a ‘visit’ I can picture the actors doing their cartwheels down the ward! I expect everyone must think I’m mad as I almost always smile as I go in! Hubby and I are currently re watching the dvd’s so makes me smile even more :-). The other totally childish films I love are Something about Mary and Dumb and Dumber - they are both family favourites and sooo stupid.
Hope everyone is feeling a bit better at the moment. I was out and about today with my roof down on my car - a great summer’s day with the wind through my wig! It did stay on so the elastic is still good for a few more months LOL
Parma ham and figs sounds lovely - I don’t think we’re meant to have it but I have had some recently, plus underdone lamb and steak - naughty naughty, it’s so hard to remember but I do try, honest.
Take care
Nicky xx
OMG Nicky. I couldn’t keep a straight face if I were being treated there. I loved green wing. It’s bad enough when my onc says Fec in his irish accent. Are you down Brighton way then? (OH thinks it was filmed around Brighton) if so that’s where we lived before running to Cumbria. Well… Hove, actuallly. Think I might have to watch waynes world or something now. Simpsons movie is my current fave.
Just had lunch at the village bakery (those people who do the lovely organic cakes… organic everything in fact)… oh soooo yummy. Croissant loaded with garlic mushrooms, rats that’s healthy!
Hi,
Will have to read these foods bits later, much later, just a bit too delicate right now. But you both enjoy, you deserve it.I have the burps non stop and each time I am not sure if I will puke as well! I am def worse than number 2 dose and it better go quick cos I am fed up with it already. You would think I would know what is coming wouldn’t you, but no it all changed and caught me out. Back to the drawing board! Glad to hear you all better, me next.
Hugs to you all , especially Lisa who will no doubt be sharing this, I am also very hot (and I don’t mean sexy!!)
Lily x
Hey Lily
That’s not what your neighbour thinks! Yeah Baby!
Sorry to hear you’re feeling bad this time but keep in mind that it will get better - that’s the only thing that keeps me going post chemo. Take care and big hugs.
Angie - Some of the scenes from Green Wing may have been in Brighton but the outside ones of the hospital entrance and entrance hall are the gorgeous Basingstoke where I’m priveleged to live ha ha!
Must dash, off to cambridge today, unfortunately not shopping but looking round the uni, still, the weather’s nice so will have a good day out.
Take care all
Nicky xx
Lily: Sorry you are feeling so bad after no 3, as you know I get mine on Tuesday next, let’s hope it behaves like the last two, will let you know.
Hope things improve for the weekend.
Love to all - keep well and laugh a lot!
Julia
XXX
Hi Everyone
Just reading all the threads to see how everyone is doing and to try and catch up… so much to take in. I don’t know where to start with personal messages…my brain is just not with it at the moment.
So here is a group message to say my thoughts and hugs are with you:-)
Goodluck to those who are going through treatment this week…just keep thinking we will all get through this and be stronger for it:-)
If you are getting out this weekend, enjoy and hope the weather stays great. 
If anyone is feeling low, an extra cyber hug is for you xx
I have been away from the laptop for a couple of days, this third cycle as been the worse. My legs and arms feel really weak. As anyone else had the same experience? Going to try and have a walk out this weekend with OH to try and see if a little exercise helps. Also feel like i am 9 months pregnant…sympathy for those who also feel bloated!! Good excuse for some retail therapy and buy some new clothes…have to feel comfortable when feeling bloated…if you know what i mean?
Speak to you again soon
Take care
kirsty xx
Feeling a little lost right now. Got my 6 month check up this afternoon and I honestly do not want to go.
The Consultant Surgeon is a lovely bloke but I feel I need to ask him what to look for re secondaries etc now, there’s no symptoms that I’m aware of. I think it’s just that when I was DX’d I thought it’d be nothing and I just don’t trust my body anymore (do any of us I wonder). I know I’ll be happy when I come home and he’s found nothing to but what if he does find something… gulp… musn’t think like that I know but how can you not.
Think I may have to do something to celebrate this afternoon instead. I love living in this little village but feel raw and vulnerable today so don’t want to go out but it’s lovely and sunny so I do. I need a disguise I think
Sorry to moan just trying to work out how to distract myself, am very hungry but don’t feel like eating. Weird day.
Right am back in more ways than one… NED woohoo, and now I know what to look for. Obusco is such a great man really good at explaining everything so you feel secure but not deluded.
Sorry about the little freak out, am going to sit outside pub next door with friends now.
Lots and lots of love and hugs ladies. You never know we may even all make it through all this treatment and get to live good lives afterwards. It’s possible isn’t it.
xxx
Angie
Hiya All, busy posts I seem to have missed. Hope everyone doing okay. Not too bright like you Lily however sickness did hit in, no. 3 worst so far I think. I was okay afterwards but then threw up majorly the first night and felt sick ever since, however feeling a little brighter at the moment but have horrid taste in mouth along with the slime and quiver at the thought of food but graving sugar for a change, not! Seem to pick up a bit at night and its lovely here today but waiting till its dark as cant be bothered with ratty today so just wanna venture out with a scarf on. Roll on a better weekend for us all. Sadly the brows and lashes are starting to fall and Im really scared as my next does it TAC and im worried as Ive heard its worse than the FEC and not coping to great with this - but hopefully in a few days you do forget. On a good note the spots have gone but sure they will be back in next few days!! I look like Ive been in sun and tango look has set in and my bedroom has been finished so its nice to lounge in, and hopefully if not too hungry I might loose a few pounds as I cant get anything fastened!!!
Lily - you seem to have had a horrid time in there for number 3. Sadly the woman who does the bloods wasnt in so had to take full blud with a bit of a dig around by two of them and my hand is purple, but the chemo after a quick dig got it - its really scary when you hear what people have to go through - Im such as wuss. Hope you are a bit better and starting on the munchies, I did even though makes me cringe now, ate merinuge last night - morrissons finests are so chewy too!!! Dennis and lashes are dropping booo hoo, scared to rub eyes but hoping they stick around a big longer xx
Vertangie - sound slike you had a good exhibition glad it went well. Also your 6 month check up seems to have gone well. Ive had mine a bit early and having mine at just over 5 months at whitehaven for ease but Ive seen your same doctor a few times and hes lovely - how did they tell you about NED, did you have any tests etc. just Im worried that I’ll never be told NED with having it in lymph node. Sun is out here too but cant be bothered much today, will walk the dog when darker and sickness eased.
Carrieanne - hope you are doing okay, first night is a pain but slept a little with a bucket close by after two big sickness sessions so unsure it was the sickness or the amount of water I drank that kept me awake.
Nicky, Kirsty, everyday and anyone else Ive forgotten hope you are all as well as can be and have a nice weekend
xxx
Heya Lisa.
Sorry to hear you’re feeling cr@ppy. I’ve heard a few people say 3 is the worst one, so hopefully 4 won’t be even worse for you at least you start counting now.
As for NED well it’s just that there’s no evidence of disease. Doesn’t mean there certainly isn’t any but it was just a touchy feely check up. I did ask about liver function tests etc and Obusco explained that in Poland they do do ultrasound scans but in reality being clear today doesn’t mean you will be next week so how often do you check these things and I realised quite quickly that you could get really paranoid about these things and forget to live your life so I’m taking his advice (always so wise) and will just report anything that I find worrying. Because mine was a grade 3 and I seem to have an extremely fast metabolism I was worried that it could come back in between checkups but now feel that I can rest assured that anything symptomatic would be checked really quickly. It’s nice to know that there’s nothing suspicious there at the moment so I can be confident that how things feel right now is a baseline to check against.
I would have thought that the chemo should deal with what’s in the lymph, that’s what it’s for after all. You could ask one of the BCN’s I bet they’d know.
Obusco didn’t say NED, that’s just me because at this stage there’s no reason to believe there’s anything left in me and that makes me happy, but not complacent
Hi everyone,
Fell asleep on the sofa for 2 hours so now I will probably not be able to sleep until the middle of the night! Stupid thing to do. Although No.3 came in quicker I am not too bad today, no sickness but then epi has not made me sick yet, quite close occasionally though. I have a lot of stomach acid so gulping ranitidine tablets which work well and have the labrador mouth again. My tongue is even the colour of a snowy white version! Yuukkkk! However had fish and chips tonight and eating food is making me feel much stronger. Just took my last batch of tablets so will see what happens now I have fallen off the steroids. Don’t you love it when the last one is gone, especially those disgusting Ondenstron things, which I think make you want to puke. Trying to avoid the old constipation thing but just could not stomach movicol sachets, only managed one sip, it was that or me and I won. Hope we haven’t worried you Carrieann, I am always doom and gloom just after treatment, it is still doable you just get bored of the same thing. You will be fine.
Thanks for making me laugh Nicky, you always pop up just in time for me, thanks. Kirsty I have the bloat and weedy limbs too, I guess that means it is doing its stuff though.Hope you get your walk as rain forecast. Angie got both posts together or would have wished you well before, great results and long may they last.Keep believing.
Lisa hope things are starting to improve mate. Really sorry about the Dennis, did you understand my directions how to draw them? If not will try to write it again. Having increased loss on my head today so worried this may be a big loss, when I don’t have anything approaching big left!! Big hugs to get better by Monday.Keep us posted.
I have a school prom to go to next week and desperately want to be well enough to go if only for an hour to say bye to my year 11s I deserted for BC but secondly to be able to go in my hairband so I don’t have to worry about having my wig pulled off in public. Can’t trust all the little bu…ers to behave well now they have left. Feeling really sad as my lovely Mother in law, who has terminal kidney cancer, has decided to refuse any more treatment. It may go quite fast and not feeling strong enough to cope but having to respect her decision. It has of course stirred up all the worst emotions in me just when I am in a really weedy emotional stage. Going to see her tomorrow and relatives all buzzing about who have not been in before so they will focus on me too. My hubby only lost his Dad last year so tough on him and holding my chin above water, he is constantly refusing to accept anything but a total cure for me, even when I jump over the rails occasionally. Hope that 2009 has something more cheerful in store for us all.
Hugs to you all, sorry a bit sad today.
Lily x