Foot up, bag of peas in a tea towel and wail for sympathy and cups of tea. Or in the real world, three layers of tubigrip and some ibuprofen!
Hope the foot gets better soon.
Lizzy, te sorprenderemos quiza’s, porque hay algunas entre nosotras que hablan y escriben espan~ol. Lo siento, no se’ c’omo hacer accentos…
;-D
Ive finished!!!Cried my eyes out on the way home, not that I wont to go back there again, just soooo glad its over. Just got to deal with the lovely se, Im sure rads will be a piece of cake after this lot.Never though I would see the end, but we will all get there. When I get over this last one Im going to buy the most expensive bottle of champagne & drink the bl…y lot:)Lesley xx
Yay, well done lesley. The champagne is an excellent idea. I haven’t felt well enough to down a whole bottle yet but I did have a nice glass at the weekend. Hope you don’t get too many SEs from your last one (two weeks on from my last one I’m still suffering a bit but fingers crossed it is different for you).
Now its just adi we have to get over the finish line. Hope your session today went ok adi.
And i hope your foot is getting better Lisa. I’m with Choccie - get your foot up and have someone wait on you hand and…foot! At least if you’re lazing on the sofa like me there is little chance of foot injuries. I’m still waiting for this pesky cold to go though. Feel like I’ve lost about 3 pints of snot already today. Sorry if TMI.
Lots of get well vibes to those who have just been poisoned and those who are still recovering from their last poisonings
Al xx
Well done CrazyLesley enjoy your champers. What a wonderful feeling and I can imagine how confused our emotions must be when we get there. Hope SES are kind!
Lisa you have a right to throw your toys out of the pram. Noone has a clue what we are going through ONLY US!!! Everytime I think of this the tears just roll. It’s no ones fault I know but sometimes we just need to cry and it makes us feel better. Hope the ankle gets better soon, I think our bodies are so weak that any little bash turns into something much bigger these days.
Lizzie hope you come out of the blues soon, it just becomes too much sometimes and you have been doing so well. You are nearly there keep going!!!
Al - hope you are recovering from your race. Impressed that you managed to run as well. Well done you.
Managed my tenth Taxol today but they reduced it due to the fatigue. Was a bit worried as you think will it be effective? But apparently they had 20% leeway and thought a good idea to reduce to help with the tiredness a bit as it seems to get worse by the week. Now only two left and my goodness it feels good. Just keep thinking that next Wednesday I will only have one left:) Its keeping me going! They have also reduced my steroids so hopefully that may help as face is just like a hamster - cheekbones have disappeared. Just hope all this helps me a bit. Haemogloblin goes down every week so now need to take some multivitamin with Iron.
Good luck everyone. Tied that SE truck to a big Oak Tree to keep it away from all of us! Adi x
Aldi, keep going in two weeks you will be finished. Just cooked a lovely chicken dinner, just hope it doent come back:). You are right about nobody knows what its like except us, sometimes the emotional side of things are harder to deal with that the actual ses.I know this wekend will be hard as my son is going over to Madrid to see my daughter, but he is going with my ex & the cow he left me for, so will they are playing happy families I will be feeling cr…p. Thanks everyone for keeping me going Lesley xx
Well done Lesley for getting over the finishing line. One ste closer to your holiday.
Adi- Nearly there now! I hope the last few are easier for you now they’ve adjusted your meds. I know what you mean about the hamster face, I call mine a moon face!
Al- How’s your cold? Hope you are feeling better.
Where’s Lizzy? I hope she’s ok and just enjoyng time with her hubby.
My foot still hurts, mind you I haven’t been resting it. I have been a lady who lunches for the past 2 days! It has been as CM said, tubigrip and ibuprofen. Apart from the foot, I feel ok ish, tired and my legs ache when I walk. So fed up with feeling weak.
I am obsessing about my new hair growth. I am using a vitamin supplement for skin hair and nails, kelp, using a hair stimulating soap and have found a hair lotion with caffeine that is also supposed to stimulate hair growth. Something’s got to work! My friend whose a hairdresser told me to massage my head as much as possible to improve blood supply, so I’m massaging it regularly. Am also having a proper head massage at the weekend. I am obsessing about it aren’t I?
Lots of love xxxxx
Thanks Lesley. Try and keep busy this weekend to keep your mind off the ex (easier said than done I know).
Glad to hear from you Lisa and hope that ankle gets better soon. I will have to try the head massage, I’ve still got quite a bit of hair but falls out daily but still not brave enough to have it all off. I think it would be best as when it does grow it would all be even. I think totally bald will tell me I have cancer and I hate that feeling. They reckon it should start to grow back quite soon after last chemo but I think everyone’s hair is different. Def grows back curly but then goes back to normal according to most people. I am hoping for it to be curly and dark with no grey - if only!!! As for lunches/dinner - keep enjoying them. I try and accept every time I get an invite as perks me up even if unwell. Still hyper from steroids but managing to sleep between 2 - 3 hours as opposed to nil when on higher dose. I can just about cope with that amout of sleep. On Wednesday I will be able to say only one more to go!!! really need a holiday so may try and book something between the chemo and rads but need to finish chemo first before can do so. Happy to go anywhere just need to get away and try and get some engergy levels up.
Al - have you recovered yet? Hope so!
Lizzie hope you are just a busy lady at the moment and not SEs keeping you away.
Everyone else hope you all ok. Take care. Adi x
Hi girls… hope you are all doing OK, I hear that our weather has finally reached you!!
My daughter went off to the USA on Friday for the summer, back end of August, and my OH left yesterday, so it’s just me and my little one rattling around in the heat.
It’s been pretty depressing but I’m done feeling sorry for myself and just trying to get on with it… there are people in far worse situations.
I have to have my blood tests done a few days earlier than my chemo now as I am only on herceptin, and at the local health care center, so I hope they know what they’re doing with my portacath! I just went in to make the appointment and one of the receptionists was so sweet, she took me to one side and explained about the cancercare center they have in our town every tuesday at the cultural center, and she runs it and if I need anything just to ask her… bless!
I still don’t have a date to start my rads and one of my tattoos has come off!! I am hoping the phone will ring this week with that date.
Adi… you must be nearly done now… hope you are ok.
Lisa… hows the foot?
CrazyLesley… late congrats on completing your chemo. I know how you feel about your son going away, I hate it too.
CM… muy bien!
Al… did the sunshine reach you up there? Hope you are feeling better.
Sal… hope you had good holiday.
Right, off to be the weirdo at the pool again. My daughter is driving me mad to go swimming (school is finished over here). This tax has really taken its toll, my mouth and throat are killing me with these bloody ulcers and my legs are like little old lady legs! Sorry, what a bloody moany old wotsit I am this week! Lets think of something positive… hmmm… my hair is still growing!!
Lots of love to you all and happy summer wishes,
Lizzy xxxxx
Had a really tough weekend, phoned the unit about the cough breathing problems, they said take cough mixture!! They phoned me today & said get to the doctors asap to get my chest checked out. Did that & the doctor thinks I have a blood clot in my big toe!!! He has taken blood tests & I have to phone at 8 in the morning for results. If he was worried he would have got me in hospital, so just have to hope I dont pop my clogs overnight.This is really getting on my nerves noworry about the rant Lesley xx
Hey Lesley
How are you? I too found it nec to phone th SSU about a cough…guess what…“any over the counter cough mixture will do” Good job my GP on the ball, hope you are doing ok Jeanette
Hi Ladies
Lesley hope your results are ok and its’ chemo cough! Need to go to doctors myself to pick up the results of chest xray. So fingers crossed for both of us. Are you still struggling with tiredness? Reading other ladies comments, it seems to last for ages. I want it to end when treatment finishes!!! One can hope…
Thread been a bit quiet… hope not too many ses. I have feen attacked by fatigue big time. Spent all weekend in bed and still no energy. Got another two weeks of this yet and not sure I can carry on. Got my eleventh one tomorrow and should be final one next Wednesday. Seeing Onc on Friday probably to go over the next lot of treatment - radiotherapy.
Lizzy sorry you been down in dumps, but is it any surprise when we feel like we do??? My legs have started to feel like an old lady too and toes are starting to go numb. They did reduce my dose last week. Hope you get a date soon for rads so that you can keep moving on.
Love to everyone else too. Adi
Hello all
Am back ! I had a fantastic holiday and can honestly say i have never felt better since all this stuff started, it was lovely to get away and i very rarely even thought of cancer.
It was bloomin hot though, up to 40 degrees most days but sea was lovely and cooling and was in it every half hour! Back to reality tomorrow with rads starting and having had a break from hospitals for over 4 weeks i have to admit to feeling a bit tearful about jumping on the rollercoaster again, so not like me. Am also starting my Tamoxifen today. Oh well i just have to get on and do it i guess but am finding it so hard after having a few weeks normality.
Adi Good luck with chest x ray results and you CAN carry on, this time mext week you will be nearly done, the last of the Feb girls!!
Lizzy Sorry you have been a bit down, it must be strange just the two of you around now but you will adjust, hope you get rads date soon, flippin heck at one of your tattoos going i must check mine!
Al well done girl on your race for life…did you have lunch after!! 
the photos are great and what a beautiful location to do it in.
Lisa, sorry about the foot but nice to see you have joined Al’s ladies who lunch club!! I too have been using the caffeine shampoo for my hair and am sure it is working on the little patches that i lost at the nape of my neck i really do have an inch or so’s growth there now .
Lots of love to you all got to start doing ironing now …always a down side to holidays isn’t there?
Salxx
Morning everyone, phoned he gp this morning & he thinks I have an infection again, so more antibiotics!! My wbc is ok so no hospital yet!My chest was clear so the cough must be down to the bad head cold.The chemo ses seem better this morning & I only have 1 more injection to give myself,(another tick in the box). I have agreed to see a councilor to talk about all this, dont know if it will help but worth a try. Work are providing it so might as well give it a go, I live on my own so its been hard with no one to talk to able how Im feeling, we all seem to put a brave face on things, (sorry for using the B word).I keep saying to myself nothing that I will go through in life will be as hard as this, & we have all come so far along this path, life will get better again for us all soon. Keep smiling if you can, ses allowing
Hi all.
I’ve not posted here for a while - was totally knackered last week, then went away for the weekend down to Harrogate, so I’m still knackered now! But it was a nice break. Spent lots of money, ate lots of nice food, drank lots of nice wine. And did some walking. I also fell in the water while trying to walk across a ford. It was really shallow but I got totally soaked. Luckily it was a very hot day, but it was a long squelchy walk back to the car and i looked like i’d wet myself… I’ve still got an evil cold so am filling myself with sudafed, paracetamol, hayfever tablets, you name it, i’m swallowing it! Still have a terrible cough and can’t go anywhere without a box of tissues but I’m hoping it will go soon. 3 weeks since my last chemo and I still feel floored by it! Bah.
Glad you had a good holiday Sal. Good luck with your rads tomorrow. I’m sure once you have started it will be ok - it isn’t nearly as bad as chemo and although the travelling to and from it will probably be a pain, its over very quickly.
I started my rads today. Had my planning session last week where I got all tattooed up (7 blue dots - that’s a lot of dots on/around a small boob!). Came home totally covered in pen which got all over my clothes as well, and doesn’t wash off either. Must wear dark clothes next time. My first session today was fine, it took half an hour but most of that was waiting, and them explaining what I’d be getting each day and telling me about the weekly chat with doc/nurse about how my skin is coping and the ultrasound I’ll get before the boosters. They are also going to arrange for a physio to see me about my arm as I have cording from the chemo as well as bruising and still can’t straighten it. So that should hopefully help. How are your junkie arms doing Lisa?
I got signed off work last week - after trying to work throughout chemo I think the tiredness has caught up with me and my GP said I shouldn’t work til after rads have finished. So he signed me off until mid-August. More lunching opportunities beckon!
Yes Sal, I did lunch after my race for life (just an outdoor lunch though). And I’m sure I’ll be doing more lunching soon! I’m glad you’ve joined in on the lunching thing Lisa.
That reminds me Sal, i haven’t started my tamoxifen yet. I thought i’d wait until I felt a bit less yucky, but I guess now that my rads are underway I should probably start it now. The SEs from that can just stay away from me thanks.
Hope you’re coping with the OH and daughter away Lizzy. And with the heat - i imagine its pretty hot there. I’m really looking forward to the summer without being allowed to wear deodorant on one arm. They didn’t tell me to stay out of the sun completely though - just to wear high necked tops. Though I don’t have many high-necked sleeveless or short sleeve tops so I may have to go shopping…
Lesley - sounds like you’ve had a worrying few days. Hopefully the antibiotics do the trick.
Nearly only one left to go adi! Good luck for tomorrow. How did you go with your chest xray?
I also got myself a lush shampoo bar to encourage my hair to grow - popped in when I was down in Harrogate, and after chatting to the shop assistant, she told me to choose myself any other product and I could have it for free as they’re allowed to give something away each day. Result. Haven’t used the shampoo bar yet, as I’m still tempted to shave off the soft white fluff on my head - its getting quite long now but I want normal hair to grow and thought if I shaved the white stuff off, it might. Anyone reckon thats a good plan, or not? My OH thinks I should leave it, but I think I preferred bald to owl chick…
The sun is out here, so I might go and sit outside for a while (with my chest and neck covered up of course…). Hope everyone is recovering well and that the fatigue is on its way out (wishful thinking perhaps…).
Al x
Morning girlies.
2 of you on the rads train now then, I wish they would hurry and give me my start date. Good luck today Al.
Sal, glad you had a lovely holiday… it won’t be long now before its just the tablets!! What is the pen all about… should I wear a dark top for my first session?
Lesley, hoping no clogs were popped and your toe and cough are OK. how do they associate a cough with a clot in the toe… amazing!
Adi, stick with it, you have done brilliantly so far. These last chemo sessions seem to have floored us all. It’s like coming to the end of a long race, when you see the finish line ahead your body starts to go into relief mode and suddenly it all hits you. Last night I honestly thought I would not be able to get up and walk in the morning… but i did. I am wondering whether or not to go to the docs for a couple of valium to get over these sleepless nights filled with nightmares and hallucinations. I am sure I am going to give myself a heartattack at this rate!!
Staying in today, went to the beach yesterday and got a little bit burnt!! Yikes… hoping it will be unnoticable by the 7th for my herceptin and Onc appointment! She will be so mad at me. I wonder when I will start tamoxifen, maybe after the herceptin finishes?! Must remember to ask her.
Well girls, love to everyone else I probably missed because my brain is so fried.
Love Lizzy
ps. some sort of foliage is now appearing downstairs… if you know what I mean!! teehee (no eyelashes or brows yet though) xxxx
Sorry note about pen to Al! I told you my brain was mush!!
Hi lizzy. The pen was just when they were measuring where i needed ‘zapping’ - they drew all over the place before doing the tattoo dots. Then when i went for my first actual rads session, they did more dots and basically marked the 4 corners of a square i.e. the area that is getting radiation. So when I got home, my white bra and white top had black pen marks on them. So if your hospital is the same, it might be a good idea to wear something dark! Of course, they might not do that where you are. Or just wear something a bit old that you don’t mind being covered in pen…
Read something you wrote on another thread earlier lizzy - hope you are ok. Big hugs coming your way. I think some of it is possibly hormones - mine have been all over the place. I’m going to start my tamoxifen tonight I think, so that isn’t going to help!
Rads took ages today as the machine had broken. They do have 4 other machines, but there was a bit of a backlog so I had to go shopping for an hour or so. I hope it doesn’t break too often otherwise I’m going to be bankrupt. Or I’ll have to learn to window shop!
I have some foliage too - and leg hair, and stupid fuzz on head. But again, no eyelashes or eyebrows. Why is it what you want to come back first always takes the longest?? I’m getting bored of drawing my eyebrows on. Perhaps I should start drawing them in comedy shapes - permanently surprised, or in zig zags perhaps? Although I probably get enough stares going out with a baldy head as it is…
Hope your 2nd last chemo went ok today adi. Enjoy your steroid buzz while it lasts!
Everyone else well?
Al x
Hello girlies,
Well had my first rads one down 19 to go, in and out in 15 minutes. I asked a few questions like about deodorant and perfume and its fine to use it as long as not on affected area, thank goodness i hate not wearing perfume. Also she said i can swim immediately after rads have finished no need to wait four weeks or whatever i have read on other threads on here. I asked why no swimming and she said it is the chlorine that may have an adverse reaction to rads so no problem with you going in upto your waist i would have thought Lizzy.
Also have started the tamoxifen so will see how i cope on that.
Al Blimey you went shopping instead of ,lunching??? Bet it was too early for lunch! I did not have any extra dots put on today they just checked ones that i had, so have still just got the 3. No eyelashes or eyebrows here either but hair in abundance everywhere else…go figure!!
Lizzy Hope you get your date soon i got mine same time as they did tattoos. Thought i would get a telling off today about my tan but they just said ‘nice tan and where did you get your toe nails minxed at?’ !! Did tell me to use Factor 25 if i wanted to go in sun though.
Lisa and Adi hope you are both ok and that Adi you have done your last and that chest x ray was ok.
I see you have finished work for a bit Al, oh more lunch dates!! I am back at work this week but on phased return so will see how i do.
Lots of love to you all, Sal xx
Yes, too early for lunch Sal. Plus I had no mates around for lunching with. Its no fun on your own! But don’t fear, I have a lunching date on Friday, and another on Tuesday, when I have a day off rads (not sure why, machine being serviced perhaps).
Glad your rads went well and quickly today. I too was told I could wear deodorant on the other armpit, and its just the rads area that can’t be washed with scented soap or have creams applied. So i’ll have one smelly armpit and one ok one!
Good luck with your phased return. I feel a bit guilty being off work now, having tried to work throughout chemo. I had just been sent some work to do, and I had to phone the bloke who sent it and tell him I wasn’t going to be able to do it after all. Oh well. I’m way too tired to be thinking about work though, especially if its going to take hours and hours to get the rads done…
Al x
Morning All,
Al- Glad to hear you had a nice weekend away. I looked at Harrogate for a break and it looks lovely. My junkie arms are the same, verins are still hard and my arm feels sore. The veins look like they are sinking into my arms. What have you decided to do about your hair? Are you going to shave it again? I’ve decided not to shave mine. I’ve got quite a bit of fluff, although it is much thicker at the sides and the back.
Sal-I’m really glad that you had such a good time on holiday and that you’re feeling good. I hope your phased return to work works well for you. Does that mean you’ll be having yor rads and then go to work? Don’t put yourself under pressure to work though!
Lizzy- sorry to hear that you are not feeling good. I know what you mean though and I’m with you girl! It’s over 2 weeks since my last tax and I feel rubbish. Still very tired and achey. I have been sleeping loads and am getting impatient waiting for the fog to lift. I’ve been signed off by GP for the next 2 weeks due to the exhaustion!
CrazyLesley- How are you doing? Are you feeling better now that you’ve started on the antibiotics?
Adi- Think it was yesterday that you had your chemo? Only one more to go, you can do it!
No lunches for me this week. I have only managed a visit to the GP and shopping at Asda. A bit of good news though: I have just realised that I was clever enough to get critical illness cover for my mortgage when I switched it 10 years ago! I can’t quite believe it, I forgot about it. Fab IF it pays out!
Foliage is still bare (yippee) but I can see fine hairs reappearing on my arms and legs. No eyebrows or eyelashes yet 
I go chatted up last night in Asda. And I was commando! His first comment was ‘We’ve got matching hair’ and then he asked out for a meal (He was 79 by the way, but a chat up is a chat up isn’t it?). He he he!
I’m off to a younger women’s forum tomorrow. Quite looking forward to it and meeting other ladies.
Tryting to motivate myself to do something today. It’s payday so maybe I should go shopping!
I’m going to change my profile pic to me with hair. It’s about a year ago and I’m the one on the left.
Lots of love,
Lisa xxxx