General Chat

Hi Helen, sorry to hear you have skin cancer again.
Could you advertise that you are wanting to get a support group going, maybe in your local shops.

You could perhaps have a coffee afternoon and chat with anyone who has had or is suffering from any kind of cancer.

Sometimes it is easier to talk to people outside the family about things we dont want to keep upsetting our family with.

I have had cancer 4 times, but not the same as you have. There are lots of us on here who talk to each other and it does help, so you are aways welcome to have a good rant or ask how other people cope etc.

take care sylvia x

will add in a bit xx hope we can help helen xx

Hello All,

Well just had my blood test this morning in preparation for my next appt at the specialist. My next appt is on March 17. It will take nearly that long to get back the results from this mornings test.

The levels had gone down on my last test 3 mths ago so am hoping that they have dropped further on this test.

Hopefully will be able to get some imodium on prescription as that will make it cheaper for me. Feels like i am constantly in the little room and have been having a lot of bleeding from the straining etc. I seem to be taking imodium a lot lately. I have been a bit worried about the bleeding. Did discuss it with the gp at my last appt but didn't seem to get much sense out of him. At least it does stop and is not constant otherwise I would be really worried. Hopefully the specialist can do something for me. Anyone else experience this?

Beautiful blue sky here this morning. A lovely day for being at home rather than at work. Supposed to be a lovely weekend here (weather wise). OH wants to go fishing, I might go with him as long as he snaps out of his cranky mood that he was in this morning.

Hope you have all had a great day.

Annie
xxxxxx

hello annie, glad that you are ok and that your levels are still going down.thats great news.
when my daughter was in hospital getting chemo, she was permanently on imodium as part of her daily drugs as she also spent hours in and out of the bathroom.

they said it was a side effect of the chemo and when they checked with a dipstick for infection in her water,or no2s, quite often it contained spots of blood. in time it went away and she came off the imodium but only after several months.

also during her 9 months, her diet was restricted. no fish and chips or take aways. this was because the immune system is so low, that fast food that maybe not quite so cooked thoroughly could cause infection and so should be avoided.

oranges also upset her digestive system something awful and so for a long time avoided them.

just wondering if certain foods are upsetting your diet? try sticking to some dry foods for a while to see if things improve. by that i mean, cut out dairy foods, fats, yogurts and try, rice,bread, pasta, baked potato, beans and see if this will make adiffernce.

of course you may already know this and if you do, apologies.

let us know how you get on in march. will be thinking of you.

we also had a beautiful day up here in the hebrides.sunshine and blue skies all day. what a difference compared to 2 weeks ago!!

take care
florencex

how are you helen? have you managed to start a group up yet in your church? do come back and tell us how you are getting on.

Hi Annie, I havent been on here for a while, our daughter had major surgery but got her home today. I saw your posting and wondered what was wrong as what you have put about the imodium, and bleeding is exactly what is wrong with me now, always have to be near a loo and think before I dare go out will I be able to get to one quickly enough. Hope you are ok and dont think I am being nosy. take care.

Sylvia

Hi Florence and Sylvia,

I certainly have been thinking that it was a reaction to the chemo pills and it is one of the side effects. I also find that certain foods do upset my system, as you mentioned with your daughter. As I come across them I do try to then stay away from then on. We don't buy takeaways any more cos its a waste of money, we make home-made takeaways. We do have a lot of fresh fish in our diet and its fish that OH has caught (I also make him cook it LOL).

I don't have a lot of dairy products at all. Just some milk in my morning coffee and on rare occasion ice cream. Have been having a bit of pasta lately which I always enjoy, so easy to cook. I have found that the size of the meals I eat is a lot smaller now cos I can't seem to tolerate having the same sized meals that I used to have.

I have been trying to drink a fair bit of juice lately, mainly for the vitamins as I know that I am not getting enough through the food I eat. I do have some multi vitamins and have those every now and then when I can remember to take them, my memory is shocking since I've been on these pills.

Will definitely let you all know how I get on in march.

I used to buy a generic brand of imodium online from a chemist in Aussie cos it was cheap. I don't do that now cos with the exchange rate and freight charges it has become too expensive. I would say I won't have any problem getting a script for them from the specialist.

I had also in the back of my mind Crohns disease. The reason I say this is that a very dear friend of mine has had Crohns and she for years has had the toilet issues and the bleeding and having to be nearby to a loo. I have gotten to know where nearly all of the public accessable toilets are in Wellington where I work. Sometimes its a mad dash to the nearest one when I am out and about at lunch time.


Annie
xxxxxx

I had an abdominal scan yesterday, hoping to find that I have no cancerous polyps. It was a nightmare going without food as I am a diabetic on insulin. Also the meds to make my bowels clean! Yesterday morning I had to ring up and say my blood sugar was too low to get me through the day till 4pm when my appointment was. They let me have a glass of milk and a couple of biscuits. The scan itself was hilarious as I had a single Diazepam, which I have never taken before, and was quite merry! The girls were very kind, not like the last time I had this done. They let me have 2 pillows as they knew I got panicky when flat, I cant breathe when flat. Now its a question of waiting for results.

Annie, I hope all goes ok for you in March

Jean, I hope your scan results are good. I get claustophobic in the scanner and get migraine because of the nil by mouth thing.

good luck to you both and take care
xx

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well.

Had my specialist appt yesterday at the hospital. The levels have dropped but not very much and the Dr had hoped it would be much lower than it it. We discussed and have decided that the chemo pills will be changed. I have about a mth left of my current pill which will do while the approval goes through for the new drug. This is apparently more effective and is a lot stronger than the drug I am currently on. The doctor is also hoping that this change will alleviate the bone pain I suffer with.

With the new drug though there are rare side effects of fluid around the heart and lungs. So he did an ECG on my yesterday as a base line test prior to starting the new drug. Then after a while of being on the new drug he will order another ECG to make sure there are no changes.

I am looking forward to being pain free which will then reduce my dependence on the pain relief medication to get through the day.

Annie
xxxxxx

Not on the new chemo pills yet. Government red tape I suppose is holding it up.

I have been worried about the pills being changed. It is playing on my mind a lot. I worry that maybe the specialist hasn't told me everything I need to know. I go back to see him in June.

Another thing upsetting me at the moment is a guy my partner works with his neice has been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. I don't know what kind, but she will be lucky to have a month to live. This girl has been through so much. She is only 30 yrs old, she was dumped via txt msg by her boyfriend the she won a fantastic new job in a managerial position, got a new boyfried and then found out only about 2 months ago that she had cancer. It has now reached her lungs. She is in hospital and doesn't want to see anyone.

My partner telling me about her has been quite upsetting. I feel so so sorry for her to not have had enough time. Life is so cruel. Even the doctors are apparently upset that there is nothing they can do for her.

Haven't been feeling well myself lately and have a lot of stress. He hasn't seen his kids for about 3mths cos the ex is causing problems so he is moody a lot which causes us to argue and then on monday just past his boss told him that they are running out of work. Need some good luck. I reckon I am gonna have a miserable birthday tomorrow. I am not very happy today, have been sick all morning. Don't think I will last the day at work, but will see how things go.

Hoping you are all well.

Love

Annie
xxxxxx

hi annie, i am really sorry to hear you are not having a good time at the moment. when we are a bit low, hearing terrible news about someone else is almost too much to bear isnt it.

we feel sorry for them ,yet at the same time we want someone to feel sorry for ourselves and quite rightly so.

how old are your partners children? if they are 18+ then surely they can decide when to see their dad without mum interfering? i know it can be difficult when they are younger and one has remarried. my own parents separated when i was 2. both remarried and my mum had another son, so there were then 3 of us.

thankfully my parents were amicable and we saw my father every weekend and split holidays until we were old enough to decide for ourselves.

i wish you a happy birthday for tomorrow and hope you have a better day. may the sun shine for you always.

if you cant see your consultant until june, would your gp chat it through with you and explain what you are not clear on or do you have what we call an outreach nurse. she is only a tel call away and will happily discuss anything to put your mind at rest. maybe you call them by another name. but its worth a call to reassure you theres nothing that you dont know already.

why dont you take some sick leave for a few days to rest and recharge the batteries. im sure your gp would write you a sick note.

you sound as if you are worn out and need to renew yourself.

i wish you well and will send some healing thoughts to help you.
chin up annie

take care
florencexx

My scan results were negative, so thats one worry out of the way.

jean thats great news, really pleased for you
take care
florencex

Thats good news Jean. Am pleased to hear it.

Well the problem with OH's kids seems to be fixed, for now. They are due to come to us this friday for the weekend so only time will tell if things are back to normal.

I am sad to say that my partners co-workers neice has passed away. She was in hospital for a short time and she didn't like being there and wanted to be at home to die. They gave her a pill the other night for her heart and she passed away a short time later. I never knew this girl, never met her but it really upsets me that someone so young with their life ahead of them is gone. She was only 30.

Still have not received the new pills yet, they keep sending me the ones they are on so don't know what is going on yet.

Sorry neglected this thread for a while
jean what brilliant news so pleased for u, hope everyone is feeling ok, my sisters boss died the other day he only found out 2 weeks ago he suddenly went very yellow went the hospital they gave him 6 weeks but it was less, very hard for my sister after losing dAD THEN HER BOSS SHE WAS VERY CLOSE TO HIM HE WAS woops knocked the caps on thewre family friend x

OH said that her funeral is today and that Pete (her uncle) was going to find the day quite hard. At least all the family got to see her before she passed.

so young and so very sad for the family. my thoughts are with her family annie.

florence
in the hebridesxx

It's blood test time again. Will have it done one day this week. At least I only have to do it every 3 mths. Then my next specialist appt is on 23 June. And as per usual the hospital books me an afternoon appt. Would much rather have a morning appt.

Hope everyone is doing ok.

annie, all the luck in the world xxxxxx

hi annie and lady lol.
hope the blood tests go ok annie, be sure to come back with an update.

ladylol, how did your holiday go? trust you had a great time, you lucky thing. wish someone would send me away from all this dreadful wind and gales to somewhere a little calmer.

my daughter got her annual checkup in glasgow last week and she has now grown to 156 cm which is great. i am only 161 so she is now catching up for the years when she stopped! she had an ultrasound on her pelvis so they could have a good look at her bits and bobs etc and they tell me everything is looking normal. her hormone levels on the last bloods were surprisingly within normal limits. her endocrynologist was really surprised especially after 9 months of chemo etc.

so she is a normal teenager in every sense of the word and as for being a grandma, only time will tell! maybe she is the exception. after all her survival rate was given to us in 2003 as 30% and 8 years on, she is cured, healthy, still growing and a wee miracle. if anyone else is reading this and is connected to a child that has cancer, hope my daughter will give others inspiration and hope. my heart goes out to any parent who has ever had to endure this with their child.

take care
florence
in the hebrides
xxxx :-) :-) <3