Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Hello Sylvia,
Another cool day here, I looked at the weather forecast where you are and it's very similar, just a degree or two warmer. Not ideal for mid May, but at least dry. Most of the garden centres in Norwich reopened yesterday. I won't be visiting until it's safer, whenever that is.
I read this morning that a much more accurate antibody test is now available in the UK. I hope this is true and if so, the testing is sensibly organised and rolled out in a timely way. I know that Covid-19 is a fact of life, but the daily gloom is difficult to live with. Where is all the other news, surely there must be some? I feel that I'm now completely out of touch with world events. I hope Marias drops in to let us know how things are in Colombia, it's a month since she last posted. I do hope she's still able to get the drugs she needs and can find some peace of mind amidst all the chaos.
I'm still wondering if cancer surgery and treatments are back in place yet. As the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is now a coronavirus hub, I have to assume that the waiting lists have grown massively. It isn't realistic to think that the private Spire hospital can take over all cancer treatment, it's far too small to be able to cope. The palliative care unit in Norwich is no longer accepting new patients as several staff members have tested positive to Covid-19. This will be so worrying for cancer patients and their relatives.
I don't know if anyone else has found this, but since lock down, I've spent a lot more time thinking about food. Thinking about it and eating too much of it. I don't think I'll ever eat shop bought bread again. I've developed a fondness for rice and become quite creative. Lots of variations on traditional paella and virtually anything goes into my risottos these days. My new favourite rice dish is pea and mint, I eat it with just about anything. Discovered 'Gnaw' chocolate, a local company which only sells online. The vegan 70% cocoa chocolate is surprisingly good. I know 100% cocoa would be better for my health, but I couldn't get used to it. Like you, I have green tea, it's the only tea I drink. I've spent most of my adult years drinking plain (usually hot) water. I still have at least 8 mugs a day. Since lock down, I've added coffee to my repertoire. I order online from Whittard of Chelsea. They don't have a huge range, but those I've tried are very good. They also sell a few flavoured coffees. Amaretto is comforting for anyone who likes marzipan. Caffeine sometimes causes my colitis to flare up, so I need to be sensible.
You probably watched PMQs yesterday. The PM was very dishonest (polite word) in responding to Keir Starmer's questions regarding the tragedy of care home deaths. He couldn't bluster and sneer his way out this time. Johnson arrived completely unprepared and clearly hadn't so much as glanced at the notes supplied by his civil servants. Without the braying, nodding masses usually seated behind him he looked lost and frightened. He looked around helplessly for backup to appear from somewhere, but even Matt Hancock didn't offer any comfort. Most of us just want the truth, we know that these are unprecedented times and we don't expect instant solutions or a Government that always gets it right. There's bound to be mistakes, but blatant cover ups and lies are unacceptable.
I've rambled on enough for today. I'm sure we're all hoping for some good news from Mary very soon. Until then, keep well in mind body and spirit.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello everyone,
I am posting a couple of photographs from the grounds. They are both yellow leaf evergreen choysia shrubs and have white flowers which are very scented. On the previous photographs I posted a green leaf evergreen choysia shrub which also bloom white flowers which are very scented. The blooms last quite a while and often bloom twice.
I am very proud of our grounds as they have looked over the years as I have worked very hard with the gardeners to create lovely grounds. When we moved in there was a lot of work to do to make them something of which to be proud.
Hello Gill, thank you for your interesting post. I shall be answering later on today.
Have a good weekend, Mary, adagio, HelenLouise, Kath, Marias, Jags56, and of course Gill. I think Maryjv has left our group but we all wish her well in her treatment.
Many thanks to the many people that are viewing the thread.
Best wishes to all and do not Covid-19 get you down.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi, Sylvia
I have good news to report, the results of my biopsy were benign! I wish I could detail it more, perhaps later when I can see the actual report. The very busy nurse called with the news, she wanted me to be sure to have the results before the weekend because they are out on Fridays. I have overall been impressed by the caring attitudes all around while dealing with all this. Every nurse and technician did their best to get me quickly on to the next test, and then to moving quickly with the diagnosis and report. A nurse navigator even called while I was waiting for news, to offer a helping hand. This is the same medical center I used 6 years ago but the general standard of care seems to allow more awareness of how patients are feeling while waiting for tests and results.
It probably also doesn't hurt that the hospital is quite empty of patients right now, this is in a city of about 50,000. Many people have been afraid to go to the hospital because they assume the beds are full of infected Covid patients, and actually I think the hospital I was in has no Covid patients right now. I think that with many older people home and watching TV news all day, which is gloom and doom and mostly coming from New York, they assume our local hospitals are the same. While at the same time, said hospitals are laying off nurses in droves until people start having elective surgeries again and also having the various tests that they have been putting off.
The results of my Tick-borne disease test is thus: Lyme disease-negative. Ehrlichia-Negative. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever-partly positive and partly negative. The doc explained this in this way; I was likely exposed to the RMSF through a tick-bite and did not develop the severe symptoms because my immune system threw it off. So, I am to go back and do the Lab again in 3 or 4 weeks to see if it comes back all negative. Then that means it is completely gone and I will have antibodies. His further testing also included an Epstein-Barr test, which came back showing I had antibodies here as well. The conclusion from that is that probably I had Mononucleosis in the past. Perhaps some of this might explain the general fatigue I have been feeling over the last couple of months, perhaps my body was fighting this and I didn't know it.
I didn't know the doc was doing such a thorough testing, he also ordered CBC testing and Complete Metabolic Panel. All was well there except for my usual low Sodium in the blood. Which I can change by eating a small bag of potato chips.
So onward, I feel liberated! I was having unpleasant memories of the days past of chemotherapy and the extreme fatique and weakness I developed, it has been very unpleasant few days.
I also missed my last dentist appt, I think my next scheduled one is August. I hope I can keep it. It seems like the dentist and nurse are well-protected; in normal times, they wear goggles, face shields and masks, and gloves.
I would like to see the documentary about Spanish Flu, I will try to find it.
I did notice a new post from Chris Woollams, but have not looked at it yet. He always has a lot to say.
I do hope when the NHS starts treating the waiting patients again, they take the Cancer patients first!
I do love your pictures of the plantings on your grounds, my flowers I have planted this year are just getting started, many of them were root-bound in their little pots and I'm not sure how they will do. I do have a lot of pruning to do as well.
Talk to you later, Sylvia, and greetings to Raymond.
Love, Mary
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Hello all
Hope you are keeping well.
Mary that is good news.
Sylvia the flowers are beautiful and so well kept.
We do need some colours in our life after all that is going on in the world with the virus.
Gill your posts are very interesting and you do address everyone with your views.
Take care. Here we are being careful and hope for the situation to get better.
Love
Jags
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Hello Gill,
It is now nearly 7 pm and I have had a very busy day. It has been a mixture of household chores, business letters, watering in the grounds and some gardening, but once again I have not completed the list with which I started this morning.
It has been a fairly warm day and ideal for being outside, but we urgently need some rain.
The garden centres have opened here but of course not the cafes and restaurants that they have and there is the inevitable distance requirements.
I am not that confident about antibody tests because even if you have them it does not mean that you cannot get the virus again. I think this coronavirus will be with us for some time and that we shall have to learn to live with it. I am not confident, either, that we shall get a vaccine. Whatever happens you can be sure that this utterly useless government will mess it up.
I do agree with you that the coronavirus outbreak occupies all the news on the media and it is about time it became more measured. I tend to think the powers that be have gone over the top with it and have used too many scare tactics, so much so that people are frightened to go to the hospital and other very ill patients have been shunted aside.
Like you, I do hope that Marias will pop in to see us. She lives in a very dangerous country where there is not much sign of any kind of democracy or fairness. I do hope as well that she gets the medication she needs and that her mind can find some peace among the utter chaos. I find that it is difficult in the UK to find peace of mind in our chaos. I do tend to rant and rave a bit about Boris Johnson and the unfairness, inequality and poverty of so many people here. It is not clapping and rainbows that our essential workers need but much better pay and much better working conditions.
There is talk about everything getting back to normal in the hospitals with the treatment of cancer patients and others, but I shall believe it when I actually see it. I think the waiting times will now be worse and worse. I do wonder what the side effects will be from ll the spraying everywhere with disinfectant and goodness knows what else!
As for food, Raymond and I just eat as we have always done. If I buy any rice it will be whole grain rice or Basmati whole grain. I tend to use it as a base for stir frys. We tend to eat a lot of organic mushrooms and especially shitake mushrooms. We tend to eat a lot of fried tomatoes in stir frys.
I must admit that I have never heard of Gnaw chocolate. I shall always stick to the 100% Montezuma chocolate, which is, of course, vegan. You might like Lindt 85% chocolate.
I was glad to know that you enjoy green tea. Do you have a preference? Raymond and I start the day with two mugs each of Clipper green leaf tea, which we brew in a teapot. Mid-morning we usually have mugs of ground coffee and try coffee from different countries. We always buy decaffeinated. This week we have Machu Picu coffee.
We did see some of PMQs and could see that Boris Johnson was not up to the job. Keir Starmer did a very good job. I do not think we shall get much truth with this government. I think we probably need to add 4,000 to the current death list for coronavirus from deaths in care homes.
That is about all for today. At least we have good news from Mary.
Have a good weekend. I hope to finish my list tomorrow.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I am so happy for you with your good news. I shall answer tomorrow as I am just too tired now.
Hello Jags56,
It was lovely to see you on the thread and I shall write tomorrow.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I am sorry I did not manage to post back yesterday but I had a lot to do and in the end just got too tired. It goes without saying that I am so glad your biopsy was benign. What was it? Was it a cyst? You certainly got good care.
It is certainly true that in this country that the government and their expert scientists have done a good job on scaring people so much that they are too afraid to go to the hospital for their appointments. Having for years told people not to go to A&E they are now calling for people to attend because A&E is 50% empty!!
I do hope you end up with good results from your other tests.
I do hope you get to see the documentary about the so-called Spanish flu. Apparently it was nothing to do with Spain but was so called because Spain was neutral in the 1914-18 war and was not under censorship like most of the other countries.
As for Chris Woollams, I do enjoy reading all of his emails and all the details within them but I do find it is a lot of information to absorb. I do think that everything he tells us makes sense and I think I am more wary of some of the orthodox medicine than alternatives. Orthodox medicine seems to be a lot about stopping or interfering with natural processes. I do wonder about that and I do worry about the fact that not enough attention is given to how orthodox drugs interact. I have found what seemed to be contradictions with the mixture of drugs that Raymond is on.
I have no idea how the NHS will make up all the treatments and appointments that have been cancelled because of the coronavirus. The NHS is underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed with the number of patients. It is also very bureaucratic and I think disjointed. When it was started in 1948 it was meant for very basic treatment and the population was 40 million and it is now 70 million. That says it all. We are an overpopulated island.
Raymond and I find the way we are living is surreal and we do wonder whether we shall ever get back to the normal life we were living. The generations are also very different. There seems to be some kind of resentment against the baby-boom generation, against the war generation and elderly people from the generations after them. This country is nothing like the one in which Raymond and I grew up. Everything seems to have deteriorated!!
That is all for today. Let us see what next week brings.
Much love, and greetings from Raymond.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Jags,
Many thanks for popping in. Thank you for your kind words about the flowers.
It is true that we need to enjoy the pleasant aspects that daily life can bring us in these days of overwhelming doom and gloom, mainly stirred up by governments and the media in general. We do need news other than the coronavirus. There is a world going on out there but in the UK we wake up to Covid-19 and go to bed with it. Raymond and I try to tune in to other things. Yesterday we watched a programme on Channel 5 entitled Ten things the Victorians gave us. It was very interesting and about all the marvellous building that they did to improve sanitation and transport. I think we have been somewhat lazy compared to the Victorians.
We are also interested in history and have been following on PBS America a documentary on the 100 years war between France and England in centuries past.
We are interested in other countries and have also started to watch a programme about the history of the British Empire with Michael Portillo travelling around the world. It backs up what we believe about how very bad it was.
I do hope that you will keep well and safe. Take care.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi ladies,
All is going well in Australia as each state and territory works it’s way to relaxing the rules around isolation. I live on the border of NSW and Victoria which have slightly different rules for each stage. It’s very confusing but we cope by knowing what level of risk we are prepared to take. It seems that many people think a little relax in the rules is a chance to gather in crowds. Quite frightening really as everyone expects another wave and it to be bigger and more problematic. We have very few infections and deaths country wide so that is something to be very grateful for. We had friends over for dinner tonight and I very much enjoyed cooking dinner for friends. It was lovely to catch up.
This week I start the second half of my chemotherapy. 9weeks to go. As I am getting the herceptin and perjeta the first week of three, it’s hard to tell what is causing the side effects. My skin is rashy and my face breaks out with a few pimples. The nose becomes bloody and my Digestive tract is not very happy. The neuropathy feel a tad worse but all up nothing too unmanageable. I get a heart scan in the next couple of weeks to check. Hopefully no damage there. It’s really quite frightening what the dugs can do.
Work is going well and my students are coping working remotely. Thank goodness I have a small group. It’s good to work with dedicated students who value learning. I have been doing jigsaw puzzles and picked up some smaller cheap ones the other day. 500 pieces for $1 a puzzle! Only issue is the pieces are quite small. What a bargain! I find the 1000 piece puzzles a lot to sort. My husband and I went for a picnic yesterday and drove up to the high country where the fires were, not so long ago. So many hectares of burn bush that has started to regenerate in many places. Much devastation.
I hope this post find each of you well and enjoying each day xx0 -
Hello Helenlouise,
Thank you for a very interesting post. It was informative to know what is going on in Australia during these difficult times. You are certainly doing much better than we are, especially in England, which is the most populated part of the UK. We also get mixed messages from the government, and England is not doing exactly the same things as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is a lot of politicking and ideology going on. We get instructions and advice that are contradictory. For example, people who cannot work at home are told to go back to work but not to use their cars or public transport and to walk or cycle if they can. We are then told that people can go for drives as far as they want but they must not stay anywhere overnight.
I was interested to have more details about how your chemotherapy treatment is going. Keep looking ahead and the time will soon go by. I suppose the only way to ascertain whether it is the Herceptin or Perjeta that is causing certain side effects is to ask the oncologist. As we all know, all the drugs are toxic and they take their toll on the body and weaken your immune system so you can get very run down. The effect builds up as well, so you can feel worse as the treatment goes on. Nosebleeds can happen and general exhaustion as well. Neuropathy is a real nuisance and I was told there is no cure by my oncologist, GP and podiatrist. I have learned to live with it in the feet and most of the time it has not bothered me but it has felt worse over the past couple of weeks. I find that warm foot baths with Epsom salts is very relaxing. It is also important to keep the whole of the foot, but especially the sole, well moisturised with CCS foot cream and/or Flexitol foot cream. They have 10% urea in them and are gery comforting. I also do a foot scrub from time to time, which is also relaxing. The latest one I have is FootWorks Sweet Vanilla exfoliating scrubber.
I do hope you get a heart scan to check up that all is well. Herceptin is known to affect the heart but I do not know too much about Perjeta.
I think most of the chemotherapy drugs can affect the heart. I was told taxanes affect the heart and I had a taxane drug but an ECG after treatment said all was clear. It does make you wonder what kind of toll all these drugs have taken on our body, but we just have to live the day.
I was wondering what kind of teaching you are doing.
That is all for now. Keep well, keep safe and keep looking forward.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Helenlouise,
Good to hear that Australia is still doing so well. People really should take the warnings of a second wave more seriously. In the UK it seems to be mainly younger people who are gathering in large groups in parks and taking unnecessary risks which could affect the rest of us. The Prime Minister wants schools to reopened on June 1st. Far too soon. My daughter has decided not to send her children back until the situation becomes clearer. She has a practice meeting on Tuesday to discuss how and when GPs might get back to normal.
Meeting with friends and catching up over dinner must have been quite an event. Our world has shrunk so much in the last few months. I was pleased to learn that in some areas the bush is beginning to regenerate, I wonder about the wildlife though. So much has been lost.
Your side effects sound difficult to cope with, especially the digestive tract issues. The drugs are hard on our body but, fingers crossed, equally hard on the cancer. Good luck with the heart scan.
Love, Gill x
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Hello Jags,
It was so good to hear that you are well in these challenging times. Covid-19 infection rates seem to be much lower where you are than in the UK, also the rise in infections is far slower than in Europe. I really hope that it will stay that way.
Gardens are important to most of us in the village. I think there's a bit of healthy competition. In fact there's usually an open day when people open their garden to the public, so we can all see how well everyone's doing. People gather in the village pub afterwards to hear who's won the prize for the best garden.
Keep safe and healthy.
Love, Gill x
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Hi Mary,
I was so pleased to hear that your biopsy came back clear. You must be very relieved to get that out of the way. I'm impressed by just how quickly and efficiently you were dealt with. Your follow up care once you've had breast cancer is excellent. It's very good in parts of England too, especially London. Cancer treatment and follow up is worryingly inefficient where I am.
Fingers crossed for your other tests.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Sylvia,
Like you, we could do with some rain here. Watering is quite a chore as my hosepipe doesn't reach all parts of the garden and I have to resort to the watering can. My lower back pain has now returned as it always does at this time of year. I'm trying to keep the garden under some kind of control. I allow many of the wild flowers and some weeds to grow, especially around the hedges and marsh pond. Huge stinging nettles thrive in the marsh and we used to pull them up until we heard how important they were to insect life. Of course, being stung is an occupational hazard, but it probably helps to relieve the arthritis I have in my hands. We have far more goose grass than usual. This spreads so quickly and also attaches to the cats' fur. Apparently goose grass is a herbal remedy for urinary tract infections and kidney problems - but not to he used if you're diabetic. Aquilegia grows all over the garden and is very difficult to dig up as the roots are deep and very strong. I have doubts about its benefits as it's poisonous. Culpepper notes that aquilegia is good for a sore mouth or a sore throat as well as for clearing liver obstructions and yellow jaundice. I don't know if any of his patients lived to tell the tale. Anyway, it seems that the whole garden is a herbal remedy for just about any ailment you care to name. Even so, the goose grass and bindweed (laxative, fever and spider bites) have to go.
I watched the programme about Spanish flu. As a child I remember an elderly great aunt telling me about it. I think we all have to hope that Covid-19 doesn't evolve into something far worse, as the Spanish flu did.
I can absolutely understand that the Government has entered uncharted territory and mistakes are inevitable. What I can't deal with is the lies, the invented statistics and most of all, the denigrating of doctors and scientists. My daughter is so angry that she and her colleagues have been kept in the dark about almost everything concerning Covid-19. She watches the daily briefing with incredulity. Now teachers are being attacked for not wanting to reopen schools. How on earth could distancing work in a primary school? I'm looking forward to PMQs this week, though I do wonder if Johnson will find an excuse to be somewhere else.
Like you, I doubt if treatment for cancer will return to normal in the short term. I hope I'm wrong, but hospitals, pathologists, mammograms, scans and so on will have a huge backlog to catch up on and all the time new patients will be added to the ever growing list. I feel very fortunate to have completed my treatment over a year ago.
Good luck with today's list!
Take care both of you.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello everybody . I really like the news of Mary's improvement and that Raymond and Sylvie are doing very well. I did not understand what the package sent to them for being within a vulnerable population. Marie luise unattainable in your work. beautiful flowers and beautiful paintings of their surroundings. Until the comical thing about the priest who is leaving, the church will remain open so apeopience and make your religious meetings there even without a parish priest.
here in cali the complex situation people do not understand anything about this disease they have found parties with many people yes. protection at a sex party where there is an exchange of partners. the people of this city. In humble and precarious situations many people live without enough space. so the virus and ibtrafamiar violence have grown.
In Colombia, the city of Bogotá is the one with the most cases, the mayor of the city is a woman and a lesbian, so her governance has been criticized. She has stood up straight to the President because he was going to open the airports, she told him about my corpse. quite emotional.
Cartagena, our tourist city to show, has 75 percent of people living in miserable conditions and will continue to die. That city has a new mayor who questions the previous ones for not having made hospitals, infrastructure, etc. This money has been stolen by the Cartageneros.
And now the Amazon entered a small town on the border with Peru and Brazil, carrying more than 600 deaths, usually indigenous. does not have. beds or hospitals in good condition and only from. level 1 o. 2. Patients who get complicated send a 1700 kilometer plane to attend them in Bogotá. They do not have medicated planes, but since they are the indigenous people who die, it does not mmatter.
Here in Cali they killed a sociologist who distributed among the peasant indigenous seed with various cabbages of corn without chemical treatment or anything. They were in good fortune and they killed him. so they have done with more than 100 people so far this year. wipe out social leaders.
while at home I try not to go out.
Abrazos
Mariawhile at home I try not to go out.
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your post and all those most interesting details about your garden. It sounds like a lot of hard work, but you seem to have a natural pharmacy!
As for the coronavirus, it seems to me that the government and the scientists have got themselves into a right muddle and are blaming one another. I think that in the end we shall have to get the country back to normal and probably live with this virus long-term. It looks as though there is no other answer. We now seem to be in a depression and it is not so much health versus the economy but health versus health. We cannot neglect all other chronic conditions and life-threatening illnesses because of one virus. There are many more of those viruses out there and we have to accept as part of existence on our planet. The main problem seems to be that we are building too much of a concrete jungle, digging up too much of our forests etc. and bringing animals and humans into too close a contact. Apparently there are loads of animals out there with these coronaviruses and they are spreading them to humans. This latest virus looks as though it was spread through bats to other animals, this time perhaps civets or pangolins to humans. Reports of the coronavirus in dogs and animals have also been noticed, so it makes me wonder where we are going.
I do agree that we cannot believe the statistics we are being given and that there is too much secrecy. I think the main aim of the government throughout is to try to cover up their absolute neglect of the NHS and to keep admittance of patients to hospital with covid-19 to a level that makes it look as though the NHS is coping, but it is not really coping. Tory governments have always been against the NHS and anything that is state owned. It has always been a case of Reds under the beds with them.
I am so glad that I am not still teaching. I do not believe that social distancing can work in schools and again I do not believe that the Tories care about state education.
I shall try to watch PMQs today but I do not like it done virtually. Johnson seems to have disappeared again!
That is about all for today. Take care.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hola Marias,
I am glad to see you on the thread and am sure the whole group feels the same.
Thank you for thinking of Raymond and me.
I shall try to explain what is happening in the UK while we have the coronavirus, Covid-19. The government decided to lock down the country and told people to stay home as much as possible. They said we could go out to buy essential food, get prescriptions from the pharmacy and take a walk for exercise. Certain groups with certain illnesses, were described as vulnerable and were told to stay home for twelve weeks and not to go out. The government sent free food parcels to these vulnerable people. This is how it was supposed to work. In reality it seems to be a muddle. I have a cousin with COPD and this made her vulnerable, so she was staying home for twelve weeks but did not receive any food parcels. Raymond was not classed as vulnerable so all this did not apply. Our doctor knows us well enough to know that we would not want any of this and would just do the sensible thing.
Thank you for telling us about the situation in your part of Colombia. I think people in general are finding the self isolation and social distancing very difficult, people like to mix and I am sure the loneliness of staying at home will cause other health problems. It is true that the less fortunate people living in restricted space at home will have more problems. The rich people that dictate to poor and ordinary people do not care about their problems and have no idea about the struggle of their lives. In this country there are all kinds of problems, especially abuse, going on within homes since the lack down.
As in your country of Colombia, we have the worse problems of coronavirus in the big cities such as London, Manchester etc.
I think we can sum all of these problems up by saying that there is too much inequality in our countries. The many do not have enough and the few have too much and I do wonder whether that will ever change.
It seems that in every country where there are indigenous people that they are badly treated and that their way of life is destroyed. It goes on and on throughout history.
I do hope that you are managing to look after yourself and keeping well and safe.
I have been trying to read a Spanish science magazine entitled Muy Interesante. It is quite difficult Spanish and quite difficult so I could not understand it all. There was a very good article in it about the coronavirus, entitled La Verdad Sobre El Coronavirus (The Truth About Coronavirus). It is a very long and complicated article and I sure you would enjoy reading it. Do you know this magazine?
Please visit us often as you have a lot of interesting things to say.
I am going to put this into Spanish for you so if you do not understand all the English, read the Spanish as well.
Abrazos.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hola marias
Me alegra verte en el hilo y estoy segura de que todo el grupo siente lo mismo.
Gracias por pensar en Raymond y en mí.
Trataré de explicar lo que está sucediendo en el Reino Unido mientras tenemos el coronavirus, Covid-19. El gobierno decidió bloquear el país y le dijo a la gente que se quedara en casa tanto como fuera posible. Dijeron que podíamos salir a comprar alimentos esenciales, obtener recetas de la farmacia y dar un paseo para hacer ejercicio. Ciertos grupos con ciertas enfermedades, fueron descritos como vulnerables y se les dijo que se quedaran en casa durante doce semanas y que no salieran. El gobierno envió paquetes de comida gratis a estas personas vulnerables. Así es como se suponía que debía funcionar. En realidad parece ser un embrollo. Tengo una prima con EPOC y esto la hizo vulnerable, por lo que se quedó en casa durante doce semanas pero no recibió paquetes de comida. Raymond no fue clasificado como vulnerable, por lo que todo esto no se aplica. Nuestro médico nos conoce lo suficientemente bien como para saber que no querríamos nada de esto y simplemente haríamos lo sensato.
Gracias por contarnos sobre la situación en su parte de Colombia. Creo que a las personas en general les resulta muy difícil el autoaislamiento y el distanciamiento social, a las personas les gusta mezclarse y estoy segura de que la soledad de quedarse en casa causará otros problemas de salud. Es cierto que las personas menos afortunadas que viven en espacios restringidos en casa tendrán más problemas. Las personas ricas que dictan a las personas pobres y ordinarias no se preocupan por sus problemas y no tienen idea de la lucha de sus vidas. En este país hay todo tipo de problemas, especialmente los abusos, que ocurren dentro de los hogares desde la falta.
Al igual que en su país de Colombia, tenemos los peores problemas de coronavirus en las grandes ciudades como Londres, Manchester, etc.
Creo que podemos resumir todos estos problemas diciendo que hay demasiada desigualdad en nuestros países. Muchos no tienen suficiente y los pocos tienen demasiado, y me pregunto si eso cambiará alguna vez.
Parece que en todos los países donde hay indígenas son maltratados y su forma de vida está destruida. Sigue y sigue a lo largo de la historia.
Espero que te las hayas arreglado para cuidarte y mantenerte bien y seguro.
He estado tratando de leer una revista científica española titulada Muy Interesante. Es un español bastante difícil y bastante difícil, así que no pude entenderlo todo. Había un muy buen artículo sobre el coronavirus, titulado La Verdad Sobre El Coronavirus (La verdad sobre el coronavirus). Es un artículo muy largo y complicado y estoy segura de que disfrutarías leyéndolo. ¿Conoces esta revista?
Visítenos con frecuencia ya que tiene muchas cosas interesantes que decir.
Abrazos
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to say that today I am now fourteen years and eleven months from diagnosis, so just one month to go to reach that fifteen year mark.
I still remember my breast cancer journey with TNBC status very clearly. I still do not take anything for granted and must admit have felt nervous lately having read a couple of posts on other threads where women have had recurrence after fifteen years. That is pretty scary!
Love to all.
Sylvia xxxx
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HI, Gill
Thanks for congrats, I must say it was a big relief to get past that biopsy, I tried to stay positive but had moments of flashbacks and wondering how I would handle another bout. I was impressed with my attentive and prompt care, probably because the hospital didn't have a lot going on because of virus issues.
We had our second Sunday Mass service, we had a few more people there and it didn't seem quite as strange to have no Holy Water and to perform the mask contortions at Communion. I did light about 10 candles, I included everyone here so I hope it helps!
Your garden sounds nice, I don't blame you for wanting to get rid of the bothersome, invasive plants even though they have some benefits. I replanted a small border here at the house that was only dried weeds all last year. Because of my shoulder much got neglected, so now I like to look at my neat little bed. I planted some perennials, butterfly plants (asclepsia) and salvias and plumbago mixed in with some annuals. We'll see what happens. At the farm I have spent probably hundreds of dollars over many years buying plants with hopes of my visions of loveliness everywhere, instead I have lost many roses, hydrangeas, fruit trees, and the list goes on. What survived were hostas, peonys, king solomon's seal, and some lovely little shrubs whose name escapes me at the moment. The plants that were there when I arrived are still there, very old snowball bushes (viburnum), tiger lilies, and forsythia, and hardy hibiscus. These must be some very tough old plants, they take a lot of abuse and come right back, and apparently animals don't like to eat them. At one time I had visions of being a rose gardener, with a fabulous rose garden, but all that survives of my roses is an old yellow shrub rose. I love it because it is seemingly very hardy and bears hundreds of roses all summer long.
I have a workman here this week, at least he started his work but then had to stop because of rain. He is grinding out old grout in some of my bricks, and replacing. I forgot about the horrible amount of very fine dust this produces, I need to give all my plants a bath!
Good luck with your garden battles, these kinds of things are probably keeping us sane, through all these strange times.
Talk later, love, Mary
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Hi Helen
As always, I am impressed by how you handle your treatment regimen and life in general. It sounds like it is not easy with the side effects, and I'm glad it's only 9 weeks left and counting. The teaching is very impressive too, with your group of dedicated students, I'm sure it's great to think of something else for your work. I can tell by your love of jigsaw puzzles that you have a lot of patience, something I don't have enough of! I miss the weekly card games with my little group of people, we were playing pinochle at the time the Covid19 struck here.
Thanks for the fistbump on my recent biopsy results, these things happen but glad it's over for now.
It sounds like it's to your benefit to be an island continent with far-flung cities, the Covid doesn't sound like it was much of a problem there. Here our President shut off flights from China, and then later Europe, and fairly early. But then all the Americans overseas were allowed to come home, which seemed odd, it might have been better if they had stayed put for the duration. Many did, since there were lockdowns everywhere. But yes, it's a big difference in different parts of the country. Where I am life goes on pretty normally, the garden centers are all very busy, and I know of many people who are planning Memorial Day camping trips coming up this weekend. Restaurants are open with 50% seating capacity, and outside seating. I live rurally, so I haven't been eating out and haven't been to a restaurant or convenience store in months. Today I am going to go to town and have my first Pedicure in months, I will wear a mask at their request (and my preference). And hope for the best. There are two large cities in our state, and they have had most of the infections, with one of the cities being much worse than the other.
I wish you continued good progress, and I hope the side effects lessen. And that you grab your pleasures where you may, as we all have to do!!
Talk later, love, Mary
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Just a peony, they are so pretty finally!
Mary
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Hola Marias
I understand it must be quite difficult there, dealing with the coronavirus. It sounds like many people do not understand anything about the conditions of living with the disease around them. Here in USA, it is very confusing too. I am always trying to find simple truths about how to behave in these times, but it is not clear. Here where I live businesses have opened, and especially for young people, things seem back to normal. Young people here are seemingly not concerned. I am 67 and am very aware that I will have to protect myself, while still going out on necessary business.
I read an article yesterday about Brazil, and their battle with coronavirus, many hospital nurses have died because of not enough protective equipment. It does seem as if South America is badly troubled overall with this disease.
Thank you for noticing my recent anxiety about my Breast MRI, followed by Ultrasound, and then Biopsy. It all happened within a week and a half, which was good and fast, so I was not troubled for long.
I mentioned we are going back to Sunday Mass again, although all wear masks, and there are not many people allowed in. I am on the choir, I notice when we sing we take off our masks, and singing produces many deep breaths and puffs of air as we sing, probably this would not be approved of if anyone noticed! We are not allowed to use the Holy Water, so I lit many candles instead Sunday and included you and all of us in the prayer.
I am very sorry the political system in your country is very bad, and allows such criminal acts to continue. It is meant to keep the populace poor and powerless, and is a sin and a shame.
I wish for you continued good health, and try to keep safe in these troubled times.
Talk to you later, Love, Mary
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Hello Sylvia,
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has now been told that it's coming out of special measures. I can only think that this decision has been based purely on the fact that our hospital has been made the coronavirus hub for this area. Sending very sick coronavirus patients to a failing hospital would not have looked good. The problem is that I no longer believe a word this Government tells us. Cummings travelling from one side of the country to the other when he knew he had coronavirus was bad enough, but Downing Street's response that he acted within the law because he was going to his sister's house is disgraceful and corrupt.
The news about coronavirus vaccine studies isn't looking good. I have just read that people who develop sufficient antibodies to render them immune are only those who have been so badly affected by coronavirus, that they've needed hospital care. The majority of us who develop a milder version are unlikely to be immune. I hope another scientist will come along soon and prove this wrong. We don't become immune to the common cold virus after all. I wonder if human beings just learned to live with it or if the cold virus adapted, becoming less dangerous in order that it could go on infecting people? It seems to me that a virus that keeps on killing its host, wouldn't survive in the long term. A bit like biting off the hand that feeds you. As you said earlier, I think we will all have to learn to live with it in the end.
The big worry is that the NHS won't be able to survive this disaster. The Government will have a ready made (or should I say oven ready) excuse for selling it off as a failing organisation. The Tories have never been keen on 'free' healthcare.
On a happier note, I saw something in the paper or on the BBC website that said cancer surgery was to be given priority over other operations. I was greatly relieved, but some other surgeries are a matter of life and death too aren't they?
That's all for now.
Keep safe you two.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hi everyone,
Just thought I would share a photo of a bouquet of peonies that my wonderful neighbor gave me a couple of days ago. She has a garden full of peony bushes. I saw Mary's beautiful peony photo, they are my absolute favorite flower. I wish everyone could enjoy the fragrance in my home right now!
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your post, which was very interesting. I shall reply tomorrow when I have more time.
Love.
Sylvia
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Hello pkville,
Thank you for posting the lovely picture of the peonies. They are beautiful.
I hope all is well with you.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello pkville,
I love peonies. These white blooms are just beautiful. My daughter had very pale pink peonies for her wedding bouquet so they always bring happy memories.
Gill x
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Hello Mary,
Lovely cheerful peony photo. I must have spent hundreds of pounds on my dream garden, just like you. Most shrubs were eaten or fell victim to Michael's pruning. He likes to cut back my carefully nurtured larger shrubs to within an inch of their lives. After this, many just give up trying. I have a lot of climbing roses, but this seems to be a bad year for black spot and rust, so they're not looking as healthy as they should. I have two that are over thirty years old, one doesn't flower much any more but the few roses it does produce have the most beautiful scent. I planted Paul's Himalayan Musk about six years ago. This has now taken over one end of the rose arbor. It's a very fast growing rambler covered with small, very pale pink roses in early Summer. Nearly as prolific as Rambling Rector which I'm trying to get hold of for my hedge. I know it will take over, but it will brighten things up a bit.
All the Catholic Churches in the UK are locked and there's no news about when they could reopen. It's been suggested by our Bishop that we could perhaps unlock the Cathedral after morning Mass and allow people in, a few at a time, for private prayer. This will mean putting volunteers on the doors and getting the voluntary cleaners back in. Most of them are over seventy, so may want to steer clear for now and who could blame them? I'm getting used to virtual Mass, though miss the singing (not mine), incense and ritual of Solemn Mass on Sunday mornings. I used to light candles for everyone on the thread, but just say prayers these days. Inevitably our prayer lists grow longer as we get older.
We have a restaurant and cafe in the Cathedral Narthex and I really do miss it. Catching up with friends and acquaintances after Mass was one of life's little pleasures. We also got to see the priests in a more informal setting, enjoying a scone or two and cracking their (usually awful) jokes. When will this horrible time come to an end?
I wonder if you're any further forward in your dog search? Dogs are such good company. I shall keep pestering Michael, maybe take him on a surprise visit to a dog rescue centre when all this is over.
Keep well. Wishing you a health-scare free year ahead!
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Marias,
It was good to hear from you. The living conditions that so many in your country are forced to endure are truly appalling. It's a brave person who tries to stand up to the Government and works to make things better for the poor and disadvantaged.
I can't understand people having parties at this time. Perhaps people have reached the stage when they don't care any more. Considering what is happening all around, you cope so well with life and with your cancer treatment.
I have cancelled my free Government grocery box as I'm now able to buy groceries online and have them delivered. The box contained everyday essentials like, soap, shower gell, milk, bread, pasta, cereal, tinned tomatoes, tinned tuna, soup, carrots, potatoes, apples and oranges. Also a packet of plain wheat biscuits called digestive biscuits. Digestive biscuits are probably the most popular biscuits eaten in Britain and some people dunk (dip) them in their cup of tea or coffee. I don't! I think they were added to the box as a little treat. We have charity food banks in the UK where people donate tins and packets of food to help feed those who can't afford enough food to live on. I've saved most of the food from my Government box to donate.
Keep safe Marias. We'll all be thinking of you here.
Love,
Gill xxx
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