Support group for secondary BC hampshire/Winchester?

[nicky08]

Hi Michele, thanks for looking this information up about the restaurant.  It is a lovely idea so I hope some of us can make it.  I will wait to see if my chemo goes ahead this week (I've just caught a bad cold so it may not) to let you know which date/s would be good for me and we can see if anyone else wants to join in as well?  I hope you appointment went well and that the nausea settles down.  There seems to be quite a few ladies on Cape that get this although I was very lucky not to suffer, maybe ask about some anti sickness tablets or change the ones you may already have?  Good luck on 3rd, fingerss crossed that you are getting the benefits as well as the bad bits of Cape.

Nicky x

[Michele1957]

Morning ladies
I have just had a wonderful,10 hours of sleep and am now wide awake. I have also been a little busy looking at Rick Steins restataurant in Winchester over the past week. He does an amazing set lunch - two courses for just under £20 and 3 courses for under £25. Availability is good according to the restaurant and I thought it would be a nice treat for us for Christmas. I was looking at 3 possible dates 5th, 12th and 17th Dec. what do you think. I am sure we can sort transport if anyone needs help and it would be a special treat to ourselves before Christmas. Have a think and let me know whether you want to do something different. I can sort the booking and we're A for away.
It was lovely meeting up last time and checking in at our various stages of treatment. I have my next oncology appt today, third session of Cap C starting today. Contrast scan on 3rd Dec, let's hope it's working although the nausea is awful but hopefully it's doing the trick. I would love it to stabilise like it did for you Nicky, another year of stability would br brilliant. Hope you can all think about our Christmas treat, lunch service starts at 12.30pm but the seem not to be pushy about getting you out. Have a lovely week. Much love from Southsea. Love Michele xx

[nicky08]

Hi ladies

It was lovely to meet up with Michele, beanbob and Jacqui on Friday, sorry that Helen and Mara couldn't make it.  We had a good old natter and catch up on what's been happening with each other so it would be nice if we can get another date sorted, maybe before Christmas?  I will check my diary - for timings of chemo rather than 'normal' social activities - and come up with a suggested date or two for some or most of us.

Helen - I hope you are coping OK with your first round of chemo and if you are at all able to make one of our dates we can make it nearer Southampton, but I do know how this may not happen until chemo is over and done with.

Kirsti - hope you are doing OK as well.

Hi to everyone I have missed off - hoping you are all coping as well as can be expected whatever that might be.

Nicky x

[helen44]

Hi,
Really sorry but I can't make tomorrow. Just had my first docetaxol -seem to be ok at the moment but feel it would be a struggle to move myself from the Isle of Wight.
Have a good meet up and all the best with treatments everyone.
Love Helen xx

[MaraUk]

Hi Nicky
Unfortunately I can't make it this time. Sorry to miss you all Mara x

[nicky08]

Hi ladies
I have reserved a table for 5 at 1pm tomorrow under the name of 'Nicky' at Tiffin Tearooms, Alresford.
Look forward to seeing as many of us that can make it.
X

[nicky08]

Hi Sarah

It would be lovely if you can join us some time, I know you've had a rough time recently so all the best until we do meet up with you.

I'll check whether we have a booking for Tiffins in case Jacqui has done it and post again today.  Watch this space. Hopefully though we are still all around to meet at 1pm tomorrow in Alresford which is the plan.

Nicky x

[SP0]

Hello all (even though I've only met a few...)

Just wanted to send my best wishes to all in the Hampshire group.  I've had a year of 'pretending' I don't have cancer as I've returned to work after treatment.  It's been hard to sustain, although treatment progress has, so far, been good.

I check in once in a while.  Nicky, I had Docetaxol + Carboplatin + Herceptin (was 3 weeks too early for Perjeta!) and whilst not pleasant, it was very effective.

It looks like I might move to part-time working in the new year and hope then to be able to join you all for regular meets. 

Best wishes all... Sarah.x

[swanie]

Hi Nicky

I am planning to turn out and see you all. I will see what I cando about a table.

'till then all the best Jacquix

[nicky08]

Hi ladies
My head is still very fuzzy from coming off the steroids so I haven't yet got organised with an actual booking for Friday - I don't quite trust myself to make a sensible phone call! However as there are a few of us around on Friday shall we say 1pm at Tiffins in Alresford? I will call tomorrow and see if we can get a table for 4/5 set aside. I will post again tomorrow to confirm, hope that we can all meet up. Nicky x

[Michele1957]

Hi guys, I too am on my steroid high, hence on the forum at 2.30am. I will be there on 7th, it'll be so good to catch up after a bit of a break. See you next week. Have a good weekend. Much love Michele xx

[MaraUk]

Nicky I should be ok for Friday x

[nicky08]

Hi

7th November is OK with me still as I have my chemo today so that will be the first Friday I will be feeling 'normal'!  So far there is only beanbob and me, anyone else able to join us?  Jacqui, if you are feeling better will you be able to make it to Tiffins if we make the meeting place there? I wil confirm time and place by Weds of next week if that is OK with everyone once I see who has replied.

Have a good weekend, I'll be on my steroid high!

Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Hi Jacqui
So good to hear from you I bet you do feel wiped out so don't over do it. Hope to meet up again. When Your feeling ok Karen x

[swanie]

hi,

sorry to have been a bit low profile lately.  the whr has wiped me out a bit and still tending to sleep for england but i think i am finally pulling through that phase.

hope everyone else is keeping as well as expected - i will try and catch up with you at a meet sooner rather and later.

take care - cheers jacquix

[beanbob]

I am putting 7th Nov in diary now.  

thank you Nicky for organising that.  enjoy your afternoon with OH and hope next cycle is bearable too

sorry Kirsty to hear about hospital and the need for a change in treatment, good luck with that. 

and helen, isle of wighter, i am keen to meet you some day; i go to IOW regularly

beanbob x

[nicky08]

Hi Kirsti

Unfortunately your email has been deleted as the forum doesn't allow them to be shared on the open forum.  However if you want to send your email details to me you can do it in a PM (private message). I can then pass on the email addresses that we gave to Jacqui earlier in the year from whoever was there.  I have luckily founf her email so will also send it onto Michele who wanted it.  Sorry to hear that you had to go into hospital and that Cape isn't doing it's job  , I hope you have a good appontment with your onc next week and get a plan in place.  Cape stopped working for me after about 18 months when a new liver met was found on a CT scan.  I started docetaxol with Herceptin and Perjeta in August so I'm hoping that it is doing it's job, which I should find out at my next onc appointmetn when I get my CT results, yikes.  I will PM you anyway which should turn up in your inbox or possibly your junk/spam box.

As it is ladies, I can no longer make this Friday to meet up with anyone as OH has decided to take some time off work and for us to go out as it's one of my 'good' weeks in between chemo's.

As we are struggling to get a date organised that suits us I'm going for Friday 7th Nov as the next date. Let's see who can make it and then we'll sort a place.  Add to this thread and we'll go from there.

Take care all

Nicky x

[Kirsti]

My email is ************** and I would love to hear from anyone. Hugs being sent xxxx

[Kirsti]

Hi everyone
I know I have not been in touch for a very long time so hello hello to you all. I had a great September spending two weeks on the Greek Islands and 10 nights in Turkey, followed by a caravaning break with my little doggie in the new forest. However I've now had a blip as was admitted to hospital overnight on Saturday with terrible pain. It would seem my liver is enlarged due to the mets partying in there and that the Capicetabine has not worked for me. I see the onc next Tuesday to discuss options. Please get in touch with me via email if you would like, I would love to know how you are all getting along, especially Valia, I hope you are ok my friend. Love to you all Kirstie xxxxx

[helen44]

Hi everyone,

Apologies but I cannot make October dates - am going to Portugal on 24th before starting docetaxol on 4 Nov. Really hope to see you all at some point soon. Best of luck with your treatments.

Love Helen x (the Isle of Wighter!)

[nicky08]

Sorry, I have been a complete numbskull but blame it on the chemo and/or too many appointments at the moment.  I had forgotten that I have to have my denosumab injection on Thursday afternoon, plus having to be in until 11 for an arranged visit, so will not be going anywhere other than the hospital, and it will be too much of a rush to get back from Alresford in time. 

I don't think I can now make the 30th as I have an oncology appointment in the morning and need to get a few things organised in the afternoon reaady for chemo the next morning.

So that does leave us with this Friday, 24th, which beanbob can also do.  Is anyone else around?  Or shall the two of us meet? Or set a date for early November when more of us might be around? Decisions, decisions!  I think Jacqui did a great job getting us organised over the last year or so, let's hope we can continue.  Any dates and venues we do agree on, or the majority, I will let her know in case she's not using the forum at the moment so hasn't seen this.

Nicky x

[beanbob]

hello lovely friends - hope all is well as can be and sending you lots of hugs. i can meet on 24th anywhere (from about 1.30 since i am having another of my regular reflexology sessions so, if i do see you, expect me to be floating on a cloud like that last time!) but not on 30th.  best wishes to all, beanbob xxx

[Michele1957]

Hi girlies, I can only do 30th due to other commitments. It would be great to catch up. I am easy as to venue, if Alresford is better for Jacqui then let's do Tiffins. Speak soon , have a good week one and all. Much love Michele

[nicky08]

Hi Mara, maybe we should meet on Thursday then in Alresford as per usual and I will see if anyone else joins us? I will get back in touch with Jacqui to see if she can make it as well. Shall we say 1pm, or is a different time better for you? Good luck for your results, I expect you are anxious, we all get that way, but fingers crossed they are good.
Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Hi Nicky
I can manage Thursday but not Friday also Alresford is fine for me. Hope you are ok with your treatment. I have my scan results on Monday trying at the moment to pretend it's not happening. So scary after all this time Mara

[nicky08]

Hi all Hants ladies
It has been very quiet on here recently, it would be lovely to know how you are all doing and maybe get to meet up again?
As I've had to fit around my treatment I've not been able to plan ahead but wondering if we can sort anything out for next Friday, 24th, or possibly the following Thursday, 30th? (I can't make the 31st due to chemo) I'm suggesting Winchester as a central point but if it's easy to go to Alresford, particularly for Jacqui, then we can meet there? Please reply ASAP so we can sort out something soon as I think we have all enjoyed meeting up and it's been a while.
Take care lovely ladies
Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Hi Michelle Nicky and everyone.
sorry Nicky I can't make the 17th I am In the middle of scans and that date clashes. Would love to meet up on another date Winchester is best for me. Hedge end is more difficult. Take care Mara

[nicky08]

Hi Michele
Thanks for your suggestion of a meeting place but unfortunately I won't be able to make it as I have a CT scan early afternoon that day 😞 Otherwise I would have loved to have come along and met up with whoever was there. See what response you get and either go with that date or we can come with another?
As to Capecitabine I was on it for 18 months so do ask me anything you'd like, either by email, on the list that Jacqui sent out, or a PM so we don't clog this meet up part with medical stuff! I'm also happy to have a chat over the phone if you'd like if we're not able to meet up soon. I'll say it is very doable but I found I needed a couple of cycles to really settle in with it and not get any side effects other than the hand and feet getting very dry, but there are things you can do to help that. It is a very effective chemo with many ladies on it, there is a thread in the Treatments section of the Secondary BC part of the forum which shows quite how many are on it and you can stay on it for as long as it works. Anyway, ask away!
Take care everyone else, I am back to being poisoned this Friday so not around that day but happy to meet up any other time, or I will sort a date out once I'm through this one.
Nicky xx

[Michele1957]

Hi Ladies.
Sorry to read of your recent dips with treatment etc. I do hope you are coping OK ?
I had and MRI scan recently on my spine and had my follow up with my not so helpful oncologist on Wednesday. The spine shows more advance on the spine, which explains the pain recently. After much discussion or should it be called begging, she advised I go on to Capcitabane (I think that's how it's spelled) I am pretty sure some of you have undergone this type of chemo and wanted to hear your thoughts, how long you were on it and whether it helped you. I am also on a course of steroids - this will help with all my issues such as nausea, lethargy pain etc.
It would be great to catch up soon and I wondered if anyone fancied meeting at the Refectory beside the cathedral on Friday 17th October or alternatively Hedge End M&S on the same day, I will get my daughter to give me a lift. Anyway if any of you are up for that please let me know.
A candle is lit for you on my weekly visit to mass at the Cathedral and you are all in my thoughts. Do take care.
A virtual hug and much love
Michele

[nicky08]

Hi ladies

Sorry to hear about the infection, Jacqui, I'm sure it was something you really didn't need.  Hopefully the side effects, other than hair loss, arent too bad from the rads.

I am doing Ok on the chemo but it hits you at the low wbc point so I seem to have a dip in the middle of the cycle, something I'm expecting to happen this time around as well which it has made it a bit difficult to try to organise a meeting.  I had hoped to arrange some dates instead of Jacqui having to do it but have been on my learning curve about the side effects!  If you (Jacqui) are not up to sorting out a date and venue I am happy to take it on but probably wont be around next week or the following one.  After that I'm back on the chemo on the Friday so wouldn't be able to make that day either, however, if anyone is interested I don't mind making it a day other than a Friday?

Maybe a meeting more centrally in Winchester would be useful as we've not met up there for a while?

If anyone who is around the week of 6th October, possibly the Thursday, wants to reply then we could see about setting a time and place?

Hope everyone is keeping well whatever your circumstances.

Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Hi Jacqui sorry to hear your caught an infection on top of everything else. I am unsure of my dates during October up until the 20th I am waiting to hear dates for my scans. Then who knows. Nicky I hope you are feeling ok with your treatment. Hello to all the other ladies hope you are doing ok.
Mara x

[swanie]

HI Ladies - it was nice to see you.  Apologies for total blankness. seemed to go through a strange phase where people spoke to me but I could not understand what they were talking about - it was like being in the early stages of alzhiemers.

Finished radiotherapy treat and have just escaped Southampton Hospital. Picked up a chest infection so had 10days of i.v. antibiotics.  seem to be wanting to sleep for England. Apparently this is standard.  hair is dropping out all over the place so getting fitted for a wig tomorrow.

I will try to pull somethig together soonish. Or maybe someone else would care to do it.

Hope the chemo is being kind to you Nicky and everyone else is as well as can be expcected.

cheers Jacquix

[nicky08]

That's great news Beanbob and I hope it serves you well. Don't blame you for getting the C word out of your life for a while 🙂
Nicky x

[beanbob]

Girls, so sorry to miss the last meet up and not check in on the forum. Selfishly, I have been feeling so well on the new drug, anastrozole ( that I was just about to start when I saw you) , that I have been zooming around. Forgot about C for a while. But I know many of you, Jacqui, Nicky, and others are facing challenges so I am thinking of you, special friends, wishing you well, love beanbob xx

[MaraUk]

Nicky It was great you managed to get there.Thanks for your help about different hospitals etc I emailed Jacqui a thank you but just in case thank you again Jacqui
Mara x

[nicky08]

Hi Helen

It was lovely to meet you as well.  I was glad I was able to make it, having not felt too rough after my chemo, as I know it's difficult for you to get to out regular meet ups. A very long day for you so I hope you had a relaxing evening.

Hi also to Mara and Jacqui - lovely to see you both as well and good luck with scans/results/treatments that are coming up.

Take care

Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Hi Helen it was great to meet you yesterday. You must have been tired out after your long trip. Hope to see you next time x

[helen44]

Hi to Jacqui, Nicky & Karen.
Thanks for making me welcome yesterday at the meet up. It was lovely to put faces to names and learn more about you all. The lemon cake was beautiful.
I wish you all the best with your treatments and hope to see you again soon.
Got home at 6.15! !
Love Helen xx

[Michele1957]

Hi ladies
Sorry it's been a while since my last contact. Just feeling shattered and a bit low. Think I need an oil change or service! Mind you it's nothing compared to you Jacqui and Nicky. I do hope you're keeping strong. My thoughts and prayers are with you guys. I am sorry to say I cannot make it tomorrow, nothing medical just a previous engagement. Helen, I live in Southsea and any other time I can collect you so just ask. I hope your new friend manages to come Mara, the more the merrier as has been said. See you all next time, keep strong my angels. Much love to you all xx. Michele

[MaraUk]

Sorry your not going to be there Nicky see you next time x

[nicky08]

Hi ladies
Sorry I can't be there tomorrow, it would have been nice to have met you Helen. However I start my chemo today, having had a day of Herceptin and Perjeta yesterday so will be in no fit state to enjoy it 😞
Hope to meet up another time, treatment schedule allowing.
Nicky x

[MaraUk]

Looking forward to meeting you x

[helen44]

Hi

I am hoping to come on the train tomorrow! See you at 1pm.

Helen x

[MaraUk]

Hi Helen

Not sure who is your way I do hope you manage to get here would love to meet you. I am unfortunately way up north in Andover Mara. x

[helen44]

Hi everyone

Noticed that you were all meeting on Friday 29th August at Tiffins - I don't suppose that there is anyone coming from Southampton area who could pick me up from the Red Funnel terminal @ Southampton please? I am on the Isle of Wight, work in a school so can't normally make your meet-up but I am off on Friday & would really like to come along. If you can help let me know & we can fix a time etc.

Many thanks, Helen x

[nicky08]

Hi ladies
I'm just back from my onc appointment and I'm now not starting chemo until next week. This is down to needing a new drug that we've had to apply to the Cancer Drug Fund for and needs to be administered slightly differently to normal chemo and Herceptin. So, unfortunately I won't be around next Friday. I'll miss seeing you all, and Jacqui diving into her ice cream float 😉
Take care all and hope to see you all next time.
Nicky x

[swanie]

I have dates - get my mask fitted next Tuesday and start the following week - so should be OK to meet on Friday.  Looking forward to my devilishly unhealthy - teenage throwback - the Cocacola Icecream Float!!

Cheers Jacqui

[MaraUk]

I hope to bring her she's really new to all this so could do with support take care Jacqui

[swanie]

Excellent - the more the merrier. 

Still waiting to start WHR. so hope to be there.

All the best  - love Jacqui

[MaraUk]

Hello everyone. I have met a new lady from our area if she agrees can I bring her along. Take care Mara