Hello Pumpkins
Iām not good at posting and was writing to wish you all a Happy New Yearā¦hopefully healthier than this year, when my message disappeared from the box!
It may show up or could be lost foreverā¦who knows with my computer skills.
I just want to thank you all for sharing the good and the not so good experiences with people like me, who read but donāt write so often.
Iām on day 4 of FEC 4 with 2 to goā¦feeling frail and missing out on the parties, but had lots of visitors-bug free this morning and this afternoon so I canāt complain.
Ribby -Iāve loved hearing about your adventures with EXBF, Princess, chemo nightmares and positive encouragement to allā¦ I too extend sympathy to those on TAC.
Little Bear you are so good at seeing The Silver Linings and giving such encouragement to everyone (yes I have looked at your site) . I just hope all those in-laws help! Normally I have a house- full of relatives and friends for our Christmas meal and this year it was just the four of us, husband, grown up son who is still living at home and daughter who has left homeā¦but we have her back for Christmas.
This year I made Christmas cakes for relatives when I was in a good phase then ran out of enthusiasmā¦then the others rallied and did all the decorations, made the meal, including setting the tableā¦AND did all the clearing up and dish washer filling and emptying ā¦and I was in the best place chemo wise. So that was another silver lining, a stress free Christmas for me with enough sparkle- the family really did me proud!
Roanaid , I thought of you and your extra eyebrows recently when we had some logs delivered:
Iām a retired teacher and while Iām in the being FECed part of my life (a fitting description donāt you think) I tend to wear my ātwosieā, furry fleece top and micro-fleece bottoms, all topped by a horrid sleep cap that the wig shop persuaded me to buy, while I have my breakfastā¦before I am showered and smothered in white gloop.
This is how I was dressed when I handed the cheque to the helpful, not so young man who had tipped the said logs in the awkward corner I had asked him to put themā¦āOh so you are my old teacher!ā It must be 24 years since I saw himā¦wouldnāt you think he could have forgotten me in that time!
Great to hear that treatments are doing what they should Catzoooā¦and others.
Funny how we measure this journey-I have worked out that my, hard fought for, PICC line should be coming out in about 6 weeks after my last FECing on 8th February. Gradually I see a small flicker of light at the end of my chemo tunnel!
I pushed for a PICC through BUPA ā¦who then sent a letter to say they wouldnāt pay the Ā£1000+ hospital bill. This was after I had gone an extra 120 mile round trip to a different hospital to have it fitted-it was a mistake, BUPA had authorised everything ā¦but I had a sleepless night over that one! My oncologist had arranged for a Hickman to be fitted but the PICC seemed to be a better option for my remaining four FEC s after my veins refused to cooperate with the cannula.
I donāt know what advice and choices others were given about the effects of FEC on the veins and choicesā¦if I hadnāt had a friend in the know I would have had a much more invasive procedure than I neededā¦the PICC was painless to fit and although it makes me feel like a patient it has made blood tests and chemo so much easierā¦alas not blood pressure readings which seem to hurt the leg more than the arm!
Yes there are still the side effects to bearā¦currently I seem to be putting weight on at an alarming rate, knowing that Iām not alone on that one is helpful tooā¦but flatulence is my newie ā¦husband talks about renaming our house Trumpton.
Good to hear that people are travelling and holidaying Iām 60 in April and have decided to celebrate that with a big family and friends gathering in the Lake District and a shopping and fun trip to London with posh hotel and show with long suffering husband.
However Iām envious of those of you who have had big family gatherings and trips away- Jayne your gloves story made me smile; I escaped hospital but after the first FEC ing I had neutropenia so Iāve had to be extra careful
Welcome to susanmaryā¦sorry you are having a glitchā¦hopefully you will get comfort from The Wonderful Pumpkinsā¦bless you all, too numerous to mention, I am addicted to the site so please keep posting.
Found a new tip that helped me today-dunk your toothbrush in hot water to soften the bristles; after that I did some electric toothbrushing!
Not my usual Hogmanay treat but chemo reaches the parts that nothing else can touch.
Good wishes for 2013, keep positiveā¦
3 weeks of radiotheraphy cant be half as grim as the chemo. Been making friends with my wig went out for dinner wearing it on Sunday and a trip into town yesterday Oh to have our own hair back