Starting Chemo in December.2012

[QueenDrama]

hi Mandy mine too horrid isnt it! Ive now taken off all my nail varnish and am rubbing aveeno cream in. they seem a bit softer .

cress - how bout covent garden then aone of the parks? can you put up a pic of you in purple hair!!!

QD

[mandyp]

Finger nails are dropping off.....nice..... thought I could forget all that chemo sh*te
x

[Cressida]

Just had a quick browse back to see what my chemo brain might have missed,

Shellebelle - you should have started rads now - hopefully you are feeling a bit better. I tend to feel better when actually getting on with something, rather than waiting for it. Let us know how it is going.

Sarah - when are you having that scan? What has persuaded you to go for the WLE?

I haven't made any progress organising meet up. Feel a bit bad for Maire regarding the idea of London. Maybe, if I organise a London one Maire could organise a northern one? Then we can merge the two into the Christmas party? Actually Maire - you are the mummy of the thread anyway, so really you should organise the whole thing, whilst I concentrate on chosing hair colours.

If we are going to do London - any ideas for venues where we can all meet, hear what each other is saying, and have nice food?

xxxx

[Cressida]

Good news QD - when I got to the hairdressers I changed my mind and now my hair is purple. I wonder if I can get some kind of royalties from Wella Fresh. Anyway, Lolly has seen it, so she can tell you if you want a second opinion. I love it, xxx

[QueenDrama]

Hi all
Cress - its true i have no shame!!!!i teach hormones sorry teenagers!
today was my daughters year 11 leaving mass it was very long at 2.5hrs (legs were plaited by the end) but it was lovely and i cried buckets. dont know why - shes going back for 6th form!!
Lolly - i sobbed for no apparent reason after chemo 6. its normal.
Hamley - well done on the free top ups etc! your wig clearly has a mind of its own.
Coytegi - what dye do you use? ive always fancied going purple. I have 1-2mm at mo and its a myriad of colour. i thought of getting some mascara and using that on the ends rather than a full dye.
Mz - mmm when people are kind it can make you cry. My daughters head mistress hugged me today and i started blubbing!
SP _ whats a mindfullness course?
Cybele- glad youre enjoying the hol. i hav bought some aloe vera gel in readiness for my rads too. just got to get through the surgery next thursday. eek!
Love to all
QDx

[Cybele]

Hello from the north Aegean!

I'm having a truly fabulous time and chemo is really starting to feel like a long time ago now...

I cannot begin to tell you how much my mental state has been improved by getting away from London, having some warm and sunny weather - it is perfect, sunny but not too hot, with a cool breeze - being back in my camel barn, and being reunited with my cat.

Also feeling SO much better physically now - still get tired easily, but otherwise am absolutely fine. Chemo is starting to feel like a bad dream..

The only fly in the ointment is starting rads on Tuesday, after I fly back on Monday. Boo to that. Am anointing myself religiously with Aloe Vera gel to prepare, as per Border Collies' instructions.

Hope you're all feeling better too, and for those who aren't BIG HUGS - this too shall pass.
Caroline xxxxx

ps was v.amused to read that Hamley's wig is apparently demonically possessed...

[mandyp]

Lolly - I too do not like my wig and have started to go au naturele although not quite braved the school playground and thanks to the cold weather have worn my wooly hat.
My hair is a mix of dark brown and grey and still a bit shiny on the top as it is taking longer to grow. Have finally mastered the art of the false eyelashes! ha ha!

SP - I start the Mindfulness course next week. so will be interesting to hear how yours progresses.
Hope everyone else keeping on keeping on......
xxx

[SP0]

Typical - I lost my post & re-typed, now I can see they're both there!

[SP0]

Hamley, good to hear about your positive day.
Lolly & mz6507, I'm still emotional too!
Cress, carry on being frivolous, hoping to join in sometime soon...
I went to my first session on the Mindfulness course today, in a bid to learn to live in the moment, to cope with my secondary dx. The meditation was calming, but I didn't really like going there & got emotional. Planning to go again next week and keep giving it a go.
Sarah.x

[SP0]

Hamley, lovely to hear about your positive day.
Lolly, mz6507, I'm still emotional too.
Agree with all, tamoxifen not too bad.
I started my "Mindfulness" course today, it was quite relaxing, but I got emotional too.
Cress, carry on being frivolous, hope it comes to me soon too!
Sarah.x

[Guest user]

Went for a bra fitting today. The assistant was so nice to me I burst into tears. I thought I had it all under control but obviously not.
All good otherwise, rads burn peeling a bit but not sore and tamoxifen 2 months in so far so good.
Herceptin 9 on thursday.
hope everyone is feeling a little better.

[lolly123]

hi just thought i would share that i wore my wig twice i didnt like the look it gave me so been everywhere without it, i sometimes forget that i have no hair until like you say someone catches my eye and gives me a look that says oh dear.
Mine is growing back grey and brown not sure what colour wil come through the most but will dye it if need be.

lolly
x

[Cressida]

Hamley - I am not especially bold or outgoing - the hair is just about being alive and having hair - why not mess about with it? Cancer is some serious sh*t and I need to be frivolous. Well done on going out as you, and especially on getting coffee upgrades. One more bonus of cancer. A wig that pulls out your hair? Sounds like an evil wig that is tryng to protect it's reason for being. Ask it if it can get coffee upgrades - I bet it can't.

Coyotegi - a Hertfordshire girl? Lolly and I are in Bedfordshire. Whereabouts are you? (PM me if you want to). Maybe we can all get together.

xxxx

[Guest user]

Hi ladies, thanks for useful comments.
I am hoping to colour my hair fairly quickly as having been grey since my 20,s and dyed it religiously , i dont fancy being the grey it is growing out as! I went RED when diagnosed and fancy it again....or maybe we all need to be pink for london, one way to recognise everyone. I am in Hertfordshire so london good for me. hugs to all.x

[hamley]

Hi Ladies.
Poor Lolly. It will get better, the time between chemo and rads seems to have been a difficult one for several of us.
Cress, I hope you'll be sporting red hair when we meet up, I'd love to see it, I'd love to be as bold as that but I'm just not as outgoing a person as to be able to carry it off.
Tam isn't too bad so far. I've had very stiff hands in the mornings each day since taking the very first one. I'm not sure if that's an SE or coincidence. The hot flushes seem to have faded and don't seem to be as frequent at the moment.
I've had quite a big day today. Firstly I've been for my rads set up appointment and got my titoos done. Having done it I don't know what I was worried about. Secondly, I've been me rather than the person who pretends to be me. Confused? Yes, that means I've worn no wig and no prosthesis all day so far, it was just me and it felt really good. I also got an extra helping of cheese on my jacket potato lunch out, a large latte instead of the medium one I paid for, you wouldn't believe how many doors got opened for me and how many people caught my eye to smile and say 'hello'. It won't stop me from wearing my prosthesis in future but the wig may be a goner. My hair is only about 1cm long, but it covers most of my head except where my wig pulls it out at the back, that's a good reason not to wear it.
My rads start date is 5th Jun, not long now.

[Cressida]

Hi Lolly,

Blubbing till bog eyed is entirely normal behaviour, especially when between treatments. We don't have to wait till Sat if you want to have a coffee. I am stuck here waiting for BT today and tomorrow I am having my hair coloured again. If you want to meet tomorrow pm or thurs/fri then you can have a good laugh at my bright red hair. That shoud cheer you up.

Listening to Jeremy Vine talking about Angelina Jolie's breasts at the mo - that prob won't cheer you up tho,

xxxx

[lolly123]

hi cress,
im here, not in a good way at moment cant stop blubbing, look like a bog eyed monster, and i really dont know why, cant put my finger on why i keep crying, just glad my hubby dont see me, dont want to worry him.
roll on the end of this rubbish.

looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, will try and pull myself together by then im sure.

lolly

[Cressida]

Hi Ladies, anybody out there? Have I scared you off by discussiing my lady bits? (except QD, who clearly has no shame). Pop in. I am hanging about today waiting for the BT man to upgrade my internet. Then I will be high speed, so I may be watching dogs surfing rather than hanging about this slow, arthritic web site. x

[QueenDrama]

Go for it Cress!
omeprazole is king!

QD x

[Cressida]

Hi to Trisha and SP

Thanks for being so open. It's wierd that there seems to be a conspiracy of silence about chemo messing with ability to have sex. I don't want to be embarrassed about it, or I am complicit in pretending it is not going on. Or maybe the conspiracy is about whether it matters or not. Maybe we are just meant to be glad to be alive and should not expect to enjoy it as well. Anyway, I am going back to the sexual health nurse. I feel more confident, now that I have heard from you, that the tightness is not all in my head. It's true that cancer has been a trauma for me, but that does not mean that everything is psychological. I will ask for dilators. I might let you know how I get on....

[Cressida]

Morning ladies,

Lisalouw - I think you are having your pre-op today? Hope you feeling better. Whens the op? As for having joints like a 90 year old - I am with you there. I became addicted to pain killers (Oxycodone) after the severe pain of the cellulitis. Once I started to wean myself off I became aware of just how painful my joints are. I knew they were stiff and I was hobbling in the mornings, but the pain had been covered up by the horse tranx. I saw the palliative care onc (who got me addicted in the first place) and he started me on Ibuprofen. I have to take Omaprazole as well, as, apparently, it is very important not to damage your stomach lining if you have had cancer. Anyway, I was sceptical, but it really seems to make a difference. I have ony been taking them for a few days, but I would say I have a 50% improvement. I would def discuss the idea. Good look for op,

xxx

[SP0]

Hello all,

I started Tamoxifen 4 days ago and so far have no new SEs from it - Lolly I hope that's a comfort, there maybe nothing to fear. I recall your last chemo was a little more recent than mine (6.3 weeks ago), I was having big melt downs a few weeks ago & recall others were then too, so you're in good company.

I had hot flushes from around the 4th chemo cycle (taxotere), so the chemo must have triggered my meopause. I also had dizziness, a light headed feeling, vivid dreams and nightmares. My onc concluded these were partly due to the hormonal changes and part psychological.

Thanks to Trisha and QD for suggestions on lubricants & dilators and 'hats off' to us all for sharing the intimate but troubling stuff (with help from Cressida's creative language!). I shared the problem with a bc girlfriend who's also a nurse and has other nursing / doctor friends who've experienced either chemo, taxoxifen or both. To my amazement (& hers) no one's ever mentionned it before. The things we women will suffer & keep to ourselves!

Hamley, far from being a wuss, I think you're being very brave about your mx. I'm putting off forthcoming WLE...

Sarah.x

[QueenDrama]

Hi all

Shellebelle hope you feel better soon

Lolly - have a rant - thats why we are here

maire - too true about the wrory thing! Im so glad its not just me!
QD

[lolly123]

Hi to you all
Just changed my profile picture, it of me and Mum, she has more hair then me but choose to have hers that short, but it suits her.
I have found out what my dizzyness is, i am on a gel for my Pile problem its Glycerin Trinitrate (cant spell) and the side effects are Dizzy spells and headaches, so i will just have to put up with it till i am sorted, got a docs appointment on the 16th so hopefully she will confirm it for me.
I have had a few melt downs this weekend, i am so looking forward to feeling well but its not happening, thought i would be fighting fit by now but i am sooooooooooooooo fed up with feeling like sh*t think its just getting me down, sorry to be a moaner, hopefuly i will be SE free in a week or two.
I also start Tamoxifen on the 14th and not looking forward to it, as i am sure i will have more SE with it just want to be normal.
Anyway rant over i will try and stop feeling sorry for myself, and pull myself together there is a lot more of you here worse than me sorry.
take care hugs to you all
lolly x

[Border_Collies]

Shellebelle. Really interested in you post because when I was nearly 7 weeks post chemo I woke up one Sunday morning and the first thing I noticed was that I didn't want to go to the loo for a wee. Very unusual for me. Didn't pass water for 7 hours despite drinking copious amounts of water. Temperature normal but blood pressure was sky high with very fast heart rate. Also felt dizzy and sick. In panic went up to A & E. Had blood test - normal. Had urine test - normal and by this time I had started to pass some urine. Blood pressure and heart rate were still much too high but not dangerous enough for admission. They isolated me at A & E due to possible low immune system but when I finally saw the doctor and she had gone through just about everything she decided that I was suffering from some sort of virus and to come back the next day if things hadn't improved.

Things gradually got better so never went back but I did see my onc. on the following Friday and told her about it and her thoughts were that it was a virus. Feel fine now. I hope your problems turn out as well as mine did.

[Mindy63]

Shellebelle, I think worrying is a pretty common reaction to coming to the end of chemo. I have become very obsessional in my worrying. I'd put this down to tamoxifen but perhaps it's just everything coming to a head. Try to give yourself a break and focus on doing things you enjoy to help break the worry cycle. Also have you considered you may be anaemic? This can cause dizzyness and fatigue and I think a racing pulse too!

[shellebelle]

Hi ladies, haven't posted for a while and have lost track of everyone a bit now unfortunately, but hope you're all enjoying being at the end of or beyond chemo. Wish I could say I was, but just when I thought things should be starting to get better I get a 2nd lump appear on my MX scar and am struck down with dizzy spells, nausea, racing pulse, blood pressure rising etc......urgh. Not sure what's going on but ended up seeing Onc for emergency appt last Wed who wasn't sure if I was coming down with a flu virus (hubby's just had it), or reacting to the Tamoxifen I had just started taking on the Monday, so he's prescribed antibiotics as a precaution and has stopped Tamoxifen for a week. Examined scar and didn't think new bump was anything sinister, just maybe a spot in an unfortunate place.
Anyway, been on antibiotics since Wed and this weekend the fatigue, dizziness, racing pulse have returned, so not looking like the Tamoxifen was the cause. I think I'm probably getting myself wound up about things now, worrying about radiotherapy which starts on Wednesday, worrying about taking Tamoxifen and just generally worrying about everything, when I should be moving forward, reclaiming my life and enjoying it. I fear I have turned back into that paranoid wreck I was when I was first diagnosed with BC last Oct.
I either need a kick up the ar*e or tranquilizers....or both!

[Border_Collies]

Hamley sounds as if you've done a bit of DIY surgery and got rid of the pain. Hope that continues.

Cress I wouldn't dream of embarrassing you again. Now I know what a granny fanny is I think I can work out the purpose of a dilator!!! The really embarrassing thing is that I've got a granny fanny and didn't even know it. The things one learns on this forum is amazing.

SUPERSUSAN I can't remember whether you are on the October or the December thread but I have PM'd you about something that was discussed some weeks ago.

[Wendy56]

Cress give us a couple of weeks so I can drive and would love to meet up x x

[Cressida]

Hamley - I wonder if the tethered feeling was cording? After Mx you can get a cord of muscle that is tight. Clasically it runs down your arm, but it doesn't have to. It could run side ways along the scar tissue in your chest. Anywhere you have muscle really. It goes by stretching. Sometimes it goes suddenly, like a snap. If so, then it is nothing to worry about. Good news that you have snapped it painlessly - enjoy the extra arm movement! xx

[QueenDrama]

Hi all
The posts are doing very strange things! mine disappear and I swear that some that you posted last week have only just arrived! its like reading a satellite!
yesterday i was browsing the local charity shops and bought a "latch hook set" for £2. its fab! im hooked! (groan!). eventually I will have a rug of a very apt frog holding a brolly in the rain!
Lolly - i get dizzy when im dehydrated. im drinking pints and pints of water.
Lisalou - hope mom and son continue to behave!
Cress - london is a ok for me but as ive got surgery on May 23rd could the meet be late summer?
coytegi - hope the cough disappates
maire - is it any warmer now up north?
hamley - if you're not in pain id just enjoy the movement!
border collies - dignity? whats that!!!!!

QD x

[hamley]

Lolly, the only time I've been dizzy is when I'm worried; blood tests, cannulas, surgery or when I'm really tired which has been frequent. I started Tam yesterday and had more hot flushes than usual in the night, but it wouldn't seem to be Tam because I've only taken one!!
Lisalou, I'm pleased to hear your son's behaving better and your Mum is stronger. Perhaps you can get some TLC now.
Cress, a London meet up would be fine for me. You're right about my OH; I hadn't realised how hard it was hitting him.
Coyote, I hope your cough is better, fab not to have to go to hospital for it. My nails have stayed put but are a series of brownish and black stripes (6, one for each FEC), but with pink bits at the base now.
Maire, I'm not going to tell my OH about the badger thing, he will use it on me!
Bordercollies, you're right about the embarassment & inhibitions. When the GP nurse removed my mx dressing I said how ugly the scar was. She said 'well who's going to see it, really?'. I said 'it seems like everyone to me'.
On my mx scar there is a point at which I feel it is 'tethered' or 'anchored'. The doctor said not to worry and to do my exercises, but I've been a bit worried because it felt like the wound will burst if I stretched it any more. Then this morning while exercising I felt a kind of rip and suddenly where I could only put my arm 3 quarters of the way up the door, I can now put it above the door, it doesn't hurt at all, it feels good. But, I was under the impression that the idea was to strech the wound for rads and am a bit concerned I've done some damage. Am I just being a wuss again? The BCNs aren't in until Monday. I'm not panicing too much.

[lolly123]

Hi to one and all,
Just read through about 23 threads and we all seem to be more up beat than a few weeks ago, Cress i so am up for meeting ln London it will be great.
Can anyone tell me if they have expreanced dizzyness, i am not on any medication now except my blood thinning injections but i am dizzy even sitting in a chair, is as though my eyes and brain are working behind each other, which is making me dizzy or is it just me?????????
I am about to start Tamoxifen on the 14th May, I am also having hot flushes and thats before i start taking the tables, so i have a lot to look forward to NOT. Also start Rads on the 20th, so all treatment over soon, cant wait.
take care send hugs to you all ((())
lolly
x

[Trisha_51]

Hi Cressida,
I got my dilators myself from Amazon a few years ago, didn't see sexual health nurse, I'd mentioned them to my wonderful female GP when I'd gone for repeat of the oestrogen cream I used before BC (wouldn't dare use it now as tumour was extremely oestrogen positive) and she just said it wouldn't do any harm to give them a go. I didn't just have dryness it was the tightness that was more of a problem, "Yes" lubricants solved the dryness problem brilliantly. The only thing with dilators is that you have to use them regularly, several times a week, for the effects to remain. I know what you mean about discussing intimate problems on line, but as my GP once said as she was about to do a smear test and asked if I wanted a chaperone and I replied "what on earth for" , once you've had children all your dignity, embarrassment etc. has gone out the window! Hopes this helps and is not too much information LOL. Pat x

[Lisalouw]

Morning ladies , my little boy is behaving himself so far for past couple of days which is so much better , and my mum getting abit stronger , I've forgot how much hard work it is cooking, cleaning , picking up , I'm a shattered emotional wreck by end of day , I'm now on antibiotics for a blister on my good boob , must have rubbed and I didn't feel it due to lack of sensation where I had my breast reduction , I'm still walking like a 90 yr old on a morning and when I've been sat down , so I'm still on the painkillers which I'm also sure I'll be addicted to and have to wean myself off them , as for granny fanny I've not had that delight yet , can't wait , I'm single though so I don't need to worry about that department , as for hair Im sure I read something about a dye called herbatint which has no peroxide or ammonia in , it's online , I don't think I'll be able to wait 6 months before I dye mine , it's sort of a grey , brown, red and ginger tint to it so id still have to cover it up in public , ill give it a few months to get strong and stop shedding then I'll look into dyeing it , I've got my pre op on mon , 8.15 am ! , I'm really crapping myself for surgery , just don't feel like I've got the energy to be prodded and poked again xxx
hope everyone ok, love and hugs , I'm from South Yorkshire by the way xxx

[Cressida]

Morning ladies,

Thanks to Trish for popping in to talk about your fanny. Sometimes I try to imagine if I would ever have been discussing my lady bits on line before cancer. Pretty sure I would not have. I really appreciate that we can talk about this stuff. Thank gawd for you ladies. Sarah - I got Replens on prescription, it's quite expensive so you don't want to be buying it. It is the one recommended by the Onc for being hormone free. I have been advised to aviod hormone based products, even though I am TN. Not much point in taking the chance, when they don't know what feeds it. Trish - did you see a sexual health nurse about the dilators or just DIY? I have actually seen a sexual health nurse, but she got all psychob*llocks on me and thinks it is all in my mind. Nothing to do with 2 rounds of chemo and an enforced chemo menopause. Give me strength. Border collies - please don't ask me to tell you all about dilators - sometimes googling is the right thing to do.

Hamley - your poor hubbie must be so relieved. Men often feel they have to be so strong to keep us going, when really they are just as scared. They say things like "there's nothing wrong with me" and "I havn't got cancer". They have to watch it all and can't do anything to make it better or make it go away. You both need a break and a laugh.

Wendy - whoop, whoop for lump shrinking to nothing. Chemo really did it's job. That's so fab. Are you feeling better enough to consider meeting Lolly and I? - we can start the East of England support group.

Coyotegi - can't remember what treatments you are having. Rads can make you cough. But, isn't it great to just have a common illness and not rush to A&E?

I have been trying to keep track of the places people have told me they live. It's a nightmare. You are all over the place. I need a command centre with a map and some pins. Not sure I can do this with chemo brain. Anyone got connections to the hotel/hospitality trade? Maybe we can find a place that will do us a discount to stay overnight, then it won't matter so much where it is. I might start with a London meet before the actual Christmas party. mainly cos all trains go to London. Who would be up for this?

xxxx

[Trisha_51]

Hi Coyotegi,
Anastrozole has plunged me back into mega hot flushes like I had during natural menopause 10 years ago! As someone on another thread said windows and cardigans/fleeces become your best friends. I posted earlier on this thread in reply to your "granny fanny" problem as this has once again reared it's ugly head for me. So far very little in the way of extra joint pain (I have the beginnings of arthritis in left knee) but take omega 3 and glucosamine for that already. Apart from that everything seems hunky dory. Best of luck if you do need Anastrozole, I feel the SE's are worth it if it keep the bxxxxxs away ! Pat x

[Guest user]

thanks Trisha. have you had any side effects?

[Trisha_51]

Hi Coyotegi
Anastrozole is an endocrine therapy given to post menopausal women to inhibit the enzyme which converts androgen into oestrogen. I have to take one tablet a day for 5 years.
Pat

[Guest user]

Hi ladies, thanks Cressida, I am feeling better,i think apart from a horrid cough, but good to realise dont need to rush to hospital with it.
still not convinced about taking anastrozole. someone asked what it was. i guess much like tamozifen in reducing the amount of oestrogen in the sysytem, but i havent done any research on it. is anyone else due to take?
was beginning to think i was only one loosing their nails! (or should that be minds!). they are all flaking off from base and then lifting from tip, or sometimes for a change the other way lol .fasinating when they come off whole...
hugs to all

[QueenDrama]

Hi Ladies

I use "SYLK" lubricant. If you google it you will see that it is designed to couteract the SE's of tamoxifen etc. Its fab!!!!!!

QD x

[Mindy63]

Hi All,
Good to hear everyone so upbeat, even when chatting about all the shit we're experiencing. The post chemo body is truly a dissapointing (and dry) thing!
Cressida-So glad you don't have the breast cancer gene. It was about time you had a good break.
Wendy-Sorry to hear about your daughter. Hopefully she'll now get lots of checks to make sure she remains cancer free.
LisaL-3 year olds will try every trick in the book to get their own way and they save all the best tricks for mum. I speak as someone who works with this age group. I'd vote for clear boundaries with consequences. On the plus side, they cheer you up no end at times.
Great to hear from Cybele, soaking up the rays. I still can't believe we're out the other end of that bloody chemo.
On hair colour-I'll def be hitting that bottle as soon as I have a reasonble bit of length, My husband keeps calling my a badger due to monochrome effect. Just hope the sparse coverage I have does not disappear with the bloody tamoxifen pills. Bitter? me?
Oh and I'm a Glasgow girl- so probably furthest away-but can head down south to party.

[Trisha_51]

Hi ladies, I've not needed chemo but dip into a variety of threads and Cressida and SP one of your comments really struck a chord. I'm quite a bit older than you both 61 to be exact and sympathise with your "granny fanny" Cressida. This happened to me after natural menopause 10 years ago and I used a combination of oestrogen cream (which I'm not prepared to risk now as my tumor was very oestrogen positive). Anastrozole has once again plunged me back into typical menopausal symptoms hot flushes and the dry, tight vagina. I've found the Yes range of lubricants/moisturisers to be very good plus the use of Amielle comfort dilators to help with the tightness. I think you can get dilators on prescription, I got mine from Amazon. Best of luck to you both in your efforts to counteract this annoying SE. Pat.

[Border_Collies]

Very discretely put Cressida - I suppose I should have known but I've obviously led a sheltered life. Really made me laugh though. I just wanted to know that I was laughing at the right thing. You're right of course, it's almost impossible to be embarrassed or have inhibitions once you've been through the undignified process of cancer.
Cybele - have a great holiday and try not to over do things lazing on that balcony in the sun!

[Cybele]

Hello from the north Aegean!

Been here two days and feeling very, very relaxed, and a long way from hospitals and chemo and cancer, both physically and mentally, which is doing me a power of good. Getting away for a bit makes a huge difference...

The sun is shining but it's not too hot, the jasmine on my balcony is just starting to flower, the honeysuckle is already in full bloom and the scent is amazing. My housesitters have kept the place in immaculate condition and my cat was VERY happy to see me, as I was him.

When I was in the very dark days of chemo I kept visualising sitting on my balcony here, reading, with the cat on my lap, and that's exactly what I've been doing for the last couple of days - this is the perfect place to convalesce.

Still getting very tired, but otherwise much better physically. I only feel ill when I think about the chemo: it makes me shudder. The day I said goodbye to FEC was definitely one of the happiest days of my life.

love and hugs to all, hope you're all in recovery mode as well xxxx Caroline

[Cressida]

Well, it's what it sounds like really. As a "younger" woman I am used to having my own juices, but chemo has forced me into menopause and I have dried up. I was trying to formulate a discreet way of explaining it, but you did ask. Breast cancer has caused me to lose most of my sense of embarrassment.

[Border_Collies]

Thanks Cress - have been trying to ring my hairdresser who uses lots of natural vegetable colours but I've a horrible feeling she may be on holiday but when I get her I'll mention the Wella colour.
By the way you still haven't told me what a "Granny Fanny" is!!!!!

[Cressida]

Regarding hair colour - when I wanted to colour mine (8 months post FEC-T but only 2 months post GemCarbo) I was told no way until at least 6 months. However, one if the hairdressers at my salon has had special training in chemo hair and she said it was OK to use certain wash in wash out colours. She used Wella Fresh Colour and I had it done bright red. This was fab. First, I wanted to honour my friend Keri, who wanted to colour hers but it kept falling out. Second, my hair grew back much darker than it's usual dark blond and I have been used to various highlights in it for years, so I didn't like the mono dark brown mop that kept looking at me. Hair is great, but I wanted to be a bit frivolous after the serious sh*t that is cancer and mess about with my hair, just because I can. The colour lasts for 2 - 3 weeks depending how much you wash it. 3 weeks later you can still see the red in mine. Also it makes your hair really shiney. You don't have to have bright red, but why not? It does come off onto pillows and towels but that comes out in a normal wash. You can't buy it in the shops, but hairdressers can order it - it costs about £8. You use it like shampoo, I am not sure how many washes are in one bottle - I will let you know. Go for it - put a vibrant colour in your hair, just because you can.

[Wendy56]

There is a website 'cancerhaircare' which is really useful. Not sure but think it is run by Lister hospital.

wendy x x

[hamley]

My chemo nurse said not to put a colour on for 6 months, but I think some people put henna or other natural colours on virtually straight away (I'm not recommending that, I have an appointment booked for October). A problem with henna is that it goes orange on grey hair. That's me out then! I'm sure on this website somewhere it says you can colour after a minimum of 3, but preferably after 6 months.