Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hello ladies I haven't been on this thread for a year, so I am a little out of the loop with everyone's lives post chemo. However, I can see that Wildpearl has had a really tough year. My thoughts are with you at this very difficult time. Rosie, I can see you are still recovering from some surgery. What did you have done? Hopefully, a reconstruction and not anything more sinister. i have just returned from my annual check up and all seems to be ok so far, phew! Life moves on at an alarming pace for me. My DS1 who was about to go to boarding school when I was on chemo is now doing his GCSEs and will be in the 6th form in September. Where did those 3 years go?  Meanwhile my younger son is now ready to go to boarding school too. He is going to a different school to his brother, so from September onwards the house will be very quiet. I feel like a travel agent as I sort out all their flights to and fro. Annoyingly, their term dates are a week adrift for the first term, so we will be constantly driving to the airport to collect or drop one of them.  Hope that you are well and emotionally moving on from 2014.   ... View more

Good afternoon ladies. It's been ages since I've been on this forum. I think I am trying to mentally move on from  2014, however, it was this week 2 years ago that I went for my first screening mammogram and the rest is history! It's great to see you are all still in touch and getting on with your lives. Life is pretty good for me at the moment. We are traveling to the uk this weekend to see my older son as he has an exeat weekend from school and then I am taking younger son for his assessment for entrance to another school on Monday. Hoping to see my mum on Saturday as the boys haven't seen her for ages but she has a terrible cold and so we may have to cancel. My hair is still very thin, almost bald on the crown of my head! My hair dresser assures me it is coming back slowly, but I'm not convinced. But other than that I'm fine, and being alive is more important than hair. Hope you are all well and enjoying life. ... View more

Hi ladies At last I have a peaceful moment to write something on this thread. I still have the boys home from school until tomorrow. There are currently 6 boys bouncing on our trampoline, it has gone from being very noisy to very quiet so I may have to go and investigate what they are up to in a minute. Always worries me when it goes quiet. We've had quite a busy few weeks. Older son has been on a sports course for a week and then we all went to the UK to take younger son on a music course. The concert at the end was amazing. Then back home and then last weekend in London to go to the theatre for ES's birthday and to see friends. Have to admit I can't wait till Wednesday when I can resume a more normal existence. Cassie, I hope your daughter sorts herself out soon, you must be having to bite your tongue big time. Rosie, hope your appointment goes well tomorrow. Wildpurl, glad you're on the mend and drain free. Joan and Lovewine I hope you are not working too hard. Jackie, I'm thinking of you. I had an echo last week and all still seems to be ok. Only have 3 more herceptins to go. It will feel very strange when I don't have to go to the oncology unit every 3 weeks after a year of visits. My hair is still pathetic. Still very thin on top, but I've given up caring, mostly. I'm afraid I won't be able to meet you in July as my sisters and her family are visiting us over that weekend. ... View more

Dog was seriously out of favour on Friday. I was walking her on the lead. She caught sight of a duck and took off with me attached. I now have a large bruise and graze on my knee, grazed hands and a sore shoulder. Hope I will manage lying on my tummy tomorrow morning for the scan! ... View more

Morning everyone, Rosie, I hope your husband is on the mend today. Has he gone to work or is he staying away incase he infects everyone at school? I think it's probably a blessing in disguise that your surgery has been postponed until after your cruise. It would have been awful if you had a problem after the surgery and then you couldn't go on the cruise. Lovewine, most impressed with your decorating. I quite like painting. I find it satisfying as you get very quick results from you efforts. Glad the new washing machine is working hard. Joan, hope you got some gardening done this weekend and your meetings this week are not too taxing. I know what you mean about getting your head around things. I seem to be quite forgetful which is slightly distressing. Cassie, glad you had the all clear and I hope your daughter is coping after her breakup. Is she settling in to her new life ok? Wild purl, hope you had a fabulous weekend and are not too exhausted for your week at work. I'm having an MRI tomorrow as an annual follow up. Just want to get it over with and hopefully get on with my life. Not sure when I will get results but hopefully within 24hrs as I know the radiologist who will be reporting it. Let's hope it's good news, otherwise it makes it a very tricky conversation for him and cr*p for me and my family. In the meantime I have another friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. We are now a gang of 4, it's like a plague! ... View more

Morning ladies, sorry I seem to have gone to ground. I am still reading this thread regularly, but haven't got much to report. My older son is home for half term. He was so tired and pale at the end of last week, he really needed a break. We will put him on the flight back to the UK on Sunday afternoon, the week has zoomed past. It's younger sons delayed birthday party tomorrow. He is sharing it with a friend and they have invited their friends to do junior paint balling. I've just checked the weather forecast and I think we are going to be rather cold and wet at the end. The kids will have a great time, whilst the other mummy and I will be frozen! Hope everyone else has had a good week. Cassie, I can't believe the delay in your biopsy. ... View more

Lovewine, I certainly can remember Rosie and Jim. My sons loved it too. Older son was Thomas obsessed. He would watch back to back videos whilst I was feeding younger son, even went on a Thomas day out on the Bluebell Railway once. Life moves on and it's FIFA on the xbox and listening to youtube videos now! Really looking forward to seeing him in his play. I've just seen a few photos on a facebook page and it looks great. His school has a proper theatre so hopefully it's going to look quite professional. Dog ownership has been interesting this week. Earlier in the week she caught a very large bunny and then today to my horror she caught a chicken. Fortunately, the chicken survived it's ordeal. I was unimpressed with the dog. Not quite sure what I would gphave done if she had killed the chicken. She has now gone to the lady who is looking after her for the weekend, so the house feels rather empty. ... View more

Morning ladies, another week has gone by and another herceptin done (number 12), so on the home straight now. Rosie, I hope you are feeling less sore and infection has cleared up now. Am I right in thinking you can have your reconstruction anytime? If so, maybe it would be better to have your surgery after your cruise to guarantee you do not have any hiccups that could ruin your cruise. Hope the sun is shining for you today. I've managed to keep our log burner going since Sunday, which has involved several wheelbarrows of logs to be shifted. Husband has been away all week so I was the labourer. He is returning tonight and then tomorrow we are travelling to the UK to watch my son in his house play, back Sunday night. I spent the morning of the Cancer Day at the hospital. I had herceptin first and then went to help on the stand of the children's cancer charity I help. Always find it interesting who makes donations. It's the people who look like they can least afford it! Hope everyone is feeling good and has a good weekend despite the freezing temperatures. ... View more

Morning ladies, I'm sorry that I seem to have disappeared into the ether but I have been quite busy and preoccupied. Last week I took my younger son to the UK for his secondary school interview and then collected the older one and brought him home for the weekend. On top of that I am really worrying about part of my extended family who are going through the most horrific domestic crisis. The lovely new dog is providing some sollice (?sp). She is really well behaved and making me get out and walk everyday. She goes absolutely bonkers chasing pheasants in the fields! Next week my husband is going away to the same conference he attended this time last year when I went for my mammogram. Both of us are feeling a wobbly! My hair is making slow but steady progress. It is still very thin and sparse on top but the sides almost need a cut. Rosie, I can't believe what you have been going through both you and your husband must be so fed up with the continual round of medical appointments. I hope everyone else has a good day. Dashing out now to walk the dog in the pouring rain and then going to a meeting for the charity I help out with. ... View more

Morning ladies, Sorry to hear about the January blues. I can empathise with you all. I keep trying to convince myself that it is at least getting lighter in the mornings and evenings. Although, on a cloudy day like today it is hard to believe that it is lighter than the end of December. I'm trying to lose weight too. I'm hoping that the dog walks I am now doing will help burn off some calories. Our new dog is 3 years old and half spaniel and half collie. She is very well behaved. I had an echo yesterday, all well thank God. More herceptin today. No snow here so far, thank goodness. If the smallest amount of snow settles here it is absolute chaos. We have a lot of short sharp hills and no snow ploughs, so cars get stuck and then have to wait for a tractor to tow them up the hill! The wind is going to be so strong today that even the freight ferry has been cancelled so I better get to the supermarket before the shelves empty. ... View more

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good day. I'm just getting everything back to normal now the boys are back at school. Elder son went back to the UK Tuesday and younger one started back at school on Wednesday. Husband and I went to collect our new dog from our friends. She is coming to live with us as they are finding it too much with a toddler and baby on the way. I'm not a particularly doggy person but have to admit she is a lovely dog. I had a tough introduction to dog ownership yesterday when I had to take her for a walk in the pouring rain. On the up side I'm hoping all the walking will help me shift a few pounds as my trousers are definitely at full stretch. Rosie, I can't believe what bad luck you have had with your expanders. I bet you can't wait to get on with the reconstructive surgery and get it all over with. I hope the herceptin is not giving you any grief. I had a look at you photo from December. I'm very jealous of your hair. Mine is still a long way off that. The weather here today is probably warmer than Cyprus, but I'm sure it will tip in your favour soon. Joan, I hope the grandchildren are not exhausting you too much. Wildpurl, enjoy your Friday off work. Have you any news on the potential new job yet? Lovewine, how is your son getting on with his new job and accommodation? Wishing you all a relaxing weekend. ... View more

Wow Joan fabulous news, congratulations. Do you know yet when you will be going to the palace? Does that mean you will get an invite to one of the summer garden parties as well? Hope everybody has a good New Years eve. DH and I went to town today and I bought a long waterproof coat in preparation for dog walking. We are hoping to get her next week. Tonight we are taking the boys to a friend's house for supper. There will be three families, we are all bringing something to eat. I was given the task of bringing canepes. I had good intentions of making them but I have to admit that I decided it was too fiddly, so went to Cook with my vouchers and bought some. All you have to do is bung them in the oven from the freezer. We will stay until after midnight and then walk home, fortunately it's quite close by via the country lanes. Hoping the boys will think it is exciting to walk home in the dark. Wishing you all a fun and relaxing new year. I will raise a glass to you all at midnight. Cheers to everyone and here's to a healthy 2015. ... View more

Thinking of you and your family today Rosie. ... View more

Happy Christmas everyone. Aren't we lucky that we all finished chemo long enough ago that we can enjoy our Christmas meals. Hope you all have fantastic days. ... View more

Happy Christmas everyone. And happy anniversary Lovewine, hope your Dad made it home. Good news on the herceptin Rosie. Hopefully will be like me and not find the side effects too bad. I had my 10th one today, bit stingy on the way in then absolutely fine. I quite like visiting to unit once every 3 weeks, it makes me feel like they are keeping an eye on me. I had to cancel my hair appointment today. Still not enough hair to bother with. We are all snugged up, presents under the tree and wood burner going. We are not going mad with the cooking tomorrow. My husband will be on-call tomorrow, the phone is guaranteed to ring just as we sit down to eat! The family vote was for roast beef. So we will be having that and then I have cheated and bought individual sticky toffee puddings and chocolate puddings. The boys are quite excited but no where near as excited as they used to be. I've told them they will have to go to bed at a reasonable time because santa's helper needs to go to bed too. Hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow. Happy Christmas ... View more

Oh Rosie I'm so so sorry to hear that. What can I say other than at least you will be amongst your family very soon. From your posts it sounded as though you were not expecting him to continue on for too long. Perhaps it was for the best. A move to a nursing home would have been a big upheaval for him. Hope your husband will be home soon to comfort you. ... View more

Rolicarpet, love your hair timeline. I'm afraid my hair is where yours was in August/September. You finished your chemo a month before me, but still you are way ahead of me on hair growth. Love your current look, it really suits you. Clearly, everyone is busy with the big Christmas build up. Hope you all enjoy your Christmas parties. Wildpurl, hope the interview goes well, you're sounding quite up beat about the potential new office. We are in Barbados, the people are so friendly and eager to please, it's lovely. Younger son has a bit of a cold so we are taking it easy today. Not looking forward to the flight home on Friday. We will be transiting Gatwick on Saturday morning, which I imagine will be hell just before Christmas. Then back to reality, last minute shopping for Christmas. No doubt the supermarket will be frantic with everybody stocking up as if there is going to be a famine! Hope everybody is having a good day, free from hospital visits. ... View more

Hi everybody, hope everyone is ok. Sorry I have not been in touch for a week or so, but I've been quite busy and it's taken me 2/3 attempts to actually catch up on all the posts. I was feeling very stressed last week when I had to travel to the UK for the day to collect my son and then we were flying straight back the next day to go on holiday. It was over the few days when there was a terrible storm and the wind was really strong. I was terrified my cunning plan was going to go horribly wrong. Ironically everything went according to plan and we managed to miss the air traffic control problems as well. So we are now enjoying our well earned rest in the sunshine. It's very strange seeing Christmas decorations when we are walking around in shorts and t shirts. I hope the Dads are feeling more comfortable. It must be hard trying to plan for Christmas when you don't quite know how the next few days are going to go. ... View more

Morning everyone, Sorry I haven't posted in a while, time is whizzing by as we get nearer to Christmas. Rosie and Lovewine, I hope the Dads have had a good night. I never made it to the school Christmas fair, my son had a terrible sore throat and temperature. He was gutted, missing out on the highlight of the school term and I felt guilty leaving my ladies on the bookstall in the lurch, but couldn't be helped. I've managed to deliver most of my 'thank you' bottles of champagne. Needless to say everyone was very pleased with their surprise gift. Now it's the big countdown to the end of term. I'm going to spend the day in the UK on Thursday collecting my son from school and then we are all off on holiday to the sunshine on Friday for a week. Can't wait to feel the warmth of the sun again. I had my herceptin on Wednesday and my hair is still less than Wayne Rooney on top, although more than Alan Scherer! Not sure I'm going to need my hairdressers appointment on Wednesday, might have to wait until the new year at this rate. Hope you all have a relaxing Sunday, we're off to some friends for lunch which is exactly what we all need, to recover from watching younger son play hockey in the pouring rain. ... View more

Morning ladies, hope everyone is having a good day. I'm trapped in the house waiting on a delivery of champagne. We are going to give it as a thank you to all the local friends who helped us out whilst I was having my chemo, particularly the ones that did lots of taxiing of the children over the summer. Wildpurl, hope the outcome of the interview is good and that your husband's job gets sorted too. Lovewine, hope your Dad has had a good night and is now on the road to recovery. How did the Christmas shopping go Jackie? I'm struggling to get into Christmas too. I really need to get organised as we are going on holiday for the week before Christmas, so everything needs to be ready before we leave. Hope your feeling warm and cosy this morning Cassie. I hate feeling cold. I also have a tight vein in the arm I had my chemo in. If I make a tight fist you can really see it and it looks horrible. Amazingly, since I have started playing tennis again it has loosened a bit, so I hope your physio works for you. Kirstie, I cant believe your stamp duty situation, that's terrible. I'm sure I heard something about this situation on radio 4 once, but I can't remember what the outcome was? I hope you can resolve it. Is it a small enough figure that you could go through the small claims court? Joan, I hope you are not over doing it with the grandchildren. It must be hard work looking after little ones again, but probably very rewarding too. I don't think I'm much older than you, but my own children are still only 13 and 10, so by the time I'm a granny I think I will be too old to be able to help which is a shame. My son had a good weekend and he seems more settled at school, although I think he is pretty exhausted. He's off to play a match against Eton College today, so I'm hoping to speak to him later to hear what he thought. Younger son has recovered from his cold and now has a sore throat again! He can't be ill because I need to help set up the school Christmas fair this afternoon! I spent the whole day at our CLIC Christmas fair on Tuesday selling raffle tickets. I completely ran out of steam at 4pm and came home feeling sooo tired. The chemo has definitely affected my stamina. Did manage a quick bike ride with husband yesterday, in the rain. We must be mad. Rosie, by the time you read this you will have had your last rads. Hooray!!!! Hope your flight is on time and you get to see your Dad tomorrow. ... View more