Helloooo Francine! How are you? Your message could be perfectly timed: Sharon, Cheryl and I are meeting up next Saturday in London if you would care to join us? I’m coming up to see ELO at Wembley and we have snatched to opportunity for a catch up. No times arranged as yet. It would be lovely to meet you too. All the fun and banter is over on Facebook these days. Beryl is another non Facebooker.You should both sign up and join in! Speaking on behalf of the Marchers, there have been ups and downs for us all but I think we’re all thriving. We shall be getting together as a larger group when we can all agree a date. If/when we do someone will post details on here. Lovely to see you peeking over the parapet again!
Love
Rose xx
Ooooh, hello Francine & Beryl! *waves at you madly*
So pleased to hear that you’re both OK, hope life is going well for you with plenty to make you happy? As Rosemary says, lots of ups and downs for the Facebook crowd but we’re all still hanging in there, and dare I say it, we all seem to be able to appreciate life a bit more these days. Nothing like a peek at your own mortality to make you focus on the good things is there!
xx
Sharon
Hello lovely ladies! Unfortunately, things not so good for me. I’ve had a recurrence in the same boob and am having a mastectomy next month. It’s Paget’s disease, which is a cancerous condition of the nipple. We moved to Spalding in Lincolnshire last December, ready for a peaceful retirement! I had raised concerns twice about the nipple with Leicester Hospital who I had all my treatment with but they told me it was just damage from the rads. My new GP here transferred my care to Peterborough Hospital and when they reviewed my notes they called me in for a check. Consultant sent me for an immediate biopsy and said he was pretty sure it was something to be concerned about as it was too long down the line for rad damage. Turned out he was right. Because of previous 3 WLEs he feels mastectomy is the best course of treatment and I agree. Recon further down the line perhaps. Obviously not the news I wanted but that’s life. Pleased to hear you are all OK. Love Francine xx
A
Oh no Francine, you poor love! So pleased to hear that at least you’ve got some doctors who are on the ball and it does sound as if a mastectomy is the right way forward for you. Have you got a date yet? Anything I can do to help? Oh, I could weep for you, just seems like a constant rollercoaster where no sooner have you coped with one life-changing event than another comes along and it must be exhausting.
Please do let us all know how things are progressing so we can support you as you go through this and you’ve got my email and phone number so call or email whenever you want, will be a pleasure to talk to you.
xx
Sharon
Oh no Francine! I am so so sorry that you have to deal with this again. But deal we will be here to support you. Not how retirement is meant or supposed to look like, right. But you will get there! We can have stiff upper chins with a tear in our eyes because we’re human.
Sending love, hugs and prayers. I’ve missed you. But will be here checking in. Much love to you, Sue
Oh dear Francine
It comes down to what I always think - we know our bodies and when they are not quite right. So pleased your new medical team from GP onwards were on the ball and listened to you.
I wish you well. As someone else who had a mastectimy and then an implant (can you have one of those) O can assure you body shape is nothing compared to feeling good about your life.
I will think about you lots
Beryl xx
Francine we haven’t heard from you in a while, are you OK? Anything I can do to help?
xx
Sharon
Hi Beryl,
Just swapping text messages with Francine and she’s had her mastectomy now but had some problems with the anasthetic so still recovering, poor thing. I think everyone else is pretty much OK (Rosemary seems to be having more than her fair share of medical problems but not cancer related thank heavens) and we are all, as always, cheerful albeit mildly obsessed with cake!
Glad things are on the up and up for you
xx
Thanks Suebeehiney
All well here, thank goodness.
quite happy with my decisions lately and am feelng really good
Beryl x
Hi Beryl, so sorry to hear you’re having to go through these checks and fingers crossed it turns out to be nothing to worry about. If it’s any consolation that’s happened to me at each of my annual check ups and it’s always been fine. I think the consultants just like to be ultra cautious with those of us who’ve already had cancer. By strange coincidence I had my third annual check today and for once didn’t have to have a biopsy, just consultant check, mammo and ultrasound.
Do you know when you’re having the tests? Hope they get it done quickly for you so you don’t have to worry for too long. Stay in touch won’t you.
Take good care of yourself
xx
Sharon
Hi Beryl,
I’ve been thinking about you, any news? Hope you’re OK but still here if you want to talk
xx
Sharon
Same here, Beryl. GP was so funny:“i put you though one of the most expensive tests available and you are so boring. Just arthritis”. Seemed crazy to be celebrating arthritis but that’s where we are now!
Isn’t life strange? xx
Very relieved to hear that Beryl and might just have a little gin to celebrate on your behalf xx
Thank you all she says with a big smile and a painful leg/hip but still a big smile
Beryl xx
Hello everyone, it’s Francine back in the land of the living! Hope you all had a good Xmas. Had my mx in July and recovered quite well although still having some problems with underarm tenderness and shoulder pain. Big relief that further node biopsies were clear so no further treatment and no longer on Anastrazole. However, have a decision to make sooner or later about mx on remaining boob. It is very awkward having one flat side and one J cup boob. My prosthesis is huge and weighs over 2 lbs, lol. I would rather be completely flat to be honest and am not interested in reconstruction. Trouble is I reacted very badly to the anaesthetic, problems with heart and blood pressure, so not keen on that again. Surgeon won’t entertain a local for the op and looked at me as if I’d gone completely bonkers! He and MDT are happy to support a mx on the so far healthy breast, for symmetry and risk reduction. Will be having my 6 month check up in January but won’t be rushing any decision. Anyway often think of you all, here in cold and windy Lincolnshire. Hoping we all have a healthy and happy 2018. Love Francine xx
Hello there all
Francine I to had to make a decision aout the other side to ‘even’ it up even tghough I had an impant.
Because of my reactions to op and endless infections in the scar I decided no. Then again I can see your point about being very uneven. Is it possible that some of the shoulder pain is becuase the muscles are no longer supporting a ‘weight’?
Great news abou the lymph nodes and, what bliss, coming off the Anastrozole.
I wish all BCC friends a Happy, Healthy and joyous New Year
Love Beryl xx
Hi Beryl and Sharon
Wish I could have got to the meetup and carol concert but there’s always 2018! Hoping it will be a better year for me whatever I decide about the op. My daughter has just gone off to Brussels to spend New Year with an old uni friend. She backpacked round Japan on her own in November so is a great traveller. No sign of her settling down yet but then 35 is the new 25 apparently! Since selling the business and retiring I’ve felt very much at a loose end so have joined the local Macmillan fundraising committee. They raised nearly £40k last year which is pretty amazing for a small town. Well I wish you all a very happy New Year, with lots of good health and happiness. Love Francine xx
Francine so good to hear you are doing well. So good to hear from you. I think of you often. Happy NEW Year all!
Sue