Wow Nicola,

Fantastic that you've finished your treatment!!

I was interested in Simon's food tips (thank you Simon!) as although I don't have a problem putting food in, my stoma means that my food transit is very quick and I'm not getting the full 'goodness'  and calories  from what I put in! I remember the 70's very well, so Frey Bentos pies and butterscotch Angel Delight were food highlights in my youth! I actually had a Frey Bentos pie some weeks ago . . . Smaller than I remember, but then, most things are these days! Curly Wurly and fudge bars are very minuscule nowadays!

Your reference to your weight made me feel positively gigantic! I'm trying to reach 50kg for Christmas! (Not sure what that is in stones, because I've 'converted' to the hospital measurements! As I was a 60's child, the conversion to metric has been a bit of an puzzle! I'm still a pounds and ounces, feet and inches kinda gal!

Like Simon says, I hope you can enjoy a good Christmas and to see the smile on your little girl's face will bring joy to you, I'm sure!

I'm looking forward to my one little glass of Buck's Fizz on Christmas morning and I'll certainly be raising my glass to you and all the others on this wonderfully supportive forum . . . shame we had to meet here, but it's good to be supporting each other!

Take care, Nicola and I look forward to reading your future posts!

Wishing you love and joy over the festive period, Jo xxx

Well done Nicola,

Knew you would get there.

Wishing you a relaxing and peaceful Christmas, hope your little girl has a wonderful time.

Hope things continue to improve over the next few weeks.

I shall drink a Baileys to your health on Christmas day.

hugs

Annabel. xx

Dear All

You first Nicola - a huge pat on the back and virtual hug for getting that final treatment under your belt.  I am so pleased for you, even though you are probably going through the worst of the pain now, it will all have been worth it.  It must be wonderful not to have that daily trek to hospital, dreading the next chemo session and the icing on the cake your weight is up a notch and you get to spend Christmas with your daughter.  I do hope you have a lovely day. You haven't scared me at all, I would rather know all the facts and possible side-effects in advance and anything less nasty than what you've experienced will be a bonus. I keep being told that everyone has different experiences.

Debbie, Simon and Meerkat - thanks for your good wishes, I'll keep you all posted.  I've been having a laugh at all the 60s/70s food chat, especially about things getting smaller!  My sisters and I were joking the other week that Mum used to feed 5 of us from a Fray Bentos steak & kidney pie eeked out with lots of spuds and veg!   Penguins have also shrunk a lot.  When my husband was in the army he used to eat a lot of tinned food and he still has a soft spot for the old Fray Bentos soggy pastry with all that gravy, a few lumps of kidney and half and inch of steak if you're lucky!  So it's a great easy swallowing tip for me Simon and something that will be a 'treat' for my hubby too.  Meerkat I share your feelings completely on the metric system!

I had a lovely get-together with some school friends this morning.  We had a real laugh and completely avoided the cancer topic.  I had confided in one of them a while back but hadn't seen the other for ages and decided not to drop it on her just before Christmas, so that can wait a while.  Also I had an email from another friend wanting to organise a school reunion for 1st February - oh dear, my last treatment is on 31st Jan!  She and I organised our first one 5 years ago and I'd love to be involved again but I think I'll have to come clean with her too and see if we might put it back 2-3 months.  It would be something to really look forward to.

I'll keep you posted and wish you all the very best .  Merry Christmas!

Love Irene x

Hello Friends

Just a quick update now that the first week is under my belt.  I was up at 3am feeling pretty sorry for myself and wondering how the hell I will cope with 5 weeks of this (bad taste and continual mucus getting me down already).  I've just re-read most of this thread and given myself a really good kick up the backside, which I think is just what was required!

Simon, I notice you gave Nicola some very sound advice to take each day at a time and not look too far ahead, which I think is precisely what I need to be doing.  I've ticked off week one and all I should be thinking about now is today.

So I've had 4 blasts of radio (23rd, 24th and a double on the 27th) and my first chemo on Christmas Eve.  I really shouldn't complain because I was so delighted that my taste buds were still OK on Christmas and Boxing Day and I had two lovely days with my family (without having to cook which was an added bonus). I had a bit of nausea especially early mornings but the anti-sickness pills usually did the trick by mid-day.  I had a continual dull 'sicky headache' but not too bad.  However by Friday my taste buds seem to have gone completely haywire, as expected.  Because I am still able to eat, I feel like I'm just shovelling stuff in because I still can, but not enjoying anything.  At first I was enjoying sweet things more than savoury, but now I just can't think of anything I would enjoy eating.  When I have a notion for something, then try it, just a big disappointment!  At the moment Heinz tomato soup is what I'm thinking I might fancy, so will give that a go.   The nausea I'm feeling now I'm sure is more to do with the muck in my throat rather than the chemo-effects - it just feels different somehow.

My chemo day was not as bad as expected and in some ways very therapeutic.  I met lots of other lovely people at different stages of treatment, all in good humour, many in festive hats and flashing earrings, just getting on with it and making the most of the day.  One lady had a very similar story to you Nicola in that she had had part of her tongue reconstructed.  She had been on PEG feeding pretty much from the start because of post-op mouth pain and I felt so upset that she was the only one in the ward having to turn down the chocs and sweets that kept being passed around.  My husband can be a grumpy sod and comes across as a bit of a hard man, but he raelly is the biggest softest lump inside (always first to cry at sad films!).  When we were saying our cheerios and Merry Christmasses and my 'new neighbour' was heading home looking particularly miserable, his wee face just crumpled.

On a lighter note, there was lots of laughter and banter too, mostly about the huge backlog of named bed pans in the loo waiting to have contents measured. Probably the worst experience of the day was having 3 attempts to get cannulised which meant quite a delay to getting my first drip going - I gather this is not uncommon.

So back tomorrow for a double zap morning and afternoon and pre-chemo blood tests.  My hospital is about 40 mins from home but luckily I have a friend and sister who live nearby so I will spend the time in between with them (including a nap).  My first double-day was Friday past and because I managed a good afternoon sleep I didn't feel too tired driving home.

So that's where I am at the moment.  Really nothing too much to complain about so far, other than the bad taste and being unable to enjoy my food.

Before I forget, Annabel - I've just ordered myself a copy of 'In Your Face' off Ebay - thanks for that tip.

Wishing you all the very best and thank you for all your invaluable advice.  The next time I need to give myself a kick up the rear, I will remind myself what you have all gone through with such strength and good humour and that I CAN do it too.

Love Irene x

Hi Irene,

Hope you get somerhing from the book and glad you found one on ebay.

I am sorry I haven't posted to you before today, should have but sometimes I am very tired after working like the last 3 days.

All holiday cottages now cleaned and prepared for people coming in for New Year. All arriving tomorrow.

Sorry to hear your going through a bad taste and mucous stage , sounds pretty yucky.

I am sure it will improve once you have finished your course of treatment.

Keep your chin up Irene, like Niccola you can get through this.

What is it about grumpy old men, I am married to one too, ba Humbug.!No he's lovely really, just goes round saying Ba humbug at this time of year.!!!!!!!

I have to say I laughed when you said your husbands wee face crumpled. Bless him.

Anyway I hope 2014 is a good year for you and you get ontop of this bloody disease.

Take care love,

hugs

Annabel.xx.

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Mine was a good one even though I was still suffering from the side effects of Radiotherapy.

I finished treatment 10 days ago and I think I reached the peak of the pain for the following week and I was taking morphine, codeine and Ibroprofen ( as well as laxatives!) I used the nebuliser a few times and the mucus issue got worse. It then turned green so I went to my GP who said I had a chest infection and prescribed me some anti biotics. I have a 7 day course so a few days to go yet but I already see an improvement on the green suff! Although I'm now producing a lot of gooey saliva which I'm having to spit out into tissue literally every few minutes. I'm getting through a loo roll each day and its getting annoying now so I really hope that settles down soon. This morning was the first time I can remember that I woke up without my tongue being in pain so I feel I'm now on the upward slope to feeling a little better. I have been extremely tired and sleeping an awful lot but these last couple of days I've felt slightly more human and less tired. Even managed a trip out to the shops today which is the first time I've been out in over a week! All in all, it's been a tough couple of months but I got through it, with the last couple of weeks being the worst.

Irene, how is your treatment going?  You must by now have competed week 1 - well done. How are you feeling?

Simon - did you enjoy your Christmas dinner and trifle? Any improvement on the night sweats?

Jo - did you manage to enjoy a glass of Bucks Fizz? Have any of Simons food tips been of help to you?

Thanks all for your previous posts and good wishes for Christmas. I wish you all a happy new year and let's hope it is a good year for us all, I think we deserve it. After my rough few months ( and I know I still have a way to go) I've made a list of nice things that I wish to do next year. I feel I need some me time to enjoy life a bit more rather than worrying and stressing or hospital appointments! I will be thinking of you all when I toast in the new year.

Speak soon,

Nicola

Hi Irene,

I just posted an update then read your latest. Well done for getting through week 1. I've been thinking of you this week.  I'm sorry to hear you were up in the night feeling sorry for yourself, I've had many a night like that over the last few months so I sympathise. I don't remember much difference with my taste buds after the first week, it was more around weeks 3-4 that I noticed a difference with eating with taste buds lost at around week 2. I'm glad you got to enjoy your Christmas though. Jelly was something I was able to eat for a while, you could try that, or rice pudding or custard.

Taking each day as it comes was definitely good advice form Simon, thinking ahead too much just uses up too much time and energy that you won't have at the moments. Ensure you tell the radiographers when you really start to suffer pain wise.  Good luck for this week, how are you getting on with the mask?

Will be continuing to think of you this week.

Nicola xx

Hi Nichola

I just wanted to say I've been reading your posts

And well done for getting though the treatment .

I do hope from now on its gets easier and you get

To enjoy time with your sweet little one.

Takecare Hun xx

Hi Nicola,

Belated 'Happy Christmas' to you!

So glad to read that you were able to enjoy Christmas! Did your little girl have a lovely time too?

Ah, the Buck's Fizz! I finally enjoyed a glass yesterday! Up until then, I'd had a few bad chemo days so we just postponed Christmas and yesterday, was Christmas Day in our house!!

My kids (21 and 23 so not really 'kids') are coming over today to have a meal and open their presents! Guess it's Boxing Day then?

Simon's food tips have been great! Also from a reminiscent point of view too! The good old 70's  We used to have ready meals back then you know ... Vesta curries and noodles (I think that's what the brand name was!) I was only young at the time!

Anyway, enough of my blether!

Keep up the speedy recovery after the radiotherapy! I remember being amazed at how quickly I felt better after its peak; each day far better than the one before!

Nicola, I wish you and everyone else on this thread a Happy New Year!  You're right, we all deserve a good year!!!

Take care, chick,  Jo xxxxxx