Australian Sisters
Comments
-
Aussie kate, i got knocked down about 3 months ago walking home from shop, women backed out of her driveway and knocked me down, it was in febuary, my shopping went everywhere. i fell backwards and hit my head on concrete drive , found how flaming hard concrete was, she did not see me and i did not see her. i was ok, had a headache for a couple of days, and back of head was sore for a while. she thought she had hit the fence, thank God i was not a child or elderly person, would of done more injury, brother in law said, i should of been concentrating, but there was a big brown fence that ran down front of propery that blocked from seeing her and her me. lol i had just brought lotto and thinking how i was going to spend my millions i never won anyway. typical. it does give you a hell of a fright and i know how you must of felt. i was a little, not with it for a few moments, probably shock, glad you came through unscaved aapart from your nerves. jus glad you were not injured, you have enough to cope with.
0 -
Sian, after my initial diagnosis I was sent for a CT and bone scan to see if I had mets and also as a reference point for later. Most people have arthritis or injuries that show on the bone scan and can't be distinguished from mets, so the reference scan will make any new places show up in subsequent scans. Unlike Jezza, I haven't had any follow up scans.
0 -
Hi girls! The thread has been way busy and I was only gone two days......lol....
Jenn I'm so sorry about your eyes but I'm with your eye doc, having new lenses will make a great deal of difference to the way you see it's just sad that it is happening now. (((((hugs))))) Hope you rads planning goes well.
Kylie.....YAY!!!!!! you are done with chemo....now that's a good thing and I'm sure you will feel more like your old self pretty soon.
Sian, I have bone mets and before they were dx'd, I had great difficulty sleeping as the pain of them woke me up constantly. If your hip is not waking you at night I would have a tendency to think maybe arthritis rather than mets as well as the fact that you are still in active treatment. Having said that, if it will give you peace of mind and you haven't had one before, I would definitely ask for a bone scan.
Midnight, good luck with your moving and I do hope that you don't have a problem with your immunity.
WOW Kate! That sure was a close call! also just goes to show that it won't necessarily be BC that takes any of us out. So glad you are okay.
I got back from the city tonight after being there for the last two days. I do however have some good news......no more coumadin as the clot is gone....yay!!! I'm very happy with that. I did get the results of the genetic testing and yes I am factor V as well as the gene that controlls the use of folate in my system is lacking which leaves me at high risk of getting cancer......ya think!!!! It's a bit late on that one for me but it can affect my kids and grandkids so they have been advised to have the genetic testing done as well.
Oh Trish, good luck with you photography on the weekend! Hope the pics all go to plan and the weather is good.
Love n hugs all! Chrissy
0 -
Jezza, Joylieswithin & Chrissy - yep I had a bone scan Sep 2011 when I was dx. I have a bit of arthritis in my knee from some old surgery there. This pain is not that - it feels the same as Neulasta pain but usually in a focal point and it just goes on forever - it interupts my sleep most nights - could hardly walk on Wednesday, began new cycle of chemo on Thursday and today I could walk - makes one think.... anyway I see my onc on June 21st and I'm going to make him listen and request/demand another scan.
Chrissy -interesting to think what you have done with that information earlier... good for your family members to know.
Kate - I can relate to the car stuff.... my friends are constantly grabbing me crossing the road - I am just oblivious... chemo brain still present I think
Going to tackle riding the bike this weekend - be alert.. the world needs more lerts. Was reading the thread.. you know you are BC patient when.... funny stuff; best one I've seen so far said ...when you go to the dentist and take fo your top!! HA.. so funny to think back and compare to now - so little time so much relearning mmmmm.
0 -
Way to go Kate! wear that sexy number when you report the nurse
I had a lousy one too who used to leave my PICC line hanging while she mucked around with alchol swabs... I reported her and she was sent for refreasher training.0 -
My memory is crap. I don't think anyone on here is in Melbourne? I am going to be there from the 11th until the 15th of the month for work - staying at St Kilda - and would be up for a quick catch-up one evening if anyone is around?
Jenn0 -
I was in Aussy a few years ago and did a trip from townsville on a tour bus to melbourne, stopped at i think its called tamworth and stayed there for night and a another place in Brisbane. i have an uncle whi lives in melbourne over in Kew, and i used love going to this deparment store, called Targets and buying heaps of stuff, clothing and would have to have a parade of what i had brought. I have not seen uncle Gary for eleven years, last time was at Dads funeral and that was very short. when we get away one day for a break, yea right. have not had honey moon yet. we will head to ausy, as husband likes the theme parks. i like going up in roller coasters and flying around in the air, he gets seedy and stays on the ground. i am probably too old for that. i have been all over the show, am well travelled and by myself. i am not fearlful that way, hubby is. everyone is so different, but unique. I loved ausy and wish to venture there again at some point.
0 -
Most of the theme parks are on the gold coast and theres a few of us ladies living within an hour or two of there, so maybe we can have a get together when you do eventually come over Midnight.
0 -
yea that would be so cool to meet. we have a transport bussiness, so we would have to have that running smoothly, with all the servs behaving themselves( ie Drivers) thats a task in it self, having employees, like a running a kindergarden). you would not think we had adult men working for us at times, one that sulks dreadfully that he has the nickname of BOO BOO, But on the other hand they do good work and look after our trucks well. But yea when we get there would be lovely to meet up.
0 -
I am excited and scared at the same time... I have just booked my flights and accommodation for going to Melbourne for work next Monday to Friday!
My first career was in the travel industry. Over the years my husband and I have been lucky to travel to various places in the world including going on safari in Africa, the beach in the Carribean, Santorini and Athens in Greece, Los Angeles, SFO, Las Vegas, skiing in Colorado, Hawaii...
BUT, this little business trip to Melbourne just makes my chest tighten up thinking about it! So, I REFUSE to let breast cancer take away my love of travel. I shall get on that plane next Monday. I have no reason to be scared.
Will you all please hold my hands next Monday my Australian friends?
Jenn0 -
I'll be holding both of them. You'll be fine and it will be a real confidence booster once you've done it.
I've noticed since all the "active" treatments (chemo & rads) has finished, I am feeling lost. Not that I'm not just so pleased to get them over and done with, but the routine and constant planning and dealing with the day to day matters of having treatment is over and it's like "well what now?" I think it's time to just get back to normal, instead of BC being an ever present focus in my life, I'm going to put it into the background and let normal living become the focus again.
0 -
I officially look like a tennis ball, I have fuzz all over my head, including my cheeks.
That's great Kate, I must admit I worry about how I will feel when the time comes. Will you be going back to work or have you got something that you want to try out? It is fantastic you have come so far and done so well. Well done!!!!
Jenn, enjoy your trip, I hope you feel as well as possible and have a great and fulfilling time.
I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, Kylie x
0 -
Well I'm back girls! Wedding went well, and the bride was just gorgeous. Have downloaded all the photos, but will have to edit them, so far they look good :-) I had a very emotional moment at the wedding though. The bride's uncle was down from Rockhampton and the bride asked me to get some "special" shots of him with the family as he has cancer (I still don't know what sort exactly) and he's doing chemo, but will stop the chemo in 2 months and apparently he will die soon after stopping it. I noticed he was pretty jokey and full of spirits the night before the wedding (we all had a dinner together at the hotel the night before) and he became very quiet and was getting upset during the photos. After all the relly photos were done and we'd gone into the reception I noticed him sitting by himself and not looking very good. So I sat down with him and started chatting to him. He told me about his cancer - I think it started in the kidneys or prostrate and now it's everywhere and he's at the end of his treatment options. All his medical people have told him that the chemo isn't helping much anymore, but he's just stayed on it a while longer so he could come to the wedding and finish a few things at home. We chatted for a while and he opened up to me about the fears of dying - he's not scared of dying, but scared of how his loved ones will cope. I said to him - he could walk outside tonight and get run over by a car and I'd rather know when my time was coming so I could do the things I wanted to do and say the things I wanted my loved ones to hear and fix my business up so no-one had to cope with all that on top of losing me. He looked at me and said "you know I never thought of it that way" He couldn't talk to his family the way he could to a fellow cancer sufferer - as he didn't want to scare them. We had a lovely chat and a bit of a cry together, and then I had to go photograph the speaches. His wife came up to me straight after, and I thought she was going to thump me she was so wound up. But she cuddled me and told me that whatever I'd said to him had made such a huge difference - he was like a different man. I explained that sometimes cancer patients found it hard to talk to those closest to them, as they didn't want to burden them, and sharing with a stranger and someone who understood helped. He is such a lovely gentleman, and it was a priveledge to talk to him.
Anyway - enough of the emotion lol. A good time was had by all.
Midnight - I'm on a small acreage - and others have said - you will be fine - the only thing I was really careful about was feeding the chooks - someone (and I can't remember who) said chooks (sorry chickens) were a bit dicey. Dogs - we have 2 and they were my constant companions.
Sian - yes - you need to ask for another bone scan. I recently developed bad back pain, and my doc ordered a bone scan so we could rule out mets. It was arthritis - caused by the Arimidex, but a relief to find out it wasn't mets.
Jenn - don't worry about the cataracts. I have had both eyes done - first one was when I was 47 too. It's no big deal these days - you don't even have an anaesthetic for it - I was awake and chatted to the surgeon all the way through both of them. DH had both his eyes done last year too. Your eyesight will be a lot better and if you are in the lucky group - you may never need to wear glasses again. I wasn't one unfortunately, I had been wearing glasses since I was 14 and one eye was very badly short sighted - like I couldn't even see the chart with that eye - almost legally blind in that eye. They couldn't bring me back to a zero as my brain wouldn't have been able to cope with it - but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. Compared to what you've been through in the last year or so - it really is a piece of cake. Night vision is a bit of a problem though until you get it fixed.
And - holding your hand tomorrow - enjoy!
Trishxoxo
0 -
Jenn I'll be holding your hands too. You'll be fine and have a good time Im sure.
Way to go Kate, thats exactly as it should be but hope you dont stay away from us mates.
Kylie ya poor thing. The fuzz on your face will shed, I think over a few months and the hair on your head will grow and you'll be looking better than ever AND cancer free.
Trisha thats so awesome. What a wonderful influence you have had on that gentleman and his family. I hope he is painfree and that he is surrounded by his loved ones when its time for him to go. How incredible that you just happened to be there and could help ease his mind like that.
Finally Trisha, youve made me jealous and now I want cataracts so I can get my eyes back to how they have always been up till the last few years. Wearing glasses sucks cause Im forever putting them down somewhere and then having to hunt for them. Kind of surprised I havent found them in the fridge as yet, but Im sure that day will come
0 -
Hi all,
Trisha so pleased wedding went well. Nephew's wedding was lovely and on the whole mu siblings have behaved so it has been quite a good time but feel very tired. Had chance to have great chat to friend's husband, he has only a short time - kidney cancer which is now in the skull- he managed well but was very tired.
Good news of the day is that DS rang from the Loire Valley to say that he had finally asked his lovely GF to marry him. We didn't get much sense from them at all. i am just so pleased.
It is very cold here in the Waiarapa. Heading for Wellington tomorrow then will make our way back up the island home. Have specialist visit the following week . Shoulder is still not good and now have lump on arm. I can feel it when I massage my arm - it will be nothing but does worry me.
We are still trying to organise our trip. Dh is just so worried bout a big conference we have at the beginning of September that he doesn't want to go away before then but I am determined to get him away later in October. I was so cross about it,I have to actually get him out of the country before he has a holiday. He has been doing work today!!!
Have read through the thread quickly but will try to catch up with what people have been doing tomorrow.
0 -
Thanks all - it's Monday the 11th that I am heading off. This week I'm still on sick leave until Wednesday and have my rads planning and tatoo session on Tuesday.
Sounds like you were in the right place at the right time Trish :-)
Kylie, I am jealous of your hair growth. Well, maybe not the face stuff, but I have read on here about the face fuzz. I gather people have had success with shaving it down or waxing it away, with it then not coming back ie: it's usually temporary. I have an epilator and figured I's be using that if it happens to me.
Jenn0 -
Kate, I missed your almost run in with the car, bloody hell, yes too ironic to survive bc and get run over by a car. But, that's something that could happen to any of us, and the reason I now refuse to let bc rear it's ugly head to worry me or frighten me. I drive a car almost any day, and there is always the possibility that I will have a serious car accident. Do I spend my time worrying that it may one day kill me or disable me? Well why should I do any less with bc! My motto now days is to deal with the crap bc has left with me, but to live and enjoy life :-)
Lyndal, sadly I still have to wear glasses, but I'm in the same boat as you, if I put them down somewhere, I forget where I've put them. And, also sadly I have looked in the fridge for them, and many other things that have no right to be in the fridge lol.
Trish
xox0 -
Oh, and forgot! Kylie the peach fuzz will disappear, it seems to be a Taxotere/ Taxol thing. Mine just seemed to be gone one day
Trish
xox0 -
Whoa Midnight, that is scary that you got it by a car - but great that you lived to talk about it.
Oh Trish. It was good that you were in the right place at the right time to help bring some peace to a dying man and his family. It must have been really tough for you but you made a big difference to him so your words were very worthwhile. Can't wait to see some pics of the wedding.
Kylie (or should that be 'tennis anyone') sorry, I have a terrible sense of humour and would never mean to offend, but I just loved your description. I've heard of people calling it peach fuzz. Not haveing had taxotere I escaped that wonderful side effect, but I'm no oil painting at the moment I assure you. My head hair is going gang-busters but the colour and texture resembles steel wool and I still don't have any eyebrows and only about 2 eyelashes on each eye. I try to put mascara on those two little troopers and I end up poking myself in the eye all the time, there is just nothing there.
Now I hope this isn't too much information for anyone, but one unpleasant hangover effect from the chemo has me concerned and that is that it is now very painful to ... ah.... ahem ..... (blush) enjoy my husbands wonderful physical attributes. Putting it bluntly it hurts like hell even using lubricant. Is this common or is it just me?
0 -
Kate that seems to be an aftermath of having BC and treatment full stop. There is a thread on here about just that subject with some great suggestions for relief.
Will pop back in later as I'm on my phone and typing with one finger is a pain in the a@@!.....lol
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
Kate, its a very very common problem from what I read on the boards
There is a thread here in BCO which recommends Scream Cream. Ive just looked for the thread and couldnt find it though. It pops up regularly and hopefully one of the other ladies will remember which forum its in.
0 -
Thanks Lyndal and Chrissy. I did find the thread and read about the scream cream too. It seems the only remedy available. I didn't see if this is a forever thing or if it does improve with time and toxins out of our bodies. I will have to see if our Dr's over here prescribe it. Well hey, just another crappy side effect, which was never mentioned to me and I don't recall reading it in any of the 'what to expect' literature. hummph - not happy Jan!
0 -
It was in the lit I got Kate. And even though Im not sexually active, I get very very dry to the extent I can be walking at work and feel the internal area in question scraping against itself
Thats the best way i can describe it lol.Never thought Id be happy to be divorced
0 -
I'm going to be very brave and share a bit here Kate...
I did read about your side effect right at the start and it was one of the SEs that I was the most afraid of. I even cried in my onc's office and said I would refuse chemo because of that SE and before I started chemo my poor hubby didn't know what hit him because I tried to get all I could in case there wasn't to be any more...
I read everything I could on here and also found that the Aussie Breast Cancer Forum had a lot of good information in their Mojo section about what products are available here. in Australia You do have to sign up to get access to that section of the forums though:
http://www.bcaus.org.au/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=2
My DH and I popped upstairs into an (ahem) adult shop here in Sydney right before I started chemo (not our usual kind of place...) and bought some Sylk and some Pjur to try. I also went to the chemist and got some "vajayjay" moisturiser that I used a bit but haven't had to use long term.
One of the important things I read was that you need to "use it or lose it" so I've been working on that theory either with hubby or without (blush)... The other thing I already knew from my time working at Pfizer (the makers of the blue pill for men) is that they had tried for years to find a drug that would help women with problems and in the end they gave up because for women it's all in the brain. Sure enough I have found that I have to deliberately hook my brain (imagination) into the process now where it used to just all happen naturally.
So far we are doing OK and I have found that although it takes me longer to, um, be ready I can be ready, and have had no pain.
Having said all that, it's the anti-hormonals that I am expecting to totally screw (haha) things up for me... Those leave women with NO libido - just like being a kid again :-( I gather that when/if that happens it will take even more effort to get started :-(
Oh, the other thing is that if you are on an antidepressant that can have a huge effect on things. Most of them affect function significantly in that area - one more reason why I refused to have them and always will.
Jenn0 -
Well, since we are all being so honest here, I'll share too lol
I haven't really found a big problem. I think it's something that affects some women, and not others. I'm certainly not dry, but then again I'm not "tapping my husband on the shoulder" like I would have done before bc. I agree with Jenn - with women a lot of our sexuality is in our brain. Get that happening in the right way and it's all there.
I think a lot of it also has to do with how we view our new body as well. For those of us who have had a mx, it might be a little harder to get over that hurdle and feel comfortable in our skin again.
Kate - my hair was like steel wool before chemo. Now it's grown back softer lol now that's a se I'm really happy with! Maybe when your hair gets a bit longer it will settle back to not being so wiry. I don't think I noticed the new softness of my hair till it was a few cm long.
Kylie - I've been trying to remember how long the peach fuzz lasted, and I can't remember! So don't worry about it too much - as I said last night, it will disappear.
I don't normally wear make up, but on Saturday I decided to put some on for the wedding, and have noticed that while my eyelashes and eyebrows have grown back, they are not quite as thick as they used to be.
Hope everyone has a great week.
Trish
xoxo
0 -
hey girls, when i first started tamoxifen my monthlys stopped from november til march and now they started again. what a pain in the A. i thought Tamox stopped it, well wishful thinking i guess, but i was under the impression it put you into menopause. was actually loving the thought of no more and bugger, here it is again. have i got a false belief in tamoxifen, hope you girls got some info on this. there has been more benefit from talking to you you ladies than i have with some of my onc team about info. sometimes i feel their silence speaks volumes. don't know whether you girls have felt this,
0 -
All over for me in that department Midnight, which only compounds the above mentioned bedroom problems, so I have no understanding of why this happens sometimes, but I have read on other threads where quite a few women stop and then start again if their menapause has been bought on by chemo.
Thanks everyone for being so upfront and sharing your experiences regarding the bedroom blues
. I love the analogy of use it or loose it, so will really try and mentally get in the zone and hope that works. It just doesn't help that it is drier than the Sahara Desert down there. I think I have had my head in a bubble, that chemo effects were only going to be during chemo and then badda-bing, I'd just return to normal. I have this sinking suspisicion that this is my 'new' normal from now on. Oh well. I'm alive and grateful to be. Things could be a lot lot worse than they are.0 -
Midnight, the Tamoxifen for some women stop the menses but for others don't once your system has adjusted to it. Sounds like you are one of the later.
Kate, truth here, lol. I have not been sexually active for over 15years as hubby has no interest but that does not mean that I don't want it, even now and I've been on one of the AI's for three years. So, I'm saying that the desire is still very much there but I too have the sahara happening, so much so that at times I am in pain and have been seriously thinking of asking the gyny for Estrogen cream. I did ask about it last time I saw him but didn't do anything as I still needed to think of possible consequences of using it, I am ER/PR +. He told me that the ammount that is used for the cream is so little and does not cross over to the rest of the body but I'm still unsure and so have not yet gone and got it.
It might pay you to have a chat with your gyny and see what he/she says.
Trish so glad the wedding went well and you sure were in the right place at the right time. It's good that our own experiences can and do help others following much the same path.
It's cold and wet so today, after visiting the chemist for my pills, I will be sitting in front of the fire and knitting....lol
Love n hugs. Chrissy
0 -
Kate, that SE is a crappy one! I think it's the worst. You don't have to accept it, you just have to figure out how to fix it :-)
Quality of life is so important. No use being alive if you are miserable...
I prescribe dinner out, red wine, warm room, candles, massage and ... :-)
Jenn0 -
Midnight, does your Onc know that your periods have started again? You and I have similiar dx's and I was 42 and my BS and Onc were seriously intent on making sure I was post menopausal. Once I finished chemo they had me taking Zoladex injections once a month to continue the process of menopause and to ensure the arimidex worked to its best degree.
My DCIS was stage 3, the idc stage 2 and I was no where near menopause when this all started. Not sure if it has any effect, but since I was a kid all the way up to both of my BC ops, I got my period every month and then non stop if I was under stress. Had it for my hospital stays one week apart agggh. My BC was 100% estrogen and only something like 9% pr so whether thats different from yours I dont know.
Anyway if he/she doesnt know make sure you tell them and perhaps inquire as to whether being premenopausal increases yor risk factor and if so (so long as you want to be post) enquire about zoladex or something similiar. If you do consider zoladex, its a huge huge needle, but it doesnt hurt. Makes a snapping sound similiar to a core biopsy and gives a bit of a pushing jab sensation, but in all honesty Local anaesthetics hurt way more so I always refused them.
0
