I’ve got everything crossed for good results for everyone who is waiting. Lif, hoping this last cocktail is kind to you. I’m from rural oxfordshire where there are knitting and sewing circles rife in every village. Do you think I should barge in and ask if they could knock us up a few merkins? I don’t think they do outrageous around here, but you never know. x
Could we please have a linedancing tent- we dance to all the chart music now you know and I’m going to miss it if I can’t go! Last night dancing to Lady Gaga Nd a lot of chart hits. Could wear our merkins round our neck and pretend it’s the new “in” thing for linedancing?
Hurrah LIF!!
Remember to set off the fireworks!
x
Campers, CM has the bit between her teeth and has been invited onto the radio this morning to give my response to these latest statistics. (bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_surrey at about 10.45 if you want to have a listen). I wouldn’t be surprised if Lif also gets a call from BBC Radio Somerset too.
ItsNotMyFault!!! is jumping up and down like a nutcase beside me, egged on by BringItOn and StatsCruncher.
Morning campers, back already. Well largely good news, in fact specialist seemed very happy but still no clear margin fairy!
No nodes confirmed. Yay! Cancer tubular grade 1 and only 8mm (wow that was some ultrasound work to even spot it!) e+ 8/8 and p+ 8/8 so no chemo needed but rads and tamoxifen. Says see how I go with tamoxifen as likely recurrence stats good and not raised that much (1%) by 5 years tamoxifen. Said I’ll give it a go at least 8/8 E+p+ pretty hormone sensitive.
The only “but” is that there was some DCIS round it and they haven’t got the margin on one side so they want to “open it up and slice a bit more out” (lovely). What is it with us campers and clear margins! Still I had promised myself not to be bothered about re-excision as long as the lymph was clear, it really is a short-term nuisance more than anything else. Oh, and I had seroma under my arm which was why it was sore so drained now and feels a lot better. Phew!
Back to get on building that tree house now but think a celebratory trip into work to meet colleagues for traditional friday lunch fish and chips might be called for xx
Phew, MaryGrace - that calls for a cuppa I think? Anyone else for one?
Me, I had SNB yesterday. Lovely people, really nice anaesthetist, home same evening. Bit numb under the arm but I feel fine. Hurrah!
Sounds great, Mary Grace!!!I’m starting chemo on Monday- but happier since been on here! In fact coming on here meant there were no surprises when oncologist was explaining treatment etc. and as the warriors on here know- forewarned is forearmed!
Wig’s trimmed, got my stem ginger to make my tea but not got an idea what colour of merkin to knit!!!
Hi Amber, feel like I have been holding my breath ever since dx and can let it out now. Re-excision pah, who cares!
Well done for getting the op over with. I felt surprisingly chipper after mine and was doing exercises (probably too much) the next day (shh don’t tell the bcn). Mind you it did feel a little tender which the bcn told me on Tuesday was the wound healing but today the surgeon said straight away that I had a bit of fluid round the SNB scar. It didn’t look that swollen, just a bit raised up but they just took one and a half big syringes of fluid out. Keep and eye on your wounds in case you need any fluid draining as they heal up because I’d suffered for days and it feels so much better now.
As I said to them earlier, it was all healing so well (technicolour bruises mind and scared myself witless thinking how much I’d apparently bled but it turned out the clear dressings do have pink stuff on them and no one thought to mention it!) The clingfilm wasn’t half itchy and rank though. How is yours doing? Guess I’m going to be back there again though he did mention “opening up the bottom end of the wound” so hopefully not as bad next time.
Have a nice day xx
Mary, Got to be a fluffy purple and red merkin surely - team colours! You have the Scottish chapter of Breast Angels to set up too 
Glad you are feeling happier today. I saw a colleague at work who is just finishing chemo for bc and she is looking fantastically well. Says she is relaxing, walking the dog, hasn’t felt bad at all other than a bit tired. No real sickness (she had 6 x FEC). Wearing a wig but you really wouldn’t know and even I had to think about it to decide whether she was. And wigs never have bad hair days! I look like my profile picture after taking my curly mop out in the wind and rain. I know a few people who have kept their wigs when their hair has come back for days like today.
I agree this thread is a godsend. Nothing like a good snigger at merkin jokes xx
YAY!!! NO NODES!!! YAY!!! NO CHEMO!!!
MG, I couldn’t be happier for you!
(Well I could, would’ve been nice if the ClearMargins fairy hadn’t been too busy shagging the Results Monster to turn up - perhaps it wasn’t such a momentous experience for them both and she was embarrassed seeing him in the work environment the next day…)
YAY!!!
joyous news in the woods!
Pleased for you.
Calls for celebration, merkins at the ready!
It’s not feeling too bad at all at the mo, barring a bit numb under there. Apparently I’m supposed to be lolling about in bed feeling sorry for myself but I’m not
The furious fairy is sitting on my shoulder, with tearful on the other. The *&@'in receptionists neglected to tick off my name when I got there and I had a 2 hour wait to have the line flushed and cleaned. I’d still be there if I hadn’t started to make a fuss. Then they implied that I must have been late or hadn’t checked in. Next time I will stand there until I see that they have indicated that I am present, whatever they say about taking a seat in the waiting room.
Cheryl
I had a similar situation the other week.
I had to wait for a certain nurse to give me results of blood test. This was fine as she was giving chemo and obviously that had priority. However, after delivering this she then proceeded to chat to another couple and then chat to the tea lady! I’d only gone in to see if i needed last injection that i do myself so didn’t need much fuss. Another nurse recognised that i was starting to get cross and went over with results, came back with message that i would need injection! 1 hour those results had sat there!!! 2 hours at the hosp!!!
Following week same type of situation but this time i was prepared! I plonked myself in front of there desk (instead of side room) and kept chipping into their converstion. Needless to say I was out in 45 mins!
HAH!
Thanks all, Choccie, we need to find that Clearmargin for both of us next time. Maybe we could lock her in one of the tents and not let her out til we’ve finished (then we can hand her on to whoever else needs her next? They explained to me how come. Apparently you can’t see the DCIS on the scans, only under a microscope so it is very hard to know if you have cleared it all.
Cheryl, its so annoying. I agree with SCACO, you get nothing for being polite and trusting the system. I would go with in their face everytime.
I am now fully “fish and chipped.” Well I’ve been very healthy on the diet since dx so every once in a while won’t hurt.
Hope everyone is having a good day and I can transmit positive vibes. Feel like I am shining positive rays after so many weeks of gloom. I can be used as a torch in the woods tonight without lighting any fires xx
I finally told the receptionists that as I wasn’t feeling very well, I was going to go home if no one was going to see me today. At that point they said I could go in and talk to the nurses, who confirmed that my name was not highlighted as present. I had to wait longer until someone else’s treatment was finished and the nurse was free, which I didn’t complain about.
But this should not be necessary. We’re there because we have to be, not because we want to, and quite a few of us sitting there are not completely well at that time. It’s not really so difficult to exercise a bit of efficiency and consideration, as I know from my own work experience. ‘Do we have everyone’s name?’ is a fairly useless question if people know they have given them, or presented their appointment cards.
I’m debating whether to write a letter of complaint now, or to give it another chance.
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
I always intend to write such letters but by the time I get round to it my head of steam has gone down and I can’t be bothered. If you were to do so though it would mean that you know that they will pay you more care and attention on future occasions, so would mean that you get a bit more respect. Sorry they have caused you such hassle, stress is the last thing you need xx
If you do write a letter, don’t post it straight away but read it again the following day to check that it’s assertive rather than nasty. That way if there happens to be a genuine reason for whatever you’re complaining about, you don’t feel silly for having moaned. Not that I can see what genuine reason there could be in your case, but it’s still a good habit to get into with letters. And it also makes it easier for them to apologise and actually mean it, and then make the effort to get it right for you next time.
But you still need to vent and yell and express your frustrations good and loud, so come on into the woods and yell your head off, we’ll be happy to pick it back up again afterwards and stick it back on, though no guarantees that we’ll put it on the right way round…
Hi all
I am going to wait with a very large net to see if I can grab the Clearmargin fairy when she isn’t looking! I shall send her to you marygrace! By the way I am at the Arden centre every Tuesday in the chemo suite.better yet, how about meeting up elsewhere? I shall pm you.
The merkin should be in dayglo orange and perhaps some sequins would be most fetching.
Cheryl, what a palarver, it’s just not what you want you just want to get treatment and get home. In new year after a very long chemo session I had to wait a few hours for my partybag of meds. 8-( Ungood!
x sarah
ps, onc visit yesterday, lump still shrinking. Ct scan showed improvement also. So going in the right direction then.
One of my jobs as an adult education tutor is teaching people how to write formal letters of complaint, so I will follow my own advice regarding proofreading and composition. I may draft the letter and only send it if things are no better next week. This is where I vent, aside from yelling in the car on the way home. (Did I mention that OH walked into the main waiting room, looked where I was sitting, failed to see me, and was walking back out before I called to him to wait?)
Thank heavens for Radio 3 and Dvorak. My heart rate and blood pressure have returned to normal.
Cheryl