Blimey this def looks like a fun place to be, can I bring my dog, she is my best medicine! and she is very gentle and loving. merkin making, makeflippingarmworkfairy, think im gonna like it here just taking it all in and the this time next year pact sounds abs fab and Alto and sorpanos reminds me of my friends, a few of them are in the local operatic society and they are singing their hearts out for me!!
Shar xxxxxxxmagic fairy in the making lol xxxx
silvershar already sounds like good woodswoman name! The woods may have been dark and scary once upon a time, but there’s so much laughter, so many campfires, (and so many wine and beer bottles littering the ground), that they are no longer so dark for many of us.
You’ve already qualified for entry to the woods… so grab your sleeping bag, flamethrower (for warding off bad sprites), drink of choice and emergency rations, and come on in. If you find you’ve forgotten any essential equipment, just holler… we have spares <grin>.</grin>
The path is not always clear, the ohb*gger tree-roots sometimes stick out, there is the odd marsh and swamp and oozing quicksand to navigate, and we all mis-step occasionally, but Bringiton and PositiveThinking can generally be made to show up when required, and the rest of us are here to yank you out if needed.
Merkins not yet essential uniform… but statistics show that merkin-wearing women are less likely to get lost.
Sophie xx
.
I know lots of musicians. I shall bring them over so the dancers may have music
Just hoping this signing is optional, otherwise you’ll all need earplugs…I’m normally only allowed to sing when the music is several decibels louder than me!!(ALL teenagers are tone deaf??)
lol
H x
Well I don’t know where to start tonight. Singing Alto with Jane, line dancing with or without biker helmet, knitting merkins or stroking Silver Shar’s dog. It certainly is lively around here. I think I am post adrenaline zonked tonight (too much not sleeping whilst in Waiting Room).
Hope everyone has a restful night and drifts off gently for a good night’s sleep xx
I reckon Alto needs to lend the rest of the merkin-makers some of the Morris bells for extra decoration and multimedia experience. (Wonder what the bells would mean - perhaps the sound of a jingling merkin is a sign that someone’s girlie bits have been getting some action? 
)
Anyway, I’m still chasing the Results Monster. At least he’s in sight now, if still out of reach. (Reckon ClearMargins fairy tired him out while they were behind the beer tent.) So although I don’t know what RM has under his hat, I managed to pin down the BCN to get several "what if"s. Of course this is all pure speculation and crystal ball gazing, but I find it helps me to deal with whatever I get given if I have time to “try on” the possible scenarios. It’s when things come completely out of the blue that I get knocked for six. And of course we could do with knowing whether I’m likely to be out of action seeing as OH is likely to be booking his heart surgery on Monday, and that’s likely to be very soon too.
Sooo, here’s what I’ve got.
IF I’ve the ClearMargin fairy has waved her wand in my direction I’ll be starting chemo by 4th March at the latest. (I might see if I can put it off to start on 7th (Monday) as there’s something I want to do on the Sunday and don’t fancy doing it with a sick-bucket beside me, it’s a bit of a public event.)
IF she’s still sulking with me and another re-excision is needed, the surgeon will probably fit me in quickly (bless her!) in the next couple of weeks (I hope a lot sooner than that!) and then chemo once I’m recovered from the surgery. So that’ll set me back to starting chemo roughly mid March, I reckon.
IF ClearMargins fairy has decided to completely hex me instead (I can’t figure out what I’ve done to upset her!) and I’m lined up for a mastectomy, with or without reconstruction (to be discussed), then they would have to see what the surgeon’s schedule is and then it could be any length of delay. I’m not belittling the physical strain of mastectomy but if we’re adding recon into the mix, it’s no small beans and would delay chemo further. With HER2+ I’m keen to get going on chemo and Herceptin to reduce my chances of recurrence if I can. (I have the NICE guidelines on my Kindle and was reading them for a little light entertainment while waiting to be taken down for my re-excision!)
Alternatively they might start me on chemo first and do the op at the end of chemo, to avoid delaying further treatment. That’s a weird one, I hadn’t tried that idea on for size so not quite figured how I feel about that option…
IF no rads needed (BCN hinted at that because of where the tumour was and how the margins were) then I could potentially have a reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy, if that’s what I end up with. Another weird one. I’m rather hoping I get to keep my left boob, I’m rather attached to it even though it’s rather battered and bruised and when I look down on it it does look a little bit flat in one place. Poor thing has been all colours of the rainbow constantly since 1st Dec, what with assorted biopsies and slicings and dicings. My girlies are doing a cake sale in school on Monday and I said that rather than just fairy cakes they should let me make boobie cakes (pink icing with a bit of cherry in the middle) but I’d have to do half of them multi-coloured.
Hmm… a lot to think about… but I intend enjoying another weekend where I’m well and getting down to stuff that I’ve been far too distracted to do this week. RocketUpBum is hot on my heels!
My girlies have agreed that the money they raise from the cake sale can go to BCC, so I’m going to be up to my neck in eggs, flour, sugar and butter on Sunday. That’s going to be an interesting exercise in logistics as my main oven is broken and I only have the top oven to play with. Their school has nearly 2000 pupils and we all know secondary school pupils all like cakes! I’m really pleased they’ve agreed to that, I’m sure BCC could do with the pennies as I’m sure it’s not cheap paying the wages of all the arboriculturalists and petrol for the chainsaws and flamethrowers, and they use industrial strength weedkiller to keep the brambles off the paths in the woods which is very expensive but SOOO necessary if we’re to make it through these woods in one (or two, or three) pieces.
Hi CM, sorry the results still not in. Surely they can’t be long now?! And surely too a second shot at clearing any margins has got to work? DCIS is a pest, I have same problem with them second guessing but surely your odds of tracking down the clearmargin fairy have got to be much increased. I have everything crossed for you.
Glad OH has his surgery on the horizon and you will both soon be moving forwards ingood health together.
Your girls are absolute stars. My boys are adorable but if I get any extra grunt out of them I’m lucky!
That’s an awful lot of whatifs. I thought I had used up everyone’s quota of whatifs in the last few days. Sorry that some of my spare ones have strayed into your path. I agree about understanding the worst case so that everything else is a plus. Strange logic but it works for me too. It’s the shock outcomes that feel worst. Hope that the elusive margins show up and we can blast those pesky whatifs with a flame thrower.
Have a lovely weekend xx
Good morning, or is it still night? Between general sleeplessness, the storm outside and OH snoring, I’m awake and grumpy.
Listen here, you altos, you’re nothing without the mezzos holding up the centre, so stop ganging up on us.
More seriously, Choccie, I wonder if part of the delay is because the various parts of your team are looking at a case which is simply not clear cut and trying to work out the best interpretation and then best course of treatment or set of alternatives, perhaps even not finding agreement among themselves easy.
I remember feeling flummoxed when I realised that chemo was the next step, not just that I would need it, which was a blow, but that the order was going to be surgery-chemo-rads-tablets, rather than surgery-rads-chemo-tablets. And for no better reasons than that the original expectation was surgery-rads-tablets and that when the nurse was giving me some notes on the results of the SNB she happened to write ANC-rads-chemo the front of the treatment booklet, not intending this as the order, just as a list. And of course everything else was telling me the actual order. Funny what a shocked mind does.
Some people might be flummoxed by all your maybes. Like you, I’d prefer to hear something, even if it is a bunch of maybes. Chemo before surgery isn’t all that uncommon, though I don’t remember reading about chemo in between surgeries. I bet there’s someone else hidden away in the archives or something who has had something similar.
Best of luck to your OH, too, for an early surgery date and a good outcome.
Cheryl
Cheryl, I’m pretty sure the delay is caused by an overworked path department rather than anything more complicated. The results simply aren’t in rather than the MDT are taking their time looking at them, and I got those "what if"s from the BCN so that my imagination could be kept in check.
With it being both HER2+ and Grade 3 it’s very frustrating sitting around waiting for things to happen, even though only Stage 1 (I’ve worked the staging out myself rather than something I’ve been told - no nodes, smaller than 2cm), because I have heard that HER2+ is more likely to recur so I want to knock the little bastard on the head before he can round up reinforcements and hit me with a recurrence or the terror of secondaries. I do get chased by the demons if the flamethrower’s not kept topped up, and some realistic "what if"s tops up the fuel in the flamethrower, even if they are vastly different from each other.
It is a bit strange the thought of chemo first and then mastectomy when they wouldn’t even SEE anything now the original tumour’s gone. I’d always thought chemo first then surgery was used for tumour reduction to allow breast conserving surgery as an alternative to mastectomy. It’s all very confusing, my poor little brain hurts… But that’s just one of the "what if"s so I’m not going to focus exclusively on that one. (But it’s the scariest so of course it’s going to be the most vicious of the demons.)
(I’m definitely in need of that media tent with a bowl of orange smarties in it - three times in one week! bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00d9b45/Danny_Pike_04_02_2011/ from about 48 minutes. Managed to get in a whinge about how the research has been reported but didn’t get the chance to say much.)
My goodness Woodland Warriors,
I leave the forest for 24 hours, and it looks like you have had a further reorganization! What a bunch of talented ladies you are. Hi Shar and Jane too. I hope the ‘chapters’ are not going to get too factional though. This is bringing back memories of ‘the last to be picked for the rounders team,’ for me, as there does not seem to be a North of England one!! Could I also request that mine is a Yamaha Grizzly Quad bike? I’ve always wanted one, and I can reach anyone who may get stranded in those dark, inaccessible spots that we still find in the woods sometimes.
Regarding the merkins I have always been a girl who likes her accessories, so I have knitted a sparkly nipple tassel for my soon-to-be one remaining breast (saw surgeon yesterday, mx planned for 10th March). I will therefore be joining the lady gaga line dancing session-( which night is that, by the way?) suitably attired. I just need to perfect my technique…
CM- I know what you mean about the upfront chemo option. If that turns out to be the case for you, pm me if you need to. They may want to get the herceptin into you as fast as possible and do that. You can’t have herceptin with FEC, but you do with Tax, so that affects things.
Glad your response has been so good Cromer, and that you have had good news MG- FAB!!
Tracey xx
I managed to hear your bit via Iplayer, Choccie, and I thought you represented things very well in the limited time you have. People who are outside the BC circle can easily picture the typical sufferer either as the glamourous pieces sometimes featured in the press (good for them as well) or as a sort of demon-woman who richly deserves everything she gets. That’s one way of distancing your own fears. But when it’s an ordinary* woman, someone who could be a relative, a neighbour or a friend, well that’s different. And since you have also mentioned your involvement in swimming, that brings home the point that statistical associations aren’t directly causal.
*For a given definition of ordinary, of course, you are clearly very special.
I hope the results come in and the what if’s can be whittled down to one or two paths of treatment, and of course I hope the results are as good as they can be in the circumstances.
Cheryl
Morning fellow warriors,
Am not sure what happened but i had the bestnightssleepever fairy with me last night, obviously decided to come visit as countdown to chemo is well & truly on.
Tracey, am off to recruit for the northern chapter right away, cant have you running that whole section on your on.
Am slightly worried that the British media have been peeping on our thread & have decided to run a story based on us lot, after all we are earning quite a reputation as being chocolate eating, beer swilling, riding bikes (as we are against walking)type of people, I had terrible trouble getting Trip to leave the pub tent last night as she wanted more steak n kidney pud, no veg & loads of chips & then there was mention of chocolate fudge cake !!! BUT its ok as have now discovered it wasnt us at all as all the clips shown there wasnt a knitted merkin in sight so carry on eating, drinking, dancing & singing girls.
Cm, hope your ok ? that bloody results monster !! I staged myself too as my hospital dont do staging so we are running quite close together in all but Her status.
Anyway, its Saturday today & i think after all the building we have been doing & all the work that has been put in to make our woods a safe,reassuring brilliant & friendly place to be,we should hold a party tonight !! anyone got any suggestions on music, food etc ?
Love to you all
Sarah.xxx
ps Helen, i cant sing either so if we stand together & just mouth the words to any anthem we will be fine 
CM - just started reading posts, reached yours, and haven’t gone any further because I realised that this wood deserves a permanent watering hole, not just a tent, or most luxurious yurt… and you have come up with the perfect name for it. To the left of the path, notice the arrows pointing the way… you will know you are there when you have reached the sign of The Jingling Merkin…
Sophie,
that’s brilliant, "The Jingling Merkin
Lmao - have now read other posts and have to concur that Sarah was correct on the planning to gorge on steak & kidney pud and beer line, but seem to remember that it might have been her suggestion to add chocolate fudge cake… and here I am this morning talking about pubs!!! Would like to point out to any snooping journo that actually all this was online fantasy and I would not condone at any point the eating of steak&kidney pud whilst reclining in pub called Jingling Merkin…
Lol, Jingling Merkin, I love it! Journos, please note I am skinny, fit, non smoking and eat a sensible diet. I have bc.
I condone eating the occasional steak n kidney pud and fudge cake in the Jingling Merkin as I am with my consultant who says who knows how particular people get this and don’t let it dominate your life x
The Jingling Merkin? Brilliant!!!
Morning all. Had a very good night’s sleep, which is a relief. Who’s for a cuppa?
Hi Amber,
had a brill night too Am always up for a cuppa. Sarah.xx
Oh yeah, I forgot. Now only 4/8 Er+ so it can’t have been to do with the beer! I feel SOOO much better and will be heading down to the Jingling Merkin at lunchtime for some steak and ale pie (don’t like kidneys) and a pint of London Pride, and I’ll start sorting out the function room for tonight’s gig. Purple and red ok as colour scheme?
Gloria (Gaynor, of course) will be making a guest appearance, but I think we need to know who else to put on the line-up. Suggestions please ladies, we need a list.
Starting with:
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Angels - Robbie Williams (but only for the title, and preceded with the word “Breast”, and only if he wears a red leather jacket with purple boobies on. Or was it the other way round?)
What’s that song about wanting bosoms for a pillow?
Come on, ladies, more suggestions for the playlist needed.