Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
Comments
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Hello Debra
Thank you for posting this information. It is always good news when we know that something on trial is working. It would be so good to have a vaccine. Let us hope this small trial progresses to a large trial.
We need women like you on these threads that are proactive.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello FernMF
I am just posting to say that I am so glad that all is well with you after your scan.
I had no idea that Taxotere could result in vaginal bleeding. It is good for everyone to be aware of all possible side effects so that they are not frightened.
It is strange that the left ovary could not be found during the test, but I appreciate your sense of humour in this respect.
Keep up the good work.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone
I just wanted to wish everyone a good weekend and say that I do appreciate the effort that you put into this thread.
BernieEllen, I hope all is well with you. You have been very quiet this past week.
linali (Lindsay), I hope you are not feeling too lost without Oskar and that you are not in too much pain. Did you know that hyperparathyroidism can cause bone pain and make a person feel below par? It is described as “moans, bones and groans”.
Mumtobe, (Carol), I hope you are progressing well with your chemotherapy and any side effects are minimal.
Michael, you have been very quiet lately and I do hope all is well and that you are just busy working. I look at Janette's foundation regularly and was interested in the latest snippet of news about being overweight and breast cancer. I have no doubt that being overweight is not conducive to good health, but ironically the women with breast cancer that I know are all slim and fit!!
FernMF, have a good weekend, now that your latest scan has brought you peace of mind.
sam52, I hope you will find the time to catch up on the latest posts on this thread and the others concerned with hyperparathyroidism, high calcium and breast cancer.
Kymn, I hope you are keeping well and not freezing too much in Alberta!
Thank you to everybody for keeping this thread active.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Thanks Sylvia.
Yes, peace of mind. . . now on to the "every three months" for 2 years check ups. Watch and wait.
My 82 year old mother is driving 3 hours south to visit us this weekend, with my 18 year old niece. My child and grandchildren are visiting this evening just for dinner as they don't see my mom very often, or NEVER. (they drive 1 hour east to get here). THIS NEVER HAPPENS . . . so I am anxious. Of course, I am at work, and will not arrive until after they arrive at my home. My sweet/loving/saintly husband has made lasagna, home made bread, etc. . . . he IS a saint. Mom and niece are staying the weekend. I'm not sure how we will entertain the two of them, but, it will be DIFFERENT and interesting as my niece has never visited. I am SOOOO looking forward to it.
AND, I am singing with a soprano at church this sunday "Gesu Bambino" . . . she wasn't very ready at rehearsal wednesday night - I hope she practices!!!! (tee hee)
BIG WEEKEND PLANS for once!
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Vodka Christmas Cake
Once again this year, I've had requests for my Vodka Christmas Cake recipe so here goes. Please keep in your files as I am beginning to get tired of typing this up every year! (Made mine this morning!!!!) 1 cup sugar, half pound butter, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 cup water, 1 tsp. salt , 1 cup brown sugar, Lemon juice, 4 large eggs, Nuts, 1 bottle Vodka (preferably Smirnoff), 2 cups dried fruit, 4 cups self raising flour.
Sample a cup of Vodka to check quality.
Take a large bowl, check the Vodka again to be sure it is of the highest quality then Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point, it is best to make sure the Vodka is still OK. Try another cup just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the fruit up off the floor, wash it and put it in the bowl a piece at a time trying to count it. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a srewscriver Sample the Vodka to test for tonsisticity. Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something. Check the Vodka. Now shit shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or something. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish of the Vodka and wipe the counter with the cat.
Merry....ummm, thingymajig.0 -
Hello Sylvia
Thank you for your posts and for keeping the parathyroid threads going.
I have just sent you a PM in reply.
I am sorry I have not had much time to reply to posts here, but as I finish the term at the end of this week I hope to be able to make more of a contribution.
With love,
Sam x
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Hello FernMF
I do hope you enjoyed the visit from your mom. I am sure you were both thrilled to see each other. I hope you enjoyed your family dinner. It sounds as though you have a really good husband. I hope your niece enjoyed her visit.
I hope the singing goes well today.
Take care.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello BernieEllen
Thank you for making us all laugh once again.
I hope you will have a good week. Do you make a big event of Christmas?
Wishing you well.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello sam52
Thank you for your post and your PM, which I shall answer shortly.
I do know you are very busy and that end of terms are always hectic. Just think that this time next week you will be on holiday.
The more I read the more I am convinced that there is a connection between hyperparathyroidism and the development of breast cancer and we ourselves prove that it can affect all breast cancers regardless of our receptor status. I do believe that the malfunctioning hyperparathyroid gland or glands results in excess calcium floating around the body and that somehow this causes breast cancer. I remember when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mammogram that I was told I had calcium deposits just above my breasts. They disappeared with the chemotherapy. We have to remember also that we have calcium in the breasts anyway. It could still be an unknown factor causing both, such as x-rays in childhood mentioned in that Swedish research, but I am not convinced of that.
The worry is that doctors tell us that hyperparathyroidism is rare, but I am not convinced of this. I think the truth is that it is under-diagnosed and people are walking around with it and not necessarily having the symptoms described as moans, bones and groans. I think we should have our levels of parathyroid hormone measured along with our thyroid hormones when we have blood tests and I think everyone should have regular blood tests.
As soon as the Christmas period is over I am going to start looking into a full blood test and also pushing for a DEXA scan to see what is happening with my osteoporosis.
I wonder how many women are walking around with osteoporosis due to hyperparathyroidism.
Thinking of you.
Love
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello mumtobe,
I am just popping in to say that I hope all is well with you. How much more chemotherapy will you have before Christmas? When will you actually finish?
You are the only one posting on the thread that is going through treatment at the moment,so I hope that means fewer women are getting diagnosed in the UK and elsewhere or that they now have all the information that they need. We are still here for support and comfort. There is a huge amount of information on this thread for anyone who wants to start reading from the beginning.
Best wishes,
Sylvia.xxxx
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FernMF - Congrats on your great news, it made smile!
Bernie - Loved your recipe and especially step 1: Quality Control of the Vodka!
Have a great day everyone and best wishes to everyone in treatment!
- TNBC United Kingdom Thread
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Hi Sylvia
I have been away to England and also working on some accounts that I do for a housing group.
You mentioned the obesity findings and I must say that Janette was never overweight, at times she would be under weight, but never over.
I must say I am finding things very difficult at the moment. This time last year we were spinning into a black hole. I could never have guessed how sick Janette would have become in such a short time. I think I must be an optimist, I always thought things would be ok, Janette's friend had been doing secondaries for years (http://www.prettynpink.org/about-us/noleens-story/noleen-adair/) and I thought there is bound to be a drug, but there we are, nothing worked, but at least the drugs kept Janette pain free.
I have an appointment with the haematologist on January 8. I hope I can start treatment soon after. Last time I needed treatment it was the next day but things seem to be very different now.
Talking of sickness our wee dog Winne has been sick all evening. She is 18 months old and has never had more than a slight throwing up. She is feeling very sorry for herself but I hope she learns that she cannot go around the streets hoovering up all the stray chips and crisps she finds. I am afraid that people in Northern Ireland have very little respect for their environment and just discard or dump anywhere.
Michael
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Hello Sylvia. I do like Christmas but do not make a big fuss. Cannot stand the commercialism and hype. Fell so sorry for the pressure on parents. My parents were very religious so Christmas for us was for the real meaning, just as it should be.
Thinking of you Michael and hoping every thing will be good for you.
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Hello Michael
I am always glad to hear from you.
It sounds as though you lead a very busy life with your work, but it all sounds very interesting.
It is strange that the people whom we know around us rarely seem to fit picture for breast cancer development. Janette would appear to be no exception. The four women I know here in my immediate surroundings certainly do not and three of them are great walkers. Another I know who had triple negative ran marathons in different countries on regular occasions and still does. I was always tall and slim and always very active and very energetic.
I can understand that this is a very difficult time for you and you have all my sympathy. I can only imagine how bad it was this time last year. Christmas time and New Year are very emotional times anyway and our thoughts naturally turn to those who are no longer with us. I do not look forward to Christmas with so many family members now gone from my life.
The thing about cancer is that it is very individual and none of us knows how it is going to affect us. All our cases are different and when it comes to metastatic cancer it seems to be that people can die very quickly or they can live for years. With breast cancer I do not think we can predict the journey, whether we are receptor positive or receptor negative. Some seem to think hormonal breast cancer is the easier journey, because of Tamoxifen and drugs such as Arimidex, but they do not work for everyone. With triple negative breast cancer we do not have these options, but after treatment, we are drug free to try to strengthen our immune system.
Recently I read a post on one of the threads where women had survived twenty and twenty-nine years after TNBC. Of course, I do not think it would have been named as such that long ago, so I do not know really what the facts are. I do know from my consultant and from reading that when Tamoxifen came in they gave it to everyone and of course it did not work for everyone. Since there are failures with Tamoxifen for hormonal breast cancer, I do not think that those for whom it did not work years ago were necessarily receptor negative. Would they have even been talking about receptors?
Try not to torment your mind too much with all of this. Remember all the happy times and treasure them.
What are you going to do for Christmas? I hope you will have friends and family that will help you to get through this. Do you have any brothers and sisters to support you or good friends?
I hope you had a good visit to England. Out of interest do you prefer to be in England or Northern Ireland?
Thank you for the link, which I shall have a look at later. I know there are plenty of people out there living for a long time with secondary breast cancer and surviving on some kind of regular chemotherapy. There is a young woman, a friend of one of my friends, who was diagnosed about the same time as I was, but not TNBC, who had a baby while having treatment, saw her mother die of breast cancer with secondaries, but is still doing fine and having chemotherapy every other week. Who knows why this happens? A bigger mystery is how some people have a spontaneous recovery.
What you have to do now, Michael, is concentrate on yourself and feel relaxed going through treatment. I shall certainly be thinking of you on January 8th and wishing you well.
I had to laugh and cry at the same time about your poor little dog Winne. Do you think she could have the norovirus that so many humans seem to have at the moment? If it is any consolation the English are absolutely terrible for throwing litter around. I cannot believe such a mentality. You would not believe the litter along the seafront here or on the beach. Along where we live I am always picking up litter in the gutter and out of the front hedge. In Canada when we lived there everything was clean and tidy. It is no wonder that in England we are running alive with rats. Recently I read about genetically mutated rats that are causing problems in Henley on Thames of all places. Apparently they are resistant to rat poison.
That is about all for now.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello Bernie
I agree with you about Christmas that all the commercialism and hype has spoilt it. I am not religious, but I liked Christmas years ago when my parents were alive and we just had a simple family meal. I must admit I do not like it much now with my parents dead and my two elder brothers dead. The two younger brothers go their own ways. I must admit I shall be glad to be into January.
I was so glad to read that you were sending thoughts to Michael. He does need support from all of us on the thread. None of us should ever forget what it is like to go through treatment. We must not forget that Mumtobe is still going through chemotherapy. We must not forget either the loved ones of those going through treatment and the toll it takes on them. As I heard yesterday on the news about the lack of kindness shown to patients in hospitals these days, especially the elderly, compassion costs nothing.
I hope you have a good week and do not make too many vodka cakes!!!
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Michael
Thank you for the link you gave. I have read Noleen's story and it is truly inspiring. What a time she has had of it. To have had breast cancer so young and to be going through it now for the fourth time.
It makes me wonder yet again what is causing this breast cancer to develop at such a young age. There is no mention of BRCA1 or 2 to test for a genetic cause.
I can see what you mean by people surviving for a long time with metastases. Do you know this lady?
I hope all on the thread will read it.
Take care of yourself.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Good afternoon. Sylvia
Winnie is fully recovered this morning, she managed a few Winalot biscuits.
I know Noleen Adair but she was quite close to Janette as the shoe shop did some fund raising for the charity. I can't remember if the pretty in pink website mentions it but Noleen also fosters children.
As far as preferring Ireland or England I think I prefer England now. My plans were to make this house a holiday let; I have the website set up and ready (www.killyleaghholidayhome.co.uk) to go live on Tripadvisor at the end of this month but I shall have to hold of until I see the consultant.
I am spending Christmas at my sister in Laws in Hackney. I am an only child but have quite a large extended family.
Michael
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BernieEllen
Thank you for your kind thoughts. No doubt I shall plod through this. Most of the time if tumours were not so visible I could get away without treatment but having, as I have had, bright red lumps on the forehead doesn't do a lot for ones self esteem. Compared to Janette's cancer it all feels very tame. I was thinking about the NHL support lists I belong to. The US one has at least a thousand members and the UK on a couple of hundred and one rarely ever hears of anyone dying. The last one on the UK list was about 5 years ago. Of course that doesn't mean people are not dying, it could be that we are not hearing of it.
Michael
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Hello everyone
I have at last found some time to do a post about osteoporosis from information on the following website. It is up to date this year. It is something all breast cancer patients should read. The title is “What Breast Cancer Survivors Need to Know About Osteoporosis” and the first paragraph is “The Impact of Breast Cancer”. It is divided into the following sections.
Facts About Osteoporosis
The Link Between Breast Cancer and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis Management Strategies
Resources
For Your Information
Under Facts About Osteoporosis, there is a list of risk factors for developing osteoporosis.
Under the Link Between Breast Cancer and Osteoporosis it is stated “Studies suggest that chemotherapy also may have a direct negative effect on bone. In addition, the breast cancer itself may stimulate the production of osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone.
Under Osteoporosis Management Strategies the following strategies are listed.
Nutrition
Vitamin D
Exercise
Healthy lifestyle (smoking is bad for bones, as well as for the heart and lungs)
It also states that some studies have found slightly higher risk of breast cancer in women who drink alcohol, and evidence suggests that alcohol can have a negative effect on bone health. Those who drink heavily are more prone to bone loss and fracture, because of both poor nutrition and an increased risk of falling.
Bone Density test (DEXA scan). It is stated “A woman recovering from breast cancer should ask her doctor whether she might be a candidate for a bone density test”.
Medication. The medical establishment uses bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis.
Raloxifene is also used to treat osteoporosis and is currently being evaluated for its ability to decrease breast cancer risk.
This is just an outline of the information on this website. I hope you will take the trouble to read this information.
I am looking forward to finding out what you think about this website, especially if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis.
Are you all busy doing your Christmas shopping?
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Michael
I was glad to know that Winnie is fully recovered.
I had never heard of the Pretty in pink website. The website does mention that Noleen fosters children.
Where are you thinking of living in England? I think the south west is becoming the last refuge for a lot of English people. I think we are losing our culture and our country. I had a look at the house you are going to let and it looks lovely. I am sure it will be easy to let. Have you done this before? I think you have to very careful about letting as people can wreck the place.
I am glad to know that you have somewhere to go for Christmas and I do hope you will manage to enjoy it.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia
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Christmas, ah, just realized today it's two weeks away . . . my hubby and I haven't yet made a shopping list . . . . guess it's impersonal gift cards again this year! (tee hee tee hee)
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Hello everyone
I have just been reading through the most recent edition (December 2012) of the magazine What Doctors Don't Tell You. This is a magazine well worth buying.
Here are some snippets of information that I have read in it.
'Safe' low-dose x-rays may cause cancer.
There is no such thing as a safe x-ray, according to researchers from McGill University in Montreal.
Diet cola drinks can cause stroke and heart attack.
Diet drinks use artificial sweeteners like aspartame which may be responsible for the increased risk to heart health.
Drug pollution a cause of anti-biotic resistant 'super bugs'.
The manufacture of anti-biotics is helping to create a generation of 'super bugs' that are immune to the drugs and so could spark a global epidemic of untreatable diseases.
How to double the positive effects of broccoli.
Broccoli is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat – just three servings a week can reduce your chances of cancer, but you can double its cancer-fighting properties if you add a second vegetable into the mix.
Broccoli's magic ingredient is the enzyme myrosinase, according to researchers from the University of Illinois, and its health giving qualities are doubled when it is cooked with broccoli sprouts. Do not over cook these vegetables.
Pecan nuts – the healthy snack for the heart. They may reduce your chance of getting cancer. They are rich in a form of vitamin E that reduces inflammation, one of the main causes of many chronic illnesses. They can reduce your level of LDL (bad cholesterol).
Dental care is extra important in older women.
Post-menopausal women need to take extra care of their teeth because unhealthy teeth and gums can lead to weak bones and osteoporosis. Researchers say these women need to visit their dentist four times a year to avoid a build up of plaque.
Osteoporosis drugs cause fractures they are supposed to prevent.
Women going through the menopause take a bisphosphonate to ward off osteoporosis and bone fracture, but researchers have discovered that the drug increases the chance of some fractures. At the very least, researchers say that those on long term use of these drugs should be put on a break by their doctors.
Of great interest to me was an article by Annemarie Colbin PhD. An award winning leader in natural health.
The article is entitled Calcium Overload. “We are drowning in calcium pills and they are going everywhere but to our bones”. There is a lot to read in this article and I recommend that you read it. It is about the one-size fits all recommendation for calcium supplements for women 50 and up.
I quote from this article “According to Nan Kathryn Fuchs, PhD in Nutrition, who edits the on-line Women's Health Letter, too much calcium encourages calcium deposits in soft tissues such as the joints, arteries, kidneys, muscles and brain, and contributes to kidney stones and gall stones. Too much calcium can also increase the risk of cardiovascular mortality, while supplementation has been linked to a higher incidence of heart attack and stroke in women after the menopause. The use of calcium supplements is linked with a near doubling of the risk of heart attack, but calcium intake through diet does not convert into increased risk”.
There is a lot more information in this two page article than I can post here. The importance of collagen is pointed out. Those of you who like to cook may be interested in the recipe that accompanies this article. It is salmon omelet with dill and mixed leafy greens. It is described as a recipe rich in calcium, protein and vitamin C that is really good for your bones.
Towards the end of the magazine there is an article that may be of interest to some of you. I think Kymn in Alberta, Canada, may be interested in this. The article is entitled Colour Me Happy. It is stated that ancient civilisations recognised the importance of colour as a healing agent and scientists are now finally discovering why.
At the 1990 annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, scientists reported on the successful use of blue light to treat a variety of psychological problems such as addictions, eating disorders, impotence and depression. There is a chart of five colours, green, blue, red, yellow and white, and an explanation of how these colours affect us.
I hope you will find all this information interesting and that if you cannot get the magazine, you will at least look at the website, Www.wddty.com.
I just want to say I am thinking of all of you and hoping that those of you newly diagnosed and going through treatment are managing to cope. There are a lot of you viewing, but not so many posting. Input on the thread is important.
That is all for now.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Sylvia, as always, thank you for all the information.
I always steam my vegetables and eat them nearly raw. I then use the water to make gravy.
Very interested in the bone density scan, will speak about this to my GP.
Michael, thinking of you, moving on is such a difficult decision to make. Pleased to hear that winnie has recovered.
thinking of you all.
Bernie
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Hello BernieEllen,
Thank you for your post. I was glad to know that you found the information interesting and thank you for your words of appreciation. You sound like a really nice person.
I would definitely get your bones checked out if I were you. I think it should be routine for all post menopausal women and for all women who have had breast cancer treatment. Osteoporosis is a debilitating and painful disease and I think our NHS is wrong and lax not to try to prevent it. Why wait until you break a hip?
I have been researching today for a cousin with type 2 diabetes and I found a web site that I thought was excellent about diet and also useful for us cancer patients and survivors.
Sincere wishes and thank you for your effort with this thread. Just Google 9 Foods you should be eating for Diabetes, and 10 Dangerous foods for diabetes type 2.
Sylvia
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Hello Bernie Ellen,
I forgot to say that I am also very careful about cooking vegetables. I have used a pressure cooker for years and also like to eat vegetables barely cooked.
You might be interested in the thread Not a typical TN3 AmI alonehere. It is in the triple negative forum.
Have you any theories about why so many women in the US seem to be getting diagnosed with TNBC?
Best wishes,
Sylvia.
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Here are 50 festive facts to get you in the mood for Christmas...
1 US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.
2 ROBINS on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.
3 ALTHOUGH now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
4 THE tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
5 DESPITE the tale of three wise men paying homage to baby Jesus, the Bible never gives a number. Matthew's Gospel refers to merely "wise men".
6 CAROLS began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
7 CAROLS weren't sung in churches until they were introduced by St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.
8 HANGING stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas's donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.
9 THERE is no reference to angels singing anywhere in the Bible.
10 NEARLY 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
11 THE word Noel derives from the French expression "les bonnes nouvelles" or "the good news".
12 JESUS was probably born in a cave and not a wooden stable, say Biblical scholars.
13 THE abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
14 THE world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
15 THE chances of a white Christmas are just 1 in 10 for England and Wales, and 1 in 6 for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
16 MANY theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
17 JAMES Pierpont's 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving.
18 BEFORE turkey, the traditional Christmas meal in England was a pig's head and mustard.
19 IN 1647, after the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell banned festivities. The law wasn't lifted until 1660.
20 In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
21 THE Greeks celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the old Julian calendar, while Xmas presents are opened on New Year's Day.
22 MANY parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C.
23 THE holly in a wreath symbolises Christ's crown of thorns while the red berries are drops of his blood.
24 THE first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for £8,469 last year.
25 HANGING presents on trees may come from the Druids who believed the tree was the giver of all good things.
26 THE largest Christmas cracker - 45.72m long and 3.04m in diameter - was pulled in Australia in 1991.
27 THE long shopping spree before Christmas began in America when relatives of soldiers posted overseas in the Second World War were encouraged to mail gifts early.
28 JINGLE Bells was the first song broadcast from space when Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.
29 ASTRONOMERS believe the Star Of Bethlehem, which guided the wisemen to Jesus, may have been a comet or the planet Uranus.
30 SANTA has different names around the world - Kriss Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France and Deushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia.
31 THE word Christmas comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse" meaning "Christ's Mass".
32 THE bestselling Xmas single ever is Bing Crosby's White Christmas, shifting over 50million copies worldwide since 1942.
33 IN Britain, the best-selling festive single is Band Aid's 1984 track, Do They Know It's Christmas?, which sold 3.5million copies. Wham! is next in the same year with Last Christmas, selling 1.4million.
34 UPSIDE-down artificial Xmas trees are sold to allow more gifts to be piled under.
35 SINCE 1947 Oslo has sent an Xmas tree to London to thank them for our help in the Second World War.
36 CHRISTMAS pudding was originally a soup made with raisins and wine.
37 LONDON sweetmaker Tom Smith created the first Christmas crackers in 1847, based on the sweet wrapper design.
38 SANTA Claus comes from a Dutch folk tale based on Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, who gave gifts on December 6.
39 BOXING Day gets its name from all the money collected in church alms-boxes for the poor.
39 KISSING under the mistletoe is thought to spring from Frigga, the Norse goddess of love, who was associated with the plant.
41 THE Beatles hold the record for most Xmas number 1 singles, topping the charts in 1963, 65 and 67.
42 ELECTRIC tree lights were invented by Edward Johnson in the US in 1882.
43 THEY may date back to pagan traditions, but the earliest known reference to a Christmas tree is in a German pamphlet from 1570.
44 THE highest-grossing festive movie is 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which has raked in £175m so far.
45 THERE are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.
46 RUDOLPH the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
47 GOLD-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
48 THE first Christmas celebrated in Britain is thought to have been in York in 521AD.
49 IN Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany, workers get a Christmas bonus of one month's salary by law.
50 IN the Czech Republic they enjoy dinners of fish soup, eggs and carp. The number of people at the table must be even, or the one without a partner will die next year
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Hello BernieEllen
Thank you for all that information. I found it very interesting.
I have just discovered a new posting by the moderators and it caught my attention because I had been reading about the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The link is:
http://community.breastcancer.org/blog/sabcs-a-recap-of-triple-negative-research/
I have to read it more carefully before commenting.
Have you read it?
have a good weekend and take care.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello veryone,
I just wanted to say that I have read the latest information from the symposium and found it interesting and reason for optimism. Please read it and comment. I was interested in what it said about the androgen factor with regard to TNBC and how drugs used for prostate cancer may be useful for treating TNBC.There seems to be optimism as well about treating local recurrence.
We have gone a long way since I was diagnosed in 2005.
Sylvia.
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Hello Syliva & everyone,
Don't get a chance to come on here that often anymore, my little bundle is keeping me busy
. I'm so looking forward to our first Christmas with her, she's such a little treasure. Weekly taxol treatment is going really well. I have absolutely no side effects from the treatment and am feeling practically normal. My hair is beginning to go gradually, i am losing it literally hair by hair so I'm hoping I won't lose it all. After next week I will be half way through, will have six down and six to go. They are not giving me chemo Christmas week. Then the rads begin. I got my port in yesterday which is incredibly sore, didn't expect it to be as sore as it is. My nurses told me it would be very sore for a few days so I can't lift Emma which is hard but it's only temporary. I'm not sure the mastectomy hurt as much as this bloody thing but in fairness my veins are shot and my nurse struggled every week to get a good vein for tx so they advised me to get it done which I agreed to. I hope I don't regret it. 6 wks of chemo to go, can't believe I'm nearing the end. With the help of God it will be exactly that, the end of chemo!! I hope you are all doing well xx0 -
Hello Mumtobe (Carol)
It was nice to hear from you, especially as I know you must be very busy with little Emma. I do appreciate your taking the time to post as without posts threads cannot continue.
I can understand that you are looking forward to your first Christmas with your new baby. That must be really special.
I was glad to know that you have no side effects from the treatment and that you are feeling practically normal. Try to rest, however, as you still have quite a few more weeks of treatment. Try not to worry about the hair loss, just concentrate on getting through treatment.
I shall be thinking of you next week as you reach the half-way mark in your chemotherapy and I am sure that the rest of us that have got to know you will be thinking of you as well. If you let us know which day you are due for the next treatment, we can give you some encouragement the day before.
It is good that you are not having treatment during the Christmas week, as that will give you and the family a break from it all and you can enjoy Christmas. Will you be having treatment on Wednesday January 2nd which will get you past the New Year celebrations?
Do you know how many weeks of radiotherapy you are going to have?
What kind of port did you have installed? I did not have one during my six months of chemotherapy, which was before surgery, so I do not know if you should be feeling sore if it was carefully installed. Do you have the kind of port that is hanging out and visible? I have heard different stories on the threads about ports. Some women think they were marvellous and others did not like them at all. I have read they can get infected. I did have a port installed during my surgery, because my oncologist thought the cancer might come back. It was inside me on the left above my left breast. I was not told at the time, only afterwards, that the port would need to be flushed out every three months and that heparin would be used to avoid clots. On the second visit everything was blocked. I had to have an x-ray and was told it had fractured or kinked. The upshot of that was that I had to go in and have it removed under general anaesthetic. It was just day surgery. Had I been given the full facts, I would not have had it installed. Ironically I still have a visible scar where that port was installed, but virtually no scar from the mastectomy of the right breast! Keep an eye on the port and contact the nurses if the soreness does not go away pretty quickly.
I had all my chemotherapy through a cannula on the top of the hand and had no problems except towards the end the nurse found it a bit difficult for blood tests.
At the hospital, when I went for my chemotherapy, a couple of times the nurse was not that great at installing the cannula and I had black bruises on top of the hand. I do not think that should happen if it is done properly.
I can understand that it must be difficult for you not to be able to lift Emma.
I can appreciate what you said about the mastectomy not hurting as much as the port. My breast cancer surgeon came to see me, with her medical team, the day after my surgery. She asked me whether I was in pain from the mastectomy and asked me to measure it between 0 and 10. I said I did not have any pain from that surgery, but had pain above the left breast where the port had been installed. I then learnt that a different surgeon, a man, had performed the port surgery, while my breast cancer surgeon, a woman, had done the mastectomy. She had a look at where the port had been installed and discovered the other surgeon had left a needle in ready for chemotherapy, which he thought I was going to have immediately.
When going through treatment you have to keep a watchful eye on everything, because you can look out for your own body. Medical teams are dealing with loads of bodies.
I do know that veins can become a problem but I think nurses can probably find some blood and locate a vein if they try hard enough. The port has to be there for the patient's convenience and not for the convenience of the nurses.
I suppose that having chemotherapy every week might make it more difficult with the veins because cannulas are being installed every week, instead of every three weeks. Every week gives the veins less time to recover.
Keep looking forward and take care of yourself. This has been a long journey for you what with diagnosis, some chemotherapy, surgery, all while you were expecting a baby, and then having the baby and then going back to chemotherapy. You will soon be over chemotherapy and then if there is not too long a wait between finishing that and having radiotherapy, you will be out of treatment and can look forward to getting on with your life for the most part of 2013.
Thinking of you and wishing you well.
Sylvia xxxx
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