starting chemo in January 2012

Public Archive
2841

Canal Du Midi would be brilliant Catherine, I love Rick Stein, and really enjoyed his cruise down it - even though he left Chalky at home. Ahhh, poor Chalky:(
We dipped in and out of it a few years back in our camper ending at Sete, and I remember finding this wonderful butcher… Ah, the Languedoc-Roussillon area, we were going to do the Carmague that tour too, but it was November, and windy…
Do it Catherine, what ever it costs, you can’t take it with you can you!

And ironing??? Boy you will have some ground to make up afterwards won’t you:)

Feeling maudlin now, I don’t want to be here:(

Sue x

2842

Sue, happy for you to pm me.
I am not scheduled for rads but onc suggested a meeting after my chemo to discuss taking part in a trial.
Clare x

2843

Somehow all our conversation ends with food porn…

2844

I washed the floor! And cleaned around cooker, shocking what I found there. Now I’m all hot so just HAVE to have a rest. OH lost in ipad land. I think he’s looking at motorbikes, god help me.

Catherine, that’s a lovely idea, the Canal du Midi, but I think August might be very hot and busy down there. We actually brought our boat back all the way through France in 2008 and it was absolutely fantastic. There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of canals in France and we loved all of what we saw. We went through around 200 locks and I came back very slim indeed. The good thing about August is that there’s a lot less commercial traffic as they seem to take the month off. It’s a bit intimidating when you have a huge Peniche coming towards you I can tell you. Pick my brains if you like.

The boat we are on now is quite an old oceangoing English yacht. A Westerley Oceanlord which is just over 40 foot. We bought it 8 years ago to go cruising in the Med. We’d cruise for the summer and leave it for the winter wherever we ended up and come home, rent a place and work to save more money. We both have flats so the rental income paid for most of the cruising. We left it in France, spent a winter in Spain and then left it in Sardinia and finally Greece. We had some amazing adventures, not too many scary moments. The mad thing is that I don’t actually like sailing that much and after doing 10,000 miles over the last 10 years I had enough. We came back in 2008 with every intention of selling it and getting a little flat or something. Anyway, we found that being in Brighton marina suited us and we couldn’t bring ourselves to move on land. So here we are still. Apart from that fact that we enjoy anything boaty we’ve become part of a great community and we think we’d be lonely in a house or flat. We didn’t know we’d enjoy being part of a community so much and I expect we’d find it somewhere on land, but we’ve already found it here and it’s ever so peaceful.

Anyway ‘Beluga’ is the wrong boat for us now so we’ve just bought an old Dutch steel cruiser which is a bit bigger and has no sails. It’s very seaworthy and we will be able to safely cross the channel and get into the inland waterways on the continent, where it will fit under the bridges and, being steel, hold it’s own. It will also be more comfortable and practical for living on. It’s like a floating apartment with a bed we can walk around (been dreaming of that) so no more waking OH up when I need a pee! And it’s got a large galley and a huge aft deck which will be like having our very own patio! Soooo excited.

But we still have a lot of hard work to do over the next few months then it’s party time!

Right had a bit of a rest, now for cleaning a couple of kitchen cupboards. NOT.

Maybe a nice cup of coffee.

Well done Julianna

If I don’t make it back again today, good luck for those having their next dose tomorrow, I’ll be thinking of you.

Dawn XX

2845

Catherine really loved reading your pep talk :slight_smile: wow so looks like you have your last lot tomorrow, what a wonderful thought. hope all goes well and that any se’s are small an manageable for you. he is bloody spoilt but i’m getting tougher with him now.

Julianna don’t think Nando understand discipline :frowning: he had a wee on my friends carpet yest oooops!!! that’s only his 3rd accident in 2 weeks though so can’t be too harsh. just given him a bath and he did not enjoy it, tried his hardest to escape haha shaking like mad now, tried my best to towel dry him but done as much as i can, he has to do the rest himself. Lynziland - i like it :slight_smile: Nando is great but i’ve been a bit grumpy with him today ooops! Luckily my best friends fiancee is an electrician and has managed to fix out laptop cable :slight_smile: pup most definately not for chemo like Sue says. great distraction but feel lucky with him in that he pretty much goes to the toilet outside, would be going insane trying to teach him to do that. fnding his accidents all over my house would not be good for my blood pressure haha great news re hair :smiley: 50p eggs? now please remind me why i’ve stayed in all day?? haha

Sue if you were to come and pee in my bed oh my gosh i think Mark would have something to say hahahahaa of course i love you girls, just been busy this weekend and not just with Nando. the no mention of Nando are you sure you’re ok comment made me giggle hehe i’m really suprised how well i feel this cycle, tax really must be the naughty one!!

Mary, hmmmm you poor love! was hoping for a bit of a break for you this time around…no such luck it seems :frowning: fingers crossed you’re on your way out of it now. p.s good on you, whatever makes you feel better :wink:

Maggie, looove those gorgeous Lindors, i got an egg for easter. got a massive ball of em at xmas from Mark’s Mum wondering if that’s what your friend arrived with. i can’t stop eating em, get to the point of feeling sick and still want to carry on haha

Dee, i’m due for Rads once chemo is over. would like to think we could all stay together in this thread :slight_smile:

Fi, feel free to dip in whenever you like. lovely to hear from you :slight_smile:

Dawn, thank you. glad to hear you’re keeping well. i’m on the same wavelength as Catherine, your life on the boat sounds amazing!

Clare, don’t blame you, good choice to stay away. hope you enjoyed the ice cream.

Emma, yes i thought that was meant for me haha don’t worry we aren’t going anywhere :slight_smile:

as for me;

Hair - still have what was left after major loss - old man style, egg in the nest you could say. not much there but what is left is hanging on for dear life. no regrowth up there as far as i can tell but it’s started it come back on my legs. i shaved it off to see what happend and it’s trying to come back again so that’s a start…although i’d rather it started with my head haha

Nails - still in good condition but has while lines running across them from the nail bed. not a problem really as you only notice if you’re close up. doesn’t bother me.

Hands - no problems with my hands.

Feet - really dry underneath. look horrible but i keep trying to moisturise them when i go to bed. hopefully it’ll help.

loving all your planned holidays for when all this is over. My Mum, aunty and Gran are going to send me and Mark away on holiday once all my treatment is done. think Mum and Aunty may join us. i was looking forward to it until i realised i’d be bald still … not sure how that will work :expressionless:

ahhh Mark has just walked in with my fave magazine, forgot i’d not got last weeks yet :slight_smile:

anyway i must make a move as i smell like wet dog after Nando insisted on cuddles to dry himself off on me … naughty!!! need to go spruce myself up as going to Mark’s Mum’s for tea and need to pop into my best friends to check on her cats as she’s away at her Mum’s in Llandudno at the moment.

catch you all in a little while xxxx

2846

You lot have been busy.
Yep, I slept for 12 hours, I got up at 10am. OH and ES went to do the shopping and got lots of goodies for rest of week. OH has been slogging in kitchen making bread, more scones and fruit bread (cos I said I fancied it; shame I don’t fancy anything else lol) . ED boyfriend gave me an egg so he is in my good books now.

O dinner is ready early, back soon
Anne xx

2847

Dee, we have made a good bond together (shame about the circumstances) and we will ALWAYS be here for each other. Some of us maybe taking different paths now and later but it doesn’t matter. You can join us on FB.

Dinner was good or so I was told as I couldn’t taste that much; chicken with garlick flat bread and rosemary new potatoes. I haven’t got that white furry mouth as yet and tax trots are still no where to be seen.

Hands are still good. I use lemon fluttery by Lush at night on both hands and feet. I have the lines on my nails like age lines on a tree but just put nail varnish over them so I don’t see them. Achy bones have all gone but just feel weary but potter most of day. No dryness on face either; I use facial oil treatment by Clarins. I also hair some hair regrowth or designer stubble and it’s sort of clear/white/slightly dark.

Miserable day with non stop rain that I have watched all day from the comfort of my sofa.

Anne xx

2848

Happy days hey Dawn. We’ve been doing something similar to you - but on dry land, much better for us as we love hill walking and don’t do boats. Although I don’t mind the anchoring up bit:)
Travelling is such fun isn’t it, we’ve had so many adventures, seen so much and lived so much since we retired early in 2004. Typically we would do two three month tours each year abroad, returning home for the summer when it got too hot and also winter. We used to keep pinching ourselves and telling ourselves how lucky we were… Hmmm, sometimes it feels like the luck has all run out…
Still, once back on my feet and up and running we will be off again, and boy will we enjoy it even more.
We have friends both with Moody 40 footers with shoal keels, do you like my lingo? They took them through the French canals, and are ‘doing the med’ like you did, they wintered in Marmaris last year, not sure where they are now though.
And an island bed - yes, I can imagine the luxury of that!
Lovely things to look forward to, and happy days ahead!

Lynzie, Nando has really been good for you, it’s brilliant to hear you sound so full of beans, you just keep on enjoying yourself, we will hold the fort for you!
Llandudno? My dad’s there at the mo, but he’s due home tomorrow!

Anne, is your middle name ‘spoilit’ by any chance?

Enjoy your meal out Dee, hope you can taste it:)
And as Anne says, we will be here what ever the next steps are:)

Well I’ve thoroughly depressed myself thinking about my life;(
Still, get a grip me, this will pass, and good times will return - I just want them to come a little quicker!

Sue x

2849

Sue, I don’t think I’m spoiled, I like to think OH is well trained.

2850

What horrible weather today!

Good luck to those having chemo this week.

I’d like to stick with this thread - I’ve already had surgery, last chemo is 9 May, then rads in June.

Dawn - loved reading about your life on board, sounds wonderful.

Sue - I bet you can’t wait for this to be over so you can have your life back. I can’t wait to retire and do some travelling. 3 years is the plan, but all this makes me feel that perhaps we should make the most of life and not put things off.

Have felt ok today, energy returning. Irritating SE is my eyes are running constantly. Or do we blame every little thing on chemo?

Jane

2851

Jane, lovely picture! Runny eyes are due to chemo, I have them as well along with the runny nose.

My biggest problem this cycle is my bloatedness - I will ring the unit tomorrow, they must be able to give me something for it. I’ve tried all the home remedies, even got out my stronger schnapps for the occasion but nothing seems to help.

I never thought I am going to say this but long to be able to fart! :slight_smile:

2852

And you know who is spoiled? Catherine. He calls down to husband on a PHONE and he answers ‘KITCHEN’…

Hahahaha, thought that was super funny!

Medical night so have to rush - they are doing relationship bollocks, not an operation in sight. Hope House will do some serious differential diagnosis that involved BLOATEDNESS…

2853

Julianna, you need to walk about to get rid of bloating, it helps shift the wind.

2854

Evening ladies!

Lol Anne - I agree my OH is well trained too!!

Julianna - loving also helps with bloating - or so I have found :open_mouth:

Glad to hear that most seem to be bearing up with SE’s - can’t believe that some of us have last chemo this week - we’re nearly there!! my last is 26th April - can’t wait!

Taking girls to dsineyland paris in May between chemo and rads - only 4 weeks away now - can’t wait!

I agree - can’t take it with us so best enjoy it while we can!

My chemo doldrums are now over - only ever last for 2 or 3 days so now have 2 weeks with girls to enjoy - eeeek! all my plans of painting, filing and cleaning will have to wait!!

Joyce - yellow is jaundice - like in newborn babies but until eyes are yellow nothing to worry about - BCN said normal while body is breaking down chemo drugs - unless levels stay high nothing to worry about - Happy bday to lo - my littlest was 3 in Jan - can’t quite believe it - i’m not ready for her to grow up yet!! oldest will be 5 in May - not ready for her to grow up either!

Take care ladies!
Marina xx

2855

Walk around, you say Anne? Loving, you say Marina? Both of them are almost impossible! I could maybe manage the ‘loving’ with my rampant rabbit, but I am NOT walking around, no way …

2856

But if you walk round especially in the lovely fresh air, bluebells and daffadils swaying gently, childens skipping (you get the picture) then you can blow off to your hearts content. Not sure about the greenhouse effect though.

2857

I can loan you skipping children! :slight_smile:

2858

I live alone - I can blow off whenever I feel like without anyone gagging on it - except me, of course!

2859

Thanks Marina, and I might take you up on it, seeing how cute your girls are!

Are they any good at fetching things?

2860

I can loan you 2 teenages who will take you clubbing and all sorts of trouble! They are good at fetching things if its to their advantage and if it involves money.