Breast Cancer Now Forum

Good luck drinkers of the day! Ann I hear you about stuffing doses 5&6. I have only just had number 2... 😞 said to my husband yesterday I'd do 4 but will really be struggling to carry on.... fiona I'm jealous of the smooth legs- I'm still growing toe moustaches here! So unfair! Feel very ugly. OH and daughters keep telling me how lovely I look but I know I look like phil Mitchell and there is no getting away from it. Anyway off into solihull this morning with my young ladies to do a bit of shopping whilst I have the energy. I am not feeling particularly sick any more but have that kind of travel sick feeling where my eyes can't seem to keep up with the room, if you know what I mean? Quite disorientating, and makes typing, watching TV etc unpleasant. Need to go and get a present for OH as it's our 15th anniversary on Thursday...crystal, apparently (I'd have thought you'd get more for 15 years!!!). Hope to hear good news from missing jewels soon, hello and hugs to you all if you are reading but not posting 🙂 xxx Jackie ... View more

Hi everyone Glad to hear you are having a good time Cress, we need to make the most of them when we get them! Same for you Fiona, sales shopping, lovely 🙂 and Chelle hope you are feeling a bit better? Well I feel slightly better today, went to my brother's where my sister in law had made afternoon tea with a cheeky glass of cava to celebrate their 5th anniversary, it was lovely and I actually think a glass of wine helped my se's! I'll let the onc know for next cycle, see if I can get cava on prescription 😉 My nephew was under the weather which was a shame but reminded me how lucky I am that my kids are older rather than younger!! We've also had a chinese takeaway tonight beacuse I can't taste anything unless its loaded with salt and MSG. I will be the size of a house soon. Early night for me. Sleep well jewels x ... View more

Hi all Just a quick one from the steroid crash sofa. Joan, glad you are feeling a bit more positive today, and great to read all the positive stories from everyone else. Ann if you are getting a hard bit on your vein could be the start of some cording? Might be worth mentioning to the team if it continues as I think they can show you some massage etc to help. Well today all the meds are stopped, feeling really tired and have a disgusting mouth despite thrush treatment. At least having been here before I know this wont last forever, but still a bit grumpy. OH has taken afternoon off to take kids out so I can sleep. Blue sky outside and I am on the sofa under a blanket cuddling my dog. Hoping things pick up tomorrow as I want to see my nephew (18 months and such a happy little soul, always good for cheering me up). Love to all Jackie ... View more

Thinking of you Joan, not the news hoped for. But maybe Docetaxel will do it for you, instead. I'm sure even if the AC has not had a significant effect on your tumour it will at least have given the rest of your body a clear out. xxx ... View more

Sandra- here's a link, though ours were not quite as beautiful as these. We used finger rich tea biscuits and mikado sticks for heels. Great fun. http://www.howdoesshe.com/high-heel-cupcakes-oooh-la-la/ i was right, the hand massage was lovely, lots of energy but very brief, 10 year olds don't make masseurs with staying power 😉 ... View more

Good luck Venice (Gill) I'm sure you will cope well and look back on this period as a blip in a hopefully cancer free future. You might be able to see my profile pic though its perhaps not clear that I am on a speedboat in my headscarf with my youngest daughter - this was taken last week, just before dose number 2 🙂 just to give you perspective that you won't necessarily be lying on the sofa feeling awful for the next 18 weeks. Plan good things for week 3 of each cycle so you have stuff to look forward to, and take each day as it comes. X ... View more

Art, I can already tell that your partner has struck gold in you and that she will be well supported if the worst outcome occurs. If she does need treatment, it is always worth asking the team if you can delay until after something as important as a wedding and honeymoon. Often, these tumours have been growing for years, and they are happy to wait an extra couple of weeks for treatment to begin. I delayed my surgery for 2 weeks so we could do a long planned 40th birthday celebration in New York - and it was a great decision. I hope things work out for you in the best way- in that she gets the all clear, but if not, there is good prognosis for most women and lots of support and guidance for her, and for you. You'll get through this, stronger and knowing each other even better than you do now. Good luck x ... View more

You aren't a moaner. You arent a drama queen. You are a person whose been told that she likely has, but may not have, cancer. I agree with everyone above that waiting is the worst. Obviously a negative biopsy is what you are hoping for. But even if it is cancer, I think you'll find it a relief just to know one way or the other. It was certainly that way for me. And prognosis these days is generally very good. And this site is a great place for advice, and venting all your feelings. You will always find someone on here who has been through what you are going through and that's invaluable. Keep hopeful, whatever the outcome xxx ... View more

Venice I was same position as you but even with a grade 2 tumour I chose to do chemo as I'm 40 with youngish kids and I want to take the additional 3% chance of being here in 10 years that chemo will give me. I did not want to look back with regret. I've done 2/6 of mY FEC doses. First was hard as I was a little sick but within a week just tired and by week 3 feeling well. This time, much better as they altered my anitsickness meds. It's definitely doable and I felt it would stop me worrying so much about every ache and pain that comes up in the future. good luck with your decision. ... View more

chelle glad you are feeling a bit better. Tee hee Marion a sloth on Prozac is a great analogy for chemo fatigue! Good to hear from you Deedee. Cassie I've not got as far as that yet but have heard others who've been offered it. I would take it like a shot as I think that after surgery and chemo the radio is really a final crossing of t's anof dotting of i's - so would be very I willing to get treatment finished sooner. I also think if you are in a trial they pay good attention to your follow up scans & checks, too. You might even get more frequent checks or be followed for longer. Well I'm day 3 post fec 2 and doing well this time so far. Emend seems to have done the trick for me, though first night was still sick, after that has been ok. Feel slightly better in other areas as a result I think, though did have a sleepless night from abut 4 this morning but I'll take that over sickness any day. Thank god for steroids as OH is at work today so have the kids to entertain and so far today I've dusted the house, decoupaged a dog with YD (FYI just a cardboard blog, not our pet...!) and made 12 cup cake shoes with both daughters. Now they are watching a film and my youngest is offering me a hand massage (which will be lovely but short) so must dash. Hope those at bar today are ok. Jackie xx ... View more

Evening all. Back from the bar, it was a long one, struggled to get a vein and then struggled to get the C of the FEC in the vein. Apparently my blood pressure was very low and also my ALT liver function test is still elevated- anyone else had this? Obviously will ask onc about it next time I see her but this combined with the pain in my side is making me worried... Anyway will be off to bed soon, swimming head but so far emend seems to be keeping sickness at bay. Fingers crossed it stays like that, but we will see. Love to all, jackie ... View more

Ah Cress didn't mean to make anyone cry! I hope you are feeling a bit better now? Sorry you didn't get to Wales. My daughter says of course you can copy her poem, as long as you tell people it is 'by Florence Jenkins age 10'!! Re: things living in your headscarf, my kids keep joking that they need to check for Voldemort's face in the back of mine (this will only make sense to Harry Potter fans). ... View more

OH Katherine that sounds awful. I hope things improve for next cycle. I thought I'd share with all of you a poem my 10 year old daughter wrote for me. Hope Hope is the colour of very light yellow, It tastes like pink strawberry bon bons And smells like freshly picked snowdrops. Hope looks like a teeny tiny white butterfly, If you listen you’ll hear sweet singing, The feeling of hope is warming. ... View more

Thought I'd post a picture of me (and the edge of my YD) on a boat in falmouth - before we were going so fast that both of us had to hold my headscarf on. 🙂 ... View more

Aw Trish, great to hear from you but so sorry to hear about all your problems. It must be incredibly hard to deal with. My Dad is under the care of Moorfields (for retinitis pigmentosa) and the care he has had there has been great but I imagine it gets difficult when there are multiple care teams involved. They all need to speak to each other. I can completely understand that your mobility and vision is your priority; you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, as they say. In the experience of a friend of mine, whose condition meant she needed an endocrinologist, neurologist and opthalmologist, she picked the person she liked best and asked them to write to the others and manage her case for her. Things worked a bit better after one of the medics 'took charge' and coordinated her care between teams, so might be worth a try. Tried to make the font of this message bigger and in bold but it seems the font size is fixed on this site, sorry xxx ... View more

Hi everyone. Back home with a bump - literally- got on the scales to reveal that I gained 7lb in a week. A pound a day! That's what you get when trying to choose between a pasty and a cream tea and deciding that both would be a good idea, for seven days in a row. Still hopefully I won't be eating much next week if I get to have my chemo. Have been for my blood test this afternoon and am keeping everything crossed that I have enough WB cells for it to go ahead. So Joan, even though you may have 8 cycles, the fact that I'm still only waiting for my second means i will still be here, probably long after you if I carry on this way. Sorry to hear some of you are having a tough time. its such a rollercoaster isn't it. Sometimes I feel I can cope with any of this.Some days the slightest ache or cancelled trivial plan has me in tears. And the worst of it is I never really know how I am going to feel on any particular day. Well my ache in my side is still there but the chemo unit don't seem too concerned so fingers crossed its just my liver dealing with 7x pasties+ cream teas. So many jewels MIA, its worrying when they are people who used to post often. Hope all are ok. Jackie x ... View more

Morning all, our last day in Cornwall today and the sun is shining but a lovely breeze. I'm hoping that the cream teas and wine have helped the WBC count- blood tests tomorrow. If they are still low I'll be gutted. I've avoided infection (touch wood and disinfect hands straight afterwards!) but have a real ache in my right side (worried its my liver as the blood tests also showed some probs with liver function too...). Hopefully chemo will still go ahead on Monday. Jill, what an awful thing to happen. My dog is like my 3rd child. The dog who attacked yours should be destroyed and the owner prosecuted. I do hope your dog is ok. Welcome back Agnes 🙂 Anyway, beach is calling. Hope everyone is as well as possible. Looking forward to catching up properly soon. jackie ... View more

Hello all just a quick post from (not so sunny) Cornwall. Having a great time, taking my temperature regularly to check im not infected, but otherwise having a pretty cancer free week. Had a family reunion at Falmouth hotel and wore my wig - no one knew it was a wig (or they were being polite). It's been much cooler today and even a bit of drizzle which I never thought I'd be pleased to see! Another family do this lunchtime and we went out on my OH cousin's speedboat, had me and my 10 year old holding on to my bandana for dear life, hilarious and really great fun. Now just chilling, trying out my chemo nurses's cure for low blood count- a nice glass of wine. Love to all you jewels, got a bit depressed when I saw I'm the only one on the list still to do cycle 2... Fingers crossed I can do it on Monday or I'll have to join the July group instead! Hope you are all ok, Jackie ... View more

Morning all- just a quick one as we are about to hit the road to Cornwall- trying to focus on the benefits of travelling without being a day after a chemo dose rather than the risks of infection! My chemo nurse rang to say that they will fit me in on the Monday after we get back from hols (29th) so that we can have a full week down there, and that the best thing I can do for low white blood cells is to drink wine and eat cream teas. What a lovely woman. Chelle, glad to see you back and hope you are doing ok. I might not get to post regularly depending on wifi in the cottage - so if I don't 'speak' to you for a while don't worry about me and I wish you all as good a week as possible. Jackie x ... View more

Oh Chelle I am sorry to hear that. I hope you are alright. Lottie- I think some people are advised to follow a 'pregnancy' style diet but I haven't avoided anything- but after FEC just wanted plain foods like pasta etc and also lots of salt & vinegar crisps! Anyway dont take my advice because I clearly have been doing something wrong- just had a call to say no chemo for me today. Neutrophils 0.4. I am really upset as I feel well and it was totally unexpected. We are due to go on holiday tomorrow, to Cornwall. Trying to look on bright side that at least I wont feel nauseous down there, but looks like we will have to come back early and I am panicking about catching something and falling properly ill...Waiting for chemo nurses to call me back with a new date. So frustrating. :-( 😞 😞 Hope everyone else at the bar today feel ok ... View more