Hi ladies

I just want to wish you all a Happy and as Healthy a New Year as possible - bring on 2012.

Its good to drop in and see what others are up to - scan and more treatment (fingers crossed!) in January for me.

Best wishes

Sue x

Hello everybody, may I join you and introduce myself?  I opened a new thread on this subject the other day in the "introduce yourself" section, but I really wanted to get onto this site.  I  am 67 yo and live in Essex, UK and have recently been diagnosed as having tumours on both ovaries, plus some areas on the omentum and outer bowel.  However, my hospital MDT  wants to ascertain whether my ovaries are the primary site or secondary to breast ca I had 15 years ago before planning my treatment, so I've just had a biopsy and await results on 22nd Feb.  I found your site about a month ago and was both heartened by all your posts, and at the same time scared - not of the treatment particularly but the outcome.  Some days I feel that I won't get through this, other days I think "No, you won't get me, you (expletive deleted!)"

The last post on your site was 28th Dec, I have been checking, so I hope you are all getting along OK

Best wishes, Hazel. X

I'm sure you can all relate to this story.

I had almost forgotten what a humbling experience it is visiting the Chemo suite at the hospital. The nurses are just wonderful, caring, professional and friendly all at the same time. There is a feeling of a bonding between you and some of the other patients, we smile at each other and are polite and courteous. We are all on a similar journey, having had to come to terms with a diagnosis that we thought would never happen to us, and all of the distress that it causes. Our specialist oncology nurse Kath seems more like a good friend that we've known for years, it feels like she is just there for Mary, but of course she isn't.

We visited the Lynda Jackson MacMillan Centre on the hospital site to get some info on travel insurance, the ladies in there are lovely too, they will make you a coffee and sit and chat with you for as long as you need.

As Mary was about to go in for treatment, the nurse asked me if I would mind getting some water as she needed to take some tablets. A lady opposite had just got herself some water but gave it to Mary to save us the trouble. When we left, a gentleman patient in reception smiled and said "goodbye, have a nice evening". As we left the car park, we gave our pay and display ticket to a gentleman at the pay station to save him money (a practice that many of the fellow patients all do). Just a handful of examples of all those little things that all together make a big difference. These people are complete strangers and yet we seem to know each other.

If we want to draw on some positives, I feel that the biggest one is how our experiences have helped to bring out our best qualities, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the human kindness displayed by people, and that includes the people on this site who are there for each other, and the moderators who make it all possible.

Mary is exhausted after a long day, so an early night with two hot wheat bags and a couple of Domperidones! Hopefully the chemo is doing it's work and she will feel brighter tomorrow.

Thank you all for listening and supporting,

Best wishes,

John

Hello, Eileen,

How did it all go?  Not sure if you'll be home yet, and no need to answer until you feel up to it, but I pray all went well.

Have a good rest!

Love Hazel xxx

John,

Hope Mary is feeling OK, I'll be in the same boat next week!

Love, Hazel. xxx

Hi Hazel and everyone,

Sorry for not being on sooner but Thursday they kept me in as I felt really faint. I had another x-ray and they keep going on about my bowels being full even though I can't stop going. I am  begining to get annoyed with them now as to me going properly 4 times on Thursday is more than enough.

Anyway I had my picc line fitted and I was taken to the investigation ward until they found a bed for me. The next thing they said we are sending you for a scan tomor as we think you may have a blockage in your bowel as well. I eventually got moved to a ward at 6pm after been at the hospital since 10am with no drink of tea until 5pm. I was on a 4 bed ward with lovely ladies 3 of who had ovarian and one breast cancer. I had my chemo start at 3pm Friday, it is a 3 hour bag of chemo and all the other bags are magnesium, calcium, and the normal steroid, anti sickness ect.. That all finished at 6am Saturday. I felt really sick in the night ( something I am not normally )  So I had another anti sickness. I am not sure if it was the chemo or the amount I had drank as I got a terrible thirst on me after the chemo that I couldn't seem to quench.

They let me out yest about 10am and I came home had a drink of tea ( I only drink earl grey so I have to take them wherever I go ) I then decided to have a bath while Tony made me some chicken noodle soup. When I got out of the bath and put my arm up to dry it all water came running down and when I looked the dressing was open at the end so I had to go all the way back to the hosp to get it re done. I got back home at 2. 30 and came to bed and have been here since drifting in and out of sleep and feeling sickly. I take my last 2 steroids at 12 and my last main anti sickness (ondansetron ) and at 11 am in a few mins actually I take my chemo tablet ( ETOPOSIDE ) I take them for 15 days..

So ladies I hope everyone else is ok. I am going to read what John has put and anything else I have missed...

Love to all Hi to Dot and Jackie, Sharon. Tony. xxxxx

Hi Eileen,

my heart went out to you when I read what you had to go through, I can only hope that it will get easier as your body adjusts. It doesn't sound like you had much sleep while you were in hospital, so it is no wonder you are so sleepy now.

I wish I could find something more comforting or helpful to write to you, seems you always go down the hardest route for your treatment, I am thinking back to you ending up in hospital so many times after the other chemo's.

My thoughts are always with you xxxxx

Hi to everyone else, hope you are all ok

Love Dot xxx

Oh, Eileen,

I am SO upset that you've had such an awful few days.  I hope you have a reasonable interval between treatments to rest up, when is the next one?  I have been reading back but can't see if you've mentioned before how long between.

Please take care and have a good rest - I won't write too much this time as I know you need to sleep and get your strength back.

Lots of love meantime, Hazel xxx

Hi Eileen, you poor thing! seems like uve been through the mill this last couple of days

hope you feel better soon BIG HUGS to you love sharon xxxxx

Dear Eileen,

Please do not apologise for not posting, most of the ladies are having a rough time at the moment and understand what you are going through. It's nice that everyone updates us when they feel well enough to do so. Sounds like you have had an awful couple of days, I really do hope that the chemo will work for you this time and that you feel a bit better soon.

Mary felt awful on Friday (day after chemo) but was a lot brighter on Saturday so we went into town for a couple of hours. Mary tried on some dresses (I was unusually tolerant, it was just good to see her feeling better), then we went to a coffee shop and watched the world go by for a little while. Bumped into a couple of sets of friends and had a chat, which was nice. The Marie Curie people were in town collecting and giving out their daffodil pins, so we got one each and I was surprised at how many other people I saw wearing them. I think it's a nice symbol, the start of spring and the hope that everyone will feel a bit better for it soon. I have put my daffodil avatar back up

Today Mary feels a bit light headed, don't know if that is the chemo, the cancer or just overdoing it yesterday. We managed a short trip to the supermarket but she didn't look good so I got her home quickly. Still using the wheat bags, I have ordered a couple more on ebay as I could also do with one for my tense shoulders.

Dot, Hazel, Sharon, and any other ladies reading this, how are you all doing at the moment?

Best wishes,

John

PS - If you want to see my ugly mugshot next to my beautiful Mary on NYE, just click on "JohnMillbrook". It took a little while for the mods to ok the pic LOL

Hello, John,

Love to Mary, hope she's feeling a bit better now.

Love your profile photo!

I am going for "pre-assessment" tomorrow, not quite sure what that entails or how long it will take, any ideas?  Then, all being well, start chemo on Thursday, thank goodness - pains are gradually getting worse now, so hope treatment will start to shrink tumours sooner rather than later!

Love to everybody,

Hazel xxx 

Hi Hazel,

Mary didn't have a pre-assessment this time, but from what I remember from last year you basically have a chat with a nurse who tells you about your treatment and possible side effects. She will also answer any questions you may have. I think they check your height and weight so they can work out the correct dosage for you. Hope all goes well tomorrow and on thurs.

Mary feeling a bit odd today, has taken a couple of anti-sickness tabs and gone to bed, hopefully be brighter tomorrow.

John

Hi Hazel,

Mary didn't have a pre-assessment this time, but from what I remember from last year you basically have a chat with a nurse who tells you about your treatment and possible side effects. She will also answer any questions you may have. I think they check your height and weight so they can work out the correct dosage for you. Hope all goes well tomorrow and on thurs.

Mary feeling a bit odd today, has taken a couple of anti-sickness tabs and gone to bed, hopefully be brighter tomorrow.

John

John,

Sorry, meant to thank you for your response re pre-assessment, but fell asleep! 

I had most of that done the other week when I saw my oncologist, so don't know why they want me in again.  Anyway, will soon find out!

Fingers crossed that Mary has improved today.

Love to you both,  Hazel xxx