Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hello Mary,
It looks as though our thread has come to a natural end. This is what Gill and I feel.
I did just want to let you know that I did look up on the internet about peanuts and I did come across the research that we discussed from Cancer Active. I am not really convinced about this research and I get the impression it is not definitive. I also found lots of information saying it was an excellent food.
It so happens that I have a reference book entitled Super Foods Super Fast by Michael van Straten and Barbara Griggs, published by DK dated 2016. It has on the cover Boost your immune systen, control your weight, protect your health, more than 90 quick recipes.
Under peanuts it says "A large-scale experiment has shown that a teaspoon of peanut butter five days a week produces an average pound a week weight loss. The monounsaturated fats reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. With a very low glycaemic index rating, peanuts may also help to prevent adult on-set diabetes, as they hardly raise blood sugar levels. They also provide vitamin B3, folate and protein. Peanuts and organic peanut butter should be part of a healthy diet.
Recommended for circulatory and fatigue."
I have tried Meridian almond butter, cashew butter and hazelnut butter, but I do not find them as good as Meridian organic peanut butter, which I have now gone back to eating! I have been eating this brand for very many, many years.
I also remember as a child, growing up with my three brothers, that once a week my mother would give us each a small bag of freshly roasted peanuts from the local market!
I am sure you would enjoy this reference book. It is highly illustrated and lovely to the touch. No Kindle here!
I do hope all is well with you.
The weather is pretty miserable here and definitely a day for staying indoors. We are now getting all the rain we should have had in September. The country seems to be in a state of panic, be it petrol, food, climate and, of course, the fact that they may be deprived of the overeating fest that is Christmas.
Coronavirus is somewhat on the back seat. People seem to have forgotten about it, even though the cases are going up.
Hope all is well.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I decided to post this on the thread because I have been thinking about everything and feel that it is worth posting for any bits of information that we may be able to give.
The NHS is in dire straits and people are not getting the care and attention in the UK with a service that they are paying for through their taxes. I think that the situation will only get worse. The waiting lists will continue to go up, even if those who can pay try to go privately. We have to remember that a lot of consultants work privately and for the NHS, and we know we do not have enough of them.
How can the hospitals be so empty when patients are queueing for treatment?
I find it odd that in Norwich it is the breast cancer surgeon who is in charge of all aspects of cancer care. That does not seem right. As you know, back in 2005, the aftercare was shared between oncologist and breast cancer surgeon. Immediately after I had finished treatment, for about two years, I had check ups every three months and these were shared equally between oncologist and breast cancer surgeon. After that they went to every six months, shared equally between the two. After about five years the breast cancer surgeon stopped seeing me and I saw the oncologist alone once a year and this continued until 2015 (so 10 years on) when I was discharged. Since then obviously I have seen no one.
I do not like the sound of your telephone appointment and I do not like the sound of your breast cancer surgeon. I can understand your loss of confidence in the hospital and the NHS in general.
I think I feel as downhearted about everything as you do.
I cannot believe the state this country is in. How is it Boris remains so popular when he has nothing of the makings of a Prime Minister and is just a show off performer.
I do hope we may hear from Mary, Kath and Helenlouise. I wonder if they feel the same about their countries?
That is all for now.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I'm concerned that despite self-checking I could miss something significant, particularly in the lymph nodes or in the tissue close to the underarm which is uneven and slightly lumpy. My GP tells me that everything feels normal, however, I would much prefer to have an annual physical check at the breast clinic, an ultrasound on the mastectomy side and a mammogram on the remaining breast. NICE no longer endorses routine ultrasound examination during annual checks as there was no significant advantage.
I do wonder if the hospital being so quiet is the result of the rise in telephone consultations and far fewer face-to-face appointments. How can a doctor 'read' a patient if they can't see him/her? It seems that from now on patients will need to have a much deeper understanding of their disease, treatment etc in order for telephone appointments to be reasonably safe. Knowing the right questions to ask will be essential. Many patients will feel unable to disagree or argue their case over the phone. In a hospital setting there's a breast cancer support nurse present during consultations to help patients. If telephone appointments are to become the norm - and I think they will - where is the friendly specialist nurse to advise, guide, reassure and explain? There is now a barrier between doctor and patient. It's dangerous and will cost lives. I don't blame clinicians, I blame a Government hell-bent on destroying the NHS.
Apparently the Prime Minister believes that the UK, as it is now, needs to be destroyed before we can 'build back better'. He's declared the chaos to be part of a plan that only he has the guts to carry out. I think, (hope), that he may finally have gone too far.
I'll stop now as it's getting late.
Take care.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Gill,
I do not really know what to say to reassure you about check ups. Once a patient has finished the standard treatment of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, especially with triple negative, the check ups, from my experience, are very basic. You have to assume that the breast cancer surgeon and the oncologist can tell a great deal just by touch. My oncologist used to run her hands over the mastectomy area and tell me that she was looking for smoothness. With the remaining breast she just did the usual breast test check. She would also feel around the neck and other areas where there are lymph nodes feeling for swelling etc. I never had ultrasounds and it seemed to be the routine was to send you for an ultrasound only if the oncologist or the breast cancer surgeon thought there might be a problem and wanted to investigate. I think all a patient can do is to do a thorough breast check for herself. I had a very good breast cancer nurse who was there as my contact if I had any concerns. Goodness only knows what it is like today!
As you know, I do not believe in the telephone appointments etc. Doctors train to examine patients and not to become call centres. A doctor cannot always rely on what a patient is telling them.
You probably heard the news yesterday about patients with secondary/metastatic breast cancer not being treated properly. They will have to fight their corner as has been done in the past to get access to medication.
I did pick up on the fact that they mentioned that most patients get 'cured' from their primary cancer. I do not think the word cured should have been used. We are not told that. I was told that 'we can see no evidence of cancer'. I remember my breast cancer nurse telling me that the medical staff did not use the word remission and that this word was something patients used. I have now gone more than 16 years since diagnosis and I do not think of myself as cured amd I do not take anything for granted.
It looks as though we are heading for difficult times in this country. It is such a pity that we do not have a dignified and serious Prime Minister. He seems to be what the majority want and Labour has nothing to offer.
I do hope Mary, HelenLouise, Kath and adagio will pop in to say hello.
It is mild here today and we are not supposed to have rain for a while.
Take care and best wishes to Michael.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
Apparently Norfolk Hospital Trust is the worst performing in England for breast cancer treatment. I had already guessed that was the case but it was confirmed in the Press in September. The number of breast cancer patients has been growing for years and many hospitals outside London have been unable to prepare for this, as funding in real terms is continually cut. How long will Norwich's breast surgeons, oncologists and specialist nurses be prepared to stay and put up with this appalling situation I wonder? Our hospital was/is PFI funded which was never going to be anything but a financial disaster. If the Government could throw 37 billion into a useless test and trace black hole, why can't they pay off PFIs? I feel desperately sad for those women on the breast cancer waiting list here and frightened for myself. That secondary breast cancer is no longer being treated by so many hospitals comes as no surprise. Our dear leaders have private provision, why would they care?
I don't know how others feel, but I'm heartily fed up with 'celebrities' filling the newspapers with stories about their 'battles' with breast cancer. They never mention type and they never seem to need to wait on the end if a very long list for surgery or treatment. Their stories are mostly unhelpful and add to the trivialisation of this very dangerous disease. Cancer is not a battle, it's a long hard slog. Those who die, do not lose a battle (which implies they didn't try hard enough), they lose their lives.
My breast surgeon, like yours, never talks of remission or cure and I'm grateful for this. I don't think I could ever trust a doctor who was less than honest. My prognosis will improve considerably once I reach the five year mark. Metaplastic, like all triple negative cancer can return after five clear years, but it's not common.
My local GP group is having a very bleak time. There are three practices in the group and none are able to recruit staff. Overworked, underfunded and hounded in the tabloids many GPs are burnt out. GPs do not earn over a hundred thousand a year as is commonly reported. Those who work part-time are paid pro rata and those who are full time most certainly don't receive a 100k. The tabloids have caused a storm of bad behaviour, aggression and even the physical abuse of medical staff by patients. In consequence, few newly qualified doctors will now consider general practice as a future career.
I've heard nothing about Covid boosters and our surgery doesn't appear to be offering flu vaccinations yet. We had our flu jabs at the pharmacy three weeks ago. There were no side affects for either of us.
Its a bright day here again but cold enough for the log burner to be on.
Keep safe and well. Best wishes to Raymond.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello again Sylvia,
I've just received a letter from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital informing me that after breast cancer surgery and treatment, patients will be called for an annual check-up for the following 2 years only. This applies to all breast cancer patients. This was predictable, but has no-one considered that in addition to ending checkups, access to GPs is very limited for the foreseeable future? I can't help wondering if all cancers are being treated equally.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Gill,
Many thanks for your posts.
The whole situation with healthcare in this country is indeed dire. I do not know how the NHS is going to survive all of this. I shall write more over the weekend as I am very busy. Look after yourself and Michael and push for everything that you need from the system.
I do hope the GP system gets back to normal. Raymond and I have heard nothing from the surgery about flu jabs or coronavirus vaccinations.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I could not get back to you during the weekend. There were some problems here and I had very little free time.
I think we can talk forever about the dire straits of the NHS and the queues of people waiting for treatment. I think even those who go private have to wait.
As for this country of ours, we just seem to go from one crisis to the next.
I miss the old England in which I grew up and cannot recognise the one in which I am now living.
Raymond and I are trying to sort out our flu and coronavirus injections but not much progress so far.
I see that the thread is still getting views but not posters.
That is all for now. It is a very grey damp day here in Exmouth.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I was wondering whether you saw the excellent Dispatches programme on Channel 4 on Monday? It was all about the NHS and did make you feel despondent. I do not see how the NHS can continue. It was made for a small, simpler country, not the overpopulated one that we have now.
Cancer patients are definitely not getting the care that they need. The programme was mainly focussed on Norwich Hospital and it was not good.
The amount of money being spent on compensation for botched procedures was unbelievable.
There is no news from Mary, Kath or HelenLouise, so I am wondering if they are alright. I also wonder about adagio.
I see we are still getting views but no posts.
Sending love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I don't know anyone who has been given a Covid booster yet. We haven't heard Johnson mention the world beating booster roll out, so he's probably messed up again. I don't know which GPs are offering flu jabs here, mine isn't. I booked with the pharmacy in my nearest Waitrose and had my vaccination about a month ago now.
The thread is far too quiet and I doubt if it will now recover. I'm going to stand down, though I'll keep my eyes open for new posters or anyone asking for help.
You did an excellent job of keeping us all informed about treatments, diet, new developments in cancer care and life after diagnosis. I hope people will make good use of the wealth of information gathered over the years.
Thank you for being there for us all, even when you and Raymond had health issues of your own to deal with.
Take good care of yourself and Raymond and keep in touch.
With much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Sylvia,
Our posts must have crossed.
I'll go and watch Dispatches. After everything I experienced at Norwich Hospital, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the worst Hospital in the UK. Records get lost, patient notes are inaccurate, cancelled surgeries and too few breast surgeons or oncologists to make a dent in the massive waiting list. This is after eleven years of Tory rule. Norwich is a Conservative stronghold so MPs feel little need to tackle the healthcare situation here.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Kath,
I do not know if you are still looking at our thread, but if you are, I was wondering whether you could give me any information about the flu vaccination that we shall be getting this year. Raymond and I have booked appointments with Boots Pharmacy for this Friday but I would like to know what will be going into our bodies. I am always somewhat hesitant about vaccinations and this year it is more complicated because they are doing the booster vaccines for the coronavirus.
Raymond and I were contacted by our surgery today and invited to go for the coronavirus at one of the clinics. We were told that they are doing the flu vaccine and the corona vaccine at the same time, one in each arm. Neither of us is keen on this and I cannot injections in my right arm and certainly do not want two at the same time in the left arm.
We have provisionally booked to have the flu vaccine this Friday and think about the corona vaccine at a later date.
We had the first two coronavirus vaccinations with Astra Zeneca, but for some reason this does not seem to be an option with the booster vaccination. It looks like it will be Pfizer.
We would appreciate your opinion on this.
I do hope all is going well with you in the very strange in which we are living.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I was wondering how you are and whether you are still looking at the forum even if you are not posting.
I was reading another thread and i am posting the link to something about trials of a vaccine for triple negative breast cancer. I would be interested to know what you think.
https://gizmodo.com/a-vaccine-trial-for-the-most-a...
I do not like the frightening and dramatic descriptions of TNBC, but that is my personal opinion.
I hope all is well with you and Michael.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia
You must be psychic! I was just sitting here try to get some quiet before going to work and I thought of everyone and that I needed to catch up! It's been absolutely crazy here! Try very hard to get everyone vaccinated and open up again which seemed to be going well except in SA which is making some very strange decisions. We have been pounded pretty hard with Covid and Wilcannia and Broken Hill seems to have taken the brunt of it with cases also noted on our border with Victoria. We we all prepared to head to SA to see my grandchildren but they locked down again when the rest of Aust opened up. Feels like I haven't seen them for ages.
You are correct with the boost for Covid vaccine and Israel ihas led the way with that. AZ seems to be very hard to get now so I will be getting my 6 month boost with Pfizer.
I will send u the links for the flu vaccine components when I get to work today so u can have a look. There was a very low influenza rate during our winter which was attributed to the lock down.
On a lighter note the Australian Broadcasting commission did a story on me as Covid Team leader for Far West which was interesting but a little embarrassed! I'll try and post the link. I've also just been endorsed as an NP and have prescribing rights now!
Had my mammogram in Sept which was all clear which was great so up to 5 years now! Still have dark days but haven't had a chance to think much because I've been so busy with Covid
Stay well everyone
Cheers
Kath
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Hello Sylvia,
Hope you and Raymond are coping with the way we have to live now. I wake up with a feeling of dread most days. Everything that I value about England seems to be crumbling away. I look at the thread every day and have begun to realise that I miss posting!
I saw the link from santabarbarian and was about to investigate and then I noticed that you had posted. I hope that the trials will come up with some viable solutions. As far as I can see from other threads, most breast cancers are aggressive given the right circumstances - age at diagnosis being a major factor. Hormonal breast cancers can reappear after many years of being apparently clear of the disease. At least triple negative cancer doesn't require years of hormone suppressants therapy.
The latest statistics for women being diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK is now one in seven. What on earth is happening? I don't really think that this grim statistic can be explained away by women being more breast aware.
I'm off for my Pfizer booster this afternoon. I finally managed to book online, though the vaccination centre is seven and a half miles away in a town I wouldn't usually visit. Michael and I made sure we had our flu jab and Covid booster several weeks apart. I don't know anyone who has had them at the same time as was originally suggested by the Health Secretary.
Best wishes to both of you.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Kath,
It was nice to hear from you and to catch up with your news.
I was not surprised to learn how busy you are as you try to get everyone vaccinated. I think all the Western countries are in the same predicament and there seems to be no end to the situation.
I cannot understand what has happened as far as AstraZeneca is concerned. I liked the sound of it because it is a traditional vaccine, but I think it has been abandoned because not enough money was being made out of it. Everything seems to be about the Pfizer vaccine.
Raymond and I have just been trying to sort out what to do for the best. We are going to a pharmacy on Friday afternoon to get our flu vaccine and then get an appointment for the booster vaccine about a week later. I do feel a bit nervous about it all.
As usual, there seems to be a bit of a muddle as far as our part of Devon is concerned. The surgeries seem to be having clinics at the recreation centre on Saturdays and Sundays. We do not like the idea of that, so we shall stick to pharmacies.
I had a strange phone call this morning which I did not understand. Raymond answered the phone and said it was someone from the RD&E Hospital in Exeter and that they were asking to speak to me. I took the phone and asked what it was all about and I was told they were phoning about offering me a primary booster vaccination. I asked what it was all about and was told by an administrator that they were going through clinical documents they had received about offering primary boosters to certain patients. I explained that I had had my two vaccines and was preparing to have the third. I asked what a primary booster was all about and she said she was not medical so she did not know. I explained my history with the RD&E and she said she would mark my notes as not needing this primary booster.
It just shows me that the muddle with patients records is not getting sorted out.
I asked about Raymond and said I thought it might be more to the point if he was being offered one. She said she had not got to the cardiac records yet. When I said that Raymond had had his surgery at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, she said that we might well get a call from them!
I look forward to receiving any information you have about the flu injections. There were low cases last winter because of the wearing of masks and social distancing.
I was interested to read about the Australian Broadcasting Commission and their story on you as Covid team leader for the Far West. I do hope you manage to post the link.
Congratulations on being endorsed as an NP. Well done!
It was good to know that your mammogram was clear and that you are now five years out since diagnosis.
Keep well, Kath, and try to have some relaxation. I hope you get to see your grandchildren soon.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I was glad to know you are still looking at the forum. it looks as though we are missing the thread in our lives.
let us hope Mary, HelenLouise and adagio are still looking and will get in touch.
I shall post more later.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Gill,
I was glad to see your post.
I understand what you mean by waking up with a feeling of dread most days. I seem to be the same and I get anxious about what the day may bring in this strange country of ours. I hope it will be stress free, but often something happens that makes me feel stressed and also sad at what is happening to England especially. I think you are right about England seems to be crumbling away. Often it is so difficult to listen to the news.
Like you, I generally have a look at the forum and I read through the Active Topics pages. I, too, miss posting and wonder what is going on with the people that have gone through the group.
I do not know what to think about the article about TNBC. I think all types of breast cancer are aggressive and you can never know what the outcome will be. In a way I am glad that I had TNBC tumour status and that I did not have to go on drugs such as tamoxifen/aromatase inhibitors for ten years or more.
I do share your concern about one in seven women being diagnosed with breast cancer. When I was diagnosed it was one in nine. It must have something to do with the modern way of living. I do not think all these over-processed foods are doing us any good. When I do my shopping order online I am horrified at all the processed products that are made out of one healthy product. It amazes me what they can do with a healthy fruit or healthy vegetable to the point that there is no nutritional value left.
I do hope your Pfizer booster went well this afternoon. Please let us know how you get on. There seem to be plenty of people here that are having the two together, one in each arm.
I do hope that our friend Mary is still looking at the thread and is keeping well. I do often wonder, too, how adagio is faring.
That is about all for now. I need to try to settle down to the long autumn and winter evenings.
Keep well and keep in touch.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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hi Sylvia
ATAGI haven’t release their guidelines for 2022 flu season yet however they will follow WHO guidelines. I’ll keep u posted with any new info as it comes.
Cheers Kath
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Hello Kath,
Thank you for your latest posts and all the interesting information. You look really good and very professional in your photographs and you are doing such important work. We are very proud of you.
You certainly seem more efficient in Australia. Here in England we seem to go from one mess to the next. I am not sure that they are doing much better in the other parts of the UK.
The powers that be seem to be focussed on other things such as climate change and political correctness.
Our cases of Covid are around 40,000 a day for the UK and about 200 deaths. The whole focus seems to be on keeping people out of hospital because the NHS cannot cope. In the meantime other diseases are taking their toll.
The talk now is of some new wonder pill for Covid treatment called molnupirivir. Have you heard of this?
Take care and thank you for all the information you give us.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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hi all, Sylvia, Gill and Kath
Its crazy to think another month has passed in a blur, but it has. Now it's fall, and the trees are lovely but we are being warned that Christmas gifts won't get here, and toilet paper is running low and yet we are giving people who break into our country hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Every day is another disaster, another dark comedy, it seems. Never have we had an administration who is so oblivious to the wants and needs of the people who are citizens of this country. Ugh.
Sorry I've been absent. October became very busy, my granddaughter got married in the middle of the month and a few days after the event I had stomach distress one evening, and overnight the diarrhea kicked in. That lasted till the next day and I was very dehydrated and weak, it took about a week to get over it but it was rough. Several people I talked to also got ill that week, my grandson got Covid and 2 other family members got the flu. This also was the time of year for a week of meetings, which I attended online. My oldest brother also decided to visit, on the last day he was here, I felt well enough to cook for the family. Now life is quiet again, those 2 weeks really took it out of me. I did take 2 at-home Covid tests just to be sure(r), both were negative.
Also this month my niece and her husband decided to divorce, that really floored me, I thought we were close but I had no idea that was coming. Now that I say it, that's not true, I knew something was wrong but didn't know what.
Feelings of impending doom? Welcome to my world! I found something in a book about that, I will post it later, have to find it back.
I also recently read that there are Trials going on for a Triple-Negative vaccine. I guess the hard part is figuring out who the participants will be. Since its usually found in Black, Asian, and young women. Teehee, joke's on us!
Anyway, I'll be back as soon as I can. I love all of you and wish you well,
Mary
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Hello Mary,
It was good to have you back with us and I can see that you have been having a difficult time. I shall have more time later today and shall sit down and respond in more detail.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Mary,
I had to laugh at the first few lines of your post. Once we hit the toilet paper shortage broadcast we know we are in trouble! If it is any consolation we are in the same mad state as you are. We have had the petrol shortage, which was not really a shortage of petrol, but of HGV drivers. It did not stop queues at the petrol stations where there were even fights. We are now being told of empty shelves in the supermarkets and that Christmas will be bleak. I get so fed up with it and have to have a rant about it. I do long for the sanity of the fifties, when life was much simpler. I often feel like a strange in my own country.
We have a real crisis with illegal immigrants coming across the Channel from France in dinghies which seem to get bigger and bigger. The lifeboats keep going out to pick them up and we do nothing to send them back. So far this year over 20,000 of them have been picked up and are now apparently living in hotels. I do not know where we are going. We are overpopulated as it is and have a lot of poverty here. Apparently a lot of them are now coming from Somalia and are mainly young men. This situation does not even make headlines as all the attention is going to climate change, which I think is and has always been a natural phenomenon on the planet. There has been complete hysteria in Glasgow and the big cheeses have been staying in Edinburgh anyway and have travelled to Glasgow with police escorts, including helicopters! Very green!!
The last lines of your first paragraph strike a chord with me. I think the same can be applied to our present government. They are a comedy show and they are headed by Bozo the clown! I do not think I can cast my vote anymore. We are far from left and right and are drowning in ineptitude.
I can see from your post that you have had a lot to deal with during October. I am glad that life is quieter now.
It looks as though Gill, you and I are experiencing the same kind of feelings. It is a mixture of despair, frustration and anger about what is going on. Everything is so out of control.
I have just ordered a couple of non-fiction books that I think will make interesting reading. They are The Strange Death of Europe and The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray. I shall let you know what I think about them but they are about all our current problems.
With reference to triple negative breast cancer, and a vaccine, I have also read about it. I need to get more details about it as I do worry about what is going into people's bodies.
I think more time and energy should be given to be finding out the causes of breast cancer and not about adding more and more drugs.
As for the coronavirus, all the news this week has been about a new anti-covid pill called molnupirivir. Here in the UK we are of course jumping on board straight-away. We love to be, or try to be the best and first of everything. This pill has been manufactured by the American company Merck. I wonder what the side effects are?
Raymond and I have each just received a letter from the NHS saying that we are in the age group now being offered the booster vaccine. The letter was worded as if we are all simpletons. It has contradictory statements as well. It says we shall be getting this booster dose and that it will be either Pfizer or Moderna. We had AstraZeneca for our first two doses and think we should stick to the same but that does not seem to be an option. I remember Chris Woollams said we should not mix vaccines. It also says in the letter, that we might have AstraZeneca as an option. No one in our entourage has had AZ, they have all had Pfizer and were not even told what they were having!
That is about all for now. Keep well and keep in touch.
Love and best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
It seems that the thread has woken up again. It was good to hear from Kath and Mary and learn what they are up to. I shouldn't think that Kath would be too impressed to hear that my brother- in-law in Canberra is a vaccination denier. I'm sure he has plenty of theories regarding the dangers of of Covid vaccines. As we no longer read his emails, his warnings are lost on us.
I had my booster last Tuesday afternoon. I have flu like side effects now, though I had no side effects at all after my first two vaccinations. I could easily have picked up something 'doing the rounds' now that the cold weather's here. To be on the safe side I've sent off for a Covid test kit. I wouldn't want to put other people at risk so I'm staying in isolation until the results are in.
I think that you and Raymond will have been interested in the breathtaking antics of Boris Johnson and co. Angela Rayner took the Prime Minister apart in Parliament last Wednesday, she's so much better than Starmer. What's the betting that Paterson will be given a Peerage?
Cancer treatment, or lack of it has been taken off the front pages to make room for Tory sleaze articles. We really need to keep the failing NHS stories coming. Too many lives are being lost.
Wishing you and Raymond a peaceful week.
With love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Gill,
Yes, the thread does seem to have woken up a bit, but the views are always a lot more numerous than the posts. It was very good to hear from Mary and Kath and I do hope they will keep in touch.
I think I would find what your brother-in-law in Canberra has to say about vaccination very interesting. I always like to hear all sides of a story. None of us knows what these vaccinations are doing to our body and what the long term side effects may be. This is especially the case for all the young people now being given the vaccination when we were told in the beginning that they were not in danger and did not need them.
Raymond and I are having our flu injections on Tuesday at Boots and we shall probably make an appointment to get the Covid vaccine a week or so later, but we are not absolutely confident about these vaccines, especially with the mixing of them. Yesterday Raymond and I each received our letters from the NHS telling us to book an appointment to get the vaccine. We shall be going to a pharmacy to get it. In addition to the letter, and three pages of multiple languages for reading about the vaccine, there was also a leaflet. Under the heading Which vaccine will I be offered? it said the following "You will be given a booster dose of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccine*. These vaccines have already been given to millions of people in the UK.
"You will be offered the right vaccine for you which may be the same or different from the vaccines that you had before.
"* AstraZeneca may be an option if this is the vaccine that you had for the first two doses."
All this seems a bit contradictory. Who is to decide what is the right vaccine for you and on what criteria? I have asked quite a few people in my entourage what has gone on with them and have been told they have turned up, not been asked for the card that proves they have had two doses, just been given the vaccination, not told what it was, and not been given a card or proof that they have had it done. Some have felt unwell for a day, some longer, and some have been fine.
AstraZeneca seems to have been put away in a cupboard and the news has been that you will be given Pfizer.
Given what Chris Woollams said about not mixing vaccinations I am thinking of asking for AstraZeneca but since it has disappeared I am given to wondering whether it is any good.
Over the past few days I have been watching the news on one TV channel and it is all about a whistleblower giving details of all the flaws that there were in the third stage of testing Pfizer. It does make you wonder. Ultimately it is all about companies making as much money as they can.
I do hope all will prove to be fine with your booster vaccination.
The common side effects are listed in my leaflet as:
Having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection. This tends to be worst around one to two days after the vaccine.
Feeling tired.
Headache.
General aches, or mild flu-like symptoms.
It just said to take paracetamol and rest.
A high temperature is unusual and may indicate you have Covid-19 or another infection.
The coronavirus does not seem to be getting any better but then a lot of people seem not to be taking any common sense precautions and the powers-that-be are not setting an example. I cannot believe the fiasco of COP26 and all the people there. We can expect a big surge in the near future.
Raymond and I did see some of the antics of Boris Johnson and he is an absolute disgrace. In so many ways he has led us all up the garden path.
I do agree that Angela Rayner is so much better than Starmer. Labour is going nowhere at the moment and I suspect it may be finished. We need proportional representation and an elected head of state, not to mention no House of Lords.
I think it is dreadful what is happening to cancer patients. People seem to be focussed on saving the planet.
That is about all for today. I hope you are feeling better.
Love and best wishes. Raymond sends his regards.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Sylvia,
I'm feeling much better today. I wasn't given any choice of vaccines and the Health Secretary originally said that all boosters would be Pfizer. No idea why this information was changed. I think Moderna is slightly more effective and Astrazeneca just seems to have disappeared. Everyone here appears to be having Pfizer and many people feel as we do, that they don't want to mix vaccines.
My brother-in-law is probably refusing the Covid vaccination because he has needle phobia, it really is that simple. His anti vaccine stance is used to hide his fear of needles. I've done some research on needle phobia and it's very common. It's estimated that up to 10% of people in the UK are afraid of injections and it's thought that this may account for many instances of vaccine hesitancy - rather than fears about the cocktail of chemicals that are inside the syringe. NHS /doctors/nurses need to take this phobia seriously.
I have a family member who is too frightened of needles to have the Covid jab and it impacts heavily on his life and work. Trying to keep safe by masking, social distancing and ventilation is made so much more difficult by the many people who refuse to take these precautions. The Government has set an appalling example with very little mask wearing on the blue side of the House of Commons and a Leader of the House who informed the Commons that the Tories didn't need to wear masks because they all knew each other!
I wasn't well enough to attend my six monthly dental check-up and have been told that the next available date is January 25th. A long wait for a private dentist - and private healthcare seems to be just as bad now that more people are giving up on the NHS. What a chaotic country we live in.
I do hope that you and Raymond don't have to queue for your flu vaccination tomorrow. Queues are an adventure in themselves these days.
Keep safe and well.
Love,
Gill xxx
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Hi Mary,
You seem to have been in the wars yet again. Your stomach upset went on for quite a while, I wonder if you had food poisoning from the Wedding meal. Though novovirus often makes itself known about now, oh the horror. I've only had novovirus once and didn't feel well for weeks afterwards. I hope there are no more problems and you're able to eat properly again.
I'm sorry that your grandson has had Covid. Some people seem to have quite a mild dose while others become seriously ill very quickly. I'm hoping that your grandson fell into the former category and is on the road to recovery.
I can understand why you're upset by your niece's impending divorce. It's difficult when you're close to both parties. I don't have much family, but when close friends have divorced, I always seem to lose touch with one half of the couple, despite never taking sides. It's so sad for you and all those who care about your niece and her husband and I hope it can all be sorted out amicably.
You haven't mentioned your dog so I guess all is well and the chewing of shoes and furniture is a thing of the past.
Best wishes Mary and do try your best to have a few weeks without a stomach upset/shoulder injury/tick bite or any other health issue.
With much love,
Gill xxx
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Hello Gill,
Thank you for your latest post.
I do agree that the private sector seems to be as chaotic as the NHS. There is just too much demand and not enough qualified staff to carry out the work. There seems to be shortages everywhere. I think that overpopulation is the biggest problem on this planet. I do not think it was meant to carry such huge populations. When Raymond and I first went to Canada back in 1977 the thing I liked the most was the quality of life you had because of a huge country with a small population. I think that has all changed now.
I am pleased to report that everything went well with our flu vaccination yesterday. I went first and then Raymond followed me. The one thing I did not think right was that the pharmacist there just gave the flu jab without much information, but she did say it covered four strains and had something added to give the immune system a boost. When we were both finished she handed Raymond a copy of the leaflet that must have been in the box with the vaccine. I have since studied the leaflet carefully.
I now know that the vaccine is called Fluad Tetra and is season 2021 2022. It is unbelievable all the information that is on the leaflet. What annoyed me was the leaflet said that you should read it before having the injection! There are then two pages of double A4 information. In bold the first thing I see is Read all this leaflet carefully before you receive this medicine because it contains important information for you. Then there are various other headings.
What is in this leaflet.
1. What Fluad Tetra is and what it is used for.
2. What you need to know before you receive Fluad Tetra.
Within number 2 you see
You should not receive Fluad Tetra if you are allergic to – followed by a list.
Warnings and precautions – before receiving the vaccine followed by a long list with five point marks and then the last sentence As with all vaccines, Fluad Tetra may not fully protect all persons who are vaccinated. Then we have more headings.
Children
Other medicines and Fluad Tetra
Pregnancy and breast feeding
Driving and using machines
Fluad Tetra contains potassium and sodium
We then finally get to number 3, How Fluad Tetra is given.
4. Possible side effects and this takes up half of the whole page, going from mild side effects, of which there are many, and they are divided into categories, very common, common, uncommon, and then occasional.
5. How to store Fluad Tetra.
6. Content of the pack and other information. I found this most interesting but it is quite difficult to type it out. It mentions the different strains and all the different adjuvants.
We are feeling alright today but just tired.
We have now booked our Covid booster for Tuesday November 23rd at a local pharmacy, where we had the other two. I shall be asking whether I shall be getting AstraZeneca as I did for the first two but I am pretty certain I shall be getting Pfizer.
I do hope Mary is alright. She came back to us but had obviously been having a difficult time so I do hope we shall hear from her.
I am not quite sure where to pick up with breast cancer with triple negative receptors as I get the impression that more and more different drugs are being used, even for non-metastatic and that concerns me. There is only so much that a body can tolerate. The drug, Xeloda, seems to be in use a lot.
As for Covid, I am waiting for this new drug to be pushed.
There seems to be no end to the chaos and our Prime Minister was not even in Parliament. I think parliament needs a good flushing out. They are earning way too much money and have no idea of the struggle of everyday living for ordinary people.
That is all for now. Take care and keep in touch.
Love.
Sylvia xxxx
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hi Gill
You are right about the lack of appetite after my stomach bug, it took weeks before I felt like eating. I don't think it was from wedding food, I think more likely it was from wedding guests. I heard later there were several people there who had Covid but didn't know it. It was a lovely wedding but I have decided no more weddings or funerals unless family, as was this one.
I had regular Oncologist visit this week, she talked to me a while about how she thinks my tumor was so fast-growing that if it was going to return it would have by now. In other words, she thinks I am doing well. She is leaving this practice and moving to New York now however, I'm sorry to say. On my next visit I will see a different doc, my fourth Onco since this all started. In hindsight, I wish I could have started with this current doc, it might have been a less harsh event.
I see that you and Sylvia are getting the Booster, I haven't done it yet. This is the strangest, loneliest disease, this Covid. Nobody wants to be around a person for fear of getting it. If one goes to hospital one is sent home and told to sink or swim unless at death's door. A good friend is going thru this now, she and her husband both have Covid, she went to hospital, they did nothing for her and sent her home. She probably needs IV fluids, she has a partial lung on one side, and diabetes. I'm hoping her GP will help with meds, I think he did get her an infusion of Monoclonal antobodies. The story is quite jumbled, I get reports from a friend who talked to her niece. Hopefully, the fact that she got the Vax will help her thru it.
We had a Christmas choir practice last night, we will be singing all traditional so won't need a lot of practice. We did have to go thru our Christmas Gloria, its difficult for me because it has a lot of discordant notes, which I find odd, why would anyone write music like that?
I have an older brother, and his wife and children, who are unvaxed. On principle I think. They have stocked up on Ivermectin.
I'm going to send this before I lose it. Oh and Buddy the dog is doing good, thanks!
Love Mary
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