Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hi Sylvia,
First of all - thanks so much for taking the time to send me a virtual card - that was so very thoughtful and sweet of you - it did make me smile.
Just a bit of an update on my skin problem - the cortisone cream has been a lifesaver - even though I hate using it - it has made all the difference in the world. The redness is gone, but the itch and bumps are still there, albeit considerably less. I am hoping that the whole issue clears up soon. Sleep is still not great, but that should come as the skin heals. I never did take the oral antihistamine - I do not like taking drugs, as you know, so I held off on those to see if the topical drug would work well enough, and it has. I started putting the cream on 3 times a day, then 2 times, and I am down to once a day now. In addition I have made a shea butter salve with lavender and geranium essential oils in it for my skin which I put on once a day and it is very soothing.
I can understand that you are keen to get next week over and done with - the mole on your arm has taken a fair amount of your time and emotional energy and you will be glad to move on from that. I will be thinking of you when you go on Friday for the next incision, and hope that it will not be too painful and that you will heal well.
We had a snowfall overnight and it is super cold here in Vancouver which is unusual for us at this time of the year. We like to think of February as Spring - but not this year!
Take care, and thanks again for your time and devotion to helping people.
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Maryna - I was so happy to read that you are slowly getting better from your flu bug. Life can be tough when we are not feeling well, and the cold miserable weather does not help in any way. I love honey and I believe that it does have healing properties. When I feel a little under the weather I make a hot drink of Apple Cider Vinegar and honey - I think it helps and it tastes good too. Do you have a lot of coughing? The reason I ask is that my brother's wife got the flu, and she just cannot seem to get rid of a dry cough and it is exhausting her because it is at its worst at night time which affects the sleep. I am guessing that your knee has been on the back burner while you have had other issues to deal with - but I am wondering how that is feeling these days?
Thankfully I am slowly starting to feel a bit less itchy thanks to the wonderdrug cortisone cream which I will try and wean myself off as soon as I am more comfortable. I now keep a food diary to see if there is anything in my diet that triggers this allergic response.
Continue to look after yourself and take it easy for a while longer.
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Hanieh - just to let you know that I am offering a prayer for you as you go through the difficult times with your family and the side effects of your chemotherapy treatments. Life can be very challenging.
Take time to care for yourself - you are worth it.
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Hi, Peter and Liz
I just wanted to say I do remember you from years ago, I think you stopped posting here about the time I started. I agree with Sylvia, it is so nice when people come and say what has happened with their lives and their health. Unfortunately perhaps, our own health has taken precedence in our lives, and the health of others is of interest and concern also.
I am glad that Liz has recovered to the degree she has, I don't think any of us has come through this journey unscathed. You two were young to be stricken with all this, but then in reading the many posts and threads here, young people are stricken very often indeed.
Thank you for your reminder to "Seize the Day"! Even though I am 65, and your advice is aimed at younger people, I have also adopted that mindset since returning to a semblance of my former self after going through surgery, chemotherapy and the illness and death of my husband. My focus has also been traveling more, I love to see new sights.
I wish you and your family continued enjoyment of life!
Mary
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Hello again, Peter,
I was glad to know that Liz does not have lymphoedema.
It sounds as though your trips to France were really lovely. I like France very much and have happy memories of the time I spent there. I spent four years teaching in Correze and found the countryside there really lovely. I knew Tulle and Brive. They were nice little towns and probably have grown much bigger now.
Your idea of buying a small house in a Spanish village sounds ideal and gets you away from the damp winter. A lot of people I know say they get less pain when they are away from cold and damp. I travelled a lot through Spain when I spent some years teaching in Morocco. It has probably all changed now.
I was very interested in what you had to say about the private Facebook group. There may be people on there that were on here, but they are probably using different names.
I do agree that you should travel as much as you can when you are young. Raymond and I are very youthful people who do not look their age. We are young at heart and very energetic and could easily travel but we just have no desire to do it.
I do like that message of yours.
Whatever we all think of Donald Trump, at least we can say that he is trying to do the things for which he was voted. There are probably a lot of sour grapes from the Hillary Clinton lot. It seems everyone is conspiring against Donald Trump and probably someone will end up assassinating him. The powers that be will not rest from accusing the Russians.
I am pretty disillusioned with all politicians and I tend to think they are in it for themselves and not to serve the country.
I agree with what you said about the NHS. It was started in 1948 for basic health for everyone and not for the expensive system we have now.
Wishing you all the very best.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
It is nice to see you back on the thread. I was glad to know that the cortisone cream has helped so much and I hope you will get back to having normal sleep.
Your home made skin cream sounds very good, and soothing is what you need.
Yes, I shall be glad when this week is over. The months since October 10th when I had that flu jab have been tiring and frustrating. Everything has been so slow.
Thank you for your kind words.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Hanieh,
I hope this card to let you know that we are thinking of you will help a little to cheer you up.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Marias,
We are all wondering how you are after that radioactive treatment for your thyroid. I am sending this card to let you know we are thinking of you.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Val,
I was sorry to read that you and your husband have been suffering from flu. It has been an awful year here as well and Raymond and I have been lucky enough not to have had it. I do hope you will both be better soon.
Thinking of you.
Love
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello to all
Mary the flu is still rampant in my area. My DD3 has now gotten it. She insisted on bringing her sick dad juices and concoctions, so now she is in bed. She is a pharmacist so she knows better, but when it comes to her dad, oh well.
I'm so glad Hanieh checked in with us. Adagio, Lilyp and Duchess60. All others too.
In answer to the question: This is my second round with breast cancer. The first time I was a young mother of 4. It was discovered quite by chance. I decided then to live my life with no regrets. It was easier as I was not left with any side effects from treatment.
This time, I am determined to be the same. Not waiting for the 'other shoe" to drop. It's harder this time, as I had a radiation induced stroke, lymphedema. My mobility has been greatly compromised. My knees have been affected. I have recently found that walking has helped my stamina, with no pain payment afterwards. Before this diagnosis we traveled extensively. Now, due to pain I'm limited. Still no regrets as I love and live each day, rather than hoping for things in the future.
I'm 59. Very fortunate that I retired at 50. I believe my first diagnosis fueled my desire to stop working for the major corporation at 50. I still actively volunteer. Additionally, I consider myself a crafter. (not really a word) I knit, crochet, sew, woodwork and paint. I'm a published short story author. All of this helps fill the days when I can't walk like I wish.
My darling husband is healthy, working and supports me in my endeavors. He worries about recurrence more than I do.
I wish more would check in. This is a lifeline when you are first diagnosed. I wish others would remember reading about other survivors. How it helped get them through. I do understand that most wish to push this part of life aside and move on.
Val
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Hello Val,
I was interested in your post and wanted to say how inspirational it was to read about your two bouts with breast cancer, how you dealt with them and how you survived them.
It must have been very frightening to have been diagnosed with breast cancer when you were a young mother of four children and your cancer was discovered quite by chance. It was very wise to decide to live your life with no regrets. You were very fortunate to have got through that first diagnosis and treatment without any side effects.
I do admire your determination to do the same again. I can understand how much harder it has been this second time around. It must have been awful to have had a radiation induced stroke and you have dealt with it so well.
I was interested to know that you had lymphoedema as well. Do you still have it? I am interested because it popped up on my right arm (the surgery side of my mastectomy and treatment) out of the blue. I did have it in 2006 for a while after I had finished treatment. I had two appointments at the lymphoedema clinic, declined a compression sleeve, did some physiotherapy and some exercises and it just disappeared as if by magic. This time it is more persistent. The system in the NHS is very slow now and I have had just one appointment. I do have a compression sleeve that I wear most of the time and I do exercises. I have read about it in an excellent book and they say it is chronic. I am still hoping it will disappear. The book is entitled Let's Talk Lymphoedema – The essential guide to everything we need to know by Professor Peter Mortimer and Gemma Levine. I think you would find it interesting. The Professor has specialised in lymphoedema for the best part of his career and Gemma Levine is a lymphoedema patient.
I think you are a strong and courageous woman and I was glad to know that walking has helped.
You are right to have no regrets and to love and live each day, rather than hoping for things in the future. I also take one day at a time. Regrets serve no real purpose.
I do admire the fact that you do so many things, knitting, crochet, sew, woodwork and paint. I do remember your telling us before that you are a published short story author. You have certainly accomplished a lot.
It is good to know that you have a healthy supportive husband.
I cannot imagine my life without my husband.
Like you, I wish more people would check in and just not vanish after they have finished their treatment. I do understand that they want to move on but new patients need support just like those who have finished needed it.
I started this thread because I wanted to give something back. I discovered breactcancer.org after I had finished my treatment and came across it quite by accident when I was researching hyperparathyroidism and the connection with breast cancer. I then also discovered Titan's thread and that inspired me to start one originally for Brits because I thought we were in the dark ages, especially for TNBC.
I do hope you and your husband will be feeling better soon. The flu is taking its toll on people this time around.
Thinking of you and sending best wishes.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Val,
This card is for you, your husband and daughter. Wishing you all a speedy recovery.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Everyone,
I'm on my way to a yoga class, so I'll have to keep it a little bit short today.
Duchess, I wanted to tell you that one of the most important factors to my relative health during chemo, in my opinion, was from eating. I noticed after the first infusion that I felt a little nauseous, and I made myself eat some soup, which made me feel better. I tried to keep that up, even when I didn't feel like eating. I didn't gain weight from the steroids, and I didn't end up with any serious complications either. If it's poison that they put in our bodies to save our lives, then it makes sense to me to try to "soak it up." I also noticed that light activity and sweating made the side effects pass faster.
Hanieh, I'm so sorry about your aunt that died. I understand when you say that you can hardly find yourself in the mirror, and I remember that feeling. I know you have better days coming, and I hope you can tell yourself to hang on every day until you feel good again.
Peter, I thought your post was so interesting. I'm sorry to hear that Liz is having so many physical problems, but I liked the idea of enjoying life, and making the most of the time we have. We all have that challenge, whether we had cancer or not. As far a regrets, I've been putting as much as I can - in my case - travel, right up front. While I feel good, I don't want anything to wait. My husband and I hope to return to Scotland in May, and also see a little of Ireland. If I have a recurrence, I'm not sure I would try so hard to stay at work, though it did help me keep my mind off of worry. I may think of retiring early, and taking a part time job. It would be nice not to have to rush around so much.
Sylvia, You might find interest in this: I'm making my first batch of yogurt in my Instapot, (pressure cooker). I have no idea what I'm doing, so we'll see how it goes. With Weight Watchers, not every option is the healthiest, and I want "grass fed" yogurt products only. Weight Watchers rewards non-fat yogurt eaters, but grass-fed, non-fat yogurt is nowhere to be found, and neither is non-fat soy yogurt. I notice the Instapot instructions are pretty confusing, but I'm hoping the convenience makes up for it. Wish me luck!
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Hello Sylvia, Mary, adagio,Pam,Val and all
Thank you so much for all your kind words.
Sylvia, your card is very nice. I love it. It means a lot to me.
My side effects are getting better. Yet, the problems that I'm facing right now are sometimes more than I can bear. Life has been a little harsh on me these days.
Mary, I still listen to Jeol Osteen. He is a comfort to me. Yet, my strength is what sometimes runs short.
Hope
Hanieh
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Hello Pam and Hanieh,
Thank you for your posts.
I shall answer later on today when I hope to have more time.
To Pam, I would just say that low fat nutrition now seems to be out of favour. It seems to have caused a lot of problems with people's health because of high carbohydrate diets. I think this idea of points with Weight Watchers is a bit out of date.
Talk later.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Rhonda, 4everStrong, Lou and Kath28,
I was just wondering how you all are. If you have decided to move it would be nice if you could let us know.
Best wishes
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
Just to let you know that it is 12 years and 8 months today since my diagnosis. I hope this will give encouragement to those of you going through treatment.
Best wishes
Sylvia
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Hi Sylvia,
I didn't explain it very well, but I'm aiming for homemade, low-fat, grass-fed yogurt. Non-fat items are out of favor with me, and have been for a long time. I'd really prefer full-fat, but would have to skimp elsewhere for that.
Weight Watchers as practiced here can reward a lot of processed, packaged items. In terms of popular recipes, you have to go out of your way follow the program and also stick with whole foods. Either way, if you substitute carbs, there's a heavy point penalty, so it's about developing new food habits. I've lost 5 lbs, (2.2kg) in one month, so I'm happy to continue. It's going to take a lot of extra work in these early days to align the program with my own dietary preferences, though.
I hope your week goes as smoothly as possible.
Pam
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Hello Pam,
I agree with you about the importance of eating during chemotherapy and all our cancer treatment. I also ate a lot of home made soup, mainly vegetable. Like you I did not gain any weight during my treatment and only took the steroids for the first couple of days. I had written on my consent form that I did not want steroids.
Like you, I went through my treatment without problems, except for the inevitable hair loss and some fatigue. I think you have to keep your life during all your treatment as normal as you possibly can.
I was so glad that you commented on Peter's post and said that you found it interesting. It is so disappointing to send an interesting post and ask for some input, only to find that there is no response. I am glad the two of us did respond. Peter is right that we have to enjoy life and make the most of the time we have.
If any of us have a recurrence we have to try to deal with it as best we can and make the compromises that we feel will be of benefit to us. I think the most important is not to let stress bring us down.
I shall be interested to know how your batch of yoghurt went.
A long time ago I had a period of making home made yoghurt. It is too long ago to remember how I did it.
I am now very much against cows' milk, and any cows' products in my diet. I have not touched any of these products since 2005 when my breast cancer consultant told me she thought that the growth factors in dairy were a risk factor in breast cancer. I had never been keen on these products and only ever had plain yoghurt.
Thank you for your contribution to the thread.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Pam,
With reference to Weight Watchers I think it would be progress if they eliminated all dairy products from their food regimes. I do not think you will find a yoghurt product with a label of grass-fed and even if you did you could not be sure that the manufacturers were telling the truth.
There has been a lot of information lately about the damage done to peoples' health due to low-fat or non-fat products. We need some fat in our diet to be able to absorb fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin K2.
When I buy yoghurt I buy plain, sugar free, organic soy yoghurt with live cultures. I buy Sojade or Provamel. Yoghurt is an important fermented food and provides probiotics that we need.
I do not buy anything that is packaged and requires reading of labels. You need food in its most simple form, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses and beans. If you are going to eat meat, poultry, fish or seafood, eat them in their simplest form.
When all the low-fat hype was around, people did buy the hype and went on to eat too many simple carbohydrates and became overweight and diabetic. We do need a mixture of fat in the diet. To get mine I eat avocados, peanuts in their shells, oily fish (wild salmon and haddock) and prawns on the shell. I also use extra virgin olive oil and have taken to eating cold pressed coconut oil. I also eat organic eggs with my breakfast and have it with Vogel soy and linseed bread.
Congratulations on losing 5 lbs in one month. How much weight do you want to lose?
I know you will adapt your Weight Watchers programme to fit in with healthy eating.
Do you have any fermented foods? They are supposed to be so important for a healthy gut. The following are fermented foods: plain yoghurt with live culture, sauerkraut (not pasteurised), kimchi (not pasteurised), tempeh, karma kombucha, fermented tofu, miso and kefir (non cows' dairy). I have tried all of these but am not that keen on most of them. Tempeh is not bad if you do it in a stir fry. Have you tried any of these?
That is about all for now. I think you would enjoy the book the Dental Diet by Dr Steven Lin, the surprising link between your teeth, real food and life changing natural health.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi, Sylvia and all
Today marks 2 weeks since my symptoms of flu started, it hasn't been much fun. Last week I had days of feeling better followed by days of feeling worse. Last weekend started with neck pain and stiffness, which progressed to real misery. I went to my massage therapist yesterday, she worked on my neck for an hour and declared it was in bad shape. She said she had other clients recovering from flu who also had stiff necks, she thinks it is also aggravated by almost 2 weeks of coughing. I can turn my head today, a big improvement, There is still pain, but she told me there would be just from her working on it for an hour. I did make an appointment with my GP for today, just to make sure I don't have an ear infection or something else going on. This certainly hasn't been how I wanted to spend February!
I did spend one afternoon watching more of a series on TV made by HBO which I have seen other parts of before. It is about the life of John Adams, our second President, and I did watch it on President's Day. It was very good, and since my American history knowledge is not very good, I did not realize he was, along with all his other accomplishments, the first ambassador to England after the Revolutionary War, from 1785 to 1788. There was a humorous scene in which he was shown how to enter the Presence of King George III on their first meeting. John Adams was a farmer and a lawyer, and had been a large player in the first Continental Congress, but he was not attuned to fancy manners! He had to do a series of bows, on entering, and leaving, while being careful not to turn his back, and also not to look directly at. His Majesty. I don't think he much enjoyed his three years at Court. He later became Vice-President to George Washington and then our 2nd President.
I also did not know that his daughter died of breast cancer. She was diagnosed with a tumor when she was in her 40s, she was operated on with a mastectomy in her parents' home without anesthesia. The doctor also removed some lymph nodes, but it had already spread and she died about a year later. I thought this was an interesting side story for us, it shows that breast cancer has been around a long time and we can't blame hers on pesticides or plastic. There was apparently some knowledge of how it progressed, or not, the doctor told her parents if it had not spread she had a good likelihood of a long life. But if it had spread there would be nothing else he could do. She apparently bore the undulled pain of her surgery with great stoicism, I can't imagine.
In case you missed it, I also did respond to Peter's post, in fact I think I was the first one. But you are right, it is disappointing to send a thought-out post and then get no response. It has happened to me too. I admire you because you never let that stop you from going to the effort for everyone.
Closing for now, I will talk to you again later, love,
Mary
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Hello everyone,
I had a very nice PM today from the husband of a cancer survivor. He mentioned a website that his brother-in-law created which analysed over one million breast cancer records. You can input your own details to get a prediction of what your treatment should be. I fed my details into it and it came back with a prediction which was what I actually received back in 2005/6, which I found pretty impressive. It would be a useful starting point for the newly diagnosed.
The link is portal.deepmed.com
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello Sylvia,
I did forget that you recommended the Dental Diet. Thanks for reminding me. The premise is pretty fascinating, and it makes perfect sense. But to be realistic, I have a long backlog of reading, and have not gotten to much of it at all lately, beyond the daily newspaper. Also, my longtime, wonderful dentist sold his practice while I was stalling and enjoying my days without appointments. We have a new dentist to try out now, and I did make an appointment for March.
I hope we're all trying to make the best of things each day, and not let stress bring us down. Sometimes for me that means not trying to do too much.
The instructions for the yogurt in the Instant Pot were pretty vague, and I was multi-tasking with other food prep, so I ended up with a large batch of heated/cooled milk for all of my trouble! I'll probably try again sometime. I am able to find Grass-fed milk and yogurt, but you're right, we really can't be sure about that.
I can tell you that Weight Watchers is in the people-pleasing business, and I would be surprised if they ever eliminated dairy. It would be nice if they tried, though. Years ago, you could stay on program by only eating donuts and popcorn if you chose, so I would say their focus is elsewhere. What I like is the structure that it provides that encourages portion control. I'm trying to lose at least 20lbs, so I have a way to go.
The fats that I get are similar to yours, with extra-virgin olive oil being the primary one. This morning I added some to a hard-boiled, free-range, organic egg. Though I don't care for eggs at all, I've been using them as a protein source. Unprocessed fish, chicken, and shellfish are also "on-program," so there's a little flexibility. I bought some sauerkraut, but doubt that it's unpasteurized. I have never tried fermented tofu, but I really like Kimchi. It's a good reminder to get these things into our diets when we can.
Hello Mary,
I don't mean to miss the point, but wow, the idea of a mastectomy without anesthesia is going to haunt me for a while.
Take care everyone.
Pam
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Hi, Pam
I know what you mean!! And I wish I had not explored further and read exactly how a mastectomy was done at the time, it is really disturbing and I wish I hadn't read it!
Talk later, love, Mary
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Hello Sylvia and All,
First of all I am not worried about people replying or not replying to my message. I do hope however people read it and think about their lives. Its to easy to get dragged back into the hum drum of normal life. I see it as a second chance that we should all make the most of as it can be quickly taken away again. I am sure everyone can remember how they felt when they were told they had cancer.
I remember clearly Liz being told that she had breast cancer and it was not good as it was triple negative. I remember being in a daze for days afterwards and both of us planning what we were going to do after we had got through it. In fact Liz took it better than me as she always expected to get breast cancer and luckily had insured herself (critical illness insurance) in case she got it.
Every now and again I try and put myself in the situation that I have been told Liz has cancer again. Even though it is upsetting in one way in another it gives me the kick up the backside to say "get on with life and enjoy ourselves while we can".
Mary. I can remember you because your husband was ill and that has always stuck in my mind how you had to cope with both. I think hearing how other people cope in the same situation is a comfort in a strange way. Knowing that you are not the only one going through this.
Pam. It seems to be travelling to different countries is what most people decide is important to them but is probably one of the hardest things to do after going through Chemo. Travelling anywhere now can be done cheaply. Liz and I are off to Florida in April for 2 weeks in a hotel plus flights has cost us £500 each. We will eat cheaply from supermarkets and hire a car so we can get out and visit small towns and get away from Disney etc.
Peter
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Hi, Val
I'm so sorry your daughter is now down with the flu, I hope she recovers quickly. The flu is reluctant to let go of me, I woke up very early this morning and was thinking about the month of February over the last few years, and things that have happened in that month.
In February 2013 my husband was already ill, and we had just gone through the illness and death of his younger brother in December of 2012. The brother had been stricken with colon cancer that spread to his liver. In early February my 93-year old mother-in-law was taken to the hospital with abdominal pain, and ended up dying about 5 days later there of atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm, even though she was wearing a heart monitor. It was surprising to us all, despite her age she had an indomitable spirit and had no outstanding heart issues.
I visited her once in the hospital and the next day came down with Influenza A. So I never saw her again, and I hung about in the background at her funeral to limit my contact with people.
In February 2014 I received my official TNBC diagnosis, enough said.
In February 2015 my husband died.
February 2016 and 2017 were relatively uneventful.
This year February has been a bear once again with this darn flu. I know this is all anecdotal and probably not too important, but I am always looking for connections, and meanings, where there may or may not be any.
Your first experience with BC must have been very difficult with 4 young children, it's great that the treatment left you with no side effects at that time. I'm glad you have been able to come to grips with your limitations now, and have overcome so much. I still struggle with the limitations, and have to pull myself out of the "regrets" frequently. I seem to have much easier time with that when I am seeing new sights traveling out in the wide world, when I am homebound it is sometimes hard for me to stay upbeat.
My sis-in-law and I have another trip to Europe planned for early May. We will fly to Amsterdam for a couple of days, then board a river cruise boat and travel down the Rhine to Switzerland. We will stop in Lucerne and Zurich for several days and then return home. I am looking forward to that, and we are tentatively (pretty sure) planning a trip to Alaska in late August into early September. I am very familiar with the waiting for the "other shoe" to drop, and I want to do these things now while I can. I think perhaps next year I should plan for somewhere nice to go in February, hanging about here doesn't seem to bring great results.
I very much admire your talent for crafting. I think it is fabulous that you have so many outlets for your creativity. I have a friend who started painting in her late 50's, she took an art class and began painting the things she saw every day. Her work is wonderful, and if I compliment her talent she says it is not talent, but all technique. I don't believe that, I think it is a great gift.
Talk to you later, and greetings to your DH too.
Love, Mary
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Hello Mary,
Thank you for your recent post.
I was most interested to read about the television programme you had watched about the life of John Adams, your second President.
I think that all our ceremonial procedures make us a joke. Until relatively recently at the ceremony of the opening of Parliament, and the handing over of the Queen's speech to the Queen sitting on her throne, the person handing the speech to her had to walk backwards when he had done it, because he was not allowed to turn his back on the Queen! This was then done away with. I have no time for any of this and think MPs get above themselves with having Parliament in the Palace of Westminster. They need to be in a functional modern office set and come down to earth a bit. Can you believe they still work on something called the Henry VIII clause!
That story of how John Adams' daughter was treated for breast cancer makes you realise how horrific that must have been.
I do remember that you did respond to Peter's post.
That is all for now.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Pam,
Thank you for your recent post. I do understand what you mean about limited time. I am always chasing time and I am not at work like you. However, as a director here I am always busy, even though it is voluntary work. It is extremely demanding and I am responsible for the proper working of our block. Like you, I find it quite hard to keep up with my reading.
I do hope you get on well with your new dentist.
I do hope you will have better luck next time with your yoghurt.
I do hope you achieve your goal of losing 20 lbs. I am sure the way Weight Watchers works will give you motivation. I know someone who was doing the Weight Watchers way and did lose weight.
It looks like we are on similar nutrition regimes.
As for sauerkraut, if it is unrefrigerated and sitting on a shelf, it is pasteurised and of no benefit. I do buy it from time to time but I am not that keen on it. I shall probably try to keep eating it as I have been told it is probably the best source of fermented food. I do have the Sojade yoghurt I mentioned every day, so I do have that regular source. I was interested to know that you like kimchi. That is probably as good as sauerkraut.
If we go off our healthy eating from time to time, we should not worry too much.
It has been a busy difficult week for me and this afternoon I am off to the hospital to have the deeper cut in my right arm where the lymphoedema is. I shall be glad when it is over. I had a difficult day yesterday as it was the funeral of my friend and neighbour who died on February 6th from melanoma skin cancer that had spread to the liver. The funeral was non religious and centred on her and her life. There was some beautiful music and I felt really sad and overwhelmed.
I do hope you have a good weekend, that it is relaxing and that you can do the things you enjoy.
Thanking you for your interesting post.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Peter,
Thank you for your post. I am always glad to read your words of wisdom.
You are definitely right about how we all remember how we felt when we were told that we had cancer. I also remember how for quite a long time afterwards I had it all going through my brain at night.
I also wonder how I would feel if I was told I had breast cancer again as a recurrence, in the other breast, or spread. I have been a bit spooked lately as I have a neighbour here whose breast cancer came back after about 13 years and spread to her bones. That was a few years ago. She is on medication and she did have hormonal breast cancer originally. She seems to be doing fine and walks and jogs a lot and eats a lot of raw food. Some of it she gathers on her walks.
Another neighbour had triple positive and that came back after just a few years, spread everywhere and she died.
All of this plays on your mind. I do not know anyone in my immediate surroundings that had triple negative like I did. I felt very lonely at the time. Back in 2005 nobody mentioned triple negative. I was just told that my breast cancer was non hormonal, tamoxifen would be of no use after treatment and therefore the prognosis was not good. I discovered the term triple negative and asked my medical team about it. There was not much information forthcoming.
I am so glad that you and Liz are determined to enjoy yourself. I do hope you enjoy your holiday in Florida in April. I am sure you will make the most of it.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to say hello to you all as we round off the week. I am so glad we are getting near to the end of February and, although it is still cold here, I can feel spring arriving. There are lots of daffodils now in bloom, as well as cherry trees. I tend to notice all the little things in nature. In the centre of town in Exmouth I saw that the magnolia trees are beginning to bud.
Best wishes to all in our group. Mary, adagio, Pam, Val, Hanieh, Marias, Sarah, Nancy53, Duchess60, Kathseward and of course Peter, who recently popped in with some interesting comments.
Best wishes, also, to Rhonda,4everStrong, Kath28 and Lou. We have not heard from you for a while but we hope you are alright.
Best wishes to all those viewing as well.
Sylvia xxxx
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