thanks Suzanne for the words of empathy - and I am feeling a lot happier today. Trying to be grateful for what I do have etc. And I think the sunshine helps…
Yesterday I went to Winkworth Arboretum near Godalming in Surrey and very close of Gertrude Jekyll’s garden at Munstead Wood (open one day a year - for those of you interested in gardens!!!). Went round the lake and played with the geese on the bank - they seemed quite tame. There were some lovely glades of daffodils, as well as mossy steps leading to different plantings of trees from different parts of the world, and a bog garden that is viewed from a series of wooden walk ways. I was very good about sticking to healthy food for lunch and just had the pureed vegetable soup and one piece of bread. Though by the time I got back to London I was starving and we ended up sharing some crisps and a bar of chocolate, thus undoing the good work! Still the walking probably burned off few calories.
I haven’t had my tax yet Caron - so I may well be doing as you do and hiding under the duvet about three weeks from now…
Hope you are feeling better as well Jo and that you are less worried about the surgery Gail, and that you continue to recover from yours Andie xx
Shell - if you happen to be reading the posts - again just to write that like everyone else on our strand, that I am thinking of you lots… xxxx
Hope the sunshine cheers everyone up a little. I like to open the windows and breathe in the spring!
GOOD LUCK TOMORROW GAIL !!!will be thinking of you , you will be ok , youv’e got through all this crap already!!
Even my chemo nurse said" the surgery is a breeze" compaired to the chemo.
BRIGHT like that new pic of you !!! and I will be thinking of you and your picc line & FEC tomorrow XXXXXXXXXXX
Jo hope your starting to feel better? ( no i’m not either! lol )
Shelly thinking of you everyday ( as I know the others are too )
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Must apologise for all those posts ( I didn’t think it was going on !)
Thinking of those of you suffering from the after effects of your most recent chemo, and Bright good luck tomorrow with your line and chemo - I hope they don’t keep you hanging around too long.
Gail you will be fine. You survived the birthday bash the op will be a breeze.
I have had a painful weekend. Unfortunately where the drains were removed while they were still draining a fair amount, seromas have developed under both wounds. The discomfort has actually been worse than anything I felt after surgery. I have an appointment tomorrow at the seroma clinic to have them drained but I understand that this could now be an ongoing situation for a little while. They get drained and then reform and so on and so on. Hopefully decreasing all the time. The only good thing according to OH is that it is only pain!!
I have an appointment this week for my rads planning but this may have to be delayed because of the seromas - I will find out from my oncologist on wednesday.
In London this weekend it has been warm and sunny and it looks as if spring if finally here. Just outside our patio doors there is a big forsythia bush in full bloom. It is so good to look out and see the splash of bright yellow. We have also cleaned out the fish pond and discovered that over the winter we have only lost one fish. Not bad going as we really have no idea what we are doing.
I took the car out today for the first time since the operation and although I was a bit nervous because of the sermoa related pain I was fine which is good because I need to get to the hospital on my own tomorrow. I know I still have a long way to go but other than a slight tingling in my fingers and toes I would say that the chemo part of my treatment is over, and I feel more like my old self.
Time to go back to the television to see the results of Dancing on Ice.
I have just gone back to your previous post where you told us you have to have fluid drained every few days. Do you mind me asking how many days they let you go between having the fluid drained and do they suggest that to try and leave it to discourage more fluid being produced.
Gail, good luck for tomorrow, we’ll all be thinking of you and before you know it you’ll be home again, reading these posts and letting us know how you are doing. You’ll be feeling really pleased with yourself that you’ve got through the biggest parts of this journey, chemo and surgery. The rest of it rads, medication etc will be the easy part!! Surgery really isn’t as bad as all that!
Caron, good news, pains almost gone today! took neurofen first thing this morning and then again at about 6.30pm this evening. Even mangaged to cook roast dinner, then go for a lovely long walk up Box Hill, in Dorking. Beautiful place, especially on a day like today! So you’re a couple of days behind me with TAX so you’ll start turning the corner soon! Finger and toe nails still a bit sore though, and sludge gob well and truly present! Think this cycle a bit better for me as had injections to try and help blood count not to plummet this time! We’ll see, but have to say that once pain subsides, think I prefere it to FEC. I don’t seem to get any tummy troubles with this either. Hope I haven;t spoken too soon.
Bright, great to see a picture of you and put a face to a name! Good luck with Picc line and FEC tomorrow and hope you’re arm is improving!
Andie, hope you get those seroma’s sorted, I think mine was of a nusance than anything else!
Shell, thinking of you and sending you lots of positive vibes! XX
Off now to watch skate off! Come on Quinny!!!
Take Care everyone and all the other lovely ladies that I haven’t mentioned!
JoXXX
hi all.
still in pain! quite alot now too !
Jo u know ur mouth ? apart from it being sludgy does it not hurt???
I can hardly swallow ! Ithink it’s a mixture of thrush & tonsilitus!
( ok so i had my tonsils out when i was 20!! but thats what it feels like)
My finger ends are sore now ~& c0nsidering my nurse said u dont get thrush DOWNSTAIRS (ALL LIES!)
The sun is out today i wish i could do some washing but i can’t!!.
hope ur picc line goes ok V
Andy how long u gonna have this drain problem 4???
i am getting cuddles off my betty now xx love caron
Oh Caron, you poor thing. Just keep telling yourself it won’t last, and those little cancer monsters are suffering a lot more than you are! Just sit by the window and look out at the lovely sunshine, and let the darned washing stay dirty!
Caron, my mouth only hurts when i rinse with Listerine, morning and night, but then last cycle by day 10 it was much better and sludgy feeling gone so hopefully only a couple more days to go. I’ve been really lucky and only got the thrush thing, both ends!,on my first cycle of FEC, haven’t had it since being on TAX. We’re all diff thought aren’t we? U are early days though with this 1st TAX and going by my last cycle, 1st 10 days are worse then I felt ok, but then i was neutropenic and really heavy blood loss to, so take that out of equation, i still prefer it to FEC. Have you painted your nails by the way, as mine are hanging on in there but just very throby! Couldn’t even open my Mars bar last night, maybe that’s a sign to say that this pork chop shouldn’t be eating Mars bars! My steroid hungryness has been dreadful this weekend so that few pounds I lost last week I’ve put back on and then some!!
JO X
Spring is sprung,
The grass is ris.
I wonder where them birdies is?
Them little birds is on the wing!
But that’s absurd
I thought the wing was on the bird!
Hi all,
Andie, I was being drained about every 5 days. I went to the doctors today and he didn’t think I needed draining. I’m a bit concerned as I’m due for rad planning on Wed. However, due to personal problems, I’m trying to get my rads transferred from bristol to Maidstone. I’ll stay in Sevenoaks and then come back to somerset when its over.
Caron, I’m sorry you’re feeling poorly with the TAX. You seem to be having similar problems to me. I painted my finger nails black but it didn’t help as I think I’ll lose them. My toe nails are fine.
Gail, I hope everything went ok and I wish you a sppeedy recovery.
Love to all
Kathy
It has been a long and not very productive day to day - with most of it spent in the hospital. I turned up at 9am for my PICC line appointment only to find out that the specialist nurse who fits them didn’t start working until 10am. Then she got her shifts mixed up and eventually arrived at 10.30 (so an hour and half lost already). The PICC line fitting was a bit of a nightmare - as the nurse couldn’t manage it given my one of my two possible veins was close to an artery and very narrow, whilst other possible vein had a 90 degree bend in it making it very difficult to feed the line in. After half an hour she brought in a consultant doctor - and a further 40 minutes later he admitted defeat. By now it was after 12 noon (and I was an hour late for chemo). The doctor said the only way forward was for me to have a Hickman line fitted (more invasive and goes through a vein in the neck - so very scary) - but he could not do it there and then as there was another patient bleeding to death next door (I got worried about how this happened and hoped it wasn’t a complication of a Hickman line insertion). Initially I was offered an appointment in the middle of next week - but eventually they are hoping to squeeze me in at some point tomorrow afternoon (though no guarentee) - and I need to take a book just in case there’s a very long wait… But if all goes to plan - I’ll then have chemo on Wednesday.
Eventually left the hospital at 13.30 - and then straight on to a different hospital to get final inflation of implant (I initially cancelled appointment - but reinstated it once I realised there was no chemo.
But… nothing goes to plan - as when I turned up for plastics appointment they had lost my notes - and after much searching it was another 2 hours before they found them and I got seen. Plastic surgeon is pleased with my reconstruction - but also looked at my arm - and I am now being referred to hand physiotherapy for silicon treatment to speed up healing. Going back to plastics clinic in six weeks to discuss final surgery…
Now very tired and almost asleep in front of the tv.
Caron All the time I was on chemo I kept my nails painted with very dark brown nail polish and used a nail strengthener by OPI.Both toes and fingers. In fact they are still being done although I had my last chemo at the end of January. My finger nails seem to have survived although the tips of my fingers are still tingly. My big toe nails have parted company with their nail beds and are only attached halfway up. I am being very careful with them hoping they stay in place while the new growth takes over.
I had my seroma drained today which was painless but already some fluid has filled the space. I am having it redone on friday. I was told by the bcn to postpone my rads planning which is disappointing but it will get done eventually.
I am trying to pluck up the courage to abandon my wig. My hair has grown to about half an inch all over. I have had short hair for years but not this short. I am getting fed up with having to put my hair on when people are about or ifI leave the house. I will probably just forget sometime soon and that will make my mind up for me.
I hope you are all recovering from your recent chemos. How did having the line fitted go Bright.
Kate you must be relieved that the constant draining of fluid is finally over.
Gail if you are reading this Lots of love. Thats another part over and done with.
We must have been typing at the same time. You poor thing. Today has been the stuff of nightmares for you , I think a glass of wine and a big piece of chocolate are called for.
Top & bottom of it !! POOR MARBLE has had to be rushed to vets ! aall her bowles have come out again ! only this time much worse.
I saw her today thought she didn’t look her usual self ( but never thought no more bout it ) then at 4pm I went to give her her dinner ( remember she loves hers cos she has special food cos of her dicky belly ) so I shouts her she just looks at me ! so I took the food to her , she sniffed it turns her nose up ! , then I knew something was wrong I went to stroke her bit of fur hanging off her thought she had been fighting? then I stroked her some more she lifted her tail up then I saw it !!! ALL THE BLOOD ALL HER BACKSIDE hanging out!!
So I rings Jam up (panic mode!!) why is it when I go in panic mode I run backwards & forwards!! Nothing else just backwards & forwards!!)
Then I rings Steve crying telling him he should have noticed Marble was looking more like an Alley cat!!!
Then I rings vets up (still crying) Marble’s backend has come out again & my husband is not here & I have got CANCER !! ( SOB SOB !).
Anyway Jam takes me vets ( thanks Jam XX) they say it doesn’t look too good ( now I don’t know if she meant Marble being alright? or Marble would have to stay in vets ! ( now it’s pretty obvious Marble had to stay there …
POOR MARBLE so I put her pic on so u can see how beautiful she is!!