Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hi, Sylvia,
This is actually the day after the tomorrow that I planned to reply to you, yesterday was somewhat of a blur and I didn't get any computer stuff done. The days go by so fast!
I did take the time to check out my hosta bed, which I found destroyed last spring; I have since found out it was probably voles, or field mice. Since our winters have been mild, the ground is easy to dig in and they burrow down and eat the bulbous roots. So when I went looking for my green shoots, I found holes. I replanted my bed last year, and tried to keep an eye on it, for whatever that's worth. Yesterday I checked it and 2 of them are missing. One of them was quite mature, it is so annoying. I have Googled for a solution and there does not seem to be a good one, except for planting them in wire cages. That is probably what happened to all the tulips I planted some years ago too.
As for living for today; when I was first diagnosed and going through chemo, everyone would tell me to Just take one day at a time. When I was finished treatment, I kept doing the same thing to the point of not making any plans farther ahead than a week. When I started traveling a little bit, I had to reach out, make plans, and take a leap of faith! So it is with our cruise, who knew I would injure my knee while trying to get stronger? I am going to see my GP today, he sees lots of these kinds of injuries, I just want to know if I can work/walk through the pain or if I need more attention. It is better, but after 3 weeks still not pain-free. I would like to be as good as I can be before taking off for Europe.
I was saddened and angry to read that London had an attack of terrorism over the weekend. I don't know what the answer is when the attacker turns out to be a British citizen who was obviously radicalized. That is very hard to control, surely someone in his family, or among his friends or neighbors could notice something, but hard to say. It seems he was already known to police and MI5, I suppose it is hard to watch everyone on these lists, but one would think someone close to him would notice his behavior.
As far as I can tell, I should be able to get the Nigel Farage radio show at 2 PM Monday through Thursday. I have been unable to check it this week, and he is not on Fridays. So I will try again next week.
I was reading Chris Woolams' post on alternative therapies for Cancer. He was writing about gene-editing, it seems they have had success using it on children with leukemia in the UK. There were no toxic drugs involved. There had been no use of it prior except in laboratory. He is feeling quite positive about this method, and talks about how many cancers, including breast cancer, are still being treated with drugs developed in the 1950s. This is one of his latest posts, quite interesting. I stumbled across a doctor's blog accidentally on another site, who turns out to be a "alternative therapy skeptic". I read many of his posts just to see what he thought. He slams chiropractic treatment, massage therapy, acupuncture, supplements of all kinds; probiotics, vitamins, etc., meditation, mindfulness, yoga and on and on. He thinks that hospitals that are starting to incorporate alternative therapies in with their orthodox treatments are nuts as well. Chris Woollams' thinks that many of these "doctors" are paid by the drug companies to dissuade people from trying alternative therapies, and incorporating them into their lives. I think I tend to agree with his view; to be closed to absolutely everything except orthodox treatments seems to be the height of arrogance and close-mindedness. There has to be a mind/body connection, we are not just a collection of moving parts!
As to Vaccines, I don't know what to think. I do know that parents now are expected to take their children for a dizzying amount of shots at a very young age, when their bodies are so small. My acupuncture doctor told me he refused this for his children, and had the shots spaced out much farther so they had time to absorb it all. I also saw in Woollams' post he mentioned the original Salk polio vaccine, which used Simian monkey Virus. I'm pretty sure that's what I got as a child, and probably you too. He mentions a study which links this with a higher rate of cancer, but then another study came out trying to disprove those findings. As usual, it leaves us with no clear answers.
Yes, there is much to read and think about in the CancerActive posts from Chris, if anyone has the time and desire to go there. I will return about it soon as I get through it.
I am going to close for now, before I lose this post, haha. I will talk to you again soon.
Love, Mary
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Sylvia,
This is really strange. I actually posted the latest reply to you some hours ago. I just checked this thread and my post wasn't there! So I went looking for it, and found it on another thread on Peripheral Neuropathy where I post at times. I suppose I composed it there by mistake or somehow it magically went there! The continuing saga of the lost messages!
Mary
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HI, Pam
Thanks for telling about where Tony Bourdain has gone. I will have to find Parts Unknown and see if he is still eating and drinking everything under the sun. These people who travel the world eating and drinking just amaze me, they are very brave! Or maybe are very well-paid. They do get to travel a lot.
I'm glad your skin has healed, everything takes time doesn't it? It's hard not to be impatient with all this stuff.
I also liked my hair when it was growing out after chemo. I should cut it short like that again, I vacillate between wanting to do that or wanting it long enough to stick behind my ears. Which is where it is now.
I much prefer "falling back" rather than "springing forward" too, I heard some expert say it takes us 3 days to adjust to an hour time change.
Happy Spring to you, and it is a beautiful picture that you posted!
Mary
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Hi Mary,
Yes, thank you, I am relieved to be halfway done.
The Benadryl always make me feel so cold but now they always run it very slow.
I was thinking that I will grow old to my 90's as well like my relatives until cancer knocked on my door.
I also never thought of cancer that much before my diagnosis. Like you, I am learning a lot after diagnosis.
I have always been 45 kg. The time I was beyond 45 kg is up to 55 kg only when I was about to give birth to my DS and after that I went right back to 45 kg. Then prior to my diagnosis I was 48 kg. I was actually happy that I was gaining a bit of weight.
I am glad to know that I am not alone about not having radiotherapy in this thread.
Best regards,
Lou
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Hello Mary and Lou
Thank you both for your posts. I hope to find time tomorrow to answer then.
Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday here and it is always a very busy time, so I shall probably stay quietly at home.
Thinking of you and sending best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I think with gardening we always have to expect the unexpected. Plants can just suddenly die, things can get eaten by wild animals and bugs. I have just learned to accept it. We just have roaming foxes and badgers around here. Irresponsible people put out food for them in Exmouth and they take a liking to it. Badgers can really make a mess of lawns. Squirrels gobble up bulbs and cats messing can kill off plants. Seagulls are a real problem here and literally stalk people if they are eating food. They love all the junk food.
I do hope that you will get some relief from your pain in the knee. We do in fact just live the day. Yesterday has gone and tomorrow cannot be taken for granted.
I was not surprised by the terrorist attack in London. It was inevitable that it would happen. We have such a mixed-up society here now that anything can happen. London is not the London in which I spent the first twenty years of my life. We are losing our culture and identity here in the UK. The pigeons have come home to roost here. I blame Tony Blair for the illegal war in Iraq and for not controlling immigration.
I was interested in what you had to say about Chris Woollams and his alternative therapies. It is true that some of the chemotherapy drugs that are still being used are very old. I am thinking of fluorouracil, doxorubicin, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide. The newer ones are the taxanes and the platins. The number of people with breast cancer seems to be increasing and too many are dying. I think when I was diagnosed it was 40,000 a year and now it is 55,000. I think you are in trouble if you get metastases.
I have doubts about whether immunotherapy is any safer.
I tend to ignore orthodox doctors who run down alternative treatments. It seems that too many are in league with the big drug companies. I just make up my own mind about what I am going to do and what I am not going to do.
I was very concerned about the problems of vaccines. We have no idea what those vaccines we had as children, not to mention x-rays, have done to our bodies. I was concerned as well about the polio vaccine which we had as children and a potential link with cancer later in life. I do not think we shall ever get clear answers on anything. I seem now to be in a state of mind that automatically doubts anything I hear on the news. I am not convinced we got the whole truth about the latest terrorist attack. I think that the man who carried it out should have been under strict surveillance, given that he had a twenty year criminal record and had been in trouble with the police for violence. He had also spent two years in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps now that politicians feel more threatened, something might happen. They live in a protective bubble, unlike the rest of us, so it is a bit much for them to tell us to carry on as normal! Innocent people's deaths are soon forgotten.
I am not sure how many people on the thread, or viewing the thread, are following the emails from Chris Woollams. We do not get many comments about them. I think there may be too much information to absorb, so we just have to concentrate on the bits that are most relevant to us and absorb what we can. I still think we have to do what we can either to prevent it in the first place, or try to stop recurrence or metastases if we have already had it.
I am very concerned about the person I know who has gone through treatment with immunotherapy. She has had ups and downs and is now waiting for a CAT scan.
That is about all for now.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Lou,
I can understand why you are eating ice cream as a treat. It must be very refreshing especially as you go through chemotherapy treatment.
I was interested in what you said about English being your second language. I must say it is excellent. You must have been taught very well and speaking it in Singapore has obviously been most helpful. I was interested in what you said about American English and British English. I taught English as a second language in Morocco for three years and there were Americans from the Peace Corps also teaching English at the school. My students, who were aged 14 to 18, used to say their English was better as it was 'proper' English. There is a difference in some vocabulary and grammar, but we all got on together. The students could learn very quickly, because they were already used to Arabic and Berber, as well as French. I enjoyed teaching them very much.
That is about all for now.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi, Sylvia,
Gardening is indeed a matter of battling nature and trying to tame it. Here where I am we have poor, rocky soil and many invasive weeds. Varmints are everywhere, and are one of the reasons I don't mind too much that I no longer have a large vegetable garden. It's possible that perhaps the vole that was eating the hostas nosed into one of the buildings and found one of my traps, I have caught a few of them recently. We have had several days of rainy weather since the weekend which is very welcome, we have been in a drought since last summer in my area.
I have received another post from Chris Woollams. I was still looking at the last one, and reading this morning about the protein in wheat that causes chronic inflammation among non-celiac sensitive people. I haven't been eating bread for a while now, and try to avoid common wheat-containing products. And then this morning there is another post, and I have looked at the first one, which is very long and talks about the gut, and the gut bacteria's influence on many health problems, including cancer and breast cancer. I do take a daily probiotic, and I take kefir and raw sauerkraut at intervals, it is very hard for me to stomach the kefir, I have to talk myself into it!
My knee feels stronger and more stable, it is still a bit painful if I do a bit of walking. I am wondering if part of this is tied in with the neuropathic pain I have in my extremities. When I had the ankle pain from the injection by the vein doctor, that pain seemed exacerbated by the neuropathy, and it did not die down for over 6 months. I am beginning to wonder if any injury to part of my legs or arms is going to set off the nerve pain. I feel very much as if I am going to have to diagnose myself, my GP has written me off as a "complainer", I think. My 6-month visit to the oncologist is next month, I will tell her these things, but she usually tells me to tell my GP, or a specialist if I have complaints that she doesn't think have to do with cancer. I think our own health is very much in our own hands, I pursue avenues I think will do me good, sometimes these turn out well and sometimes I notice no improvement. At least most of these things cause no harm. I am talking at least partly about acupuncture, massage therapy, healing touch, essential oils, natural supplements and vitamins. They do cause a drain on the wallet, but I don't have too many bad habits so have decided to try these things to see if helpful.
We are inundated with information these days, it is nice to turn off the spigot sometimes. The 24-hour news cycle is exhausting if I try to keep up, not to mention trying to keep up with all the health and wellness info. I do exercise caution trying some things I hear about, Chris Woollams is talking a lot about the value of artemisinin in his latest post. This substance is commonly called wormwood. It apparently has a lot of value against cancer cells, among other things, but has to be approached and used with caution. I picked this info up while skimming his latest post, the only article I read more closely so far was the first one, on the healthy gut.
I hope your friend who has been taking immunotherapy drugs is doing okay, and the CAT scan turns out well.
I shall talk to you soon, love,
Mary
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Hello Mary,
Thank you for your post. I shall reply later as I am very busy today.
Take care.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Sylvia,
I just wanted to let you know I found Nigel Farage yesterday on the radio. Apparently he is on here Live from 1 PM to 2 PM. That is an hour that often finds me gone, but I'll listen when I can. I caught it near the end of the show.
It is quiet here on the thread, I hope everyone is feeling well. Hello to all!
Mary
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Hi Mary and all,
I am feeling well and I have a checkup on Friday with my surgeon.I am hoping my drains come out by then.I have been walking and eating well although the antibiotic I am on makes me nauseous.The surgeon said the biopsy site looked inflammed when she operated.That is why it was so painful for so long.I really don't have much pain-a
Little soreness under the arm.I did see that the Brexit deal was signed today.I wonder how many other countries will follow.I was watching c span yesterday and Trey Gowdy did an excellent job of questioning Comey about the unmasking of americans when investigating other countries.It is really scary.I feel as if they will do anything including breaking the law to try and discredit Trump.On a more positive note-the weather is warmer here and the sun is shining for the first time in days.Hope your not in too much pain Mary.I agree with trying alternative therapies and feel like they are worth it.
Rhond
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Hello Mary,
I have also received another email from Chris Woollams but have not had time to look at it yet. I feel we are getting too many too quickly and it is becoming difficult to get to them, let alone read them. I think that on the thread I shall just say that there is a new one and give rough outline and leave those interested to investigate for themselves.
I did read the section about protein in wheat that causes chronic inflammation among non-celiac sensitive people. There is a lot of information about people being allergic to wheat. I think wheat is messed about a lot and is far removed from spelt which is the original wheat. I do not eat much bread, just a couple of slices of toast in the morning made with Vogel linseed and soy, but it does have some wheat in it. I think we just have to do our best and not worry too much about all this information that causes us anxiety. I think that probably a daily probiotic supplement is the easiest and perhaps most effective thing to do for the gut.
I do hope you make some progress with your oncologist when you ask about your knee pain and any connection with neuropathy. I think the specialist consultants are very narrow in their thinking and their information and knowledge. I think we have to make up our own minds and decide what we are going to think. At least. That is what I do.
It is true that we are inundated with information these days and lately I have decided to spare my brain and just absorb what I think will be most useful in my everyday life.
I was interested in what you said about Chris Woollams and his talking about artemisia, commonly known as wormwood. I learned about wormwood back in 2005 when I was first diagnosed. I picked up a copy of icon magazine and found mention of a herbalist called Gerald Green (now deceased). He was one of a group of specialists writing in the magazine. As you know, I delayed my treatment for some time and in the very beginning I wrote to Gerald Green, told him of my diagnosis and asked what he could do to help. He prescribed wormwood and astragalus and I took them for a few months. I also followed a diet that he recommended. I also saw, as you know, a homoeopathic doctor who treated patients at an NHS hospital and was referred to her by my breast cancer consultant surgeon. Eventually I decided to have the orthodox treatment, so I had to end my treatment with Gerald Green, as he did not treat patients who were having orthodox treatment. I am convinced that the wormwood and astragalus helped, as did the homoeopathic treatment that I carried on all through my orthodox treatment and the homoeopathic consultant liaised with my orthodox consultants.
I think the wormwood treats candida which somehow seems to be connected to cancer development. I do not know all the details, but somehow wormwood would seem to act against cancer. Astragalus is an immune booster and a well known Chinese treatment. I still take it from time to time.
I think with all these things, you need to consult with a professional.
I am still waiting to hear whether my friend and neighbour has had her CAT scan. There is so much waiting here in the UK.
I do hope you manage to listen to Nigel Farage on LBC. Today Theresa May activated Article 50, so we are now on route to get out of the EU, but I think it is going to be a long and difficult road with Remainers trying to stop the will of the majority of people here. I do hope the people do not get betrayed and we get a watered-down version. The most important factor for people voting Brexit is control of our borders and taking back the sovereignty of our country. It is ridiculous that it is going to take two years at least to actually get out!
That is all for now. The thread is quiet but this always seems to happen after a group finishes their treatment, and then all of a sudden, we start hearing from newly diagnosed patients. We must not forget that Rhonda, Lou, Marias are still going through treatment and that Pam is gathering information about reconstruction.
Take care.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Rhonda,
I was really glad to know you are feeling well and I do hope that all goes well on Friday when you have a check up with your surgeon. I am sure you will be glad to get rid of the drains. I do hope that you will soon make a full recovery.
Yes, Brexit was delivered today but this is just the start of a very long journey. I think that France would like Frexit, but that will very much depend on who wins the French Presidential election in May. Germany has benefited most from the EU and dominates too much. I think this has been their way of winning WW2.
I think you are right about the demonising of Donald Trump. The powers that be are trying every trick to get rid of him. That is what he gets for trying to carry out the wishes of those that voted for him (a rare thing in our politicians). It is the same in the UK and the media demonise all those that try to bring the establishment to heel.
At least when we have a bit of sunshine, it makes us feel better, amidst all the doom and gloom.
Take care.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia and all,
Yes, ice cream is very refreshing in this sunny island but I am trying to make a healthy version. I haven't perfected it yet. I am using almond milk, frozen banana and fresh mango.
Filipinos can easily adapt with regards to language, I guess. Because aside from our national language we also have our own dialect. One dialect also can have a few versions. I speak and write 2 version of 1 dialect fluently. My Father and Mother is from different part of the Bicol region.
I chance upon Chris Woollams website and reading a bit. I did sign up for a newsletter as I find it interesting but haven't received any yet.
I am also eating bread every morning for breakfast. Sometimes I baked my own bread but mostly I buy. There are a lot of contradicting informations in the net. I just follow what I think is right for me and informations that I learned from the threads here
I had my #7/12 yesterday. I asked the Nurse about my blood works and she said everything is normal.
Best regards,
Lou
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Hello Lou,
Thank you for your post. I do hope you succeed in making some healthy ice cream. I am not sure how one would solidify it. Commercial ice cream is very high in fat and goodness knows what else!
I can understand what you said about the ability of Filipinos to adapt easily to languages. This is what I found with my students when I was teaching in Morocco. I taught in France and I found students struggled more to learn English and here in the UK, in England, I found my students struggled learning French. Those that were good were very good and those that struggled, well they struggled! I think that in the UK the population assumes that everyone else should speak English!
I was pleased to know that you have been looking at the Cancer Active (Chris Woollams) website. It is full of useful information and he now deals with all kinds of illness on his website. You just take in what you can, so that you are not overwhelmed. It seems to take time to get onto his newsletter, so keep trying.
You are right about all the information that we are now getting about bread. It is hard to know what to believe. Commercial bread leaves much to be desired. I have made my own bread in the past, but not for a very long time. I now buy Vogel soy and linseed bread, but have just two slices a day, toasted at breakfast time. I put on a little soy spread and some healthy crunchy peanut butter. I buy the Meridian brand. A lot of the peanut butter on sale is not healthy.
I was glad to know that you had your next chemotherapy infusion yesterday and that everything was normal. Congratulations on that. Keep looking ahead. Just five more to go.
You seem to be coping well with the Carboplatin and Taxol. I must say you come over as very level headed, calm and sensible.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your likes and dislikes, your hobbies etc.
Sending you my very best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
Just popping in to wish you all a very pleasant and relaxing weekend. I am so glad to see the end of March.
The thread is very quiet at the moment, as most of our group has finished their treatment, but please remember we need to keep supporting Lou, Rhonda and Pam, as well as Marias, who is not posting much but is still going through treatment.
Even those who have finished treatment and are now adapting to life after that, need our support, as they embark on regular check ups. We know that Kath in Australia worries a lot and we need to reassure her. We have become a small but united group.
Hello to Mary, Hanieh, adagio, Amanda, Kath, Rhonda, Pam, Val, 4everStrong, Lou, Nili, and Marias. I do hope that I have not forgotten anyone. We always welcome any long term survivors to pop in to say hello.
The latest news I heard on the radio this morning was that it is thought that dairy products leech calcium from the bones. I find this ironic that we are all told that we must consume dairy products to keep our bones 'healthy'! I have always found this hard to believe because osteoporosis is worse in countries that consume lots of dairy products and less in countries where they do not consume them. We have to remember that the dairy lobby is very powerful and people are easy to brainwash.
Have a good weekend.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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HI, Sylvia,
Chris Woollams has been very busy so far this year, I do enjoy reading his posts, and if one clicks on the links embedded in the article one can indeed spend a lot of time going over all the info. I am still getting the frequent posts from Ty Bollinger as well, not to mention a few others. Some of them have devolved a bit, seems to me they are mostly just trying to sell supplements and other products. And I guess they do have to stay afloat one way or another.
I have read a couple of things about the wheat we eat nowadays; as you said, it is not the wheat that used to be in our great-grandfather's diets. What I have read says there is a portion of the wheat that is hard for us to digest, simply because it is a wheat that was probably brought into an area to be grown because it produced higher yields. Most people have no problem with wheat products, I find I just feel a bit better if I don't eat too much of it, too much pasta or bread just seems to lie heavy in my stomach, for me it's just a matter of choice. I have a nephew who has celiac disease to the extent that he has to have special utensils and cooking pots, fortunately he loves to cook so does not go hungry!
I talked to an orthopedic doc I know about my knee, he ordered an x-ray and said that it is a quite good-looking knee. So whatever is going on is soft-tissue, probably a strain of some kind. On his advice I am going to start exercising with the pain, only with a gentler routine. I am quite sure if I waited to ask my oncologist about it, she would say "you should ask a specialist about that." If I wasn't going to Europe in about a month I would probably be more relaxed about the whole thing, but I do know there is going to be a lot of walking. My sis-in-law has been exercising like crazy since January, she wants to be very fit, I will not be able to keep up with her as it is.
I think you are right in that the road to Brexit is going to be long with a lot of friction along the way. What time-wasters these politicians are. In this country there has already been a long fight about health-care reform, with no end in sight. As far as I can tell, none of the politicians are worried about anyone's healthcare, they are only worried about their own power, and just stay busy jockeying for position at the top of the heap. The other hot-button issue in our news is Russia, and spying, and so forth. It seems to me that if we have truly expert spies somewhere, and I'm sure we do, they are not the people blabbing all over the news shows. I have become very cynical about our "news" and believe almost nothing of what I see on TV.
I hope Marias is okay, I saw her message about having developed photosensitivity and not wanting to look at computer screens. It is not easy going through chemotherapy, I hope she will get through the rest of it okay. I also hope Gina is doing well, she has been very quiet.
I was reading Woollams' article about Royal Rife, an American scientist who started working to fight cancer in the early 1900s after WWI. He invented a special microscope to look at cancer cells, and pursued a theory that cancer was/is caused by a bacteria that mutates into a virus, he built some very advanced laboratories and worked on his theories for some 40 years, with other scientists of note. One of his theories was that a special light beam trained on cancers could "blow it up", and apparently he had some success at this with animal studies. There was some interest from the big cancer conglomerates until it was realized that these men were not medical doctors. The large cancer outfits, Dept. of Health, American Cancer Society, Sloan-Kettering, dismissed his work as unimportant and Rife died in poverty with none of his dreams of a cure realized. And sadly, nobody has pursued this line of work to any degree since, and no clear explanation for cancer's proliferation is given, for all the billions of dolllars spent on research.
It's an interesting article; when we were at the TTAC Symposium in October, we found that the meeting rooms were re-named for the weekend, after anti-cancer luminaries. One of them was the Royal Rife room, at the time I had no idea who he was.
I have a busy day, so had better get started with it. Talk again soon,
Love, Mary
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Hi, Rhonda,
Glad you are feeling well and not having much pain. I also hope your drains come out today, I remember being so glad when mine came out. It was a hassle to deal with, mine stayed in about 2 weeks if I remember correctly, the first time I went after placement it was decided to leave them a little longer.
I agree that Trey Gowdy is a good investigator, I think he asks good questions and hits the mark. I don't know about Dir. Comey anymore, I think he should be replaced.
Good luck with your check-up today!
Talk soon, love,
Mary
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Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, learning the rope to never cross path with BC again. Trying to educate myself with all the information. It scares me everyday because my DS is only 3.
I love crafting a lot. I do crochet, jewellery making and quiet book.
My DS enjoying the Quiet Book I made for him when he was 18 months old.
Today I baked cupcake for a friend who is leaving Singapore for good. We had a small get together and kept me busy.
Best regards,
Lou
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Hello Mary,
I do agree that Chris Woollams of Cancer Active has been very busy this year. Like you, I enjoy reading these posts and clicking on the links embedded in the article. I tend to print them out as I do not like sitting in front of a computer too much. I have not yet read in detail his latest email.
You must be very busy if you are also reading Ty Bolinger as well.
I do agree that a lot of them are trying to sell their products, especially supplements. I can see with the natural food store here in Exmouth that it is getting too far away from a basic healthy product and getting into too much processed stuff, just like the supermarkets. An example is quinoa and we now have quinoa crisps!! I am very wary of all this. My main shopping consists of fruit and vegetables. I do buy some frozen Pacific wild salmon. I walk by most of the aisles in the supermarket and buy very little in our local natural food store. I am not in favour of all the supplements that are being pushed on us.
It looks as though wheat is becoming a no-no. It seems that gluten free is now everywhere, but I do not buy any of it. I think it is only useful to those that are allergic to it. I do not eat much bread but only buy Vogel soy and linseed and have a couple of small slices as toast. I am not a lover of pasta, but from time to time buy a small pack of high protein whole-wheat pasta. I buy the bread and pasta mainly for Raymond.
I do hope you get to the bottom of the pain in your knee. I have just bought the latest edition of What Doctors Don't Tell You (April). I have not read it yet, but Raymond has been reading it and told me that, according to an article in it, acupuncture seems to be the best relief for pain. I hear that quite a lot.
I am trying to get all my reading done, but there is always something getting in the way. I now have the Chris Woollams stuff to read, the WDDTY magazine and Vita magazine. I do like Vita as it is largely breast cancer patients writing about all their treatment and experiences. I think all breast cancer patients should be reading it.
I am sure that we are not at the end of the Brexit road. I cannot believe that we have two years of getting it all sorted out. I think we should just walk away from it and ignore the EU bureaucrats. The wrangling has already started and it is over Gibraltar. It should not be part of the UK. It is so obviously a part of Spain but we took it from Spain in 1713!!! In the referendum it voted as part of the UK, but voted to remain in the EU, but wants to stay part of the UK. If that is the case, it has to accept the result of the referendum, which was to leave. Talk about want your cake and eat it too. I am wondering how long it will be before the powers that be here send out the gunboats to 'protect' Gibraltar. It is the Falklands all over again. When oh when are we going to make the fifteen overseas territories independent that we claim to be ours? Perhaps the powers that be will ask for America back one of these days!!
I think all this information about Russia is silly. The West always has to have a bogey man to chase to justify all the money it spends on weapons and wars. I am sure we are going towards WW3.
I do hope Marias is OK. She is going through chemotherapy in addition to everything else and is writing on the thread in a foreign language, so she may not feel up to keeping in touch at the moment. Have you noticed how quiet the thread is now that most of the group has finished treatment? I always find that disappointing but understand how people want to put it all behind them and get on with a normal life. As for Gina, she did start her own thread based on jokes and humour, so she may be busy with that. She did finish treatment and I think she was not having radiotherapy. She was having to decide about whether to go on tamoxifen etc.
I did see the information about Royal Rife but I need to read it in more detail. It all sounds very interesting. It sound similar to photo-dynamic treatment that has been talked about as well and I think used.
I hope you have a nice Sunday.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Lou,
It was nice to hear from you. I am quite sure you are doing everything you possibly can to keep cancer at bay. That is all we can do. As long as we try to keep eating healthily and having some physical and mental activity and keeping away from negative stress, we can be pleased with ourselves. We all know there are no guarantees.
You certainly seem very gifted with your craft work. I do like the photographs of your little boy reading the quiet book you made. I am also impressed with those cupcakes you made.
Keep in touch and take care of yourself as you go through your chemotherapy journey.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Rhonda,
How is everything going with you? Have you now had the drains out?
Thinking of you and wishing you all the very best.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia,
I went to see the surgeon on Friday and wanted to wait a few more days.Tomorrow I will see my oncologist and have the second Herceptin and Perjeta.They also want me to start radiation as soon as possible and also Xeloda for 6 months.I had many positive lymph nodes so it's extra precaution.I am trying not to worry and sometimes it's difficult.My cousin is still here visiting from India and we are doing a lot of walking when the weather isn't miserable.Today we went to Kaaterskill Falls -it was an easy walk and the view was beautiful.
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hi all
Saw my oncologist today and he doesn't want to see me for another 3 months. Liver functions and all bloods good. Discussed the back and hip creepy crawly feeling I'm having and he thinks is neural so won't do a bone scan. Not happy with that although it's getting a little better I'm still quite worried. Still getting peripheral neuropathy in hand s and feet but it's getting a little better. We are coming into winter in Australia tho so I think it may get worse. My hair slowly growing back but really slowly. Hope everyone is well
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Hi, Kath,
I think things sound good for you, I hope the creepy-crawlys will go away as you move further away from treatment. Three months will go fast, before you know it you will be back for your next appointment. I can't believe how fast the time goes. When I was doing the chemo, it seemed to go slow, not anymore.
Talk to you soon, we are getting spring weather, while you are moving to winter! How cold does it get where you are?
Mary
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HI, Rhonda
That's a beautiful happy pic, you look great! I am lazy and didn't go back into the posts, how many Herceptin will you have? And may I ask how many lymph nodes were positive? 6 months of Xeloda sounds doable, at least it's not open-ended.
You look as if you are very warmly dressed, here we are having a volatile spring; yesterday it was 80 and tomorrow will be only in the 50s, with 34 tomorrow night. Yesterday I worked in the yard as well as I could, and sweated......in a couple of days I will have on my coat and scarf!
Talk soon, Mary
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HI, Lou,
I think you will have a long life with your son. And I admire your crafting skill, I don't have any of that talent. I do like to cook and bake too, but it is necessary to bake only if there is more than myself to bake for! Your cupcake display is very pretty. Your son is very lucky to have a mom who makes such a wonderful gift for him as the soft book.
I learn things about BC every day too, I wish I had known a little of this when I was diagnosed.
Talk to you soon, Lou
Mary
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Hi all,
I gave up on snow, it's April!
Signs of spring, bluebells and wild phlox
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Hi Mary,
17 total Herceptin and Perjeta and I had 29 out of 32 lymph nodes under my arm with cancer.One was Her 2 positive and the rest were triple negative.My surgeon said I had a higher number of lymph nodes in that area than normal.I am trying not to dwell on it and it's difficult.I s my not sure about Xeloda.I thought 6 month she but it might be a year.One week on and one off.It was in the
50s the day we hiked.All the snow is melted where I like but that was up the mountain.Now we are getting flood warnings.
Love,
Rhonda
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Hello to everyone and Happy Spring
Maryna - I do so hope that your knee will improve for you so that you can enjoy your trip to the fullest. Pain is challenging to deal with at the best of times, but I always find it worse when away from home. Take pain killers with you just in case, and hopefully you will be able to do all that you want to do. It sounds like a very exciting holiday in Europe.
Sylvia - you are such a support for all of us on here and make us all feel so welcome - regardless of whether we post often or not! I do not post often, and sometimes I think - oh, why bother - I do not have anything important to say, and then you remind me of the need to let others newly diagnosed to hear that there are those of us around who have been on the same journey as them and we are now well and back to an active, normal life.
Kath - your MO seems pleased with your progress - that is always a good sign. Like Maryna said - those 3 months in between visits will fly by. Keep busy and just take each day as it comes.
My news is that my daughter has had her baby. She had a very intensive labour for 26 hours, but was able to have a beautiful home birth attended by 2 midwives and 2 doulas. A totally natural birth without medication of any kind. I now have a lovely little grandaugher called Olivia Annabelle. I am so grateful for my strong daughter who gave birth to a lovely little girl. Now a good part of my days are taken up with visiting and helping the new Mom and making sure she eats. I do consider it a joy to do this, and am so grateful for health, strength and energy to assist in this way.
For those still going through treatment - wishing you minimal side effects.
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