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

Hi John and Haze

beginning to look like I'm just lucky with the nausea and vomiting, which is a good job because i hate feeling sick, to the point I have avoided alcohol since being sick at the age of 17!!! John, get the bracelet, my view is its non invasive than therefore can do no harm and if it works great.

Haze do phone the team, you need to drink and they may be able to control it by different meds like they've tried with Mary.

John, the insurance, my god they do take us for a ride don't they! I find one of the main problems with this cancer thing is not being able to plan ahead. I think its something we are all really used to doing and it all adds to the uncertainty when we can't. Gem will certainly cause different effects to the carbo/tax, but I suspect that Mary still has this on board (its not that long she she had the carbo/tax is it?) so the gem is hitting her already battered system. I had my second lot of chemo 8 months after the first and found it far harder going than the first or so far the 3rd.

I was suprised when after 1 dose of carbo/dox my platelets fell, I had been chemo free for 18 months so didn't understand why they had dropped as previously it had only happened the once and not to the point where chemo was delayed. The onc said that chemo was accumulative and length of time between treatments made no difference

John have you looked at getting Mary on any of the trials? you have never mentioned any previous medical history so if the cancer is her 'only' disease process she may be suitable, my blood clots and location exclude me! not a lot of trial activity in the backwaters of Norfolk! if you think it might be suitable there are links on this site which tell you the trials available and what they are looking at.

Ginger is also supposed to be good for nausea, but Haze and Mary you both NEED to drink or you will feel even worse.

Stomach feels better today (still don't feel quite right but mild pain not severe) though I have to confess I'm reluctant to move around much in case it comes back! that's bad as I'm not normally a physiological type person but its so crippling when I get it I just can't help worrying it will come back.

Hope today is a better day for you all

Love Jackie xxx

Thanks, Jackie, you are so helpful!   I have forced myself to get up today and had a slice of dry toast and cup of tea - drunk VERY slowly.  So far it has stayed down,  but still don't feel quite out of the woods yet!

May try John's travel sickness bands when I can get out again.

Hope your stomach pains don't get too bad again!

Love, Hazel xxx

Hazel, try this - http://m.wikihow.com/Stop-Nausea-With-Acupressure

Thanks, John,

I did see your suggestion and had a look, and as I said to Jackie I will get the wrist bands when I get going again, and try them next time.  Haven't tried it with finger pressure yet, with my luck I'd probably press the wrong place and make something else go wrong!

Thanks again,

Love Hazel xxx

Hi, Laura,

So sorry missed your chemo on 20/03, hope you weren't too bad afterwards?  Your next will be on 10/04, is that right, then only one more after that?  So, nearly finished!  I have a long, long way to go yet, and can't say I'm looking forward to any of it, but needs must, I guess.

Thinking of you,

Love Hazel xxx

Hello, Sue,

How are you doing, not heard for a while.  Hope all is well and you've managed to get out in the sun while it lasted!

I am suffering the 4th day of post-chemo horrors, hope to be better some time tomorrow!

Good luck,

Love Hazel xxx

LOL@Hazel! ...and my work colleagues were saying "gonna share the joke then John?"

Mary was a little better today but still feels really washed out. I hope she is better tomorrow as it is our Pearl annniversary, wow! where did those 30 years go?? I have bought her a big bouquet of flowers and hid them in the garage, I'll leave them in the lounge before I go off to work in the morning. We'll go out to a nice restaurant if she's feeling up to it, otherwise we'll do whatever she wants.

I hope you feel better tomorrow too Hazel, thanks for cheering me up just when I needed it.

Best wishes,
John

x

Hi Jackie,

re chemo - Mary got about 8 months out of the carbo/taxol although they cut out a couple of taxol treatments at the end because of the neuropathy, the Prof said he didn't want to turn her into a cripple (not very pc, are you still aloud to say that?). I think she recovered really well apart from that and our social life was back to normal so most of the chemo must have been burnt off, so I'm surprised by what your onc said but he probably knows more about it than me

The other thing that I swear worked well for Mary last time around was the liquid iron formula, but she hates the stuff and doesn't want to take it this time even though I think it will give her a boost. I think it tastes ok personally but as they say, you can take a horse to water....  BTW she hates ginger too LOL!

Don't get me started on Mary's medical history, they have trouble carrying her file at the hospital LOL, but probably nothing that would effect her having a clinical trial. Let's just say that she has suffered from an extremely rare condition called Maffucci Syndrome since she was about 5, and has had a lot of ops over the years to manage it. I am convinced that it could have been the trigger for her cancer but nobody can confirm that. I may talk to Mary about clinical trials but she may become suspicious that I think her condition is worse than she believes it to be, difficult one.

Glad you're feeling more comfortable, long may it continue!

Best wishes,

John

x

Oh dear, John,

I haven't inadvertently said something rude, have I?   My partner has always said I make him laugh because I'm such an innocent and don't realise that what I'm saying can have other connotations!  (Though I did think as I was writing it that maybe it could be misconstrued, but hoped it wouldn't be!)

Anyway, glad it gave you a laugh!

Happy Pearl Anniversary today to you both - the flowers are a lovely idea, I bet Mary will be really chuffed  , I would be. Hope she will be well enough to go out this evening, but don't let her overdo it again like at the rugby!

I am feeling a bit better this morning, at the moment trying to get through the ginger tea as still a bit queasy - with luck should be OK by this afternoon like last time. Can't say that I like ginger much, either, same as Mary.

Love to both,

Hazel xxx

Hi all

Happy pearl to John n Mary, hope u manage to enjoy the day! See what you mean John re clinical trials, they tend to be arranged in cancer stages if that helps at all, I haven't look recently to see what's available but they recon that people in trails do better than others even if in the placebo group! don't quite get it but if it helps I'd do it!

Glad your beginning to feel better Haze, I don't like Ginger either lol can manage ginger nut biscuits but that's as far as it goes!

Hope we hear from Eileen soon and the long not posting is not due to her ending up in hospital again

take care

Jackie

xxx

Hi all

Happy pearl to John n Mary, hope u manage to enjoy the day! See what you mean John re clinical trials, they tend to be arranged in cancer stages if that helps at all, I haven't look recently to see what's available but they recon that people in trails do better than others even if in the placebo group! don't quite get it but if it helps I'd do it!

Glad your beginning to feel better Haze, I don't like Ginger either lol can manage ginger nut biscuits but that's as far as it goes!

Hope we hear from Eileen soon and the long not posting is not due to her ending up in hospital again

take care

Jackie

xxx

Hi Jackie & all,

I have been ok but have had a pulsating like feeling in my chest, neck, and lower back. Anyway I rang my hosp Sat morning and tried to explain what I meant ( it's like an electric shock ) So because I am sweating loads at night the nurse I spoke to said she would have a word with the Dr and ring back. To cut a long story short, I had to go to the local hosp and was their 4 hours. they took bloods and did an ecg but nothing. I have had this before when I when on carbo/taxol but not as bad. I am ok now but has anyone else had it ?

Love as always Eileen xxxx

Hello, Eileen,

Glad you're OK now, you are a poor old sausage aren't you?!   Have not had what you describe, so can't help I'm afraid.  Maybe Jackie will know more?

Take care, hope you manage to get your treatment this week.

Love Hazel xxx

Hi Eileen!

Nice to see you back, afraid I can't help either. The only thing I can think of is the nerves being affect by the chemo but it is only supposed to affect peripheral nerves not internal ones. Did they give you anything for it? How about the nurses on this site? you can phone them and they may know.

Hope it settles soon

Love Jackie xxxx