Evening
Sorry Jacq, I’m not really a blonde basher. In truth blonde does look awful on me but so did my original dark colour when I tried that as a wig. My natural colour now is (prematurely!) salt and pepper but as the wig fitter said they don’t do modern styles in grey. That was a lovely thing to be told on my birthday. As bad as being told on my 40th that my scuba mask was leaking because of my wrinkles!
Feeling a LOT better today and still seem to have some taste which is unusual by now. Trying to make the most of little nausea and taste. Polished off a plate of chips. I’m hoping that as was promised earlier that they will get things moving.
I’ve been looking at a bit more of this site and have discovered the ribbon walks. I’ve now changed my mind about the moonwalk and will aim for a ribbon walk next year. I won’t manage it this year as my chemo doesn’t finish until July and I then have rads. For all of you who have been thinking of race for life etc it may be worth looking at. I’m sure that the rest of you will agree that this site and the support of you ladies has helped to keep me at least semi sane during all of this.
Lyn, good news about your return to work. Half pay is looming(I know I’ve been fortunate to have full so far) and there is no way I’m allowed to work because of the risk of infection. Onc and BC nurse both hammered that one home.
Hope everyone is ok.
Nicky x
Lou, glad you’re feeling brighter now - I always feel like hiding and curling up into a ball when I’ve got the miseries too. Well you were brighter til that dope of a cashier got to you … I trust she had extra strength, bulletproof glass between the pair of you!
Can hardly see to type - my eyes are so sore - went to see oncologist today and he did a double-take, I looked like Dracula had just risen. Feel like somebody’s chucked a bucket of beach in them.
Then he asked how my appetite was - told him I couldn’t stop eating, and he did a triple take - looked me up and down, and said “You’d better be careful, just eat rabbit food”!.. Sigh … so I’ve just polished off the best part of a box of Thornton’s that eldest kindest gave to me! Also fancy chips now too, thanks to Nicky!
So, I now have runny eyes plus a runny nose to match my runny bum! What? Yeah, course I’m a laydee!
Pat, I was about to have an early night, but can’t get that picture of you aka Tina cavorting about the bathroom, what an image for an insomniac!
Anyway, a good weekend to all you lovely lasses. xx Jacq xx
hi everyone - its so good to hear you all having a laugh and getting on with the whole thing - I had my first chemo on wed and so far so good but spose its early yet and I’m still on the tabs - Pat - that new jacket of yours sounds the business and I’ll no doubt be in a matching one soon myself - but at least we’ll feel secure eh?! Lyn are you a practice nurse - thats what I did for a while…have a good weekend girls…mary x
Morning All!
Good to read all the latest posts!
Well, on the scale of 1 - 10, I’m about a 9! Good for me, but i just know that some wally will spoil it again next week with chemo no.4!
Had a big energy burst yesterday morning and even cleaned the oven- at 6.30 Saturday morning! Blimey, OH was scared to death and made some comment about ‘had i wet the bed or something?’ huh, bloody cheek!
lady in the bank was very lucky that day, i was so shocked at what she said i couldn’t think of a reply quick enough - reaction times a bit slow obviously! I’ll get the cow next week instead!
My nose keeps running, I thought i was getting a cold but it’s not and my hands are SO dry, no amount of cream seems to help.
Oh Pat! LOL!!! I’ve got this image in my head of you! bless, you go girl!
Hi Lyn, Nicky and Mary! I hope you are all ok for a Sunday?
Well, i’m off to make chicken fricassee in the slow cooker for tea - lots of white wine and cream in it!! YUM,YUM! the old bank cashier would be horrified!
Back again later lassess,
Much love,
LOu xxx
yuuummm chicken fricassee…think the steroids have sent my appetite sky high…Lou - the runny nose may be due to the loss of nose hairs - cor what fun - so I’ve read…mary x
Hi all, Mary, I agree with you about the appetitie thing, especially now my taste has come back I’m packing it away! Jacq, whenever someone tells me not to do something, especially if it’s something nice, I tend to do it! You enjoy your thorntons, chips and whatever else. At onc, nurse gets excited when she weighs me and I’ve put on a pound! Lou, so glad you’re feeling good, but cleaning the oven at 6.30, sure you really are feeling ok!!! I think Mary’s right about the nose hairs, I’ve also just lost most of my eyelashes and my eyes are so sore and runny especially when I go out. I must look like I’m crying all the time, but I promise I’m not! I saw this new eye spray advertised (I don’t do well with drops) but when I saw the price - over £14 for 10mls I’m gonna stick to cotton woolpads soaked in cool water. I think from Wednesday Boots have it on offer for around £9 so might give it a go then and will report back. It should be available on prescription but I bet it’s not. And I’ve noticed my skin is very dry, particularly my face and my hands. I’ve resorted to lashings of E45 as all my other moisturisers aren’t touching it. Well, we’re getting on with it, Lou with her 4th next week, me with my 5th and nearly everyone else is getting towards the backend of their chemo. I know I’ve got rads after but the chemo is one thing I’ll be only to happy to cross off the list. Lou I hope you enjoy your chicken fricassee, Jacq, sorry if I gave you nightmares! It is a bit scary and god knows what OH and the kids thought of the wailing that passes for my singing wafting from the bathroom:) Well, hope everyone has a fab day. Will check in later, love to all, Pat x
Evening ladies and hope you have all had a good weekend? Mine has been fairly quiet just trying to get up to date with jobs before number 3 tomorrow.
Pat I just loved that image of you as Tina Turner-made my day-lol!
Hi Mary. No I am a teacher- I teach PE in the 9 primary schools in my area, and believe it or not I really miss seeing all the kids as I love my job! When I am off the class teachers have to do their own PE so I am hoping to go in and help staff with material that they can deliver-best I can do under the circumstances as they won’t allow me class contact.
Also I have to agree with both you ladies and Jacq- I just seem to want to eat everything just now and especially things which I normally wouldn’t touch! I made a Nigella chocolate fruit cake yesterday and it smelt soooo good when it came out of the oven I couldn’t wait for it to cool down-I just had to taste it -mmmm yummy!!!
Glad it’s not just me with irritable eyes and runny nose-just about driving me daft and I have tried drops and an inhaler for the nose but not much helps! 
Lou the chicken fricassee sounded great- I am off to have beef goulash-trying to use up stuff out of freezer, and enough left over to do another day!
Good luck tomorrow Jacq.
Love and hugz,
Lyn xx
Hi all, just a quickie to say good luck tomorrow Lyn and Jacq - you’ll be fine, Jacq the tax doesn’t seem to cause nausea which is great. All the best to all who are having stuff tomorrow, good luck, love and hugs Pat x
Lyn - sounds like a great job! I’m a bit behind you all with having my first chemo - fec - on wed, so still early days yet…ohhh the eye probs sound nasty too…more fun n games…mary x
Evening
I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I’ve just had a very quiet one. I would normally have been at crufts for a few days and have missed it this year. Never mind it will still be there next year. Tomorrow I should have been heading off to Bath to start an animal treatment course. Thankfully they’ve transferred my deposit to the next session in September. Feeling a bit fed up that plans have been so disrupted and have to keep telling myself that it is really just a small blip in the greater scheme of things.
Runny eyes are a nightmare aren’t they. I found that the skin around my eyes was getting very sore where they were just constantly running and the chemo nurse suggested vaseline which has really helped. I too have been looking at the eye mist but didn’t realise that it was so expensive!
All of this talk about food. I can’t wait for my taste to come back!
I assumed I’d lose weight with all of this. At least I’ve managed not to put any on but there’s still time.
Most of you seem to be coming towards the end of your chemo. Am I the only one on 28 weeks of the blasted thing? I started at the end of Dec and don’t finish until July! Then rads after that.
Mary, I’m glad that your first session went so well.
I hope that your chemo goes well tomorrow Lyn and Jacq.Nickyx
Hiya lovelies! Thanks for all your best wishes, and good luck to Lyn too. Just had the 12th steroid since yesterday morning, and am BUZZING after only 2 hours sleep.
Haven’t felt the need to clean the oven though Lou! Mind you, not sure if the neighbours appreciated the hoover on at 2.30 a.m.! Well, they still put their heads down whenever they see me bewigged, so it let’s them know that I do still exist!
Pat - nausea? … loss of taste? … I wished! Not had them once, hence the increased appetite and weight gain. Shouldn’t moan though, I know how much most of you have suffered. Watch me keel over with these 3 Tax!
These red, runny eyes are really annoying though. Every time I see my daughters they think I’ve had bad news and won’t believe me when I swear blind that I haven’t been crying.
Oh well, time to jump in the shower, doesn’t take half so long to get ready now without having hair to wash and blowdry. Be even quicker soon when the eyelashes completely abscond. I give them a good talking to every time I coat the last few with mascara.
Love and hugs to all you lovelies. Catch you later. xx Jacq xx
Morning,
Just me very quickly to wish Lyn and Jacq the best for today. I have Onc appt this morning-nice chap but very weak handshake!Bloods wednesday and chemo Friday! 4 down and 2 to go then 18 lots of Herceptin.
I think i may attach a nose bag - my nose is so sore from running all the time and I have big black bags under my eyes - so attractive. I have been given a new nickname by Thomas - Yoda! from starwars - little swine! He did remind me that i didn’t have green skin or a walking stick - well, not yet anyway, i’ve had everything else!
Nicky, i too thought i would lose weight - NOPE! not a hope! I’m sure to be weighed again today - arrgghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
OH MY GOD! Nigella chocolate cake - WOW!
Well, best get out of these jarmies, get Thomas sorted for school,
Love to all for today, back later,
Love Lou xxx
I havent contributed to this thread but wanted to tell you all about Clarymist eye spray.It is about £12 for 10 mls but lasts ages and is really effective.I used it when I was on taxotere and it is so soothing.It is advertised for dry eyes and for contact lens users but it works just as well with chemo induced sore and runny eyes.I finished chemo in May 2007 and still have some left!You spray it on closed eyes and the relief is immediate and long lasting.My optician recommended it.They all sell it but so do some Tesco pharmacies and I bet Boots have it too.All the best ladies.Love Valx
Thanks for that Val, I’ll definitely be investing in some forthwith! xx Jacq xx
Hia Val
I have just read about your eye spray and am off to boots now.
I start tax tomorrow. I m having 3.after having 4 EC.
Thanks Ange x
val - am goona get some eye stuff too just in case…thanks! mary x
Ladies, the ‘mist’ spray is on offer in Boots from Wednesday - instead of £over £14 it’s £9 something. x
Hi All, Lyn and Jacq, hope it went okay and that you’re feeling alright, and Lou I hope onc appt went well. I had my onc appt today, had bloods taken as soon as I walked in, then waited well over an hour to see doc. She said all was going well and I signed the consent form for the radiotherapy, which I’ll start 3 weeks after end of chemo. And I had a nice surprise - surgeon originally said - back in Nov - that I’d have 8 chemos (now only 6) and 2mths rads but I’ve only got to have 15 treatments over 3 weeks, I was well chuffed. I’m not only having rads to breast, she said, as so many lymph glands in my arm were affected (10 of the 18 they removed) they want to zap the nodes on that side of my neck too, for added protection. I said they could zap what they like! As a matter of interest, did anyone else have node involvement? I apologise in advance as I’m sure we said all that at very beg but I blame my chemo brain! Saw my manager today and she was pleased that I might be able to come back a bit sooner than I thought. They’ve taken on a locum to cover my post and I will work alongside them when I return to work. Manager doesn’t want me to have any pressure or stress when I go back so they’re being very supportive which is great. I have to get occ health clearance before I can return, so I’m not looking to do that til maybe May, obviously see how rads go. All the girls in the office loved my black nail polish, must admit I’m quite taken with it myself, just hope nails actually stay on for me to continue painting them? Well, that’s all for now, will check in with everyone later. Hope all had a good day, love and big hugs, Pat x
Hi All
Been to Boots glad i decided to wait till Wednesday so eye spray will be cheaper.I ve just had my last of eight steroids today ready for tomorrow. I ve been so good on EC I ve been to wash and do mums hair for her x ray on wed. She has also got breast cancer and is aged 85 years and on Arimidex,not mobile so I ve been concentrating on her and father whos 86 and just come out of hos after operation for hernia.They ve kept me busy,to say the least but think I may not be able help as much with tax but who knows.I m startin to get a bit tired. I got two gorgeous grandchildren that also keep me goin one is 6yrs and the other is 1yr.This is the third time I ve had breast cancer but the first time for chemo hopefully third time lucky. I m rambling on a bit now ,I will let you know how it goes tomorrow
Ange xx ps I ve got a lovely wig can t tell the difference!!!
Nicky, I’m on 28 weeks of chemo aswell, just had dose no 4 of epi. reacted quite badly to the 3rd one so they reduced the dose this time. Also got a lot of stress from work, firstly redundancy and then they’ve asked me to go for a medical. Got quite angry today with woman from HR, she thinks the head has misunderstood what treatment I’m having, I actually told her my treatment wouldn’t end till July and the radiotherapy afterwards. I’ve asked for redundancy figures and also compensation if they reduce hours to 10 per week. Don’t know if I want to go back to work with a head that doesn’t listen to what you say. Anyway enough it makes me stressed just thinking about it. Will keep you all posted as to how dose 4 reacts, feeling very tired .
Bye for now.
Luv to all
Alison