Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Good afternoon Sylvia and fellow sisters!
Hope ypou are all keeping positive and as well as you can. Sorry, I haven't been on this site for a while so I haven't caught up with all of your updates. I lost my elderly Uncle who lived near bye on the 29th Oct so I went to another space in my head ..... He was 88yrs and had moderate dementia so it was a relief fro him. I have 4 Taxol cycles to go so looking forward to finishing up in Jan18. I eventually had a chest scan because I was coughing so bad, was treated with antibiotica and that has improved. 2 weeks ago I got a blood clot near where the porto cath is in situ. I am on daily injections of Innohep for that. I don't think I have kept myself dehydrated enough but the Doctor thought all the coughing was a contributory factor. I have developed some peripheral neuropathy on the tips of my fingers and toes. Looks like I will loose the thumbnail on my Rt hand.....discolored etc. They may consider reducing the dose next week. They believe that usually if it doesn't extend below the 1st joints O should have a full recovery within a few months of completing Taxol. Does anyone have any views on this? I am fearful of reducing the dose.....caught between a rock and a hard place! Have to dash out now to collect my daughter. Hope to read up on all the posts later.
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Hi, Sylvia
Reporting that my vision has cleared and is no longer blurry, but my eyes are still light-sensitive and achy. I am pretty sure this all happened because my eyes are very dry. It is one of the side effects of LASIX that the docs don't really tell you about, and it is getting worse as I get older. I have drops I use, but I can tell since the weather got colder and drier they have dried out more. I think the combo of that and the dilating drops was just too much for them to get over quickly. But yes, the LASIX gave me good vision without the thick glasses I had worn since childhood, but also gave me the dry eye problem. Like your lymphedema, it is not really mentioned before the procedure.
I am so sorry you are having to deal with lymphedema, it is indeed a difficult thing to deal with, as I have heard from others as well. More forewarning would be nice, but it probably wouldn't change our treatment regimens; except perhaps if radiation and chemo got rid of whatever was in the lymph nodes it would not be necessary to remove them? I was reading a little on another thread this morning, about Trials going on right now on new drugs, and even a vaccine for TNBC. I think they said it's 10 years from being ready to go, if it is successful in Trials. Wouldn't that be wonderful, to just be rid of this disease completely, and all of its' resulting woes.
I feel the same about the CIPN, the chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, that robs a person of strength and sensation. It was also barely gone over pre-chemotherapy. The BBC Radio Program you mentioned sounded good, and the advice you are given about turning anxiety into exercise is good, BUT. I put a big BUT because I am tired of being harangued about exercise everywhere I go. I love to exercise, and it is one ot the things that makes me sad that I can't exercise as I used to. Because of shoulder injury, because of bad knees ( but not bad enough for surgery) because of the CIPN that makes my legs weak. Then I am advised to do Physical Therapy! I have done months and months of therapy on my shoulder that made it worse. I did PT on my legs that started up the pain there, almost a year ago. The doc said it was probably the last straw that kicked in my arthritic pain, oh, and I have meniscus tears in my knee now! Nobody that I have seen has any good answers, I am going to a different doc to get another shot in my knee next week, That is my rant about that, I suppose.
I can understand also your disappointment of many views and not so many posts. Probably many people are searching for an area of commonality, and if they find one are more likely to drop in, or are just not ready to join in a conversation. I have been disappointed when I try to answer a post fully with someone new and then never hear from them again, but I do understand the emotional state that most are probably in, I was there too. I have even pulled back from a conversation because it's time-consuming to give time and energy to these posts only to feel as though they are going into the air. It's one of the things that I admire about you; you give your time, information and advice freely and sometimes are never reciprocated. But I think it's in your nature to be supportive, and try to inform people. You were a teacher after all, you would have probably also have been a very good and caring nurse.
I also really sympathize with Hanieh and Marias, they are both young, lovely women that should be looking forward to their coming years and not having to deal with all this. I hope too, that we hear from Marias soon and it's hard to take in that Hanieh will be going through chemotherapy again. I'm glad that she is going elsewhere for her treatment than she did the first time. Praying this will all be behind them soon.
That's all for now, will answer your other post later.
Love, Mary
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Hi Sylvia, Mary and all
Sylvia I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Yet, I'm sure you will find a solution to it to eases your discomfort.
Mary, I used to wear glasses for more than 5 years but about 10 years ago I had laxics. It caused one or two months of discomfort and sensitivity to light but it was worth doing as I got rid of eye glasses for ever.
Yesterday I had brain MRI and tomorrow I will have whole body nuclear scan of of my bones . I hope everything goes well and I start my treatment with peace of mind. I think by tomorrow night all the results are ready and my oncologist will prescribe chemo treatment. My hands are crossed for good results of all the scans.
This is a picture of us in Thiland, Bangkok and Pattaya this last summer. I'm going to miss my hair a lot.
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Hello!!! I'm back. I'm not feeling good lately with out strong. The doctor send me now 150.gr of eutirox instead of 100.
I'm with high pressure. And feeling really tired.
Abrazos
Marias
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Hi, Galway
It's good to see you back, I was looking back at my latest post and thought it sounded pretty whiny, there are a lot of you ladies going through much worse!
I'm glad you have gotten past the coughing, that must have been a lot of coughing to get a blood clot! Other than that, you seem to be getting through chemo okay, except for the neuropathy in the tips of your fingers. So now they are deciding about whether or not to cut your dose. My dose was cut during chemo because of neuropathy, but I still have neuropathy to this day even though the MO cut my dose. I don't think anyone can really tell you whether or not cutting the dose will make a difference, and the neuropathy symptoms may very well leave when chemo is finished. What I have learned about this condition is that there is no rhyme or reason to it, many people get rid of it after chemo, and sometimes it persists. I guess you have to balance the fear of not taking the full dose of chemo, against the fear of developing worse neuropathy. I wish I could help, I just don't think anyone knows the answer, it's really just an unknown. For me, after my first dose of Taxotere I landed in the hospital, and then about a week later my feet became very odd-feeling and felt puffy like walking on little cushions. It went away but came back later.
I did lose both big toe nails, they just fell off one day, there was no pain. The new nail was growing underneath.
Sylvia will be glad to see you back here, she is always extra happy to see her UK and Irish posters. Let us know what the doc decides to do, or what you decide to do if you feel up to it.
Talk to you again soon, Mary
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Hi, Hanieh
Good to hear from you, glad you are getting through your tests one by one. We want to hear good news from those results!!
I think LASIX is almost a miracle, after so many years of wearing thick glasses and uncomfortable contact lenses, it is just wonderful. It is like everything else, it has side effects, and apparently as one gets older, one can develop dry eyes. There are eye drops for that, so I put them in twice a day, but even the drier winter weather affects them. I would do the procedure over again though, I still think it's an amazing difference from the limited vision I had before.
I know you will miss your pretty hair, but it will grow back. The pictures are beautiful. If you have time, let us know about your chemo regimen, I think about you often and pray all will go smoothly for you.
Talk to you soon, love, Mary
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Hi, Marias
It's good to see you, and I'm so sorry you are feeling so weak and tired. The drugs that patients have to take are hard to handle sometimes. Try to keep in mind they will help you get better, and be able to get back to your life.
I will be praying for good things for you, hang in there.
Talk to you again soon, love, Mary
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Hello Galway,
Thank you for your post. Keep looking forward to January 18th when you will finish chemotherapy. I really get the impression that the taxane drugs, whether they are Taxol or Taxotere are very difficult on the body. You have certainly been going through a very difficult time. I do hope all is behind you.
It is extremely important to keep yourself hydrated during chemotherapy. I always had a glass of water near me and I used to sip it all the time.
I do hope the peripheral neuropathy will go away, but I do have doubts about that. I felt it in the feet after I had finished all of my treatment. The oncologist told me that it was definitely caused by the Taxotere I had had in the second three months of my treatment and that there was no cure.
It is quite common on chemotherapy to get discolouration of the nails and sometimes they do fall out. I did not have any fall out but I know people who did.
You mentioned that there was talk of reducing the dose. Are you having Taxol every three weeks or weekly? Women on the thread have said often that they found the weekly regime easier. Remember that the dose you are given is based on your height and weight. Perhaps you might just want to go the lower dose weekly, but if you are already on it and it is causing so many problems, then reducing would seem to make sense. You must always discuss the matter with your consultants.
On the thread we cannot give advice, we can give our own experience and provide all the information we have.
When we are going through treatment it is always very difficult to make decisions about anything to do with our treatment. All we can do is discuss things with the medical team, weigh it all up and then make our decision.
I do hope you will be able to catch up on the posts that you have missed. We are discussing all kinds of things and you may have missed important information and something that may be very relevant to you.
It was so nice to have you back on the thread. Please let us know how you get on.
I was sorry to read about your elderly uncle. I know what it is like to lose our elderly relatives. All of my aunts and uncles are now dead, except one aunt who is 83. I was particularly close to one of my uncles and I really miss him because we talked so much on the phone, but I miss all of my relatives.
That is about all for now.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I was glad to see you back on the thread. I hope your eyes are back to normal now.
As for lymphoedema, I think the medical experts will always remove any affected nodes and a few additional ones just in case. I think they need to be as minimal as they can. When I was diagnosed there was talk of a blue dye procedure which showed up affected nodes. I do not know what happened about it, but I certainly was not offered it. I do not know whether with it they would just remove the affected ones. I think they probably take out more than is necessary just to be safe. Even if the nodes are not removed, because unaffected, you can still develop lymphoedema from surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy if the lymph system gets damaged.
I am getting into a new routine wearing the compression sleeve and doing exercises. I am counting more on myself to get the swelling under control.
I must admit that I do not take much notice of trials as I do not think a magic bullet will cure cancer. I still think the emphasis should be on prevention. I have just received the Winter edition of LymphLine and was disappointed to read that the experts are looking to surgery and pills to deal with lymphoedema. Again, there is no talk of prevention. In order to prevent lymphoedema, at least where cancer treatment is concerned, I feel that the first emphasis should be on pulling out all the stops to prevent cancer. It seems to be largely lifestyle, environment and stress.
When there is talk of activity to help with anxiety, it does not mean doing strenuous exercise, running like mad, or anything else like that. A nice gentle walk is good or like the two of us, doing our gardens.
You are right about peripheral neuropathy. We are not told about it.
It is good to see Marias back on the thread and we need to give her lots of support. It is difficult to work out her exact treatment in a different country to our own. She has had such a lot to deal with.
That is all for now. Talk soon.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh and Marias,
I am going to take a break but will get back to both of you later today.
Love to you both.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I thought you might find this information interesting. I found this in a magazine recently.
I hope you manage to read the shorter article. If not get out your magnifying glasses!
I hope you are all having a good weekend.
Best wishes
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
Thank you for your latest post. You must be very glad to have your MRI scan behind you and today, as I write, I hope you have had the bone nuclide scan. How long will you have to wait before you get the results? I know they can give these results pretty quickly.
Am I right in assuming that you will start chemotherapy on Monday? Will you be having a taxane drug and carboplatin together? Remember how important it is to keep hydrated. The best drink is just plain water and remember to rest as much as you want and to keep looking forward with determination.
Thank you for the lovely photographs. You, your husband and your daughter look like a very happy family.
I know it is difficult about the hair, but somehow we manage. Try to post as much as you can so that we can go through this journey with you.
Remember to eat good nutritious food and to eat in small quantities rather than large meals. If we can do anything to help just let us know. Good luck from all of us on the thread.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Marias,
I can tell you that we are all so glad to see you back on the thread.
I am not surprised to read that you are not feeling good lately and that you do not have much strength. You need to try to get strong again. Eating good nutritious food and resting when you feel the need will help.
You must remember that it was only last November (2016) that you were diagnosed with breast cancer. Quite soon after that you started your chemotherapy and that treatment would have had a serious effect on your body. It will take time to build up your strength and get your immune system working properly.
Just five months ago you had another breast cancer diagnosis, so you are still recovering from that. In addition you have been through radiotherapy.
To make it more difficult you were diagnosed with cancer in your thyroid gland and had that removed.
I am still wondering what your medical team has done since that thyroid was removed.
Have you been given a synthetic thyroid hormone to replace the natural thyroid hormone that comes from the thyroid?
I think the drug you are taking (Eutirox) is in English levothyroxine which is a thyroid hormone medication. The fact that your doctor has increased the dose probably means the original dose was not sufficient. Let us hope this will help with the tiredness.
What has happened to the four tiny parathyroid glands that sit on the thyroid? Were they all removed with the thyroid? Have they placed them somewhere else? They are needed to control the calcium level in the blood.
I was sorry to read that you have high blood pressure. What is being done about this?
Give yourself time to recover from the tiredness. It could take quite a long time.
We are all thinking of you and sending love and best wishes.
Abrazos
Sylvia xxxx
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Sunrise over Exmouth this morning at 7:30 am.
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Hello everyone, again,
I have been busy catching up with things I wanted to post on the thread. This page is about the top 10 super foods according to the Grape Tree in their winter newsletter 2017. This is a shop that we have in Exmouth and which is part of a chain. They have listed the top ten based on the choices of customers at their stores (www.grapetree.co.uk for the latest news and products). They are also on Facebook and Twitter.
I must admit I eat a lot of these top ten foods, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, apricots, chia seeds, cashews, prunes, goji berries, cacao powder and dates. In fact I eat all of these but prefer Medjoul dates to ordinary dates.
That is all for today.
Sylvia
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Hello Everyone,
Valstim, it was good to see you back here. You must have mentioned that you were a writer before, but I thought that was pretty interesting. I used to love the Reader's Digest. Maybe I have read your short stories.
Marias, I hope you're hanging in there. It was amazing to see the recap of all that you've been through in just over a year. Keep smiling, and remember that we are all here wishing for better days for you.
Hanieh, I'm glad to hear that your tests were clear, and that you'll be receiving Carboplatin and one of the Taxanes for your chemo. According to my MO, these are the preferred treatments for Triple Negative these days. I understand about not wanting to lose your hair. If you can, try to remember that the chemo is helping you, every time you go for your infusions.
Galway, I had the strangest numbness in one foot during treatment. It's gone, so it was dismissed as a pinched nerve. I've never had anything like it, and if it was neuropathy, it probably would not have disappeared. All I can say is that you can probably expect all types of bizarre side effects during treatment. I followed a "Started Chemo in..." board here, and it helped me a lot to hear what everyone else was going through.
Sylvia, I made another persimmon/kale salad tonight, and thought of you. You've been so busy here, and I've enjoyed all of your posts - especially that stunning sunrise photo. That was absolutely lovely. Thanks for your suggestions about checking the topics on the site. It's good to remember that there are active topics beyond the ones we discuss here.
I agree that we have to make the best of things, and that there are no guarantees. It's very sad, but I came across some emails from Dec, 2014, when a friend at work lost her husband suddenly in a car accident. We are all relatively OK today, and that's all we ever have.
About people thinking more about what they can do for others, I seem to find more of that every time I travel away from Southern California. It doesn't help that life is based around car culture here. I'm lucky that in my neighborhood that we have some long - term neighbors who look out for each other, but I hope I can live elsewhere eventually.
Lymphedema definitely doesn't get enough attention, and I understand your frustration at having to go back to doctors and hospitals again, after all of this time. As you say, the topic should be introduced early in treatment, and education and awareness of the risk should not be such an afterthought. At least, it seemed an afterthought in my treatment. Have you seen any improvement from wearing the compression sleeve?
Thanks too for posting the information about inflammation and the mind-body connection. These are exactly the things I'm focusing on at the moment. If those notoriously unreliable tumor markers can rise from inflammation, I'm going to do as much as I can to reduce mine even more. I know that they don't test them in the UK, and I think that's probably best. My understanding is that outcomes are the same either way.
Finally, as far as the social connection aspect goes, I know that I could this thread as one. I'm so glad that it's here.
Pam
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hi everyone
Visit with onco seemed to go well. Don’t see him for 3 months. He wasn’t too alarmed about the tightness in my joints because I still have full range of movement. Not sure how I feel but I think I just need to get on with things for the next three months until my next visit. Have picked up a throaty bug which is annoying. Hopefully should clear soon. Just post a pic of sunset from my back yard by the pool.
Much love to everyone
Cheers
Kath
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Hello Kath,
I was pleased to know that your visit with your oncologist seemed to go well. Try to relax now for the next three months until the next check up.
I was sorry to read that you have a throaty bug, as that can be very tiring. Do you take anything for it? Here, I think antibiotics are given out too readily and patients seem to want them too readily. They are no use against viral infections, only for bacterial ones, as you will well know. When I lived in France, many years ago, a doctor would take a swab of the throat to decide about viral or bacterial. Here, I do not think that happens. We are in a lot of trouble with superbugs MRSA and C difficile because of handing out antibiotics. I was wondering what you think of them. I ask this because I recently read a most interesting article in Nexus magazine under Health and you can find it on line.
This article is by Stephen McMurray and is June-August 2017. The sub-heading is Shining a light on adverse reactions and hidden risks. There are seven pages and he goes through all the different groups of antibiotics and their side effects. Reading all this I discovered that antibiotics are put into flu vaccines but they are not listed as being there. I find this is totally out of order.
I still think that somehow the flu injection I had did something to my body, and I just wish I could prove it for my own satisfaction.
I just cannot see why I would suddenly develop lymphoedema, which is a chronic condition. I know lymphoedema can be caused through cancer surgery, chemotherapy (especially the taxanes) and radiotherapy, but I do find it strange that I suddenly developed it after twelve years just after the flu injection.
I also wanted to ask you what you know about the following, which I found in a Cancer Active sheet about moles etc. It said that in Australia there is a state of the art diagnosis involving a video-microscope that magnifies moles up to 200 times so that doctors can distinguish the benign from the malignant without having to remove them for a biopsy. Is this current in Australia? I ask because here we always seem to be behind the times and are still doing biopsies with all the risks involved in that.
Thank you so much for that beautiful photograph.
Thinking of you and sending best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Pam,
Thank you for your post and for thinking of me when you made that persimmon/kale salad. Thank you for your kind words about the posts. I do try to make my posts interesting and informative.
I do not know whether you are into baking, but in the Grape Tree newsletter, which I mentioned before, there is a very colourful picture of what is entitled Our Two Way Classic Christmas Cake. It says the Christmas cake is, of course, naturally vegetarian, but for this year we have introduced a simple twist that means it can also be naturally vegan. You can make it any time in the run up to Christmas Day. I am going to try to paste it on the thread. I have been looking at the ingredients for the vegetarian option and see that it has butter and free range eggs. Looking at the ingredients for the vegetarian version I would not put in the soft brown sugar, black treacle or marmalade, but that is just my own feeling. I think the cake would be sweet enough with all the dried fruit.
The vegan version has coconut oil instead of butter, coconut palm sugar instead of soft brown sugar and four tablespoons of golden linseed soaked in twelve tablespoons of water for thirty minutes, instead of the eggs.
There are also other interesting recipes – they are entitled Plant based options.
I agree with you that we have to make the best of things and there are no guarantees.
On the radio this morning I was listening to LBC and the presenter was talking about loneliness and how devastating it was to a person's health and how prevalent it is in this country. He was saying that it causes more ill health than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day! He was saying that it causes a build up of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. We live in a very selfish society.
Where would you like to live eventually? I have a friend and neighbour here who is in LA visiting her son. She is there for six weeks.
I do hope that we can bring lymphoedema to everyone's attention here on the thread and that patients will start bringing it up with their medical teams. It is definitely the poor relation in cancer treatment and we should be told at the outset that surgery, chemotherapy (especially the taxanes) and radiotherapy can all cause it. I have not yet seen any improvement with wearing the compression sleeve, but I am wearing a temporary one until the made to measure ones arrive. I am doing all the gentle exercises I know to keep the arm moving. I do not rreally know where I am going because I have been told it is a chronic condition.
As for inflammation, I keep reading that it is at the root of all chronic illnesses and that it starts in the gut when the biome is unhealthy.
I am sure you are doing all your best to keep yourself healthy. You obviously give a lot of thought to everything. I always enjoy your posts.
My oncologist certainly did not believe in tumour markers. She said they were nor reliable. I never knew anything about mine. It is a bit of a dilemma about information. I believe information is power but I also believe it causes anxiety and worry.
I am so glad that you find the thread beneficial and also social. We have some nice women on here.
That is all for now.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia, Mary and all
Thankfully all my scans came back clear. All the CT scan, MRI, nuclear bone scan, blood test...
I'm somehow relieved that my big tumor had stayed in its place. Now, I'm in one of my classed and my students are taking their final exam. I still don't know what to do about the winter term؛ whether to take classes or not.
This morning, I went to surgery to have a port installed. My doctor used local anesthesia, yet it was painful. Now, I can not move my left arm easily. I should stay strong.
My chemo will start on Wednesday and I'm going to have taxtore and Carboplatine together. I hope to go strong. I hope to beat it this time.
Love
Hanieh
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Sylvia,
I thought you might be interested in this article about a study on arm mobility (morbidity) in younger breast cancer survivors:
https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/sabcs...
Mary
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Sylvia,
I found this article I lniked to above interesting personally because my shoulder injury happened during chemotherapy after mastectomy, and I thought of the lymphedema you have developed, even though we are not what the trial docs would consider young women! I didn't really connect all those things but perhaps everything that happened before the injury was causal in my case too. I think many of us here have curious minds and will always wonder about a lot of things we will not know the answers to, but I don't think I, for one, can stop trying to find out whys and wherefores.
Talk again soon, Mary
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Hi, Kat
You and Sylvia have both posted great photos of sunsets, how beautiful and dramatic!
I do hope your aches and pains and now the throat illness get better, not sure if aches and pains do get better speaking from my own experience!
Sounds like you get a lot done nevertheless.
See you soon, cheers to you, Mary
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Hi, Hanieh
What good news that all your tests were good, a great way to start the week!
You will get used to your port, it doesn't seem like it now but it will settle in. It does save the veins in your arms and hands from lots of needle-sticks. My port was in for 2 years, now I have a hollow spot where it used to be, a reminder.
Wednesday you will start on the Taxotere and Carboplatin, best wishes that it goes very smoothly. I lit a lot of little candles in church yesterday, I named them all and one was in your name.
Talk to you soon, love, Mary
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Hi Mary
You made my day. Thank you so much for lighting a candle in the church for me. As we are Muslims, we are not allowed to go to churches here. But whenever I travel abroad I sure visit some churches and light some candles as I really enjoy the peace and calm in churches.
I have a question to ask you and others. Did you and others have some dexamethasone injections before each chemo? I have to have 4 injections before each chemo and as they are cortones, I'm somehow concerned.
Love
Hanieh
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Hello Hanieh,
I was glad to know all your scans were clear and I hope now you will settle down into your chemotherapy regime and that you will be strong and determined throughout.
I was interested to know that you will be doing docetaxel (brand name Taxotere). I thought you might have this because you did not have a taxane last time.
As for the carboplatin (brand name Paraplatin), I do not know too much about it, but I can see from the forum that it has now become fairly standard.
You asked Mary about dexamethasone. This is a steroid and is commonly used with chemotherapy. It is used in conjunction with other drugs to alleviate the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. Dexamethasone is available in different forms, including tablets, oral solution and injections.
If I remember correctly, this steroid was part of the drip contents feeding the chemotherapy drugs through me. Here it seems to be standard practice to give these in tablet form to patients after chemotherapy to take for the first three days. Remember you are in a different country, so they may do things slightly differently.
I did not have any problem with nausea or vomiting. I did drink plenty of lemon and ginger tea and often grated up natural ginger root in this tea.
You might want to ask your consultant about filgrastim (brand name Neupogen). This is often prescribed to take after each chemotherapy session to deal with problems with white blood cells. That is how I understand it, but this is something to ask your consultant about.
Please remember we are not doctors and cannot give advice. Any concerns or any questions you have about your treatment should be put to your consultants.They are the doctors. We can only speak from our own experience of our cancer treatment and we are all different and react differently.
I hope this helps.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I hope to read your link today.
I hope all is well with you.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi, Hanieh
As Sylvia says above, the dexamethasone is normally given with chemo, or after, or before and after. I had pills that I had to take twice a day for 2 days before and 2 days after each infusion, and I probably also got some along with the chemo drip. They made it hard for me to sleep, as they seemed to give me a kind of energy. I asked why we had to take them, and the nurse said to help avoid reactions to the chemo drugs.
I had to take the Neupogen Sylvia mentioned on the day after every chemo session, but not everyone does. It depends on how your labs show your white blood cell level.
I will keep lighting candles for you, Hanieh! And will be thinking of you tomorrow.
Talk to you again soon, love,
Mary
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Hi, Sylvia
I am doing okay, just caught up in the pre-Christmas rush that most of us over here get caught up in, I resist as long as possible and then play catch up. I miss the old days of my childhood, when Thanksgiving was a wonderful day and the trappings of Christmas weren't thought of till weeks later. We have Advent, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is the time of helping the poor, doing good deeds and making some sacrifices in the weeks leading up to Christmas, we children had an Advent calendar and would mark off the days and write down what we had done that day to give to or help someone. We celebrated the day of St. Nicholas, December 6, the Saint of good deeds, and the men of the neighborhood would go from house to house and tell the children they should be good. Sometimes they would rattle chains as a sign of the punishment if you weren't good......can you imagine doing that now, you would probably be accused of child abuse and all sorts of things. We went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve with all the beautiful music, went home to bed and when Christmas morning came, we had some gifts under the tree and it was all very exciting.
We did not go out and cut a tree for Christmas until some days before, because it had to last until the Wise Men came to Bethlehem, on January 6. We always had a Nativity scene with figures around the crib, If the tree got too dry before Jan. 6, we would take it out and leave the figures of the Wise Men and the Nativity up until January 6, and then take it all down and get on with the New Year. Now it seems that Christmas prep starts right after Halloween, and Thanksgiving is swallowed up in talk of shopping bargains. It's too bad, as far as I'm concerned, I think we have lost a lot of the meaning and the beauty of the Christmas season . But I suppose I'm an old fogey!
The cake recipe you posted looks very good, I like fruitcake. That's another thing we always had at Christmas when I was a child, now I don't see them around too much. Is it something that's eaten by a lot of people in UK? I don't even know what treacle is, I remember it from Alice in Wonderland and Dickens, but you will have to enlighten me.
I also read your post on Inflammation, which is a cause of many illnesses. I didn't know it's blamed for obesity as well. I know that stress can cause inflammation.
As for politics, Brexit and all that; I have developed a lot of cynicism for the politicians. They will say anything to get where they want to go, and then drag their feet because they had no intention of doing it in the first place. I think that's where Brexit is, it will end up being something they can brag about pulling off, but it will be a dim imitation of what it was supposed to be in the first place. And probably end up costing UK a lot more money to boot!
I had better go and get on with the day,
Talk soon, love, Mary
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