@salbert oh flippin eck!! That’s getting scary !
How lush though that you and @naughty_boob are meeting for a cuppa 🩷
@musestad That’s fantastic news … woohoo! X
Oh I forgot to say , we withdrew from buying the house as the level 3 survey was very unfavourable… lots of damp which I didn’t want to have to deal with .
I went to a body art event on Monday and I’m still recovering . I wore a mask though . My purple wig got lots of compliments x
I shared this with our chemo starters group, but since @salbert and @naughty_boob are meeting up it reminded me I should share this here. If anyone is in London or London-adjacent and wants to meet up in July, I’ve booked a ticket for the cancer in common event on July 5th. More info and booking here: CinC London Style - July 2025 — Cancer in Common
Would be great to see some of you there… 
@mrsjelly How tempting to parade up and down by the sinkhole sporting a yellow crocheted flare suit and a pullet hairstyle. You could have all watched me get arrested live on Sky News. As they bundled me into the police van you would have heard me shout “Mrs Jelly made me do it!”
It sounds like you will be the perfect candidate for the pixie haircut with your elfin looks. In the meantime I am loving the sound of your alter egos. Stella for a wild night out and Robyn to give you a stern talking to on the dangers of over-indulging the next morning. I was really horrified at the thought of losing my long blonde hair but then when it happened I realised that it didn’t matter. With my new dark and curly short pullet has come a gravitas that I’m sure I didn’t possess before which now sees me arguing back with mansplainers. Not sure if this is a good thing or not but it’s one of the changes wrought by the year of bc and woe betide anyone who tries to tell me how to open a box! (Yes, this happened fairly recently and he regretted it.)
Pull those leopard pants up and roar! It’s a pants year but bc won’t beat us. It wouldn’t dare.
@maria1970 I sympathise but you’ll be absolutely fine. I have a friend who is a theatre technician who told me that mastectomies are very standard stuff for them and I took comfort from that, knowing that it’s a common op and they are all very experienced. I got my bras from M&S who do a good range of post-surgery bras. They have pockets in so you can add a bit of padding and you can buy the breast forms to put in the pockets in different sizes for £10 each. I was using mine immediately after surgery as my consultant wanted me to have a good supportive bra so I gave it to her and woke up wearing it. I hope the days go by quickly for you so you can get this behind you and you’ll be back on here telling us how it went.
@arty1 You look absolutely incredible painting away there doing that beautiful artwork on that lady. Nobody would think you have just completed a gruelling course of chemo. All power to you, Wonderwoman! Even if you are still recovering!
And now I have to complete a Health and Safety form for work. It may go like this…
Hazard: Bullshit intolerant post breast cancer warrior woman
Risk of Harm: Considerable
Existing Control Measures: Total embargo on mansplaining
Oh @mrsjelly you always make me laugh even though you are going through some stuff at the moment. I’m not sure @salbert and I should give the sinkhole anymore airtime than it already has, it may decide to get bigger 
( this was supposed to be a joke, I hope it reads as such, been in the car for too many hours today!) I hope you managed the pottery, it sounds lovely.
@arty1 well done for doing the painting session, I live in awe that you did it. I still get so knackered and you haven’t long finished chemo. Sorry to hear about the house but it’s sounds like it was for the best.
@maria1970 you’ve come so far you can keep going, we are with you. I see you have already had some advice re bras etc. Front opening PJs and tops really help after surgery as well.
Sal I love the health and safety appraisal, we visited a castle to today and one of the wooden steps at the entrance was very wobbly, so I pointed it out to the staff, they said they knew and it had been reported. I’m not good with heights at the best of times and a wobble step sends me into a panic, my balance hasn’t been great since chemo. On the way out I commented about lack of signage re health and safety, trip hazard etc and one of their staff was leaving and tried to lecture me about a sign about slippery steps like that was sufficient. I had to ask her twice to ‘leave it’ as I was having a private conversation and didn’t want to discuss it further. After all I had already reported it.
This was me also Hazard: Bullshit intolerant post breast cancer warrior woman.
@naughty_boob it was in all honestly probably very silly 2.5 weeks post chemo
… I’ve been exhausted all week and a day hooked up to a drip again and high on steroids is very confusing for my body today 
Seriously I’ve missed all the sink hole drama (avoiding the news at the mo) I’m off to google it
Ok I’ve just googled … holy moly @salbert !! Apparently it’s a former quarry with Cannes underneath ?
Thinking of you here and keeping fingers crossed that’s as big as it gets , you are so upbeat and pragmatic about it all … I’d be an absolute stress head !!
Goodness, so many posts, great reading them all.
@arty1 , you did well with the facepainting, but dont overtire yourself, its early days yet. Your hair looks fab. Shame about the house, but at least you had a proper survey and know before you commit. (My husband’s a retired Chartered Surveyor and you would be amazed at the number of people who don’t bother with a survey).
@salbert. - i dont know where to start! You always make me chuckle. It doesn’t sound like the sinkhole problem is going to be solved quickly. Its great that you are meeting up with our famous @naughty_boob .
@mrsjelly you are doing really well. Get those big girl fancy pants on. It was exactly this week last year i started treatment, i cant believe its been a year. Yes time goes by with appointments, treatment, feeling crap, feeling a bit better and then the whole cycle starts again! Its horrible when you are losing your hair, but once it was gone and i was happy with my wig it didn’t worry me at all. Now i’m beginning to get this pixie/pullet thing but people say short hair suits me, so i’ll take that, a bit cold round the ears tho.
Sorry to all those who’ve posted and haven’t mentioned, chemo brain can’t keep up, but i’m here cheering you all on.
Not sure about the meet up thing inLondon, its only a day after we get back from family holiday in Cornwall.
Chemotherapy number 5 out if 6 tomorrow, i hope this one is kinder the chest tightness and my mood was really low think i cried for a week.
Hope everyone else is doing okay 
xx
Hopefully a few more will join… not sure if these things “sell out” or not. This will be my first! Otherwise it’ll be you, me and Tina from our chemo starters thread 
Hope your chemo goes ok this time @shannon27 . I know its so hard when each time you feel worse, but you are nearly there, keep going, there will be better days soon.
Penny
Thank you penny, cant wait for the better days
@arty1 I honestly believe that nothing stresses me as much as it used to after you’ve been through what we’ve been through. Sinkholey-schmoley! Sorry about the house purchase but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise right now.
@pennyp - You have the pullet too!! Maybe when we do a body painting calendar we will all have the same hairstyle. We can call it Painted Pullet Pin-Ups! That would make you Penny P of Painted Pullet Pin-Ups.
@shannon27 You are getting there darling. Just two more. I think the steroid dip can make the mood low. We are cheering you on.
@kartoffel - I see the Cancer in Common event mentions glitter. You know how much I love glitter, right? I will be going for it so this is your advance warning.
I have got two free tickets to the cinema for this weekend so I suggested to my best friend that we go and see Bridget Jones. No, she wants to see the Stephen King about the murderous scary drumming monkey. Oh well…it’s a trip out.
Happy Friday all,
Salbert
x
@salbert I would expect nothing less from you. I think I need to get some glitter so I don’t look all country mouse next to you! 
Hy just got my pathology results today lymph nodes are clear but didnt get clear margins i need to have a second surgery and they are changing me from phesgo to kadcyla. Is anyone on kadcyla and what are the side effects. Can you still work whilst on kadcyla?
@caz591 that’s very frustrating you need a second surgery … it’s not uncommon though so don’t panic x
I believe @kartoffel is on kadcyla
Sorry to hear you need another surgery. I’m on Kadcyla have had 4 and getting 5th next week. On the first cycle I had a little nausea (managed by some left over tabs I had from chemo), insomnia and slight loss of appetite. I’ve had a small rash about 10 days in on my chest each time but I had very bad rashes on Docetaxel and think my skin is overly sensitive still - hydrocortisone cream sorts it and it’s not itchy so doesn’t bother me. I also have blurry vision due to dry eyes. Again, this was a problem I had during ECT and was almost better but Kadcyla has dried them out again. I’ve gotten better eyedrops/gel from my opticians and using heat pads and it’s improving steadily … that was my most annoying side effect tbh! Otherwise I’ve been really well and not had any the side effects from the first cycle since then. It genuinely comes to the next infusion and I can’t believe it’s time again as I’ve been living my life more normally now. I had exercised throughout my treatment last year and have been managing to up my weights again and do more intense spin classes/start running whilst on Kadcyla and feel much better than on my last chemo. I have been off work but am going back on my phased return next weekend as I’m feeling confident I can start getting back to work after trying out a few cycles of this!
@belle thats good to hear i just want some normality back in my life. Second surgery doesnt worry me it was them changing me from phesgo to kadcyla and it will be 14 cycles . I just wish my surgeon had taken more out then i wouldve been starting radiotherapy in a few weeks.
Hopefully you’ll be ok on it too I’ve been doing more and my neutrophil levels etc have been decent too (they were ridiculously low during last chemo) so I feel like I can go to some social things again and out for meals etc too without worrying
