Hi,
Thanks for the helpful posts and for cheering me up yet again people. Good to know people have lives still!! It’s hard not to be completely tortutured by reading the wrong stuff and your summary has helped so much Christine. I unplugged my stupid PC and have played lots with my 3 year old and got out and about into town, which was nice. Hadn’t really thought about how much the chemicals would mess with my emotions either on top of everything else, so thanks for that too. The HER2 thing just came as another blow at the time. But…I guess that’s the nature of the game we are all in now…one step forwards and another back perhaps? I like to hear that people are still around. I think I have been picking songs for my eulogy a bit too much!! It is so hard not to go under and it’s been so hard for me to face people as feel I have big sticker on head now!! Also feel sad that i will be having chemo for Christmas, but as hubbie says…he cooks…I laze around drinking sherry and watching TV with little monster…the only difference…no sherry!!!
Chris - Jersey was very nice. Lovely and unusual coastline. Boat trip…12 hours…not so. Plane much quicker apparently. I love travel, hate travelling too. I don’t really get how these heavy things fly or float - it doesn’t seem right. I think trips down to Devon will be best for me for a while.
V - I’m not wise enough to offer any help on this one as everything very new. BUT… I do know what it is like to live in the shadow of my Mum’s cancer experience and death too. It is so hard not to think we are the same isn’t it. But…we’re not as everyone keeps telling me. (Although I have a hard time listening sometimes and have had thought processes that sound similar to you!!!) We are different people experiencing things at different times. Please go and talk to someone about this and don’t make too many connections.
Thank you for your support again ladies. Have another MRI to face soon (need a close up of the evil breast to measure its reaction against the chemo apparently), so thay are pushing this hospital phobic to her limits…another day…another…happy pill!!!
Gailxx
Hi,
just keep chugging along Gail, I can read from your posts that you are gradually coming to terms with this c…p news. Afte that comes the boxing gloves and finding out what you can to make sure your % are the very highest they can be. it sounds like you have a lovely family so enjoy them. There are still tons of ok days, good days and great things out there to do, if you don’t let it take over. Have as much fun as you can and build up lots of happy memories and smiles for the pooo days x.
Horace how about if we just aim to cut back on bad foods and take it nice and slowly, maybe pick up a little bit of exercise, like an extra walk somwhere instead of the car? If we can take the steady route I am in! Shall we start a thread for support?
Lily x
Lilly - Can you help! because I go a bit stupid in hospitals, I tend to lose focus. I’m not sure what I should be asking. I think you mentioned stats before. I only know I am HER2pos at the moment. Are there other things I should know? I’ve seen people talk about stats etc when they go in for treatments etc and I’m a bit at a loss. I know they check my blood etc. But…I go very blurry when I’m in. Thought I should write stuff down for next time.
Thanks,
Gx
Hi Gail,
the best thing you can do is find some others on here who are either in the same situation or get treated similar dates to you as I found that my biggest support of all. I am more than happy to chat any time but I have my 12 and last chemo tomorrow, so will be entering the new world of rads and hormones soon, which I know nothing about - yet. I also have some surgery shortly to take my port out. Someone going through yuk days and weeks with you will be your life saver some days and great friend on others. I have had a fab network of buddies since coming on here and love them all to bits.
It is difficult to know what to ask as I don’t know if you are seeing your oncologist(onc) or the nurses who give you the treatment. Your big questions are for the onc and I think you should simply say ’ I can’t seem to take all this in, can you please explain what I have got, is it bad, how big is the tumour, what treatment do you plan to do for me?’ Or just say can you explain exactly where I am now and what will happen and just add in questions as you go along. My husband wrote all the answers down for me so I could just concentrate on my thoughts and questions and that was really good to look back at afterwards. I also read the cancer baccup site which gives you lists of questions to ask and was good.
They give you chemo first usually if the tumour is quite big. There are 2 good things about this, one is that if they shrink it they can possibly offer you a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. Secondly they can keep measuring the lump and actually know that the chemo is working. Then if it doesn’t shrink it they swap drugs. I had a lumpectomy first and have no idea at all what my 12 horrible visits have or have not done. Clear scans are brilliant and should make you smile, great news. If you are brave you can ask exactly what your chances are, but these are based on data of women in the past and not now. I have not done this as I have a happy figure in my head and my onc saying positive things to me is easier for me to live with than him saying a figure below my comfy stats. Once told you can’t take that fact away from your memory, so think hard before asking that one.
Well back down the dark hole tomorrow for the last time, 196 days on chemo for me and off to the fryer next!
Big hugs. Either find out a lot more or just poodle along blissfully innocent of facts and just generally ask is it going ok., whichever is right for you
Love
Lily x
Thanks Lily. Was going to post on the chemo site to find others, but will sort myself out for next hospital visit a bit more too. (I heard “big” and that was enough last time). Good luck with your last chemo and thank you again!!! Gailxx
Hi,
I am not at all surprised that big frightened the pants off you but when you read on here about people with sometimes 3 big tumours it makes you realsie there will always be worse cases now and that your onc has seen before. There will always be bits you think well I am so lucky not to have that problem too but at the end of the day we all paddle a canoe of the same name down this trip and no-one can say who will be the winners. You only have to be one of the people in the right side of the fence.
Hoping things calm down for you by the next one and you can do this. You really can
Hugs
Lily x