Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Mary, I hope you are still very well and have enjoyed your Christmas with your husband's family. With my mother we were watching a series of "Poldark" Cornwalls, we liked it a lot and we found it so beautiful among so many health difficulties that we went to look for Winston Graham's books. We went to several libraries to find the books of 12 found 4 but it was fun to watch the series and read the books.
Abrazos
Marías
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abrazos Marias! Thank you for your words of encouragement tomorrow marks my first day of chemo...spent today with family and now at home preparing for tomorrow. I made some ginger tea and taking some dry cereal, crackers and applesauce. I am very hopeful and keeping my faith strong, the chemo is going to work and help fight this cancer!!! Thank you and definitely hoping for all of us to have a healthy 2020!
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Hi Sylvie, I hope you're having a good morning with Raymond. and that both enjoy good health and that the cold is not so hard for you these days. I trust the brexit pass without so many setbacks for you. in Colombia the manifestations of people wanting to have a better country and a congress and president who listen to them follow, but it is really very difficult in Colombia to govern for the benefit of a few. I imagine that the same thing is happening in England and the townspeople don't feel like they are taking away and shrinking their rights. I have thought you a lot these days especially because on December 26 three years ago I started chemotherapy FAC-t and the support I found with you I have no words to thank you. Receive a huge and strong hug and best wishes to you and Raymond for the new year.
Abrazos
Marias
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Hello Gill, I am very happy that you can enjoy Christmas, the tree and the fireplace without as much concern about chemotherapy as you had last Christmas. I hope you continue to improve and that the health service in England does not deteriorate more for the good of you and of so many other people who need a good medical service. for me .. it is usual to go and spend more than 12 hours waiting for me to authorize the xeloda chemotherapy pills .. it is highly exhausting to go to the clinic, wait, to be told that you are not yet authorized to come tomorrow .. and incredibly I have Good medical service. how will the difficulty be for the poorest people in my country, who die waiting for the medication, the order etc. God bless you Gill and keep enjoying Cornwall. I am impressed to see those cliffs and I think if the breeze can throw one into the abyss easily. Another thing I think is how people could survive shipwrecks with the force of the sea hitting the cliffs and the cold water.
Abrazos
Marías
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Hello Helenluise, I hope you had a beautiful holiday in Japan and that you really enjoyed the food, landscape, history, food. The trip to Hiroshima must be very moving. I know there is a museum there that shows how the United States used to its inhabitants to pass the plane over their heads, that when they threw the bomb nobody felt fear of the approaching plane. I also hope that everything is fine in your country and that the weather does not continue to cause so much damage.
Abrazos
Marias
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Hello Flora and Marias,
It was so nice to see you back on the thread and to catch up with what is happening in your lives.
I shall post more later today when I have finished doing various things.
Happy New Year to you both and to everybody on the thread.
Sylvia
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Hello Sylvia,
I hope you and Raymond had an enjoyable Christmas Day. On the 26th it has become a tradition in Cromer to run into the freezing cold sea for a swim. I did not join them!
I looked up Isaac Levido. It seems that Tory aides were chanting his name at meetings and it was he who thought up all the ridiculous slogans. We now have Tory MPs chanting 'get brexit done' and '40 new hospitals' as though they were sitting in a mother and toddler group rather than Parliament. I'm absolutely ashamed of the lot of them, not an ounce of dignity or integrity. Europe will be glad to see the back of us. In the meantime the poor and the sick will become even more marginalised. With that in mind, I have signed the petition begun by an NHS doctor to deny Iain Duncan-Smith his Knighthood. It won't do any good, but I feel better for it.
It was so good to hear from Flora and Marias and others over Christmas. I had hoped that Susie might drop in for an update.
That's all for now. Wishing you and Raymond a very happy and peaceful New Year.
Much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Marias,
I enjoyed reading your recent posts. You seem a lot brighter than last time we heard from you. I don't envy you that very long wait at the clinic for your chemotherapy medication, especially when you are then told that it won't be available until the next day. It sounds chaotic and must be utterly exhausting for you. As you say, your Government seems to have left the poor behind and politicians just don't listen to ordinary people. I wish you didn't have all this to worry about on top of your health.
Unfortunately, I no longer live near Cornwall as my husband's job meant that we all had to move over to the Eastern part of England. We still have good beaches, but they are nowhere near as beautiful and romantic as Cornwall. It does rain a lot in Devon and Cornwall though and I don't miss that one bit!
Marias, I think of you often and remember you in my prayers.
With very much love.
Abraxos
Gill xxx
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Hi Maryjv,
I hope your chemotherapy goes well. I remember how excited and apprehensive I was on my first day. It's the day you get to fight back. Chemotherapy often works well on triple negative breast cancer, so you're right to be hopeful. Sounds as though you've got yourself organised. Ginger tea and plain ginger biscuits are good, but if you do get persistent nausea there are stronger pre chemo meds that you can take next time, they work extremely well.
They'll be many people on the thread thinking of you.
Good luck.
Much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Flora and mum,
It was so lovely to hear that your mum is getting back some of her energy. The words 'back to normal' are always good to hear. I'm sorry that her stomach issues and fatigue are still causing problems though. Looking after 4 grandchildren and walking five miles most days sounds like quite an achievement to me especially after only six months.
My colitis isn't as bad as it was. I need to be careful what I eat and my previously healthy diet had to be moderated and is now less healthy. Like your mum, I've gained weight, just 7 pounds so far, but it's going to he difficult to get rid of.
Wishing you both and all your family a peaceful and healthy New Year.
Much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Flora,
I was glad to read that you and your mum have been enjoying getting back to a more normal life.
I think your mum is doing very well, considering that she is just six months away from finishing chemotherapy. Walking five miles a day and looking after four grandchildren is certainly a big achievement.
What do you think has caused the weight gain? I know that steroids used for any length of time can cause weight gain. Apart from that it is often those that are having treatment for hormonal breast cancer and are on medication for years after standard treatment that gain weight. I am sure the weight will get back to normal if she keeps to a healthy diet such as the Rainbow/Mediterranean diet.
Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot.
It would be nice if Sarah from London could pop in to let us know how her mum is doing now.
Wishing you, your mum and your family a very Happy, Healthy New Year. Pop in when you can.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Marias,
It was lovely to hear from you.
I do hope all will go well with your Xeloda treatment. Just try to rest as much as you can and eat healthily to strengthen your immune system.
I was glad to know that your mum had returned to Sweden after so many setbacks and that she had arrived back safe and sound.
You must be missing her and it is sad that she was not able to stay with you while you go through your treatment.
I was sorry to read that you had been back in the emergency room with a fever. Please be careful. It is so easy to catch things when your immune system is low during chemotherapy. It is good to avoid crowded places where it is easy to pick up germs.
I was glad to read that you had a nice Christmas Day lunch with your brothers and nephews.
I hope you have the same enjoyable time on New Year's Day.
What kind of food do you eat on these festive days?
Feliz año nuevo.
Abrazos.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Maryjv,
I just wanted to say that I shall be thinking of you tomorrow when you begin your first day of chemotherapy. I do hope all will go well.
Ginger is excellent for any feeling of sickness. I drank lots of ginger tea during my treatment. I like Pukka Three Ginger tea but some women prefer ginger and lemon. Plain ginger biscuits are good as well and I also used to have Nairns organic oatcakes. Tell yourself you are going to be fine.
Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Marias,
Thank you for your second post. Raymond and I have had a good day today and have managed to get most of the things done that we had to do. It was not so cold today and it was not raining or windy.
It is too early to judge what the effects of Brexit will be. We have not left officially yet. This is supposed to happen on January 31st. I am not sure this will happen then. After that there will be a whole year sorting things out. I do not trust Boris Johnson, our Prime Minister.
The Conservatives here govern for the few and not the many. I believe that governments should govern for the many and not the few.
I do hope that the people of Colombia will have a stable fair government one of these days but it will be a hard struggle. It is difficult to get proper news here about foreign countries because everything is biased.
Thank you for your kind words. It is hard to believe that three years have gone by since you started chemotherapy. You have been through so much and you have had the strength and courage to survive. I do hope that next year will be an easier year for you and that it will be a healthy and happy one. Never give up.
Abrazos.
Sylvia xxxx
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thank you all, on chemo now and just letting the medication soar through me and kill this cancer!! Only positive energy and thoughts
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your latest post.
Raymond and I had a quiet day and plenty of rest. I actually watched Reflections on the Parliament. It is a series of five half-hour talks by Steve Richards entitled When Parties Split. It went from the 1880s to the present day. It is well worth watching.
Here in Exmouth we also have people going into the sea for a swim on Christmas Day and crowds do go to watch.
I was glad to know that you had looked up Isaac Levido. He certainly managed to dumb down the general election and why is it that we have Australians interfering in our elections? Are we too dumb to do them ourselves?
Thank you for letting me know about the petition against IDS getting a knighthood. Raymond and I are going to sign it. We were hopping mad when we heard this. We are against all this nonsense anyway. It is about time we did away with all these titles as they just make people think they are better than others.
I agree that it was good to hear from Flora and Marias and I do hope that others will pop in with their news. It would be good to hear from Susie.
That is all for now. Wishing you and your husband a very Happy, Healthy New Year.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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hi everyone
Hope you all had a peaceful Christmas and here's to a happy healthy new year! We are having a slight reprieve in the heat with temps in the low 30s. Celsius The weather has been horrendous with wind and dust and temps around here the 46 Celsius (about 116 Fahrenheit) In the lead up to Chrissy. There are fire fronts in every state with some fires burning up to 12 m high and joining to make super fires. 3 young fireman with young families have lost their lives which is so sad! It feels like Australia is burning!
We are currently in Melbourne which is awesome and it's beautiful and green and cool. Hope you all are well
Much love
Kat
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Hello Kath,
Thank you for your latest post.
We are getting a lot of news about all the bush fires in Australia and it is truly horrific. I do hope the temperatures will fall and that the rains will come.
I was glad to know that you are in Melbourne which is green and cool.
Here in Devon we get nothing but gloom with the weather and we could do with some sunshine. It is morning here but it might just as well be evening. It is New Year's day and a holiday but we hope it soon gets back to normal. The Christmas period is too long here.
I hope you are keeping well and keeping dark thoughts at bay.
Wishing you a very Happy, Healthy and Worry Free New Year.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary, maryjv, Val, Pam, adagio, Gill, Susie, Flora and mum, Kath, Helenlouise, Marias, Jags56, and all other past posters and viewers,
Wishing you a Happy, Healthy and Worry free, Stress free New Year.
Thinking of you all.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Happy New Year Sylvia and everyone. Wishing you all a peaceful and healthy 2020.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Happy new year!!! May 2020 be our year of good health and prosperity❤️0
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Hello Sylvie, for Christmas day an employee came and helped me make "sancocho" valluno, which is a soup with pinched green banana, beef rib, yucca, cob and condiments such as coriander, color, cimarrón and long onion. It is boiled and a thick soup is left. in all regions of Colombia there is sancocho, in other places as in the Atlantic coast they use the three meats: chicken, pork and beef. and they also put yams that are similar to cassava.
and today new year I got some typical dishes from southern Colombia. before the cauca and the Valle del cauca were the same governorate. The important city was Popayán, where many of my ancestors come from. so order "tamales de pipian" which is dad pork, egg wrapped in banana leaf, that is accompanied with Aji de peanut.
I also ordered a fritanga that is meat empanadas, marranitas that are peas wrapped in ripe and abhorred atane that is ripe banana with cheese inside and fried with a layer of flour and egg. Passion fruit juice, coconut rice, pineapple cabbage salad, avocado ... lots of food ... was left to share with the neighbors.
Abrazos y un muy feliz año
Marías
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Hello Marias,
Thank you for your interesting post. Your Christmas Day food all sounded like quite a feast and very healthy. Your New Year's meal also sounded very nourishing. Do you have this on New Year's Day? I ask this because I remember from when I lived in France the tradition is to have a reveillon which is a festive meal late on Christmas Eve and the same on New Year's Eve.
Thank you for the picture.
I do hope that the New Year will be a healthier and easier one for you.
Abrazos.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I was interested to read about Marias' Christmas dinner. It's very different to the UK version and has a lot more flavour and colour. I wonder what Helenlouise ate in Japan? She did mention how delicious Japanese food was. We visited my daughter, her in-laws and grandchildren in the Midlands for a traditional turkey with all the trimmings Christmas dinner. Neither grandchild would eat the brussels sprouts which is also a tradition it seems.
The Institute of Cancer Research London and Birmingham Universities NHS Trust have discovered that for testicular cancer, one cycle of chemotherapy rather than the more usual 2 - 4 cycles is just as effective, reduces side effects and improves quality of life. The report points out that testicular cancer is often a young man's disease and young men have decades of living ahead of them. I think quality of life is important at any age. I wonder if researchers will now look at chemotherapy given for breast cancer, I have heard from more than one source that most of the benefit from Taxane based treatment occurs during the first cycle. As we've discussed before, timely surgery is most beneficial of all.
The Norfolk and Norwich University hospital has now closed four of its critical care beds as it no longer has the staff to cover them. Critical care is usually full, so I have no idea where new patients will go. The first few times I had sepsis I had to go to the Acute Medical ward as the Oncology ward was full. It was unsafe and just added to the stress both for me and for the staff.
While Johnson is enjoying being 'one of the people' on an exclusive island in the sun, Dominic Cummings has turned his attention to destroying the Civil Service. The judiciary is also on his hit list. When are people going to wake up?
Weather is wet and grey here, but the daffodil shoots are appearing, so Spring isn't too far away.
Keep warm,
Much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Sylvie, food habit is different. usually commercially, turkey and pork are publicized a lot ... I like the traditional region where I live or have lived. For example, on New Year's Day my brother prepared coconut rice, with fish and gratin dad. My sister prepared for Christmas night coconut rice, meat in Posta, and salad. These meals are from the Caribbean of Cartagena where we grew up.
Here are some amazing customs that are the novenas. You are also practicing Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador. It is from December 16 to 24 where it is prayed ... some complex verses to read and understand, but the insurances made especially by the social part and of typical sweets such as canned fruits, there is a particular one that I like which is the fig. They also offer a dulce de leche that we call white delicacy is like an arequipe. fried fritters that are made of flour and cheese are given .. my 8-year-old nephews say bored about the novenas, usually young children put their reading into play. They say they go for meals and friends and villancicos.
Here at home I did not make any novena but in each residential unit there is a manger and the neighbors gather around it to make the novena. Here are several units so they enjoyed the novenas in several units.Abrazos
Marias
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a pic from my friends house as she was being evacuated from Cooma in the Snow Mountains. Those poor animals. Conservative estimates are say about a half a million native animals are gone! So sad! The eucalyptus gums are apparently just exploding and there are 152 huge fires burning across the countryWe don't have much left to burn this far inland but my heart goes out to those on the coast of NSW
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Hi Kath,
We've been watching the devastating fires in Australia and are utterly appalled and very worried for you all. Many of us have friends or relatives over there. My brother-in-law and his family are in Canberra, he told us that he can't see to the end of his short road as the smoke is blotting out the light. I agree with you about all those poor animals.
I hope your friend and her family in Cooma are now safe and the fires can be brought under control. So many are now homeless, my thoughts are with them.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hi Kath, I trust both you and the other Australians to control these devastating fires and all the consequences on their lives and the environment. I watch the news of Australia very carefully. I have a young friend and her family living in Perth but they say they are very good. All my blessings and good wishes to you.
Abrazos
Marias
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hello Flora!
Good to hear from you, so glad all is well. To me it sounds as if your mother is doing very well, walking 5 miles most days and caring for 5 children is quite a feat. To me it sounds like she is doing very well. It is true it takes a while to recover, and I'm not sure we are ever really exactly the same.
Again, good to hear from you, and I hope you all have a happy, healthy 2020!
Love, Mary
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Hi Marias!
I am so happy to see you here, and you do seem to be feeling much better than last time we heard from you. It looks like you had an enjoyable holiday , with lots of good food. I'm also glad the Keytruda is not too hard on you, although it is difficult to get sometimes, and inconvenient.
My shoulder recovery is ongoing. I'm still in therapy, and now am working with light weights, I try to remain optimistic. I was very busy through Christmas season, when it ended I came down with a sinus problem/cold, not sure what it is, but it has not gone away.
Tomorrow is the Feast of the Epiphany, and after that I suppose I will take down my Christmas lights. Many people take trees and lights down immediately after Christmas, but I have been waiting for the Magi!
Stay strong, Marias, and I hope your cold and mine are also soon better.
Talk to you again,
Abrazos, Mary
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