Calling all triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK
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A Must Watch!
For all you ladies that might need a bit of warming up, this is much better than a heater to warm the cockles of your heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXBB89OFf4The Urangutan and the Hound
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Hello FernMF
Thank you for your post. I too, would be interested in my father's family history, of which I know little and virtually nothing about the medical side. I know little because my father's mother died giving birth to him and he had just an elder sister whom I did know very well. Neither my father nor his sister had any cancer. His father remarried and there were seven half brothers and sisters from that marriage whom I did not know, except for names. I do not know whether there was any cancer there. On my mother's side, her mother died of breast cancer with metastases at age seventy. There was also a lot of cancer with my mother's brothers, but none with my mother and her sister. At the hospital I was told that my breast cancer was a rogue cancer and not genetic because of the age at which I developed it. I did push for genetic testing and was allowed to see a genetic nurse, who took all my details but said I did not qualify for genetic testing.
As I have said before, I think it is so important to have family medical records kept and for them to be passed down through the generations.
I do hope that your sister has had good news from her mammogram and ultrasound. I think it is a good idea to be cautious.
I remember last year when I went for my regular check up and the consultant thought there might be something wrong in my good remaining left breast. She said it seemed very dense and told me to get a mammogram and ultrasound. That was on a Friday and I had to wait until Monday to get this done, so you can imagine what an anxious time it was. I felt so relieved on the Monday when I was told all was normal.
I can understand you are nervous about your sister when you have lived through your own diagnosis and treatment. Please let us know how your sister gets on.
I was glad to know you are happy in your work and that you have a good employer.
In the UK Christmas Day seems to get longer each year as the holiday period extends for many into January. Boxing Day is manic with sales, horse racing and hunting with hounds! Things do not get back to normal until about January 5th!
We are still getting flood warnings in the UK, especially in the south west where I am. Some rail services are still not back to normal. I saw on the television all the snowy scenes in the US in the north east. I also saw all the damage from the tornadoes in certain parts.
Today in Exmouth it is dull, damp, windy and rain is on the way.
Wishing you all the very best for the New Year, especially good health and happiness.
What are you hoping for in 2013 and how would you sum up 2012 in your own life, in the US and in the world? Are you going to make any New Year's resolutions?
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Liv
I am sure everyone viewing this thread will appreciate all your information and your opinions about reconstructive surgery and mastectomies. I can certainly understand your own decisions and how you are doing what you think is best for you.
I do hope everything will be fine when you have the other breast removed.
It is comforting to me to know that you share my opinion about how a country should be judged by how we treat our most disadvantaged and our frail and elderly. I am so concerned about the stories I hear of the lack of compassion among the staff in some of our NHS hospitals today. I know we tend to get only the bad news in the media, but I cannot believe that elderly people are being left unwashed and untoileted, not to mention not being fed and left to become dehydrated. I know that our present government is making cuts in front line nursing and that the staff are overworked, but this is no excuse. I have a friend who is a senior nurse in one of the well known hospitals in London and she is completely dedicated, but I know the stress she is under from all the cuts.
I, too, am an atheist, but try to be a decent and compassionate human being. We do not have to be religious to be good and caring people. I do like to listen to Professor Richard Dawkins when he debates about religion and discusses the scientific origins of the universe. Have you read his book The God Delusion?
I am trying to imagine you off to the beach today for your daily walk, and compare it to how cold and miserable Exmouth beach will be today. You are very active. Are we allowed to ask how old you are? On your avatar, what exactly are you doing? My husband, who takes an interest in this thread, seems to think you are on roller skates.
Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year. How would you summarise your past year as you look back? Are you going to make any New Year's resolutions? What do you hope for your country in the coming year and for the world in general? Do you get much news about the UK in Australia? What do you think of your Prime Minister?
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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I am continuing to look again at information on this thread in the past. Here is more about chemotherapy that I hope will help. It goes back to page 9.
Since chemotherapy is the biggest part of breast cancer treatment for those who have to have it, if you are about to start chemotherapy and want information about this, whether it is drugs, side effects, ports, cycles, tips on how to get through, please do not hesitate to post. It would be nice to hear from some fellow Brits.
I was thinking back to when I lost my hair. I did not shave it all off when it began to fall out and I always had a little bit of hair left. I do wonder about shaving it, as I think just leaving it as it ends up may help it to grow back more quickly. I also remember that the scalp got very dry and started to form hard dry crusts. I dealt with these in my own way by rubbing in pure avocado oil and then rinsing off with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. I kept all my skin well moisturised with un-perfumed cream and Simple soap or Dove soap.
I have been reading about how it is decided whether or not to include chemotherapy in a patient's treatment. It is quite a complicated process. Decisions are made on the risk of the cancer returning, the likely benefits of the treatment, the risks and side effects, what kind of health the patient is in before treatment, and, of course, what the patient thinks.
I remember that before I started chemotherapy, the oncologist asked for my height and weight and told me that this was used to decide on the amount of chemotherapy drug that would be used.
Decisions about chemotherapy will depend on the size of the tumour, the status of the lymph nodes, grade of the tumour, the hormone receptor status (whether positive or negative), HER2 status (whether positive or negative), and, of course, your age and how fit you are.
Apparently you are more likely to be advised to have chemotherapy if you have a large tumour (over 2 cms), some lymph nodes are involved, a grade three tumour, HER+, ER-, and under fifty years of age.
No doubt there will be exceptions to this.
You do not have to have all of the above to be considered a good candidate for chemotherapy. According to what I have been reading, chemotherapy is slightly more effective for negative status tumours. That has to be good news for us, since, for the moment, that is the treatment of choice.
I have been trying to cover all aspects of chemotherapy treatment, so I hope I have helped some of you out there. Please post if there is anything else you would like me or others to research or if you can help in gathering information, tips, or advice.
Sylvia
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USA's new year's - from an "average" small-town gal: I'm not much of a party goer, haven't ever been much of a drinker, I don't necessarily enjoy big crowds. I have only been to one actual new year's eve party - more than 2 decades ago - four "venues/bands" in one location, free-flowing alcohol, dress up occasion. It was fun, as I recall.
I've been married to my hubby for 19 years, "with him" for 4 more years . . . so the 23 year history of new year's eve events are MOSTLY stay at home, try to stay awake long enough to watch the festivities world-wide on TV, then go to sleep. Many times in the past decade, we've enjoyed the company of our granddaughter. A few times we actually invited guests to "party" at our house.
We are very BORING by comparison to what is seen on TV. We are a settled, happy couple though.
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New Year's resolutions: my perspective. If anything, this last year's bout with BC has changed me for the better, regarding resolutions . . . actually changed me for the better (I believe) in my outlook on life. I have been my own worst enemy, I had very high standards for hair/weight/dress, etc. I work and have served as a church musician most of my adult years -- very busy, a filled up schedule. BC has helped me be kinder to myself, to NOT feel bad about the extra ~ 10 pounds or so . . . heck, I am thankful to be GROWING hair now, so the hair style(s) that always troubled me, in which I was mostly unsatisfied, seem totally meaningless now. I have no boobies - and my fashion sense has moved to a "what is comfortable" state, predominantly.
My resolutions in past years centered around weight, "get in shape," . . . like everyone else around me.
This year, I guess my resolutions are: I have not been involved in enough music to suit me through the past many months - so I hope to INCREASE that. I purchased a new sewing machine and plan to (1) learn how to use it, and (2) USE it in 2013 (I'm mostly a quilter). I am hopeful to become MORE positive about ALL parts of my life, and continue to think that "PRESENCE" is better than "PRESENTS", both in the giving and receiving - centering my desires for the new years in making meaningful connections with our family and friends. I want to be a giver and not a taker, a positive and not a negative, to be uplifting to others, helpful, caring . . . and even though I am not making a resolution to GET IN SHAPE, I did receive a "personal trainer" gift certificate for 6 sessions - so maybe I WILL get in shape this year!
. I used to be a runner, maybe I'll start again with that as well. MOSTLY - my new year's hope is that BC will be a thing of my past, that my hubby will put up with me for another year (tee hee), and that I will attain a moderate amount of HAPPY.
Wishing you and yours a HAPPY new year . . .
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Vacation/time off during these two weeks of "holidays" in the U.S.: as I have said previously, I have "used up" all my vacation/sick time/paid-time-off through the BC journey of the year, so I have not accumulated time enough to take these two weeks -- I am here for every day the doors are open . . . I work at a law firm, and Judges and Courts typically do NOT schedule anything during this time, so the attorneys I work for are fairly laid-back, have fewer deadlines, and liberally take time off. Co-workers/staff who have the PTO, have taken it - it's REALLY quiet here and there IS no hustle and bustle as normally experienced.
My friends, many of which are state-employed at one agency or another, have earned much more PTO than I . . . and most of them have taken from Christmas eve through the new year off . . .
We live at 3-4 hours from our extended families, so we have always traveled TO them during the holidays - this year, we have not traveled at all. That has been a big change, and I have enjoyed it.
We are in "winter" as you all are in the UK - and in our area of WV, we experience little snow, ice, etc. There are mountainous regions that receive MUCH snow, and weather reports usually highlight those areas, not our area, when reporting about WV. Our family is north in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania - and they receive much more fowl weather than we do - especially in Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This past few days family has reported 6-8 inches of snow and some icy driving conditions. We have had none of that so far this season (except an odd bought of snow around 10/31).
I find it VERY interesting to hear about what "real" life is in the UK and elsewhere . . . hope I have not bored you with "real" life in WV/USA.
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Morning all you wonderful Ladies (and Michael), have been trying to catch up. My niece Abbey is over from England so having great catch up time. Another sad story, parents divorced, mother threw her out when she supported her dad now he has a new girlfriend and no time for her. What is it with people.
Other than that, hope you are all keeping well and praying for a safe and peaceful New Year for us all.
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Hello everyone.
I am adding this piece from page 9 of this thread. It was meant to go with the posting about who gets chemotherapy.
Neupogen is the brand name for the generic drug filgrastim.
Neulasta is the brand name for the generic drug pegfilgrastim.
They are both used to boost the production of white blood cells when they are too low during chemotherapy treatment. They reduce the duration of neutropenia (low levels of neutrophils) in patients receiving chemotherapy.
Nivestim is a solution for injection or infusion (drip into vein) that contains the active ingredient filgrastim. Nivestim is a bio-similar medicine. This means it is similar to a biological medicine, in this case Neupogen.
One of the main side effects of this medicine is pain in the muscles and in the bones.
There appears to be no meaningful clinical difference between filgrastim and pegfilgrastim. It looks as though you are given one daily dose of pegfilgrastim and multiple doses of filgrastim.
Are many of you having to have these treatments during your chemotherapy treatment? Do you find that your chemotherapy is often causing you low levels of white and red blood cells?
Sylvia
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Hello FernMF
I was interested to know about your work. I was glad to know that it is quiet in your office because of the fact that the courts do not schedule anything during this period. It sounds as though it is a hectic job during normal times.
It looks as though it is the same in the US as in the UK with regard to those employed by the state and the Christmas period seems to be from just before Christmas Eve to about January 7th! There is also a lot of travelling here as families try to get together. We do not have a lot of family any more so we stay at home.
It is still raining in the UK and it is now official that 2012 has been the wettest year since records began. It is laughable because back in March some places in the UK were in drought and we were being told to expect hosepipe bans!
I think it is good for all of us from different countries to know about life as it is for ordinary people as opposed to what the politicians tell us. It is all very educational to hear the voices of the people.
I was most interested in what you had to say about New Year's resolutions. It is good to know that a dreadful experience like being diagnosed with breast cancer has had a positive side for you. You are right to be kinder to yourself and not to worry so much about little things. I do hope you will be able to get involved with more music, since that seems to bring you happiness. I think breast cancer has taught us all to get on and do whatever we want to do and not to keep putting it off. None of us knows what the future will bring, with or without cancer, and we all have to live the day.
I hope you have a good time with your new sewing machine.
I can see that you have given a lot of thought about how you want to proceed in 2013 and I am sure that you will succeed in everything you want to do. You are full of enthusiasm and positive thoughts, which I am sure will stand you in good stead.
I do hope that 2013 will be a very good year for you, especially a healthy year and that your breast cancer will, indeed, be a thing of the past.
I am not a party-goer, either, nor is my husband, and neither of us drinks. We do not like big crowds either. We shall be at home for New Year and will probably stay up to hear the chimes of Big Ben ringing in the New Year and to hear Auld Lang Syne. Why we do this, I do not really know. It is just the rituals of life, I suppose. In Exmouth lots of people seem to get decked out in fancy dress and roam the streets. That is definitely not for us.
It is good to know that you are a settled happy couple, especially in these times of family break-ups.
Have a Happy New Year!
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello BernieEllen.
It was nice to hear from you and hope you have now managed to catch up.
As you will see, I have been looking back to the first pages of our thread and have been re-reading some of your posts when you were going through treatment. Did you know that you were the first person to post some photographs on this thread. They were of ponies.
It is a very sad story about your niece Abbey, but I am afraid that it is something all too common in this day and age with family breakdown. It is sad that children become the victims of their parent's inability to mend a marriage that has broken down. I think it is very important to speak to children about what is happening and explain very carefully that, although, the parents cannot or do not want to be together any more, that they will always be parents to their children and that parents may divorce each other but they do not divorce their children. The worst thing is for parents to use their children as pawns in their own squabbles and force the children to take sides.
It gets very complicated when new girlfriends or boyfriends appear on the scene and the children feel rejected. It is even more complicated when there are children on both sides being brought into a new relationship and jealousy and favouritism begin to raise their ugly heads.
At least your niece is lucky to have you. I am sure you will help her any way you can.
There is nothing more complicated than family relationships. I have had quite a few discussions about this on and off over the years. I remember a friend of mine telling me he thought that a lot of trouble began when brothers and sisters started to get married and their choice of spouses did not meet favour with their brothers and sisters. When children come along there is then jealousy and competition with these children.
Another conversation I had was with someone else who thought that mothers-in-law stirred up trouble, especially with daughters-in-law.
I think the most difficult problems arise with family breakdown and reconstituted families.
We think the soaps give an exaggerated picture of life, but I am not so sure.
I do hope you will have a very happy and healthy New Year and that you will be kind to yourself.
Thanking you for everything you do on this thread.
Fond thoughts.
Sylvia xxxx
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This is more information from very early pages. It will help those who discovered the thread later on and I have found it a good refresher and interesting to read earlier posts.
I have found a bit more information about the group of chemotherapy drugs known as heavy metals or platins. The particular one mentioned is cisplatin, the brand name of which is Platinol. It belongs to the same group as carboplatin (brand name Paraplatin) and oxaliplatin. Investigations about platins showed that platinum (a heavy metal) inhibited cell division in a powerful way and was an excellent anti-cancer drug. Apparently, it is very effective and can be used in high doses with moderate toxicity.
According to my Merck medical book, these platins seem to have some of the same side effects as the group of chemotherapy drugs to which cyclophosphamide (brand name Cytoxan) belongs. For example they suppress the immune system and the bone marrow. I am a bit confused about what happens with hair. Merck states that carboplatin causes hair loss. If I were you, and your oncologist is suggesting carboplatin, I would ask for a complete list of all the possible side effects. I would also ask whether you would have carboplatin alone or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs. You might find the following link informative.
www.chemocare.com/bio/carbopla...
I hope this helps.
Since we got on to the topic of food and nutrition in some posts, I thought I would post a list of what are said to be anti-cancer foods. I found this in a book entitled "Anti cancer a new way of life" by Dr David Servan-Schreiber. Recommended foods:-
Green tea.
Olives and olive oil.
Turmeric and curry.
Ginger.
Cruciform vegetables. (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and bok choi)
Garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, chives.
Vegetables and fruit rich in carotenoids. (carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, persimmons, apricots, beetroot and all the bright coloured fruit and vegetables)
Tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Soy. (There is a piece of advice stating not to eat soy based foods during chemotherapy with Taxol, because, apparently, the genistein in soy can interfere with Taxol. Stop several days before and start several days after treatment. Confirmation of this interaction from human studies is awaited.)
Mushrooms.
Herbs and spices.
Seaweed.
Berries.
Plums, peaches and nectarines.
Citrus fruit.
Pomegranate juice.
Red wine - rich in resveratrol. (I do not drink any alcohol and get my resveratrol from black and red grapes)
Dark chocolate. (More than 70% cocoa) (I buy 90% cocoa)
Vitamin D.
Omega 3. (Oily fish and flaxseed)
Probiotics. (I eat soy yoghurt).
Foods rich in selenium. (I eat Brazil nuts and some seafood for this)
I hope you find this useful. The book is very interesting and gives details of how these foods help to fight cancer by stopping angiogenesis or bringing about apoptosis (the death of cancer cells).
Do any of you read books about breast cancer, nutrition etc.?
Sylvia.
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Hello everyone.
I am just popping in to post some links about fats in our daily diet, because I was concerned that someone on another thread had said that all fat was bad for you. This is, of course, not true. The body needs some fat to be healthy. The problem is that the western diet has too much fat in it and too much of the bad fat, so we have to distinguish between good fat and bad fat. We then have to make sure that, even with the good fat, we do not go overboard and the advice seems to be to limit our total fat intake to about 10 to 20% of our total food intake.
The bad fats are saturated fats and trans-fats. The good fats are poly-unsaturated fats (which include the omega-3 found in fatty fish, such as salmon, trout or mackerel) and mono-unsaturated fats, such as we find in avocados, peanuts etc. All nuts are a good source of poly-unsaturated fats and should be part of a healthy diet, provided you are not allergic to them.
Of course, fat, of whatever kind, is high in calories (higher than protein or carbohydrates), so we have to eat it in moderation and not go overboard, otherwise we shall put on weight unless we burn off the calories. Remember that alcohol has almost as many calories per gram as fat!
The links that I think you will find useful are as follows:
The Skinny on Fat: Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
How fats fit into your healthy diet.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/skinny-fat-good-fats-bad-fats
You might also be interested in:
Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html
There are lots of details here. You might want to pay particular attention to Dietary Fats and Cancer.
Best wishes.
Sylvia
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Hello everybody.
I am just trying to wrap up the posts on this thread for 2012. I wanted to wish a Happy and Healthy New Year to all those viewing, but in particular those regular posters who keep the thread going and motivate me to do the same.
Happy New Year to:
BernieEllen, linali (Lindsay), Mumtobe (Carol), FernMF, chatterbox2012 (Michael), sam52, Kymn, liv-.
To those of you having to continue treatment into the next year, like Mumtobe and liv-, we hope all this will soon be behind you.
To Michael, I hope all will go well with your treatment on January 8th 2013.
To placid44, we hope all continues to go well with your chemotherapy and your surgery in 2013.
To carlads (Carla), we hope all goes well with your chemotherapy starting on January 7th.
To InspiredbyDolce (Debra). Thank you for the information you have posted this year.
As we end this year we naturally think of those who are no longer with us and I felt quite sad today as I read past postings from suze35.
To my fellow Brits who made such a huge contribution to this thread in the past, TEK2009, josephine_, who I know were having a tough time with their breast cancer, I hope you are OK and getting on with your lives. The same goes for Karen3. I do hope all is well with you.
Finally, but not least, bak94, mccrimmon324, and christina1961, I hope you are all moving on with your lives and thank you for the huge contribution you made to the thread in the past.
To any that I may have missed, thank you for your posts and thank you to all those who continue to view.
Thinking of you all. Enjoy your New Year's Eve and your New Year's Day.
Sylvia xxxx
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Sylvia, thank you for you kind post unfortunately life is not easy so we have to help when and were we can.
As always, I appreciate the time and effort you put in to providing us with the excellant and highly beneficial information.
Thank you.
Bernie
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Hello Sylvia,
I am just popping in to wish you a Happy New Year! I also appreciate all the valuable information on this thread and appreciate your taking the time to compile it.
I have been very busy with work and volunteer activities. So far everything has been fine. My oncologist does tumor marker tests and mine actually went down a point last visit. I have a routine xray Monday so I am getting a little nervous about that.
I am sending best wishes across the pond!
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hello all you luvlies XXxxXX
sylvia in my avatar im wearing ankle weights, usually wear wrist weights too but had just had mastectomy and was doing arm stretches trying to get rid of the cording.
here we are the end of 2012, what a whirlwind, there i was in january overseas getting silicone implants put in, there i was april same year getting them taken out and diagnosed with bc. overall so far, touch wood it sorta been ok this horrid journey, well as ok as anything to do with cancer can be.
dont know whats next and to be honest im not a fool to kid myself that "the bum" will come back and have another go at me, its all a matter of keeping "the bum" at bay and me keep running so fast he cant catch me and hopefully in the near future they find something for us Trip Negs to give us a little more confidence.
and thats why i cant thank you all enough and especially sylvia for spreading the word, its great to have you sylvia batting for all of us i will try and contribute whatever.
my goals for 2012 last day is to go out tonight with a blast and drink and be merry to welcome the New year 2013 in with joy and love.
my goals for 2013 are
1) to be alive into 2014
2) to love my family even more than i do, blessed still have mum and dad with me and couldnt have asked for better parents.
3) to get fitter and fitter as the chemo will take a lot away, i reckon if i get as fit as possible that will make the chemo not as destructable as it could be to my body.
4) yoga, budihism and pilates.
5) light weight training every day.
6) beach beach and more beach.
7) smile, laugh. love. music.
8) im alive today, get on with it and give "the bum" a run for its money.
9) Breast reconstruction
10) my ultimate 2013 dream would be, to be in love.
11) cant do no.10 unless i do all the others
sisters wishing you all the best new year and hopefully for anyone doing it really tough wishing that 2013 brings you some peace and happiness and sisters lets keep writing anything that you feel or has helped you in any way even if its not considered standard treatment...keep talking.
lets face it if the professionals knew it all there would be a lot more of us around.
love to you all.
XXxxXX
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I am at work today WITHOUT the wig and WITHOUT foobs . . . I am very brave for this last day of 2012.
My wish for 2013 is to LIVE each day, and be POSITIVE and SMILING instead of the negative, worried self I have become. I want to give and receive PRESENCE instead of PRESENTS, and LOVE LOVE LOVE those who have loved me through the BC ride of 2012.
Thanks all for your great words of education and advice.
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Sylvia: On a previous post, you asked about anyone taking Neulasta . . . indeed, I had a dose of Neulasta the day after EACH of four rounds of taxotere and cytoxan. The oncologist insisted I have the injection(s) because I was going to go back to work during the 12-week chemotherapy regimen, and Neulasta would build up my blood count so that I wouldn't be so immune supressed. It must have worked, because I did NOT have any infections. Side effects of Neulasta, for me, are/were hard to distinguish between them and the chemotherapy side effects. I did have significant long muscle pain in my legs, that was accumulative and did not abate until at least one month past the last treatment. All in all, though, my SE's were minimal by comparison to those I've read about on this thread and others. BTW, the Neulasta price is steep - before insurance, it was $4800 per shot. The total cost before insurance of a single round of chemotherapy was $11,000. Thank goodness for good insurance, I hit my maximum out-of-pocket of $6,500, and did NOT go into the poor-house because of this BC.
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Hello FernMF,
It was nice to read your post. Well done for going to work without your wig and without your foobs. That was a courageous thing to do and quite a way to end the year. I plucked up the courage to take my wig off one day and went off out. I felt as though everyone was looking at me. It got easier after that!
I do hope that 2013 will be a good, healthy and happy year for you. And I am sure that you will be positive, smiling and giving love as you put breast cancer behind you and look forward while living each day at a time.
Thank you for all that you have given to the thread this year. You must have helped so many people in the way that you posted regularly during your treatment, especially your chemotherapy journey where you gave such helpful, detailed information.
This is what the thread should be about. Telling us about your experiences during treatment and letting other people know that they can get through it.
Thinking of you as we countdown the hours to 2013. In the UK we have just six hours to go.
You come over as a sweet, caring, kind and loving individual.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello again FernMF.
Thank you for posting the information about Neulasta. It is something that I did not have back in 2005, so I cannot speak about it from experience. Your post will help others decide about having it. If it stops infections by building up the blood count and not suppressing the immune system so much it can only be good. As you say, Neulasta is expensive, but probably not as expensive as having to be taken into hospital due to low blood counts and infections. Cancer treatment in general is very expensive and this is the worry about future drugs that will be more and more expensive.
Wishing you all the best.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello christina1961
What a lovely surprise to find your post on the thread once again. Thank you for your kind words about the thread. It is nice to know that you appreciate the information. It makes all the effort worthwhile.
I was glad to know that all is well with you. Long may this continue.
You are so lucky in the US to have these tumour marker tests, as I feel they are very important. I have never been offered any and do not think we get them in the UK.
I sincerely hope that you will have good results from your routine x-ray. I can understand your feeling a little nervous. I think all of us on the thread will know how you are feeling. We manage to go along most of the time fairly normally and then as a date for a check up draws close we get nervous feelings that are hard to control. Please let us know how you get on.
Sending you very best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year from me and everyone on the thread.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello Liv
It was nice to hear from you. You must be very glad to put 2012 behind you and I do hope that 2013 will be much better.
I am sure you will do everything in your power to keep BC away from you. We all have to keep hoping that with all the research and trials for TNBC something will come up and as soon as possible. I just feel there are too many young women being diagnosed with TNBC and indeed younger and younger people getting diagnosed with cancer in general, but still we are told it is a disease of old age.
By now you will have welcomed in the New Year in Australia, so I hope you had a good time getting rid og the old year!
I was most interested in reading your goals for 2013. With all your goals for 2013 we all have to give you full marks. You are trying your very hardest to do your best. Number 10 was most interesting and I hope your dream comes true.
I do agree with you that we have to keep posting anything that we feel has helped with out treatment, even if it is not considered standard treatment. After all, we speak from experience. I have mentioned many times on this thread about homoeopathy that I had throughout my treatment and especially oral Iscador, which I think helped.
It is true that the professionals do not know everything, otherwise people would not be dying of cancer. We have surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy to keep us alive, but they all take a huge toll on our bodies.
Thank you for your PM, Liv. I shall be answering it tomorrow when I have more time.
Thinking of you and thank you for all your posts, which are most interesting and informative. I also think it is so useful to exchange ideas with the different countries on these threads. I feel that getting input from people from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Malta and the UK is an education in itself. Like this, we can compare treatments and can all know if there has been a breakthrough in one country. It is also good for the broadening of the mind to know about the everyday life of ordinary people and not to have to base our ideas on what the media tell us or indeed the politicians.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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Hello everyone again.
i am posting this just in case you fancy a little sing song.
====================
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Listen also at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCryF1J54Y
Sylvia
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This should be our song for the New Year and onwards. I feel happy everytime I hear it.
Bring me Sunshine, in your smile,
Bring me Laughter, all the while,
In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow,
Make me happy, through the years,
Never bring me, any tears,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.
Bring me Sunshine, in your eyes,
Bring me rainbows, from the skies,
Life's too short to be spent having anything but fun,
We can be so content, if we gather little sunbeams,
Be light-hearted, all day long,
Keep me singing, happy songs,
Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love.
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Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And days of long ago!
Chorus:
For times gone by, my dear
For times gone by,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For times gone by.
We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandered many a weary foot
For times gone by.
We two have paddled (waded) in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since times gone by.
And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill drink (of ale)
For times gone by!
And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For times gone by!
For the full Scottish version go to:
http://www.english-zone.com/holidays/auldlang2.html
Happy New Year
Sylvia xxxx
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Hi Sylvia & everyone,
Sylvia I just want to thank you so much for the time & effort you put into this thread, it takes tremendous dedication and I sincerely appreciate it.
Wishing you all a very happy, peaceful, healthy new year. Only 6 more taxol treatments for me with the help of God. March can't come soon enough when all of this will be behind us.
Good riddance 2012
Carol xx
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Dear Sylvia and everyone on this thread.....
I wish you all a very happy and above all HEALTHY New Year.
Sam x
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did it, 2012 the last day my goal was to go out with a blast and clear the year.
well yep it happened, only got home 1/2 an hour ago 5.30am..danced and danced in the club then out on the street, it really was a great celebration. only had 3 glasses of red the entire night. ended up at 3am in the heart of northbridge (which is our night club strip) with strangers from india & from Afghanistan & my fellow countrymen a few aussies.
we all watched the sun come up and exchanged happenings in each country. was a great night.
hello 2013, please be kind and gentle with us and especially be nice to any of my sisters that are hurting and having a rough time with chemo...did you hear me, be nice!!
nite nite, im off to sleep.
xxXXx
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Hello Mumtobe (Carol)
Thank you for your kind words. It makes all the effort worthwhile.
We shall all be thinking of you as you continue your chemotherapy treatment and you know that we shall help in any way we can. Just keep looking forward and the six weeks will soon go by and let us hope there will be no problems. After that you will find radiotherapy goes very quickly as you have to go in five days a week.
Hang on to the fact that March will soon come and that for most of 2013 the BC treatment will be behind you. Look forward to spring days with baby Emma and your husband.
At the bottom of our driveway there are already early blooming daffodils in full bloom.
Best wishes.
Sylvia xxxx
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