Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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Hello cocolala,
I have just popped back to say that I looked up the drug Zuhera and discovered that this a name for what we call trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody, used for HER2+ tumour status and the brand name is Herceptin. The link is:
https://www.mims.com/malaysia/drug/info/zuhera?type=full
Talk again soon.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I am just popping in to say I was so glad to see you back on the thread. You must have been posting at the same time as me. I shall talk to you tomorrow.
Thinking of you.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia, Gill and everyone else,
I have just caught up on the thread and it would appear that coVid is top priority around the world - which is good, since we need to be on top of it - but at what cost to patients with cancer, heart disease and many other health issues.
I am due for a mammogram - but honestly, after open heart surgery - it is just not going to happen because the pain would be most unpleasant - just keeping my fingers crossed that things stay clear for me in that regard. Talking about health systems - I have had absolutely no follow up whatsoever since my major surgery - fortunately - I have been fine - what they told us is if we have problems to go to the emergency or call 911 . I do not find this satisfactory at all. I have an appointment with my cardiologist on March 31st which will be three and a half months after the surgery. I am doing well - walking lots every day and I even did a little bit of gardening the other day - I do have to be very careful though.
Glad that everyone is keeping safe from the dreaded virus - I think physical distancing and social isolation is going to be around for a very long time. A very different world indeed.
Sylvia - if you were to visit Vancouver, Grouse Mountain and Capilano suspension bridge nowadays - you would notice big changes. Vancouver has changed so much in the last 5 years - still beautiful - but so many more condo towers in the downtown core. Thankfully I never need to go downtown. Did you go to Whistler? I used to love Whistler - but now it is just so big and too many people. Glad you can cherish the memories of your days in Canada.
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hello everyone
just a quick post to let you all know that life and treatment goes on! Great that this thread potters along with regular posts from Sylvia and Gill. Thank you, It’s good also to hear from Mary, adagio, CocoLala and others who keep in touch. Thank you too! Life for me just happens these days. Three weekly treatments seem to come around quickly. Work is going well and life is good. Every once and a while something will happen physically, like a neck ache or another UTI or my itchiness flares up and I think oh no is this a sign of cancer but all my minor maladies seem to pass and definitely don’t qualify for further investigation. So just living my best life and waiting for that quarterly review to get another three monthsof treatment.
I hope that each of you are well and happy. If in treatment may it be swift and kind.
Best regards - Helen x
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Hello Mary, adagio and Helenlouise,
It was so good to have you back on the thread. I shall have to write to you all tomorrow as I have had a very busy time today dealing with all the bureaucracy that goes with my cousin's care. It is unbelievable.
To Mary, I am sorry that I did not get back to you yesterday but I just did not have any free time. Today I have been dealing with various different departments involved with my cousin and that has taken from 9:30 am this morning to 3:15 pm this afternoon.
I hope that tomorrow I shall be able to talk to you all and get out for a long walk with Raymond.
Take care, keep safe.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello adagio,
It's good to hear that you're doing so well, which is fortunate, given the total lack of aftercare. This was major surgery and you should have been offered proper checkups - Covid or no Covid. I hardly dare say this, but your heath system actually sounds worse than NHS care since the pandemic began.
The vaccine roll out for the first dose has gone reasonably well here. Though hospital staff were not always a priority, with some front line NHS nurses left unvaccinated until just recently. A nurse at the main teaching hospital in Norwich and a member of our Cathedral died of Covid last month, she was just 52 years old. More than 850 healthcare workers died between March - December last year. Those who survived have been offered a pay rise of just 1% !!!
I can absolutely appreciate how painful a mammogram would be in your case. Could an ultrasound scan be offered instead?
Try not to get too enthusiastic about the gardening - tempting though it is once the weeds start to appear.
Keep safe and well.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello helenlouise,
Yes, life does just go on and while lockdown is becoming very tedious here as the days merge into one another, I can't really complain. Life is going along quite smoothly and my body is getting used to the new (but not improved) me. I do have some excitement lined up for April, a hairdressing appointment (the first in 5 months), a trip to the dentist and my second dose of Pfizer vaccine. The Prime Minister tells us we should aim to be out of lockdown on June 21st. We'll see. It would be so good to see family and friends again, visit a restaurant, watch a film or wander along the beach. Just simple things.
You seem to be in a happy place. Your treatment is going well, work is going well and life is good. I'm sorry you're meeting a few glitches along the way, especially the UTIs. Hope someone comes up with a way of dealing with these recurrent infections.
Good luck with your quarterly review.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Sylvia, please don't apologize, you are a very faithful poster and have no reason to apologize! Your cousin's care certainly does occupy a lot of your time. I wonder sometimes what will happen to all of us childless people as we age, I suppose it will work out. I have checked into nursing home insurance, (perish the thought) but was told that since I have had cancer, it would be exorbitantly expensive. Life is just a gamble, isn't it, we don't know how things will turn out at the end of the day.
Now I am off to see my acupuncture doc, I still see him once a month, very enjoyable.
Talk soon, love, Mary
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Hello Mary,
I was interested to read about your experiences with the Pfizer vaccine. I think we all react differently. Let us just hope that all these vaccines do work as effectively as we are told. It has been made quite clear to us that the vaccines we are having are there to stop people getting seriously ill and needing to go into hospital. They do not stop the virus spreading and they are not a cure. From the beginning in this country it was all about protecting the NHS which has been much neglected, underfunded, bed cutting and staff shortages for years. Unfortunately, I get the impression from talking to people that they think the vaccines mean they are safe and liberated! In our country, the powers that be are not even following the instructions on the label, consequently there is a twelve week wait between the first dose and the second! I do not believe this is all coming to an end. We still have the variants with which to contend.
With reference to blood pressure, Raymond's has always been and still is normal and very good. It was messed up during four weeks in hospital because there is a one size fits all mentality in the medical world and they do not listen to patients. Raymond was sent home with a load of pills which he has stopped taking, and did so pretty quickly. He is just taking one low dose soluble aspirin in the morning. He is fine. As for me, I must be the only person in our apartment complex who is taking no medication and never will. I get the impression that statins and blood pressure pills are being distributed like Smarties. I read in some serious research that statins and beta blockers may be a risk factor in dementia.
We have not heard back from Sondra or Elzie but that often happens, and seems to be happening more and more. I tend to think that the basic information that a patient needs when diagnosed with breast cancer is now easily available or already known. There is, also, detailed information that may be beyond what a patient needs and open to misinterpretation.
That is about all for now. Sending you love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I do hope that you're winning your ongoing battle with the complexities of our social care system. Your cousin is lucky to have you, how on earth would he have coped without you? I suppose many people simply don't cope and fall by the wayside. Please don't rush to answer my post, you have quite enough to do.
A Nurses' strike would be a disaster for us, but not for Johnson and co. The right wing tabloids are already supporting him against the nurses so it's unlikely to worry him too much. He'll no doubt offer NHS staff a few more crumbs and his beneficence will be lauded. Meanwhile the Harry and Meghan saga will be a useful distraction.
I agree that there are far too many threads here. So many people new to the site think they need to open a new thread when they could simply join in the discussion on an established thread. Everything is covered on the site and they would be far more likely to get a wider range of responses on an established thread.
Yes, I'm also puzzled by the information that cocolala is being given regarding Taxol. Paxlitaxel is a good strong chemotherapy and would have been my choice of treatment had I been offered a choice. Cocolala has already been treated with Docetaxel. From my research I've found that Docetaxel and Paxlitaxel are equally effective against triple negative breast cancer. I don't know if the few extra ingredients in Paxus, another brand name of Paxlitaxel, now make it the drug of choice for treatment among experienced oncologists. I think cocolala had an appointment with her oncologist yesterday and I hope that she now has a clearer idea of what her treatment is and why Paxus has been suggested. I'm probably being cynical, but could it just be a way to persuade the patient/insurance company to pay more?
Nothing would induce me to walk across the Capilano suspension bridge. Well done Raymond!
Stay safe and well and try to keep sane in these mad times.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello adagio,
It was nice to hear from you and to know that you are making good progress after your major surgery. If it is any consolation, Raymond has not had any follow-up either and was told that it was not necessary unless a problem developed. He was told to take the pills and exercise. At least you are getting a check up on March 31st. They probably think that you need at least three months of post surgery rest. I think that walking every day is the best thing you can do. As I told Mary, Raymond stopped taking most of his medication quite quickly. He is fine.
I can quite understand that you will not be having a mammogram. Your chest needs time to recover.
I agree with you about physical distancing, social isolation and I would add mask wearing will be with us for a long time. I also think we shall have coronavirus vaccines in much the same way we have flu ones.
I was sorry to read that Vancouver has changed so much in the last five years. We did go to Whistler and we also went to Horseshoe Bay. Do you think that Canada is being spoilt by overpopulation? What we loved about Canada was the fact that it was a big country with a small population. That gives quality of life. Our little island, which has too many different names, United Kingdom (far from it!), Great Britain (nothing to do with being great but just meaning England + Scotland + Wales), the British Isles, and sometimes it is just referred to as England, is bursting at the seams! It is no wonder that the NHS cannot cope.
That is about all for now. Continue your good progress and keep in touch when you feel up to it.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Helenlouise,
I am just popping in to say that it was nice to hear from you and to know that all is going well. Keep up the good work and pop in when you can, as we like to hear the news from Australia. I tend to think you are a more common sense country than we are. We are drowning in class, rituals, outdated traditions, titles, snobbery, political correctness, and goodness knows what else!
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Mary,
Thank you for the useful information about Zantac. I was given a prescription only proton pump inhibitor when I had a serious problem with acid reflux. I took it for several years as the reflux had become extremely painful and had burnt my throat and oesophagus. That same drug is now associated with stomach cancer. I needed to take it again during the first few days after a chemotherapy treatment when reflux returned with a vengeance. It's a question of balancing the risks I suppose. Zantac has been freely available in the UK for many years, but I haven't heard anything about the associated risks yet. Breast cancer is certainly becoming more common. I shall look for more information about possible connections between Zantac and breast cancer. Like you, I suspect there's a range of factors involved.
We usually have simple Lent lunches at the Cathedral, basic food like bread and soup. The money collected goes to Cafod. We are supposed to do this at home during lockdown. I haven't given anything up for Lent this year, just doing a few extras like morning prayer and trying not to have spiteful thoughts about people. This last is definitely not easy as some people seem to put a huge effort into trying my patience. Clearly no-one has had the bright idea of a drive-thru fish Friday at the Cathedral. I shall keep quiet about it. We're still not allowed to sing at Church, though we do have one person from the choir singing during Solemn Sunday Mass and funerals. Funerals are still restricted to 30 people.
We have a few conspiracy theorists in the UK. They are refusing to be vaccinated and trying to persuade others to do the same. The vast majority of people are grateful for the vaccine and it's made a huge dent in infection and death rates. It remains to be seen if this is still the case when lockdown eventually ends.
Keep safe and well Mary.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your latest post.
I am not sure whether I am winning the battle with the complexities of our social care system, but I think I am certainly keeping all the different parts involved in it on their toes. I want to make sure that they know my cousin is not on his own and that my youngest brother and I are keeping an eye on everything. I do think it is all too bureaucratic and disconnected. It is a bit like a juggling act and there are far too many telephone numbers involved!
As for the nurses, I cannot believe the contempt with which they are being treated. Clapping hands was a joke and I did not participate in it. I would like to see the nurses walk out. I tried to watch a bit of PMQs but I missed the main part. What a circus this is. It is all ceremony and no substance. As for the Speaker, bring back John Bercow!
I cannot believe the coverage that all the media is giving to Harry and Meghan. The monarchy is an anachronism and you cannot have one and talk about equality and democracy. Animal Farm is alive and well!
I agree with you about too many threads and the fact that people new to the site keep opening up new threads. It makes everything so disjointed. Do the new people even try to connect with the established ones. It must be quite difficult. I think that newly diagnosed people must be so afraid and anxious that they plough straight into everything. It makes things disjointed when a breast cancer journey is not disjointed. It is a methodical procedure, with each part fitting into place.
As I said, I find what Cocolala said about the taxane drugs odd. I would not think there is much difference at all between docetaxel (Taxotere) and paclitaxel (Taxol), if any. The same goes for epirubicin (Ellence) and doxorubicin (Adriamycin). We all know they are all toxic. They are toxic to the cancer cells and so are toxic to normal cells. I think you are probably right, and not cynical, about money playing a part.
It is good to see Mary, adagio and Helenlouise back on the thread. I am wondering what has happened to Jags56.
I have spent sometime to day catching up with the Forum IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma) and the thread Parathyroid disease and breast cancer.
I also had a look at the High calcium thread in the Forum Not diagnosed with recurrence or metastases but concerned. I was looking at some of my posts there to refresh my mind.
What I noticed doing this was that so many posters just come and go very quickly. It would be nice to know what happens to them.
I do feel that more and more women are getting diagnosed with breast cancer and they seem to be getting younger. Recently there was someone on one of the threads just 19. There must be something very wrong going on.
There was a programme on Radio 4 this morning at 11 am entitled The Jump. On the radio it is in three half-hourly parts, but on BBC Sounds you can get all three parts now. It was about how animals are spreading the coronavirus to humans. It is headed by the doctor who is well known on television with his brother. I am sure you will find it interesting. There are many animals involved. Bats seem to come up a lot, but there are many others.
I think that basically it is all to do with overpopulation and too many people buzzing around all over the globe. I am going to try to listen to it again.
Let us hope that the thread will become more active.
That is all for now. Keep well, keep safe and try to have some relaxing time.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia,
I agree there are so many, too many threads. I remembered when I first joined, it’s not really clear how to navigate or search so I am not surprised that newbies start a new thread before working out there is an existing one where they can meet people with similar diagnoses and needs. I have some favourites that I read and occasionally post. Then I go through the actives to see if there is anything of interest. I have always meant to ask, how do you know how many people have viewed a thread? Is that something the originator of the thread can see? I also belong to a few Facebook sites. They are hard to follow in that you have no idea who anyone is or their background. The conversation is one topic with lots of comments. Not really a conversation at all. The only bonus with Facebook is you can let someone know you like what they have said or that you are thinking of them without having to write a post. Plus I follow a Australian group that sometimes has local information. I have found bc.org to be much more informative especially the ladies here on this thread with respect to TNBC.
Love and best wishes to you all xx
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Hello Sylvia,
I haven't listened to The Jump yet, but I will this weekend. It sounds very worrying that something as deadly as coronavirus can jump from animals to humans, though the bats were always a prime suspect. As you say, there are too many of us living so close together. It won't be as long as 100 years until the next pandemic if something doesn't change.
I wonder what's happening with cocolala? I hope she's been given clearer information and has been able to make a decision she's happy with.
Like you, I look at other threads during the week and noticed that a nineteen year old had been diagnosed recently. I think it was her mother who had posted on her behalf. I haven't known anyone quite that young with breast cancer, but from my experience with two extremely young people with colon cancer, I know how difficult it can be to persuade a GP to take cancer symptoms seriously. Too often the early symptoms of colon cancer are interpreted as IBS. A lump in the breast is diagnosed as a small cyst that will go away on its own - and it often does, but not always. Always insist on further investigation. Making a nuisance of yourself when you feel that something isn't right can sometimes save your life.
I expect you have already seen or heard that people with blood cancers and solid cancers like breast and prostate can remain vulnerable to serious illness from Covid after one dose of Pfizer. It is now suggested that the second vaccination should be given at three weeks. Once the second jab has been given immunity is very good.
Weather here remains dull and windy but at least dry.
Wishing you and Raymond a peaceful weekend.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Helenlouise,
Thank you for your post. I am wondering how you get away from having too many threads. I study the triple negative forum and am surprised each month at the new threads that are started when we have the huge Calling all TNs thread, which is still going since Titan started it in 2010. I started posting on there and would probably have stayed there if I had not felt strongly that I had to get the UK out of the Dark Ages about breast cancer in general and TNBC in particular. I also thought about the fact that the US and the UK had two different medical systems. I also noticed there were very few Brits posting. I still remember Titan and do wonder what has happened to her. I still read the TNs and do pop in from time to time.
I usually read the Active Topics regularly with great interest and try to keep the threads about High calcium and the connection between an overactive parathyroid and breast cancer going. I also wonder about breast cancer and thyroid problems, given what was happening to Marias from Colombia. I do wonder what has happened to her.
You asked about how we know how many people have viewed a thread. It is very simple. You go to the Triple negative forum and you will see the list of threads within it and how many posts and views there have been. For example, with our own thread, to date, we have had 129,304 views and 15,377 posts. As you can see, an individuals number of posts are under their photo etc. My posts are 7,475 and most of them are on our thread, but I have posted elsewhere, as I have said.
I do not belong to Facebook. I know some people from here, over the years, have joined TNBC groups on Facebook and I have been invited to join, but I am not interested. I feel on this thread that I get to know people quite well. I do not like the idea of Like or Not Like. I also like the idea on the bc.org forum that we have Moderators and I like all the information that is available under All Topics.
That is about all for today. Keep well and keep safe.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your latest post. I would be interested to know what you think of The Jump, especially if you listen to all three parts in one go. I do not think humans and animals mix. There are lots of animals implicated in this jump.
I have been wondering about cocolala as well, but I suppose she will get back to us as soon as she can.
I do agree with you about GPs and how they can easily miss serious things, including cancer. I think more and more they are sending patients for scans. We have to remember that GPs are generalists and not specialists, so if a patient is not satisfied, that patient must ask for a referral.
I heard this week on the news, about a pill with a camera in it that a patient can swallow and it takes pictures that can give a diagnosis of colon cancer. It sounds better than colonoscopies and endoscopies which can cause a lot of damage, but I wonder how safe this pill is?
I still have doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines being used. Everything was done in such a rush, especially here. This past week I heard about cases of clots in the body after having the Oxford vaccine and that is in addition to all the news about the same vaccine not being used on the over-65s. I would think that if a person already has blood and solid cancers, that these vaccines would make them more serious to serious illness from Covid-19. We all know about Long Covid. I think it was very wrong for our government to decide that it would not obey the instructions of a three week follow up and would extend it to twelve weeks. If you do not take medication properly, you should not expect it to work. I would not be at all surprised if we have a third wave. I may be cynical but I think the numbers that we are given daily are what suits the government politically. I ask myself what is happening to all the thousands of people that are said to be newly diagnosed as positive for Covid-19? Are they all isolating? They do not tell us the ages of these people and how many are men and others women. They do not tell us any details about the latest deaths or about those in hospital. I would like to have these details on our screens and so easily available to every one.
I am wondering what to think of the latest Johnson & Johnson one dose vaccine. In the meantime Raymond and I are waiting for April 28th at 2:50 pm to get our second dose of the AstraZeneca, Oxford vaccine. All in all, these vaccines are foreign to our bodies and we just have to hope they do more good than harm.
That is about all for today.
Best wishes to you and Michael. Keep well, keep safe and keep dry. What weather we are having!
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
Thank you for recommending The Jump. I haven't listened to part three yet, I'll do that later today. I fully expect another pandemic to occur perhaps within the next twenty or so years. Perhaps sooner if our attitude to the environment doesn't change dramatically. Apparently there are approximately 1.7 million viruses out there waiting to be discovered, yet no-one in the entire world is being proactive and researching which ones are most likely to jump from animals to humans next. Governments won't want to fund this kind of research if a disaster is likely to strike outside its own term of office. For anyone reading this who hasn't had the chance to listen to The Jump on BBC radio4, the pace at which pandemics arise is accelerating. Humankind is destroying the natural habitats of animals, bats, birds etc and forcing them to move closer to humans and other species. Thus a virus which has lived happily within a specific species will need to evolve in order to survive. It will then jump, (scientists don't yet know how), to another organism. In 2003, Sars infected 8,000 and killed 1 in 10 of those infected worldwide. Sars crossed from bats to a range of small animals then to humans. The wet markets in China still sell live wild animal species for human consumption!
Like you, I've been reading the news regarding the AstraZenica vaccine. I do think it needs to be remembered that blood clots are a very common cause of death in any case. There just isn't sufficient information for scientists to link the vaccine with blood clots as yet. Covid also causes blood clots and many thousands of people across the world have died as a result. It's a question of balance. There are risks in everything, but the greatest risk at the moment is from becoming infected with Covid.
I saw that there's a large trial going on using a pill to take images of the colon as it passes through the digestive tract. I'd much rather swallow a very small camera than have a colonoscopy. Colonoscopy is painful and I don't believe it's safe. Some people find it so painful that it has to be abandoned. I suffered from painful reflux and was sent off for a gastroscopy about twenty years ago. I don't want to go through that again! Some medical procedures are brutal and traumatic.
Like you, I have doubts about some people who are supposed to be in Covid isolation. I do know that someone in the village didn't bother. Apparently, the police may just knock on your door to check that you're at home during your period of isolation. I've never heard of it happening though. Sadly this pandemic has shown just how selfish some people can be.
After a sunny dry day yesterday, today is very dull. Still fairly windy here, though I suppose we should expect March to be windy.
That's all for today. Keep safe and well.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hi Sylvia
Now I am hearing a lot about the AstraZeneca injection being halted by some of the European countries, while more studies are being done, because a very few people had blood clots after getting such shots. I was reading my paper this morning which covers news from all over the world and the world is in such unrest in all corners. From disease, and government overthrows, and the like. I also read that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have perhaps caused 1200 deaths in 93,000,000 injections. And nobody is sure about that, because those 1200 people might have been going to die anyway. The same goes for the people with the blood clots, I would think. It is a quite cold morning here, and it's raining, I would have liked to stay in bed much longer today and escape for longer the world outside my door.
I'm glad that Raymond is doing so well, and you too, of course. I do think statins and BP drugs are given out quite freely, doctors seem to think they do no harm. I remember that my husband was put on 2 BP drugs, he said they made him feel very tired. I also wanted to share that my husband did take one of the Colon pills years ago, the pill with the camera that goes through the colon and takes pics. In his case they were looking for bleeding in the colon, they didn't find any but that was our first experience with this camera pill.
Today Spring seems very far away, but it isn't really. Soon you will be posting pics of your posies, and grass will need to be cut in lawns, and the bugs will be back. In no hurry for that, we seem to have more than our share of bugs.
I have been itching to go somewhere, so tired of this strange experience of the last year. Many people here are flying to islands, unfortunately once there quarantines are usually necessary to appease the country's governments, and trips must be longer than perhaps intentioned. Many other people are satisfying themselves with trips to Florida instead. California is still in lockdown in many places, what a mess they are, and what a waste of a beautiful state.
I think I will close for now, hopefully when I come back I will be in a better mood! Greetings to all, and I will talk to you again soon.
Love, Mary
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Hi, Gill
Let me know how your Lenten practice of not having spiteful thoughts goes, that is a worthy goal, but seems very difficult. I don't think I gave up anything this year, Lent does not seem like Lent, the Stations of the Cross are on Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday. The blessings are oral with no sprinklings, we still don't have holy water, the priest and deacon rush through Mass with no servers and so on. They haven't yet announced how they will do Confession, they might as well send absolution online in an email. Perhaps I will suggest that!
We also have a lot of people who are refusing the Vaccine, they are still waiting to see if the rest of us keel over I suppose. I also had reservations but got the shots anyway, six of one and half a dozen of the other, as they say.
Finally today we have sunshine, it's nice after slogging through day after muddy day. I was outside in the rain with my pup trying to steer him into the least muddy places to do his business for the last 5 days, hopefully now he will be able to go out without needing a bath when he comes back.
Today I am going to try and pick out some new flooring, this is a job I dearly despise. I have been putting it off for many weeks.
I mentioned above that my husband had taken the large pill with the camera in it that took pics of his colon as it passed through. It worked as it was supposed to and he didn't complain about it, I wonder that it's just in testing in the UK? My husband took this pill probably 7 or 8 years ago. He was always able to take anything ingestable and not be bothered by it, it was a large pill!
I must go for now, talk soon,
Love, Mary
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your interesting post.
I was not able to listen to the second part of The Jump on Wednesday but I hope to catch up during the weekend.
I think we are going to have to live with viruses. The human population is exploding and we are encroaching too much on the wilds of Nature. We should not be encouraging animals into our towns and gardens. I am wary of animals being kept as pets. They are not toys. I think any animal could carry viruses that can jump into humans. The main problem in all of this is the overpopulation, especially in the UK.
I do not know what to think about the AstraZeneca vaccine. Apparently the clots of concern are in the brain and they seem to be in people who have had Covid -19, so it could be the virus had already caused it or even have been caused by all the treatment that people with Covid -19 have been subjected to in hospital. We may be walking around with the clots. Perhaps we shall never know. I do think the vaccines were prepared and pushed out in too much of a hurry. I do wonder whether Raymond and I will get our second dose of the AstraZeneca, because of shortages, but I shall be quite happy to have a dose of the Sputnik V vaccine if it is offered to me. I do resent all these military terms being used, such as allies and enemies, when we are not at war. There is so much unbelievable propaganda going on.
As for the pill with the camera, it was mentioned as if it were a wonderful new thing. Mary has shown in her post that this is not true.
I am very concerned about the way all other treatment has been neglected. I heard on the news the other day that it could take years to catch up.
All we can say is that this world in a mess. Humans have done it no great favour!
That is all for now.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
Thank you for your latest post. All I can say about the vaccines is that we do not really know what they have in them that is going into our bodies but it is a foreign element to our bodies. There has been too much boasting about them, especially in the UK. We do not know what the long term effects on us will be. In this country the most important factor in all of this pandemic has been to try to keep people out of NHS hospitals to hide up the fact that they cannot cope and to hide up all the neglect and cut backs over many years.
I think that there are no pills that do not do harm and I think they are prescribed too freely with little thought of the side effects and how the pills can have counter-effects on one another. I researched this very carefully when going through Raymond's pills. He could not wait to get off them. My cousin is now on an army of pills. In fact, there seems to be a lot of people around me all taking the same pills. I read recently that statins and beta blockers could be a risk factor in dementia. I think it is well known that blood pressure drugs make you very tired and lethargic. I think the same goes for beta blockers.
I do hope Exmouth will not be overwhelmed this summer with visitors. Last night on the news I learned that the south-west is already taking lots of bookings for stays in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. That is sure to spread disease.
Raymond and I have just filled in our Census 2021 forms. It was truly like entering the world of the absurd. Only a bureaucrat could think up such forms.
Keep well, Mary, and keep safe.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I began listening to episode 3 of The Jump last night but after a long day was too tired to concentrate. I'll try again tonight. The way that animals are treated is appalling. It's impossible to justify our cruelty and ignorance. We have messed up a world that we should have protected.
Like you, I suspect that blood clots that seem to occur after vaccination could be the result of people having been infected with Covid earlier without realising. Covid carries far more risk of blood clots than any of the vaccines. I would have been happy to have been offered any of the vaccines available, including Sputnik. I also resent the warlike language used by Johnson and Hancock but the tabloids can't get enough of it. They also take every opportunity to put one over on the European Union. We, the ordinary people will quickly come to regret making an enemy of our biggest trading partners. Johnson and co with their offshore hoards will still be raking it in. They really don't care.
I read about virtual colonoscopy years back but had never heard of anyone having been offered one. I wonder why? Mary has said that her husband had one some years ago so surely the trials had declared it safe. There must be a reason why the NHS held back for so long. We don't even know whether virtual colonoscopy is routinely offered in the UK as yet. I certainly hope so.
The backlog of patients waiting for cancer treatment was appalling pre-Covid. I have no idea how this can be resolved. Clinical staff must be in despair. My daughter and her colleagues are becoming more and more frustrated that both they and their patients are being so badly let down.
I do hope that cocolala will call in soon. Her treatment may be making her too ill to feel up to commenting at the moment.
There's a lot of pink in the sky tonight which usually means they'll be sunshine tomorrow. Michael is due to have his crown fitted tomorrow so I doubt if we'll be going anywhere.
Wishing you a peaceful week ahead.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hi Everyone
Hope u are all doing well.? Vaccine roll out has started here with a vengeance and we are in the process of immunising all Healthcare and emergency service workers. Roll out delayed today though because flooding in N SW stopped vaccines getting through.I’m heading to Ivanhoe and Tibooburra this week with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to do their immunisations which will be interesting . NSW is being drenched with rain which is a welcome change from drought. Uni is going really well and I have about 2 months before NP masters done and dusted.
Stay well everyone
Much love kath
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Hi Everyone
Hope u are all doing well.? Vaccine roll out has started here with a vengeance and we are in the process of immunising all Healthcare and emergency service workers. Roll out delayed today though because flooding in N SW stopped vaccines getting through.I’m heading to Ivanhoe and Tibooburra this week with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to do their immunisations which will be interesting . NSW is being drenched with rain which is a welcome change from drought. Uni is going really well and I have about 2 months before NP masters done and dusted.
Stay well everyone
Much love kath
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floods in Tibooburra . Hope it settles for my flight next week’
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Hello Gill,
I can understand about feeling too tired to concentrate after a long day. Have a listen when you feel you can. I have not caught up with the programme yet. I seem to go from one job to the next. I am still running the complex, trying to look after my cousin, keeping an eye on Raymond to make sure he does not overdo things, giving time to the thread, trying to keep up with our personal affairs and, when I get a minute, asking myself how I am?!
I am getting very weary of listening to all the fighting going on with the vaccines. The sooner the vaccines are shared out worldwide and everybody gets vaccinated there will be no end to the spread. This country has been number one for hogging the vaccines and boasting about how many people have been vaccinated. They have been very quiet about how we have the highest numbers of deaths per 100,000 of all countries in the world. That is some achievement. Other European countries are going into their third wave and we have already been there. There is so much dirty politicking going on! I turned off the Marr show yesterday because I could not stand to listen or look at the Defence minister. It brings on an attack of existential nausea!
I wonder how many more deaths we are going to have from neglect of non-Covid patients? I heard on the radio this morning that there is a waiting list of, I think, four and a half million people!
I hope all goes well with Michael and his crown fitting.
That is about all for now. At least the sun is shining here.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Kath,
It was nice to hear from you.
It sounds as though you are having a very busy time. You have such interesting work.
Thank you for the photograph of the floods. I hope you keep safe.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Mary,
As envisaged, my holding back on spiteful thoughts for the duration of Lent is going badly. Some people push one to the very limit. Confession goes on as normal here. We have to wear a facemask and spray the confessional before we leave. I can't believe that this is good for our lungs, eyes or skin so confession is out for me. After Mass we have to spray our seats with an antiviral and there is liberal use of hand sanitizer by both congregation and priests. Altar servers are reduced to two or three. Choir is down to one. The Bishop makes a regular appearance, it must be once a week since the beginning of lockdown. Ha, good idea about confessions via email. Not sure I'd want to put my sins in writing though. Dial an absolution could catch on perhaps.
Bathing a lively muddy puppy must be fun. Why are dogs, like children, so keen on getting dirty? Both my cats hate mud, though occasionally paddle across the stream when it's shallow in the Summer. They have this burning desire to visit the field on the other side, perhaps the hunting's better. Whatever it is, it's worth getting their paws wet and muddy for.
I see that America has given AstraZeneca the thumbs up. I do think it's worth being vaccinated, but our freedoms here are still going to be restricted. Masks and social distancing will still be necessary, perhaps for years to come and it looks as though foreign holidays won't go ahead this year. Celebrities, the wealthy and members of our Government will continue to break the rules. No fines for them.
That's all for now Mary. Enjoy the warmer weather.
Love,
Gill xxx
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