Isabelle,
Wonderful news, don’t be sorry about being up-beat, we are here to share good and less good news. I am really happy for you, a cruise hey, I wonder if you will have Kevin Cruise to entertain you (Britain’s got talent star (?))
Sandra, one step at a time, enjoy the next two weeks with all your hair. They give us the chemo because it improves your chances, so look at it that way, statistics can always be manipulated, I didn’t dare ask my chances either, but I might be run over by a bus tomorrow anyway !! I hope not, because I had 4 kitchen men in my kitchen this afternoon, wow. An improvement on my tree feller I can tell you. And anyway I want to get years and years out of my new kitchen.
Hugs to all
Maria
hi all,
Suzie,
Hope your tears have let up a bit by now, was the same before my chemo, after i had got over my op and was waiting for chemo i kind of forgot everything a bit but as it creeped up it started to freak me out. Good luck on thursday, will be thinking of you, and its a lovely unit. All the nurses say they are the champion of geting the cannula in, and they are very good! On my second fec i filled a hot water bottle and kept it on myarm all the way there and whilst waiting, and they got the vein first time, so i will do it again! They have heat bags there for when you get in but it made me feel proactive to do it myself. I feel much better now, think wil be a pattern for me, 10 days in a hole the hopefully fine, though tired!
Maria, good luck tomorrow with chemo,xxx
Isabelle, brill news, really pleased for you, this chemo is shit and am happy for anyone who gets to avoid it. You can give us the info on radiotherapy upfront too now, like our very own roving reporter!
Sandra, thanks for the ball info, will keep my eye out. We have a tiered garden so on reflection it may be slightly dangerous, like kerplunk, there the kids go down anothewr level!Glad you liked your oncologist, it helps.
Sorry to everyone i haven’t mentioned by name! Hope everyone is having some “up” time today. I got mywig from nu-style in whitefield too. It was already cut into a bob shape but then i went to trevor sorbie and the lovely hairdresser cut it a bit more to specifically suit my face, she took about 40% of the hair out of it as she said wigs are usually too full, then cut it with a razor and trimmed the fringe, sides and feathered in the back. It made it lots better evn though i thought it had looked good before. Trevor sorbie runs a charity called “my new hair” and his website explains it. As well as his own salon, he has trained loads of local hairdressers and the list is on his website.
Vickie
xxx
ahem, look who has posted a photo at last!
Ahem to you too, love the photo!
Also Love the idea of the kerplunked children!!
Hugs
Sandra xxx
Hello Tors,
Love the photo, beautiful children,
Best Wishes,
Isabelle xxx
I think I must be a little odd as I have not shed any tears yet. The nearest I came to it was when I called in to tell my hairdresser that I would need her to chop my hair just after my DX.
Vicky- good idea re the hot water bottle. at my first session last week the nurse had to get the hot pack as she couldn’t find a vein. thing is-how do you drive with a hot water bottle, do you strap it on? I havn’t decided whether to take myself to my next one or allow myself to be chauffered!
I got a call today from the local hospice day centre (myBCN refered me) you go from 10 unti 3 and have lunch & complementary therapies etc and can go for 12 weeks-I am looking forward to that.
Good luck with the chemo, Sandra. your jabs in the tum sound like the ones I was sent home from hospital with to stop blood clots.
Take care
Carol
carol, i think i have probably shed enough tears for both of us! I was driven by my husband to and from chemo so wasnt a problem holding it on!
Hi Carol,
How brave are you not crying! A lady l was in hospital with said she has not cried, and she still hasn’t! funny enough she said she almost did when she lost her hair!
The injections l am having are for the white blood cell, they get low after chemo, so the district nurse comes in every day for 10 days for the injections.
Tors, You reminded me, someone once told me about keeping the arm warm for injections! so it is either having the heating on full blast in the car, or hoping for a hot day, and putting my arm out of the window!
I am hoping to drive myself, really don’t want to rely on lifts, although l have two friends who have offered, but they both work and would have to take time off, they said it wasn’t a problem…but would like to do this myself…l think!!
Hugs
Sandra xxx
I drive to the hospital myself with no problems. There is a lot of sitting about and I think its a waste of time for other people to be there as there is nothing they can do really. The nurses ususally provide a hot blanket for my arm to help the veins and also soothes as the stuff goes in.
I too have the white blood count injections but for 7 days, my husband does them for me (it saves having to wait around for the District nurse)they don’t hurt at all - they advise you to have them in the morning to avoid any bone pain during the night and interupt your sleep (I have had some pain and it is quite bad at times, although a couple of paracetomal works wonders!)
Sandra do you know what regime you will be on is it 3 FEC and 3 TAX?
In my view Chemo is not good and I wouldn’t pretend it is, although like people say on here it is dooable. The worst part for me was losing my hair - emotionally I found this very difficult and it something that stays with you all the time.
I will never ever ever moan about my hair ever ever again (hopefully it will come back) The joy of having your own hair to wash/dry/comb and go to the hairdressers is something I miss sooo much…
but I am learning so much about me on this journey…
Saffronseed
What are you doing to me tonight!!!twice you have made me cry tonight!! Lol!
Just read your post on the NED thread, where you said ‘poor’ diagnosis because size of tumour and node involvement and if you got to 5 years …l had large node involvement too!
Now on here you are saying “chemo is not good, but do-able” losing hair!! aghhh!! l am an emotional wreck!!
But at least l can drive myself to hospital…Thank goodness for that!
I will ask if l can do the injections myself, not sure why some have different days, but he did say 10 days, he also said they have applied to…whoever they apply to! for funding to have a one off injection instead of a 10 day course, but seems…whoever have said no at the moment! because they said it would be too expensive!
Hugs
Sandra xxx
PS. Emotional day…re onc today!
PPS. Yes it is FEC/TAX
Hi adventurers,
well I finally dried up of tears!!! Still feel a bit emotional but am not causing a local flood at the mo!!!period started this afternoon so I now can blame that (sorry if too much info) and I thought I may have had my last one ever but trust my bod to fit another one in!!
Vickie, thank you so much for your supporting words - your pic is lovely and your babies too. I am hoping to go visit my daughter and grandson weekend after next (I know only 47 and a granny!!) so will concentrate on feeling good and enjoying the visit instead of the horrific things which have been running through my overactive mind. I will deffo try the hot water bottle on arm, I only have one useable arm cos of the node clearance and the nurse looked at it and said…ok where are the veins!I will take a look at the trevor sorbie website, thanks for the info 
Maria, 4 men in your kitchen…u lucky girl. May you cook many many meals in there…I’m sure you will…it’s scary how much time we spend in the kitchen:-)Good luck with your appointment today xx
Izzy - so glad about your results am as excited as you about your holiday I like Vickies idea about you being our rads roving reporter - hope you like your new status.
Sandra - glad your onc visit was ok, at least you now know what your next adventurous steps will be, 2 weeks is quick. I think half my problem has been the 7 weeks since op that I have had to ponder and imagine things that has made me get so worked up…hopefully I will be able to report on Friday that there was no need to flood the area as it wasn’t so bad after all, then you can step boldly forward for your share. I am having the tummy injections for 5 days to boost immunity, the district nurse will do them or I can learn to do them myself…can add that to my cv if I do that:-} I think that I will tell myself that they are to shrink my tummy hahah . Hope your emotions are feeling better now…crikey what are we like?
Carol, I haven’t cried very much till this weekend either. I did if I felt the need but most of the time felt ok. Think I have made up for it over the weekend though, will add large box of tissues to my next shopping list. I like the sound of the complimentary therapies sessions, I picked up a leaflet about similar in my area (Vickie have you enrolled for any - they are at Failsworth Centre and also some at Oldham?)and I think I may enroll if I get the chance to.
opps just spotted the time - better get some sleep.
Bye for now hugs
Suze xx
Hi Ladies ,hope you dont mind me popping in on your thread, just wanted to wish you all well with your treatments and hope everyone is doing ok .
Hi Sandra,
Glad to hear all went well with meeting your Onc , and that you now have your chemo plan sorted . Try not to worry to much about the chemo as everyone is different SEs wise, its not much fun but it is definately Doable like everyone on here says and your medical team will make sure you have plenty of meds to help with any SEs you may have , there is a top tips section on here somewhere which is brilliant .
I Had the “one GCSF injection” the day after each Epi because i had accelerated chemo every 2 weeks instead of 3 so needed to get my bloods back up quickly in time for for the next dose, the district nurse used to come out to do mine. Each GCSF injection costs about
£1,000 so is very expensive, but does help a lot with boosting the white cells , though to be honest i still managed to get a few infections and the jabs also gave me flu like symptoms, but that was soon sorted out with antibiotics thank goodness.
I hope your onc is able to get you the one GCSF injections dont know why everything has to come down to cost , but sadly it seems to doesnt it.
Good luck to everyone undergoing chemo at the moment, and remember however rubbish it is the cancer cells are feeling a hell of a lot worse .
All the best to everyone,
Love Linda xx
Hi Ladies, wow I have loads of post to read. I have had a hectic few days. Monday down to Banbury to see hubby’s family, and I got loads more birthday presents. A special one was a cushion with a letter H on the front from Granddaughter.We bought her a sewing machine for Christmas, she is only 7 and she has been practising making something for my birthday, and it was beautiful, it has pride of place in the bedroom. Then yesterday was Herceptin day, that went ok this time, it was the nurse who usually gets it first time. I wore my glove for a few hours before I went, and I kept it on till she put the neddle in, I bet folks in the waiting room wondered what was matter with me lol
Izzy, fantastic news about your results, I am so happy for you, its great to hear good news
Tors love your picture, and what lovly children. Hows your taste at the minute? I think that is one of the worst things about chemo, I use to drink bitter lemom. I had my chemo last summer and I remember standing at the sink sucking a strawberry, it was all juicy and lovely and I shouted to hubby “oh this is lovely nearly has good has an or**m”, didn’t see the window cleaner stood there lol.
Sandra, now youve got your plan it will all go so quickly, I hated the hair loss, and that was the first time I had a real cry. But after a few weeks I got use to it and it was so much quicker when your getting ready. Hows Bliss? hope she is ok, I watched Britains Got Talent last night and I cried all through the dog act because you could see so much love she had for her owner. Oh and Sandra any-time you need a laugh and your coming my way, call in for a cuppa, well any of you ladies can:).
Saffron, Hope the chemo went ok. It is nice to wash your hair when it comes back, I have never gone to the hairdressers much. I trained has an hairdresser when I was younger so I have always done my own hair, now hubby does it with me instructing him lol. Saw you said you was going to watch the football, are you looking forward to the world cup. We will be watching, and my daughter is a avid England fan, she is awful when they loose. I remember the 2002 world cup, wow I got in loads of trouble. They were playing Denmark I think and it was early Saturday morning, so Son in Law went to the pub to watch it and I stayed with my daughter. Well England won and we were on a high, so we went to pick up Son in Law and he came outside and said “are you coming in for a drink everybody wants to see you. So after a lot of coaxing we went in. I wasn’t dressed for the pub at all, the only red and white clothes I had was a pair of really tight shorts and a red T shirt. Anyway went in, borrowed a flag to wrap round my shorts and I was away lol. I had got a load of drinks bought me and I was really enjoying myself. I was on the table singing football songs, I got this young lad to propose to his girlfriend, I was just out of it. Well it got to lunch time and my daughter said I am going now because the kids are hungry, but oh no I wasn’t going anywhere. So she said to her mum in law will you keep an eye on her and I will come and pick her up later. Anyway after about 10 mins they decided to move pubs, so the mum in law said to me are you going to come home with us, but no I didn’t and I followed the others. Well we was walking down this road and a lady came walking towards us with a dog, so I was saying oh look at this cute little dog, I stopped to stroke it and talk to the lady then I looked up and they were gone. Well I didn’t know were I was , so I told the lady were the others were going and she gave me directions. The thing is I don’t know my left from my right when I am sober, so being in that state I couldn’t find them. So I was wandering about lost, dressed in a hideous pair of shorts and I spotted a phone box. I managed to remember a taxi number and I rang a local taxi firm. The owner of the taxi firm said to me while I was on the phone “Heather are you drunk” yep I was. Then he asked me were I was and I didn’t know lol So there was people outside the phone box so I had to ask them were I was. Well I had to wait half an hour but I didn’t mind, I was talking away to these people not a care in the world, but wow how wrong was I. Eventually I got home and the next door neighbour shouted"your in trouble” and I looked at her with a puzzled look and thought why am I in trouble. The thing is what had happened, my daughter had gone to pick me up and I wasn’t there. However everyone thought I had gone missing, my daughter,my son, my mum and dad, and there friends were out looking for me, they were really worried and was getting ready to ring the police lol so when I turned up they were so mad with me and I was in deep s**t lol the thing is I was only 50 lol so now I am not allowed out on my own during the world cup. I met hubby just after that, so now I celebrate with him, cant get into trouble then lol You see I get myself in such scrapes without even trying.
Carol, sorry about you being hit by that train that gets us all sometimes. I know how you feel about them finding a vein.They had 9 goes on me last time, but yesterday was good. I said earlier about wearing a glove, the hot water bottle seems a good idea as well.
Suzi, so glad the tears have dried up, its awful isn’t it I don’t know were they all come from.
Maria, Love your pics, hope your having fun with your men lol
Gill, Fingers crossed you don’t shrivel your wig lol
Well better go, I am going out with my daughter today to spend my birthday money, hope they have clothes for fat people lol
If I have missed anyone sorry! oh and hi to our 2 new travellers Mum51 and Linyloo
Take Care
Love Heather
xxxxxxxxx
.
Hi Gill,
well less than 24 hours to go now (not that I’m counting!!! yeah right - it’s like the countdown for nasa spacestation!) need to do so much today - gonna try to get house in order so I don’t have anything but concentrate on myself for the next few days…except I have neither the energy nor the inclination. Tears still there in about 5 buckets just behind my eyeballs but so far the dam is holding them back.
It does seem to make it so real - the visit to the oncologist cos I was fine till then, not to mention the wig stuff. My hair is a mess too - been conditioning it so much I can’t do a thing with it even though I reluctantly had it cut two weeks ago so it should be looking fine now and in actual fact my wigs look better…partly because I haven’t coloured mine either in a bid to make it more healthy so now I resemble a skunk with my greying stripe down the cemtre- oh you little cancer cells have soooo much to answer for and tomorrow I shall seek my revenge on you all :-)) (now I am sounding like a crazy person!!!)
I shall get my chemo bag ready with hot water bottle, water to drink and various snacks, mags and a book…could be for a nice day out but we know differently don’t we.
This next bit of the adventure is a bit like crossing a cavern on one of those rope bridge thingies…each step slowly and carefully, don’t look down (keep positive haha) (be brave (more hahas)) and I can’t wait to get off the bloody thing and get to the other side :-))
Heather…you and your stories… I think you need to have a tag on you so your family can find you if you go missing…maybe during one of our many vaccinations we could have microchips inserted just in case of emergencies! At least for the duration of the world cup, I shall get my skimpy shorts out just in case I am affected by it all!! God that would scare people…a balding nutter in skimpy shorts, I’m sure the police would find me before I was reported missing!
Sandra I think we should arrange to decend on Heather and have a storytelling afternoon…that would take our minds off the ‘other stuff’ after all she has now invited us all to tea and it would be rude not to go;-)xx
Ok time to motivate myself and actually do something other than read the posts on here, I need to hide the charger for the laptop so I can’t keep coming in here to see what everyone is doing.
Love to all adveturers, best wishes to all those at appointments and having treatments
Suze xxx
Hi Lovely Ladies
Suze, Firstly Good Luck for tomorrow, hope it goes well and you suffer very few side effect, keep drinking the water.
Strange about the immune injections, l have heard some having one day, you are having 5 and l am greedy and having 10!!
As soon as we are up to it, we can book a coach and pop in and see Heather! watch out Heather, if you see a coach coming get the kettle on! xxx
Linda, Hi how are you? keeping well l hope! good to see you on this thread, keep posting, still waiting for a new topic from you!! Lol
Never new the injections were so expensive, but we are worth it! xxx
Heather, when l see your posts, l have to go and make a coffee to sit down, read and digest!! love the shorts, l think!!
Little Bliss is off to the vets tomorrow, she is no worse, but also no better, so we will see how her bloods are xxx
Gill, Hope you had a ‘good’ visit, and not too emotional! bad enough having the cancer, without all the rubbish it brings with it!
How brave are you, to have asked the onc about prognosis, would have frightened the life out of me! but good to hear his figures make it worth it! fingers and everything else crossed xxx
The injections are for the white blood cells, everywhere seems to be different, seems some don’t even get them! because the white cells get really low during chemo they give a boost, i have read on here if the count is too low you cant have the chemo, so it makes sense to keep them up. A lady l was talking to today said she only had one injection. Suze is having 5, but our onc says 10! the main thing is they work. Hope you get them, the district nurse comes to your home she will either do it for you or teach you to inject into your tummy, seems it is only a very small needle!! so my bcn told me! but she did laugh!
Maria, How are your men doing? get that whip out!
Went to a walk in centre today, there were three ladies who have finished their chemo, all sitting there with their wigs on, l said is your hair growing ok? with that they all took their wigs off!
it looked so funny! they had such a sense of humour! there hair was growing nicely, they all finished chemo in December, and l was surprised how much had grown, one said she hardly wears her wig, but the other two said they always did! if l had met the one who hardly wears her wig out anywhere, l would have just thought she liked short hair, l was surprised how good it looked lovely and thick, thought it might have been patchy, it was quite dark, l said what colour was your hair before chemo, she said, l cant remember been colouring it for so long l have forgotten!
Love and hugs to all
Sandra xxx
Hello Ladies,
Heather, I love to read your stories they make me lol, what with the teabag the other day and now the drunken lady in her short shorts!
Thank you to all for your good wishes about my good news.I do like my new status as your rads roving reporter ( courtesy of Vickie)!!!
I think I will probably start in about five weeks time if all is well, I called in to see the ladies at work today and I have been told not to rush back as my workmates are covering my clients for me during my absence, and my boss has said that I will be able to stagger my return back to work and just do a couple of days a week to start with. That is all a long way off just yet as I will not be able to work during my rads as it is a 3 hour round trip every day + 80 miles round trip daily to the hospital and thats without the treatment. That’s what you get when you live out in the sticks!!!
Suzi, I hope you are doing ok today I am thinking of you all going through all of this s–t on a daily basis, and I feel so grateful and humbled by the fact that I have got away with the treatment which I have to have compared to all of you. You are all in my thoughts. Mind you I could be just c–p at the rads!!!
Best Wishes and love to all,
Isabelle xxx
Hi everyone… am up bright and early today and feeling fine still on my steroids after 3rd FEC so on a high… I know on Saturday when Steriods stop I will hit the fatigue wall so making the most of it!!
Glad to see everyone is upbeat its a really good thread to tap into…
Sandra sorry to have made you cry… My prognosis is ‘not good’ and that is the terminology they use for a ‘cure’ given the size and spread etc - but like you I have had clear scans and the Chemo regime increases my ‘cure’ rate to 85% which is ‘good’ in my view so I am generally upbeat about it. We are all individuals (not statistics) but I am a realist and I personally like to know what I am up against but don’t worry i intend to stay healthy and alive for many more years!! Also the hair, yes for me it was the worst (and I am not sure why?) but so far in all things I have had to face that has been the hardest… but like others say it does make you stronger and think about yourself differently. I am getting to like my wig and I am thinking of getting another one!! (a different style and colour).
Heather yes I will be watching the footie, but no alcholol for me!! I just can’t stomach it at the moment, so I won’t have any advertures like yours to report!!
pleased about your news to Izzy, glad you haven’t got to go through the chemo stuff but RADs is no cakewalk either and don’t underestimate the pysical and emotional impact it may have on you - particularly with such a long journey. My Onc told me yesterday I have to have 15 RAds after my Chemo ends… this is at another hospital and will mean a 50 mile round journey too for three weeks which is something else I need to plan for!
Suze good luck for today hope it goes ok - let us know how you get on. Gill good luck for next week its nice to get the first one under your belt.
to all advertnures keep the stories coming and best wishes and good luck to everyone at whatever stage you are on your ’ adventure journey’ xxx
Hi ladies,
I was not up to posting yesterday after my 2nd FEC, but feel better this morning, so I had lots to read on this thread, hope I haven’t missed anything. Nothing to report on the kitchen front, for the past 2 days I have just had one man in, doing the electrics, and he says things are going well and on time.
Vickie, your wig sounds great, now we need another photo, but your present one is so lovely, we can wait a while.
Carole, Is good to weep, but some of us just don’t. I don’t tend to very much, but I’m sure it would be better to get it all out, but we are who we are. The day centre sounds great, I’m going for a two hour session of massage and beautician and colour tips next week. I’ll let you know how it goes. The colour tips will be interesting , but I think the beauty tips will be a bit of a waste of time, I was not born beatiful, I’m afraid.
Saffonseed, Do I understand rightly that you are working and driving yourself to chemo, as well as running a houshold etc. Superwomen or what, well done. Prognosis at 85 % sounds great. In 2003 mine was 50% with no chemo, and 80% with. I’m still here. Well enough to start all over again, not asked my stats this time though.
Suze, Good luck with the chemo today.
Linda, Pleased to have you along, and thanks for the encouragement. Why did you have accelerated treatment ? If you don’t mind me asking.
Gill, I have not felt like going out to buy any clothes since my op. I understand your tears in M&S.
Heather, how many more stories do you have !!??
Sandra, Your wig ladies sound lovely. Hope Bliss is OK, I expect the kids are over the chicken pox now. I am wondering if the different other injections we have depend on the strength of our chemo, we might be having the same stuff, but at different doses and therefore side effects will be different as well.
Isabelle, I know what you mean about out in the sticks, me too, I live 12 miles up the mountain at the height of Ben Nevis, at the end of a dead end road. Wonderfully quiet, but have a long was to go any where.
Lots of hugs to one and all
Maria
Good Morning, ladies
Lovely day here, but know I can’t go out in the garden, will have to run out there when the sun goes behind a cloud!
Heather, I wish I could drop in for a cup of tea, you would be a real tonic, but as I live at the other end of the country, I will have to do it in spirit!
Maria, I have booked a place on a free makeover pedicure etc. I think I will ask how to use eye make up as it’s some thing I never wear. Perhaps they will show me how to paint on eyebrows if I lose mine! as for being beautiful-well everyone is beautiful in some way and it’s important to tell ourselves we are every day.
I didn’t realise that steroids made us hyper-that would explain why I felt charged up on day 2 only to come crashig down on day 3!
I have now come out in shingles. I get a patch on my chest when I’m stressed sometimes. I’m not streesed but my body is!
Going for the shaved head look this afternoon!
Hope everyone has a good day
Carol