‘Everybody hurts…’ :
today’s post on chemonights.blogspot.co.uk/
Hi all 
I’m embarrassed to say it but i am a private patient at a BUPA hospital…as I have Private Health Cover through work…I am being treated by the same consultants that I would have done if I had been NHS. I have asked both my surgeon and onc if i would receive better treatment on the NHS as we have a brand new oncology centre (I live in East Yorkshire and the nearest hosptal is Hull), as I wasnt particularly impressed with the ability of the nurses in the hospital at handling a neurotic, frightened woman of 46 with 3 young children having a life threatening sh*t f**k disease…
added to which it took 18 days for my Lymph node biopsy to come back - this was reported as a critical incident (although strangely i have heard nothing since…)
They both suggested that I would be fine where I am and to be fair, the chemotherapy nurses are lovely…
…Oh dear…what a bloody mess!!! I am due in at 10am tomorrow and will have a rant and see if I can get transferred to the Queens Centre for a PICC line…
Thank you all so much for your support and concern - I am totally blown away by it…
Hope FEC3 is uneventful for you Marie.
xxx
Hi Mandy - hope things go OK today.
I have seen other threads about private medical treatment and other ladies have said they were able to go to the NHS but get a cash payout from their insurance company for each NHS treatment they had instead of the private one. Of course you can transfer to the NHS - everyone can! Nice nurses may be all the private sector has sometimes. Don’t forget they are getting cash from your insurance company to be nice to you. Sounds like you wouldn’t even need to change consultants so it would be prettty seamless. Some of the NHS nurses are more grumpy though. Hope you don’t feel we are shouting at you - would like to shout at whoever wants you to put FEC-T through your at risk arm. I am shocked by the stuff they dump on us when we are scared and vulnerable. Big hugs, xxx
As for me I received my poison yesterday so I am back to marmite and steriods this morning. Oh joy. Hope everyone else is bearing up, Caroline - where are you? Please pop in and let us know how you are.
xxx
Do you know what? I can’t wait for my next dose of steroids - it’s a pity they have t ocome with the poison, but they really do give you a boost…
Mandy, am really hoping that you are demanding a PICC line RIGHT NOW. Re BUPA, I’m sure I’ve read elsewhere on here about someone having difficult getting a pICC line fitted because BUPA didn’t want to pay for it…because it costs about 800 quid.
I have been at my lowest for the last couple of days - a third of the way through is great, but it also means that there’s still two thirds of it to go. This is meant t obe the good week, but I’ve been having a very hard time motivating myself to do anything at all.
Actually this may be hormonal , and not simply chemo-related…
Anyway, I suppose you’re bound t oget really down at some point during the process. Thankfully, we are going up to Yorksihre to stay with my sister for the weekend, which should provide some light relief.
love and hugs to all, especially those having the poison this week xxx
posted twice sorry
QueenDrama - you have finally persuaded me to put a profile pic on. Was going to put a pic of some cress. But Marmite tastes better. It does not cure cancer but I can taste it. Wig woman deserves slap.
Cybele - get yourself to Yorkshire before it snows. They have proper snow there. Don’t know what rats think of it…
Caroline, you are nearly half way through - here is a couple of thoughts for you:
‘Be mindful of how you approach time. Watching the clock is not the same as watching the sun rise. Keep your face to the sunshine, leave the shadows behind you.’’
I hope you dont mind me sharing these thoughts but you sound understandably fed up today. I have got so much enjoyment from your blog, that I wanted to offer something back x
Thank you Jayne, that is much appreciated. And very wise words. xxx
Hello ladies, I’m finally feeling slightly better after my neutrophils dropped to 0.1, I didn’t know this I just felt rammy and had chest pains , I was at the chemo unit trying ferret on and I mentioned it so it was lucky that the oncologist was there , I’m in Yorkshire too, Barnsley , I had an ECG which was normal , the chest pains were coming from thrush in my throat spreading all over , I had my bloods done there , so I’ve had a week of very strong antibiotics and keep a close eye on my temp , I’m now at my gps tom as my sinuses have started to burn but I think this is the very cold weather as I had it before all this , and very strange a stitch from my surgery has come to the surface which was supposed to be dissolvable checked , I’m hoping my bloods have come back up now I’m on day 15 and I’m going to ask for injections to boost my immunity for next session next thurs as I really don’t want to go through all that again, it’s made me a paranoid wreck who no longer has rational thoughts ahhhh! I hope your all well and Im going to read back your posts later when my son tucked up to catch up to see what you been upto , lv to you all xxxxx
Lisalouw - I just laughed and laughed and laughed after reading the sentence ‘I was at the chemo unit trying ferret on’ - it made my day. Hope you’re feeling better now xxx
Maire - have only just seen what you wrote about the poor baby squirrels - did your friend take them to their mum?
Cress - love your new avatar. Although in my mind you are actually Clarissa Dickson-Wright, for some reason… (when she was 23, obvs)
AlPal - I read up on Hodgkin’s disease and breast cancer yesterday, and was outraged on your behalf.
Jayne - have been meaning to say - those nails are FABULOUS.
Cybele - my 14 year old daughter painted them for me as an end of chemo celebration!
Jx
Jayne - i agree your nails nare fab!!! i might get my daughter to do the same to mine - Depends on how much homework she has!
Cress - love the pic and sooo glad that marmite isnt a cancer cure cos i blumin loathe it! I have frozen some lemons and grate them over every meal. I read somewhere that lemons are anti carginogenic. Ive no idea if thats true but my meals taste better. well actually my meals taste of somerthing!!!
Lias - the thrush sounds yukky hope you get it sorted.
Its snowing in earnest here. I blame my daughter who was snowdancing last night cos she wants a day off. The company would be nice but shes doing GCSE’s this year so really should be at school!
Love to all x
Jayne - i agree your nails nare fab!!! i might get my daughter to do the same to mine - Depends on how much homework she has!
Cress - love the pic and sooo glad that marmite isnt a cancer cure cos i blumin loathe it! I have frozen some lemons and grate them over every meal. I read somewhere that lemons are anti carginogenic. Ive no idea if thats true but my meals taste better. well actually my meals taste of somerthing!!!
Lias - the thrush sounds yukky hope you get it sorted.
Its snowing in earnest here. I blame my daughter who was snowdancing last night cos she wants a day off. The company would be nice but shes doing GCSE’s this year so really should be at school!
Love to all x
QueenDrama - your daughter sounds like mine, nail art v homework, no surprise for guessing which wins far too often! Not good when studying for GCSEs!
Hi all, sorry I didnt get back. I was hospitalised for 2 days in the end. Im just out. I was kept in an extra day as I was having a echo - have opted into Persephone Trial and echo is part of the treatment.
I will be having Emend next FEC - yippee. Im also havinh a portacath put in as having herceptin.
Marie the beetroot juice is vile - but im a vege and need to rethink my diet. IE more greens reds and yellows in my diet. I do eat a lot of beetroot but dont feel like eating lots of food at the moment.
Anyways, I am feeling better and have booked myself into some complimentary therapies next week.
Onwards and upwards.
Thanks again ladies
Caroline - PS back to the January Jems.
Just sitting here in the cooling cap. Weekly taxol number 5 nearly done.
2nd time here. First BC and chemo wasin 2009.
Karen
Karen - blimey - 5 chemo sessions in 5 weeks sounds tough. How is your hair holding up with the cold cap?
Morning Girls, got up early to take steriods and marmite (not that I was sleeping) but forgot and sat here watchng squirrel eat birdfood and next door’s cat chase birds, whilst drinking tea. Chemo Brian. Should point out that I was drinking tea; not cat, birds or squirrel. Lost an hour and a half somewhere. Lost some of it on this website. Did I have something else important to do? Or anything at all? Apart fom take meds…
Alpal - you can practice your skiing today and see if Tatum stays on. I doubt that any chaps watching will be sexy or even ski instructors. They might laugh tho.
Lisalou - Hope you are feeling better. I am having my first booster jab today, so will be able to report next week whether it has raised my neut count in between chemo.
MZ/Karen - weekly Taxol? I felt sorry for myself having 2 every 3 weeks. You win.
Caroline - forgot you defected to JJ’s. Hope you feel better.
Cybele - I will have to look up CDW when she was 23. I seem to remember she was sexy, thin, popular and rich. Will check, but it had better be true. Hope you make it to Yorks and I hope every rat in the area has not taken refuge in the loft.
Good luck to everyone being piosoned or coping with sfx. Keep on keeping on, xxx
hi to one and all,
Just got back from my onc appointment, she is going to give me more anti sicknss tabs to try and stop the queasyness i have for the first 5 days also some med for the intergestion and mothwash for my mouth, as ifeels strange, and more injestion after Chemo to keep my white cells up, apart from that I will have my bloods done on Monday for my 2nd FEC on Tuesday, all going well.
Hope you are all coping well as you can, hope the snow doen,t stop anyone doing things thay have planned for the weekend
love lolly
x