Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hi Sylvia
So sorry to hear about your uncle, it always so sad when someone special and who we have great respect for leaves our lives.
I had an unusual visit home some good and some not so.
I thought of everyone, especially Janette when in the Lakes amongst the towering hills and lakes it makes you feel that life itself is so simple .....just live in the moment. We spent a beautiful day in the Trough of Bowland with Damians old friend who is an incredible woman ....so interesting and positive despite many trials in her life. She is currently in her early 70s and buying a house with her new partner who is 18 years her junior.
Unfortunately to balance that we had some problems with Leigh and my sister had to bring her husband to hospital in the middle of the night in terrible pain. It looks like it may gallbladder but tests have to be delayed because they are leaving for their Northern Lights cruise on Tuesday. I do hope that it wont flare up whilst they are away. Sadly it seems that one of my sister's close friends is in the initial stages of a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. she has had tests and biopsies done and they have told her that there is a problem and will get her results early next week.
I send my love to all of you on Mothers day........mothers ,daughters ,sons..to everyone whose mothers are sadly no longer here and those who happily have their mothers here. A mothers love is so special.
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Hello linali (Lindsay),
Thank you very much for your post and your kind words about my uncle. Thank you also for your PM. I had a good relationship with all my aunts and uncles and it is strange to think that I have just one aunt left. Over the years with all those aunts and uncles I have shared visits, letters, cards, telephone calls, good and bad occasions and that over the years has left an increasing emptiness and lack in my life. It will be interesting to see whether all of us cousins will maintain a relationship or whether we shall just drift apart.
I was glad to know that there was a positive aspect to your visit home. Since you speak of home, am I right in assuming that you were born in England? If so, do you still have a hankering to be back in England?
I was most interested to know that you had thought of everyone when in the Lake District and especially Janette. I have been to the Lake District just once on holiday and that was quite some years ago. I thought it was beautiful there and was in awe of the lakes and mountains. As humans, we feel quite small amidst all that beautiful nature and I felt aware of my insignificance and mortality. I had the same feeling when I was in Wales and going through the Brecon Beacons.
I think Damian's old friend is doing the right thing having a partner eighteen years her junior. This will keep her very young.
I do hope that your sister's husband will be able to enjoy his Northern Lights cruise and that he will not have any health problems. Everyone seems to have taken up going on cruises. One of my cousins is off to Hong Kong and Singapore and is then going on a cruise through China. He will be seventy in June, is still working part time and this is part of his pre-retirement celebration. I do not seem to have any desire to go to far flung places or on cruises. I think I did all my travelling in my twenties and thirties!!!
I do hope that Leigh will feel more settled back in his own place. I have no experience of being with a person with Asperger's syndrome, but sam52 has a son with the same syndrome and I remember that JennUK also has a son with the same. Does this syndrome affect males more than females?
I was sorry to hear that one of your sister's close friends is in the initial stages of a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I do hope that it has been caught in time and that she will be alright. It is dreadful the number of people being diagnosed with cancer.
You are right about a mother's love being so special. I think it is mothers that keep families together. My mum died back in 1991 and since then things have not seemed the same. There have been no more family gatherings.
Raymond and I have been having a quiet weekend here. The weather is back to being dreadful with rain and cold. We watched the Sunday Politics show on BBC1 with Andrew Neil. It was all very interesting, but politicians will just not answer questions!
I understand that it was International Women's day on Friday March 8th, but it seems to have been a non-event here in the UK. I think March is cancer month in the UK, but I have not seen much sign of anything so far.
That is all for now.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
With reference to the foundation website News section I think you must be looking at the old site as I haven't worked out how to deal with the news section on the new site. Probably your web browser has cached the old site and every time you try to look it just serves up what you have previously looked at. You could try the refresh button or you may need to clear your cache. It probably is the case with many sites, you look and nothing has changed but all you are seeing is what is saved on your computer from weeks ago.
The cost of a stem cell transplant is probably less than a six session course of Chemo. The procedure if you are receiving your own stem cells is that they are collected, washed through Retuximab (I think) and you are given a few days of really high dose chemo (RICE, I believe) so your immune system is dead or as is said in Ireland, bandjaxed. Then you are infused with your stem cells and as soon as your counts rise you can go home. I believe the infusion takes about 30 minutes. If you are receiving the cells from another donor then they need to be extracted from the doner but otherwise the procedure is the same. I believe the mortality rate of receiving your own cells is about 5% and an unrelated donor 25% but those figures are probably out of date.
The difference between NHL lymphoma's are basically, indolent which will always return except in very rare cases. DBCL which is aggressive. 50% of people will be cured after a course of RCHOP or Bendamustine. If they are not then next step is SCT and that usually sorts out the problem. Then there is transformation of Indolent to something resembling DBLC but it does not respond as well so cure is not a possibility.
All being well I am off to London this afternoon. It is cold, wild and windy here but I believe it is worse there.
Michael
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I am interested in doing a poll to find out how many women with triple negative have had a lumpectomy only - not a mastectomy. My reason is that a poster on a different thread suggested that very few TNs get a lumpectomy and I had never realized that before!
Feedback would be appreciated!
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Not me. I had needle biopsy and then bmx. It was not because I knew about the significance of TN. It was because I had small breasts and VERY little tissue where the tumour was. I couldn't picture a positive result.
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Hi Sylvia,
Yes I was born in England and I think that it is the need to be with my sisters and how I can be myself laugh or cry that draws me back. I do feel an affinity to the country side around the Ribble valley and the Lakes as they were the places we visited through out my childhood.This time I noticed how the tales and history or the Lancashire Witches are being promoted as both folk lore and for tourism. It is something that has always fascinated me as I was considered to be born in the shadow of Pendle Hill in a nursing home called Bramley Mead. I bought Kerry a book which although it is fiction is supposed to be a more accurate account than the original Lancashire Witches.... Cry of Innocence.
I would also be interested to know how the other women with aspergers children are doing. Whilst we were away things to do with Leigh's accommodation got very serious and he is under threat of eviction which will make him homeless as he will be given no other options and benefits will be cut off. We cannot find any help or advise or connection within social services. He is with an outreach service but they havent dealt with anyone like Leigh. It is a very worrying time and I know that he wouldnt survive for many reasons if he had to come home. There is nothing or nowhere for him to do or go here.
I see from the news that there is very severe weather in England with people stranded in cars overnight. I hope that you are not badly affected.
It is very cold but bright here and I am hoping that we can wrap up and get out into the garden. We bought seed potatoes but they cannot be planted until after ST Patrick's Day.
Today the Cheltenham Races start....always of great interest in Ireland. We have never managed to go although I have cousins there and they have invited us to stay. I am hopeless at betting and I usually go by the name or the colour of the silks.
Hoping that anyone in treatment is doing OK and those with questions or worries will find answers.
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Hi Mum-to-be,
I see from one of your posts that you are wondering about follow up after rads and when treatment is over. I had the same queries and that is why I joined this thread because I could find no-one who had the same kind of cancer, all the others with breast cancer still visited their oncologist so therefore had 3 monthly appts whereas mine were scheduled only every 6 months and just with the breast surgeon.
It was very frustrating to find out what was considered to be the gold standard treatment and follow up for TBNC as each cancer centre had a different regime. Infact it was the radiotherapy nurse that suggested I should go to a support centre after treatment was over.
I think that I was so delighted to be finished with the rads that I forgot to ask what the follow up should be.
I do feel that the emphasis was put back on me to check up on appts. I would suggest to anyone that they get a firm plan for their follow up and very importantly their 1yr check mammo. I was unlucky and slipped through the net and my first one was delayed as my appointment request seem to disappear from the system. Having said that I kept in touch with the breast nurses if I had any worries and it was them that sorted out the mammo appt for me. I still have them as a contact and do ring them if I am worried.
I also have a wonderful radiology consultant who has seen me whenever I have had a problem.
I hope that all is well with you and Emma and that you are looking forward to the spring and finishing rads.
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Hello Michael,
Thank you for your post. I shall have another look at the Foundation website later. It is always useful to re-read information anyway, because there is a lot to take in.
Thank you for your information about the procedure for stem cell transplant. It all sounds very clever. I must say in all honesty that I think I would find the few days of really high dose chemotherapy rather frightening and to know that my immune system was dead. I looked up the RICE combination for this, and was familiar with just the R (rituximab) and the C (carboplatin). The other two are ifosfamide and etoposide. Do you know what the side effects of these are? I must admit I find it amazing that stem cells are then infused and that this takes just thirty minutes and then, if you are using your own stem cells, you can go home. Knowing me, I would have to use my own stem cells!!!
I do hope all will go well with you. I do hope that all went well yesterday and that you could manage to celebrate Janette's life.
The weather is bitterly cold here and we have howling winds, but at least we have no snow.
Thinking of you.
Sylvia.
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Hello adagio,
I hope women will respond on this thread to give you an idea of how many women had mastectomies as opposed to lumpectomies.
I had a mastectomy and was not given a choice. I had a large tumour, 6+ cms, that seemed to appear from nowhere and grew very quickly and actually came through the skin of my breast. You have to remember that with me all this started back in June 2005 and there was no mention of TNBC or of my tumour being aggressive. I was just told that the tumour was ER- and PR-, that Tamoxifen would be of no use and that the prognosis was poor, because of the fact that there was nothing like Tamoxifen to give me. I was told I needed chemotherapy, then surgery, a mastectomy and then radiotherapy. I was also told a bit later, before I started treatment, that I was lucky that I was HER2-, because HER2+ was very aggressive!!! You need to know that back in 2005 women who were HER2+ were not automatically being prescribed Herceptin and that they were having to fight and to go to court to get it.
Even if I had had a choice between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy, I would have chosen a mastectomy because, for me personally, it gave me more peace of mind.
I had several friends over the past years diagnosed with hormonal breast cancer who were given lumpectomies and they are fine still today. In the UK, at that time, it seemed to be you were given a lumpectomy, and if there were still doubt about all the cancerous tissue having been removed, you were given a second lumpectomy to get clearer margins. After that, if the lumpectomy failed, then you were offered a mastectomy.
Of course, I am speaking of myself and women I know who were treated at the same hospital as I was.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello linali (Lindsay),
Thank you for your post. I can understand your need to be with your sisters and to be yourself since you were born in England. I think that wherever we are, we are always drawn back to our roots and feel a need to be with out family.
I was born in London, grew up and went to school there. I followed my elder brother to university in the north of England, even though I could have gone to London. On leaving university I lived and worked in France and Morocco for nine years, but I always yearned for England and loved to come back. My life took me to Canada for seventeen years, and even though it was a great country, there was always a sense of being English and looking forward to visits home. I suppose Exmouth is the nearest I have come to putting down roots, but I still feel rootless and think that will always be the case because of the life I have had. London is unrecognisable to me now and I would not want to live there. I think we have quality of life in Devon, even if everything is very SLOW!
I was very interested in what you said about the Lancashire Witches. Folklore like that makes good tourism. When I lived in Canada, Raymond and I passed through Salem, Massachusetts when on a visit to the US, another place famous for its witches!!!
I was so sorry to know that the situation with Leigh had escalated to the point where he could be evicted from where he lives. This is something that must be very stressful for you and certainly something that you could do without. You need a lifestyle with as little negative stress as possible. It seems unfair that his benefits should be cut off. I cannot see what purpose that serves, especially if Leigh is not aware that he is doing anything wrong and that is upsetting another tenant. I was surprised to know that you cannot find any help or advice from the social services. Surely they must be used to dealing with such problems.
I hope sam52 or JennUK will be reading the thread and will be able to help from their own experiences with looking after children with Asperger's syndrome.
I can understand how stressful it would be for you to have Leigh at home, as he obviously needs independence and be able to fend for himself in the future. I do hope this problem will get resolved for you.
The weather is exceptionally bad in the UK, especially in certain places. Here in Exmouth it is bitterly cold and windy but as yet we have no snow. We are told it does not snow that often in Exmouth. We have been here just over eleven years and have had snow twice in that time. After out years in Canada we do know how to deal with snow and snow clearance, but we are not as young as we were! Even so, in 2010/11 we did a lot of snow clearing in the grounds of our apartment complex.
I do hope you get to plant your seed potatoes soon. I am also waiting to do some planting, probably a lot of primulas to tide us over until we can plant some summer flowers.
It is strange that in the UK St George's Day goes almost unnoticed, but St Patrick's Day gets a lot of publicity.
This morning on Radio 4 on the news, there was a lot of coverage about the Cheltenham Races and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. I am not that interested in the races but I do think horses are one of the most beautiful animals. My brothers and one of my cousins all love the races and love to have a bet. They are especially interested in the Cheltenham races and I can guarantee that my younger brother who is retired and a close cousin, also retired, will be glued to the television and out of reach all this week! The other younger brother, I call him my baby brother, is still working, but I bet he has a look on the computer. They will be most annoyed if the races have to be cancelled but it was very cold in Cheltenham this morning.
How old is Oskar now? Children are so interesting and spontaneous.
Keep well and try not to worry too much. Everything has a habit of working out. Thank you for your PM.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello sam52,
I hope all is well with you and that you are managing to view the thread and that you are up to date with what I said about my DEXA scan.
I thought you would be interested to know that about ten days after the scan I had a phone call from my surgery and a message from my GP. The message was that my GP had received a copy of the DEXA scan and I suppose the report, and wanted me to arrange an appointment to see her to discuss this and to start some treatment.
I was surprised that I had not received a copy and a letter from my consultant at the hospital, as this is what happened last time. I phoned the hospital this morning and was surprised to be told that my consultant had not yet received a copy. Her secretary told me she would chase it all up.
I think everything is getting in a muddle and that you have to be continually chasing them if you want anything to progress.
I am waiting to get a response from the hospital as the DEXA scan was ordered by my consultant there.
In the meantime I have not booked an appointment with the GP.
I thought this would be of interest to you because I remember you said you would not have your DEXA scan results until May when you saw the consultant involved. I would think the results would be with your GP, given the procedure here. It is supposed to be anything from your consultant goes to your GP for your records, and a copy to you at the same time. The secretary to my consultant definitely told me this morning that I am entitled to a copy.
I do hope all is well with you, your father and Tom.
Are you able to be of any help to linali (Lindsay)? I hope to hear from you and hope the weather is not too bad in London.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello,
I am just popping in to say hello to our Australian friends, Liv and Lolalee. I hope all is well with the two of you.
I hope all is well with our South African friend Carolben, and that the chemotherapy is not taking a big toll on you. I think your birthday is in March, so I hope we have not missed it.
To our American friends, InspiredbyDolce, PeggySull, and Placid44, just to let you know I am thinking of you. PeggySull, I think you finished chemotherapy yesterday. Placid44, how are you passing the time while you wait for your radiotherapy? I hope all goes well tomorrow, Debra, with your surgery to do with reconstruction.
Hello Bernie, what are you up to this week?
That is all for now.
Best wishes to everyone viewing and posting. This thread could not exist without you.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I thought you might be interested in the following two links about steroids and their side effects.
http://www.scan.scot.nhs.uk/Documents/steroids_ECC.pdf
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia
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Sylvia, I have misled you about going home after using your own stem cells, you still have to wait for your counts to come up.
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Hi Everyone,
I had my genetic test done last Monday, so I'm reporting back about the process.
I did not do a blood test (Ha! Got out of another one.
They do a mouth swish. I figured if they could establish paternity through mouth cells, I'm okay with the swish.
They give you a baby bottle of Scope mouthwash. You swirl it around in your mouth for 30 seconds (they time you). They you spit it into a plastic tube. Then you clean the sides of your cheek with your tongue, and then spit that in the tube. You then take another swig and repeat the process. They said the Scope releases the cheek cells.
There is only 1 lab who does the test, as they own the patent for the technology. Insurance paid 100%. Of all the people who have tested there with my same criteria and turned up positive for the BRCA mutation, the risk is 4.76%. But the stats don't take into account first degree relative history, and a few other variables. The counselor thinks my risk of having the mutation is about 1.5-2%.
Here are some more stats that my Genetic Counselor told me. I wrote them down:
We all carry the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene. We get 1 copy of each from our Mom and 1 copy from the Dad. It's when a change occurs in the genetic sequence, that results in a mutation. Each genetic sequence has a specific code, and once the code is scrambled, the gene doesn't know how to repair itself.
Just being a female gives us a lifetime risk of 13% of developing breast cancer, although some recent studies show 12%, they are still reporting 13% at the time of counseling.
I was told if I had the BRCA mutation, I would have an increased risk of 3-5% each year of developing a new primary breast cancer.
I might ask her for copies of her manual when I go for my follow-up, so I can post here. It was very fascinating.
Tomorrow is surgery day. I hope the Plastic Surgeon can find me. I won't have my pretty long hair wig on, and I'll be without makeup, and gray crazy looking hair. But I'll be in my high heels - if he has paid attention to my feet we'll be in great shape. But I have a feeling that being a Plastic Surgeon, he doesn't make it past the boobs. LOL I hope I don't make another drunk call to his office this time, telling them how much I love him. That was followed by a follow-up drunk call to apologize for the earlier drunk call. Maybe I'll have my husband hide my cell phone for me.
)Have a great day everyone. I'll catch up reading on here when I'm home and recovering.
Thanks for all the wonderful support!
- Genetic Counselor / Genetic Test Process
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Sylvia,
I don't know what a Dexa scan is or used for. Is that a bone test? So they will look to strengthen your bones? Like with Boniva? I'll be watching your updates - hope it is something that just needs a minor treatment.
For me, it's Plan B (as follows): Low-fat, low sugar, fish, veggies, whole grains, fruits, water, green tea; 8 hours vigorous exercise weekly; and Metformin. If you would like info about Metformin to discuss with your Onc, please PM me.
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Adagio,
I had a BMX, and I am getting radiation. (I chose prophylactic mastectomy on the non-cancer side.) According to the quote below, for early stage, triple negative women under age 50, having the unaffected breast removed improves survival.
"Only limited data are available on the survival impact of mastectomy contralateral to a unilateral breast cancer. Analysis of women included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database treated with mastectomy for a unilateral breast cancer during 1998-2002 showed that contralateral mastectomy performed at the time of treatment of a unilateral cancer was associated with a reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality only in the population of young women (18-49 years of age) with stage I/II, ER-negative breast cancer (hazard ratio 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.94; P = .025)."
Source: National Comprehensive Cancer Network, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines), Breast Cancer, Version 2.2012, NCCN.org, page MS-12.
I know that this doesn't answer about mastectomy vs. lumpectomy + radiation. My doctors told me that mastectomy has lower risk of local recurrence, compared with lumpectomy, although it does not improve survival. For me, that was enough.0 -
Hello Sylvia & all.
I hope everybody is well. My goodness the weather is cold here at the moment but yesterday and today have been so beautiful. Cold but clear blue skies and the sun is out. Have been for long walks with Emma in her buggy. I am feeling very tired the last few days. I think my body is finally flying a white flag. I feel I could sleep for a year at the minute. My hubby is taking over Emma this evening to give me a break. I am waking up every morning and my joints ache. I feel the symptoms of chemo moreso now that it is over than while I was having it regularly. Is this normal I wonder?
Rads are going well thank God. There's a bit of reddening on my skin but it's not sore or itchy yet. Day 10 down today, 15 more to go. I saw a post from a woman (age 33, diagnosed with TNBC at 27) on another thread the other day. She gave me such hope, 6 yrs out from TNBC and had 2 children since she finished chemo. Such wonderful news, I just love reading those posts. I'd love a whole flock of kids
, my husband might disagree haha.Went away at the weekend with my husband for a well deserved break. Just the two of us. I ate all round me. I ignored anything to do with cancer for the day/night. I ate a cheeseboard for my dessert, drank a glass of wine with my meal, ate duck & used cow's milk (had no choice with my tea) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Linali - thanks so much for your reply. I don't mind not seeing my onc every 3 months tbh. I know that if i was it would just be to literally ask my how I am. She doesn't do blood markers, scans etc so unless I didn't feel right she wouldn't have much of a need to see me. My BS will see me every 6 months and I am always in contact with my onc nurse so it's fine. I am so ready to be finished with regular hospital appointments now. I need a break!
Sylvia - my sincere condolances to you re your uncles death. It must've come as a huge upset. Rest up and regain your full health again.
xx
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Has anybody heard of or is anybody taking Glucosamine tablets for their bones/joints?
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Thanks, Sylvia. I am passing the time by relaxing and getting ready for rads (simulation next week) and for going back to work part time the Monday after next, March 25. I am also doing weekly expander fills at PS's office. I had my final fill today...
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Hello InspiredbyDolce (Debra),
Thank you for your post. I was most interested in your detailed description of how you were able to get a genetic test done not using a blood test. I am sure we shall all be interested in your result.
I wonder whether this will become available on a large scale and may even come to this country.
Thank you for taking the time to post all that information.
I do hope everything has gone well today.
You asked about a DEXA scan. A DEXA scan is a scan that measures the density of your bones and is used to diagnose osteopenia or osteoporosis. As you know, post-menopausal women are at risk of these two diseases when they loose some of their supply of oestrogen. I think we all know that cancer treatment can cause damage to the bones, resulting in osteopenia or osteoporosis. It is probably a good idea to get this test before cancer treatment to establish the state of your bones and get one after treatment to compare.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was also diagnosed with an over-active parathyroid gland (not to be confused with the thyroid) and this causes calcium to leach from the bones into the blood, resulting in high calcium serum levels. After my breast cancer treatment and when I felt well enough, I had a parathyroidectomy to resolve the problem and I had a DEXA scan before and after surgery to see that everything was normal. I had developed osteoporosis but I am not sure whether this was caused by the parathyroid problem or the breast cancer treatment. I had another scan recently to see what was happening with my bones and was told there had not been much change.
Do not confuse a DEXA scan for bone density (low radiation and not too harmful) with a bone nucleide scan (high radiation) to determine whether cancer is in the bones.
Long term use of steroids can cause osteoporosis as well. This has happened to oneof my cousins in the treatment of COPD.
Wishing you well.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mumtobe (Carol),
Thank you for your post. You must remember as you try to get back to normal not to overdo things. It takes a long time to recover from all this breast cancer treatment. I am not surprised you feel that you could sleep for a year. Remember not only have you had to cope with lethal drugs going into your body but you had a baby and now have all the extra work that a baby brings. I think you probably become more aware of some side effects after treatment, because during treatment you are focussed on getting through it all.
I am glad that radiotherapy is going well. It will soon be over.
I am sure that the weekend away with your husband did you both a world of good and I am glad that you tucked into any food that you fancied and that you enjoyed yourself. We have to learn not to be too strict so that life becomes a chore.
Thank you for your kind words about my uncle's death. I shall miss my chats with him.
By the way, I have read that Glucosamine is supposed to be very good for joints and bones. I have seen it displayed a lot in our local Holland and Barratt store.
Keep enjoying life.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello placid44,
It was nice to hear from you and to know that you are relaxing and getting ready for the radiotherapy simulation next week. I hope everything will go well when you go back to work part time on March 25th. Remember not to overdo it as radiotherapy can make you very tired.
Wishing you all the best.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I was so sorry to hear of the passing of your beloved Uncle. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
Thank you for thinking of me. I have not seen Liv posting and am a little worried as I know she was due for an MRI as she was having headaches. So hope all is well with her and she is out and about enjoying life.
Had a lovely dinner last night at the floating restaurant in Aberdeen, you may remember the floating restaurant that caught on fire in the film "Noble House" with the gorgeous Pierce Brosnan. I remember his first wife suffered from BC and it was such a dreadful time for him and his family.
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Spanish singer Julio Iglesias was on television with British TV host Anne Diamond when he used the word 'manyana'. Diamond asked him to explain what it meant.
He said that the term means "maybe the job will be done tomorrow, maybe the next day, maybe the day after that. Perhaps next week, next month, or next year. Who cares?"
The host turned to Irishman Shay Brennan who was also on the show and asked him if there was an equivalent term in Irish.
"No. In Ireland we don't have a word to describe that degree of urgency." replied Brennan.0 -
Hi Adagio,
I posted then pressed the wrong button and it disappeared. I had a lumpectomy or as surgeon called it a wide local excision. I was never offered a mx and I am not sure what I would have chosen at the time as I was so relieved at the time when she told me that she could "save" the breast....vanity or what! I was very large breasted and she felt that there was enough tissue to get a clear margin.
In hindsight and living with the niggling fear of spread or recurrence at the back of my mind I am still not sure what I would have chosen.I am a worrier any way. I did have a reduction on the "healthy" breast which left me still a little lop sided.
I went by what my breast surgeon recommended and put my faith in her.
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Hi Sylvia,
When I was at my sisters she had a copy of the New Scientist with some articles on cancer. Unfortunately I didn't bring it with me. I will contact her later and see if she can scan them. She was suppose to be on a Northern Lights cruise but just as they were leaving to go to Essex they got word that the boat had hit something, had a hole and was being repaired.
That reminded me that the last oncologist to visit the centre suggested that I contact his head of research . She is the one who specialised in TBNC before she came to Galway and now heads up a prostate cancer programme. I am going to meditation later and will ask Mary to get contact details . I know that they are still looking at some kind of link or similarities to prostate cancer.
The MRI went ok. I went to private centre or it would have been 18mths to 2 yrs before I had it done in the public system.
Leigh is home so at least he is safe.
It is St Patrick's weekend here. At the centre we are celebrating it on Wednesday combined with the monthly choir practise.
Thank you so much for listening and understanding
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Bernie my love, you always make me laugh.
From your No 1 fan.
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Hello Lolalee,
Thank you for your post and thank you for your kind words about my uncle.
I was glad to hear that you had a lovely dinner at the floating restaurant in Aberdeen. We all have to get as much enjoyment out of life as we can. I am afraid I did not see the film 'Noble House'. My husband and I have not been to the cinema in ages.
I had noticed that Liv has not been posting and I am also concerned because she was having an MRI scan on Tuesday March 12th. I do hope she is OK, that she is viewing the thread and that we shall hear from her soon and that the news will be good. I am not sure whether with an MRI scan you are told the results immediately. Please, Liv, let us know you are alright and perhaps just taking a break from posting.
I am also concerned that we have not heard from Carolben in South Africa, as she goes through chemotherapy for metastases to the lungs. Please, Carolben, get in touch and let us know that you are alright.
Wishing you all the best.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello BernieEllen,
Thank goodness we have you on this thread to make us all laugh. A laugh is as good as any tonic.
We also have the mañana complex alive and well in Devon. Sometimes, my London brain hurts from it! I have often been told to slow down, but my brain cannot do this. Here we get I'll be there 'drectly', this means today, tomorrow, sometime maybe!!!
I do hope all is well with you.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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