this is BlackJack and Jack.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
It was the Yellow Brick Road at first wasnât it? I canât remember at what point we became Storm Riders but the general point was basically forming a team and going through it all together. Come one come all, the more the merrier. Thereâs safety in numbers anyway.
I slept for 3 hours earlier today whilst the sickly crew were lounging about watching tv (as luck would have it DH was able to work from home today, rare event) so I actually donât feel too bad. I got a bit chilly and achey earlier, but itâs given me an excuse to use my Heal Cancer Charity Hope & Caring Bear that my friends gave me. There is a group of us in the village who congregate at the school bus stop every morning and evening and in the last few months have started going out to the local pub once a month for a drink and a gossip. The âBus Stop Babesâ we are. My fellow babes bought me the Hope & Caring bear a few weeks ago - itâs done by the Helen Rollason Heal Cancer charity and is a teddy bear with a microwave hot wheat bag with ginger & lavender in it, really nice to heat up and have a cuddle with when youâre feeling a bit cold & achey. Highly recommended.
Mouth ulcers havenât landed yet, but I am swilling corsodyl morning and night and must get some bonjela ready. The only thing Iâm lacking is antacids actually, which I must get for next time as I am suffering a bit with heartburn at night.
I donât think thereâs any kind of alternative remedy places around here for cancer patients, but then thatâs Suffolk for you. Weâve only just entered the 20th century here, let alone the 21st! However, I shanât criticise it because my little bro and his family just moved here (well 30 miles away) today from Brighton. Canât wait to see them this weekend, itâll be so nice to have them half an hour down the road instead of a 3 hour drive away. 
Hey cute picture Martina!!!
Helen x
Didnât you get mouthwash when they gave you the TTO bag after chemo Carole ? Our lot are really good for that stuff as we get steroids for 3 days, 2 lots of anti-sick tablets as well as a big bottle of mouthwash each time ( not to mention the anti-biotics ). We also get a wig and a soft tammy hat on the house.
Regards to all, Ros.
YehâŠloving the new piccie, donât think my little pooch would pass for a wild west horse although heâs just as spirited!!
However the Riders started, Iâm grateful to all of you who have kept such a positive thought going, I hope Iâm a fighter and being a Storm Rider is just Fab-u-lous!!
Yes Nell, I was the little ole wine drinker last night as everyone else had fallen off their stools onto some hay - suffering tonight with a hundred aches and pains as all the sensation coming back following op 10 days ago so an early night and lots of Arnica cream - hey ho I know how to have a good time donât I?!!
Have a good night ladies,
Di x
Whoop whoop, Got my results today and it was clear margins and no node involvement ! hurrah ! oestrogen and progesterone positve and herceptin negative(seemingly they do the herceptin test on the core biopsy) so ended up with all those results just 10 days after the surgery. I know Iâm soooooooooo lucky not just with my results but the fact that they deal with everything so promptly here.
Only fly in the ointment consultant said might be that the oncologist may decide that I should get the chemo due to my age,I know some people with my results get offered it and some donât,just have to wait and see what gets said when go and see them.
Thanks to you all for your kind words and good vibes,certainly helped me.
Sandra x
Ooh theyâre really spoiling you Ros lol
In Suffolk you have to pay ÂŁ55 for a wig. No freebies whatsoever here, even mouthwash. I wonder why some PCTâs are so generous and some so stingy in what they will allow.
Actually, now I come to think of it Iâve got my free prescription card through today - so if I wait to get my wig until after 1 April then presumably I wonât have to pay the prescription charge.
Hmmmm.
Whooop whooop Sandra!!! Excellent news!! Such a relief to hear isnât it?
I had the exact same diagnosis and am doing the chemo shuffle precisely because of my age. If Iâd been 4 years older it wouldnât have been suggested. When will you find out?
Awww Sandra thats fantastic news!!! Iâm made up for youâŠI will have to look up stuff about the oestrogen etc âŠcos donât really get it yet and no one has talked about it to meâŠ
Sooooooo!!! pleased for youâŠoops! there goes my hatâŠgot a bit enthusiasticâŠwill be back soon, got to go and find itâŠ
Helenx
Hey Piper you definitely are a fighter!!! Try a really hot bath for all those aches and painsâŠmaybe one glass of cider??
Hi Sandra, got my hat backâŠGennie didnât know age made a difference to chemo treatmentâŠnot looked ahead that far yetâŠmmmmmm!!
sandra - brilliant news kid!!! Well, got the first fec done after soaking hand in hot water etc etc and was all over in about an hourâŠfeel knackered now but prob mainly relief I think so Iâm going to have some cereal and think about having a sleeping pill anyway and hope to sleep - thats the plan anyway! See yâall tomorrowâŠmary x
Quick update-baby ill,toddler ill[not serious but baby has been]daughter exhausted.I am struggling with new leg brace so not on here much.I gather you have all helped each other on another mile.What a superb thread this is.I am so sorry I am letting you down but you dont really need me just now.
The Old Onexx
PS Mary so glad it went ok and great news from sandra too.Keep the campfire burning.
Hi Mary, you sound like your chemo went okâŠhave a good nights sleepâŠzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Helen x
Hi Val, so sorry youâve had family upset. Hope baby gets better real fastâŠisâs always more upsetting when they are so small and helplessâŠpositive vibes your way>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You are not letting anyone down loveâŠjust the opposite!
Take care of you too!!
Right iâm off for a good nights shut eye, probably curl up with a good bookâŠbut not a western!!!
Catch ya all later!!!
Helen x
Sending positive vibes for the little one Val, I hope heâs much better soon. Itâs so scary when they are tiny and sick isnât it? You arenât letting anyone down, silly. Your attentions must be where they are needed, weâre big enough and ugly enough (well I am) to hold the fort.
Nell I was told if Iâd been 45 with the same diagnosis/histology results then chemo wouldnât have been statistically worth it so Iâd have gone straight to rads. As it is, at 41, chemo gives me roughly 10% on my odds so Iâm grabbing that 10% and wrestling it to the ground!
ok gennie remind me again of your results
martina
Hey Hey!!! Whatâs this about the 45!!! (the 4 year older bit) Iâm not suffering 8 rounds of this for no reason. :DDDDD
No spread, no nodes, Grade 3 aggressive, oestrogen +ve. Get chemo, rad, and tam for 5 years, although my GP just gave me the name of a new one thatâs better than tam that theyâve just started. With just surgery and no treatment at all I had a 45% survival rate. With chemo and rad that goes to 80-85, and with the tam or whatever, I go over the 90.
- Ptoooey!
Sandra, totally amazing news!! Way to go kiddo. Feel free to do a moonwalk! 
The oestrogen/progesteron thing is whether or not your cancer cells react to hormones. Only one I know is oestrogen. If they do, they absorb the oestrogen and the oest acts as a catalyst to grow into a tumour and then fast. Not groovy. So the tam or whatever other drug goes into the cancer cells and blocks that activity. If you are her2 positive, the HER bit is a protein that we all produce. Same kind of things happens. If you get cancer cells and they are her2 +ve its the protein that is the catalyst. At that point you get Herceptin, which does the same job, ie stops the cancer cell activity.
Val, go deal with your family. When and how and in what world could the Old One be letting us down? Silly billy. See you when you get back and best to all the family.
Oooh, Piper, if youâre achey you have no idea what Bilbo just got you into! lol. See below before the midnight hour descends upon us.
So what freebies did I get. Hmmm, steroids, anti-sick, a wig (or I will do shortly), anti acid, anti constipation (not worth the wrapper), and I can get some of the relaxation therapy thing. If Mule likes it, Iâm defo going to have a shot. Mule, let me know, 'cos Steel doesnât do this softy stuff unless itâs worth it. Lol - joke!!! Itâs not softy, itâs just Steel, she canât admit to kind of liking it.
Glad the first FEC went well Mary. That soaking the hand bit is kind of nice isnât it? Watch for the sneaky scald your hand off at the wrist bit though. I seriously hope I get a different nurse this time!
Hope all gets better soon Horace - you certainly donât deserve this after all the help you give us as well as your real family.
Congratulations Sandra and all others who got through another day.
Gen - it seems the NHS does work some times. Our hospital has a dire reputation for most things , but the Breast care Department seems to be one of the best around - from feeling the lump to losing the boob and its vile contents was less than a month.