Hi pippin and a warm welcome to the thread....there are some lovely people on here  and now we have you too :-)

You have done fabulous me dear...may not feel it but... the hardest bit is under your belt. Just know how u r feeling is totally normal. Look after yourself and rest when u need. No right or wrong way to deal with the blow you have been dealt. Do what is best for u nd yrs. I know it’s hard but try to look on this “wait” time as down time from everything hosp. The cancer is out now...even I can see the light at the end of your tunnel.

letrozole... been on it a yr now. In the beginning I had 2 wks where I felt 90 and ached all over then i woke up one morning nd well u talk... it had gone and I was back to normal. Mind u I did also get really bad night sweats .... again this has dissipated but still have the odd night. I was told I might get side effects but they often clear up in the first few wks so try t work through them ....I did and they did :-) I took my meds at 9pm cos I’d read somewhere it helped- don’t know if it did but still take them late. Everyone is different and some needed to change to another medication so play it by ear and know u have options.

radiotherapy......start slapping that moisturiser on now in prep. Others will hopefully drop by nd tell u their regime...mine I used aveeno in the lead up to RT then my hosp supplied QV cream ( not all hosps do this)...post RT I finished off the QV cream then went back to the aveeno ( your skin will continue to “cook” for a couple of wks post RT). My skin was fine it got a tanned look to it .....remember everyone is different.

so.... good luck for Tuesday. Do things u like or fancy till then. Ask away anything u need ..... lots of been there done thats or I too am at that point to chip in and help. 

U are not alone we are here if u want or need us.....or to just shoot the breeze  :-)

take care lass x

Hi Sandra 

Thank you for your warm welcome and all the encouragement and for sharing your experiences with it all x 

I dont feel quite so alone now, it’s weird that everything else goes on as normal but my life is suddenly taking a different unexpected route. Getting used to this new way of life a little bit but it’s hard to not ‘do’ especially when you are a ‘doer’ but I expect it will come back in time....hope so! 

Thats very reassuring for me that you said the hardest part is under my belt, I didn’t think of it like that and will jolly along to the hospital this afternoon with that thought :) thank you x

The good......sunny day and goldfinches galore in the garden!

the bad...... tummy wobble about hospital this afternoon and scary thoughts of them poking the sore bits

So good to hear from you Dizzle.

So sorry to hear about your friend, it is very upsetting I know but lung cancer is a whole different ball game. You will feel guilty but it is not justified. I am sure she would not want you to.

I know it won’t feel like it now but it will get better. You will still have meltdowns and you will still feel sad but every day you will feel stronger.

Do you chat with anyone apart from us? Sometimes it is good to touch base with normality. I belong to another forum where we talk about everything and that helps to ground me. It is not just about cancer. 

Hi Marlyn.... well done on the restraint in marks nd sparks. ;-) hope u got something nice with yr voucher :-)

try not t worry about treatment plan....once got and started on it you have your count down t that light at the end of the tunnel :-) x

Lol sounds like helping u with knitting would kick my repetitive strain off lol ;-)

Ah the student becomes the teacher :-) love that life is on the up for u WQ - new job nd doing all things you fancy in your u time.,,, perfect ️X

Hello there wor Dizzel :-)

let it all out lass you will actually feel better in the long run for it. 

So sorry to hear about your young friend...... it’s sometimes  hard to comprehend some of the things others are/have gone through. Why we gotta take every day and wring out every moment of life out of it. 

Deep breaths lass we are here x

Hi lilianna 

1st.... wishing you a belated happy bday :-)

i totally get where u are coming from bless.

I am fortunate to see/speak with my girls everyday. For bdays nd Christmas we have a £25 limit for gifts and even then make a list of what we want for the cost so get something we want but still a surprise. Tell them t get me a bar of chocolate rather than a card ....for anything...bday, Mother’s Day etc lol.

Don’t know if it’s cos we all came to an agreement or what but it works...so much so they now ask for chocolate instead of card too....so cards are thin on the ground around my lot lol.  not that u should have t have an agreement ... but I think the lines blur a bit as not just us but they get older. They start to focus on their own lil ones....thinking the older ones ( including themselves are less bothered).

tbh if mine decided the new plan was no gifts for us.... I’d b ok with that..... if I know then my expectations are managed. 

They have upset u so you must let them know. I’m sure they will b sorry and mortified they have made their mum upset. 

Dont let it eat away at u lilianna u will feel much better once you talk with them about how upset u are. 

Sending hugs me dear ️ X

Hi dragonfly 

Ah u have not met with your oncologist yet...well that makes more sense then :-)

your process sounds the same as mine then. I Met my consultant...started on the letrozole... had a review then he referred me on to the oncologist to discuss my further treatment options... for me this was the radiotherapy. I was surprised cos reading others posts many seemed to meet the oncologist and the oncologist started them on the meds not the consultant. Well as we say... why we always say for me it was...... 

Tuesday is tomorrow so nearly here...deep breaths u r getting there X

Afternoon peeps 

bad none yay

good:- but of a pain waiting in for delivery but daughter came with lil one. Bless lil one had her 3.5 yr vaccinations. Bless her lil face...bright red from crying  

i asked her if she was gonna go to school now........no. Ok then lol. 

Daughter ordered 2 fancy=expensive - light bulbs for her new lights.  took one out the box went oooo it’s lovely then promptly drop it new one ordered...... again lol. 

Hope everyone has had as good a day as they can x

The good: Got the all clear "cancer free" from my onocologist. Just n years of tamoxifen and zolendronic acid infusions but I can cope with that if they increase my chances of survival.

The bad: Having decided to retire early, I'm faced with a number of decision around how much of my various pensions to take as lump sums and how much to take as annual pension. With one pension, if I take max lump sum, I start to lose out if I live more than 11 years post retirement give or take. But I might live longer so maybe I should take more monthly pension. I'm taking my pensions early, but if I delay by a year, I get a bit more, but depending on my life expectacy, is it worth delaying? 

I'm definitely not enjoying this but I will do it. Math never was my strong point but you get very good very quickly! :)

Talk to a pensions advisor maybe? Just going through it with some one might help clarify which is the best way for you to go. 

Afternoon gadgetgal :-)

been there done that on the pension front.

When I worked mine out if I lived beyond 10 yrs then it was more financially viable to take smaller lump sum and larger monthly pension. At time of my decision I had always been fit and healthy and on no meds. So... yup I took smaller lump sum option. 10 months later.... cancer diagnosis nd hypertension.!?!. 2yrs past November I retired so.... 8 more nd it’s a win lol. (4 more now till get state pension ...grrr)

I retired at 60 so although I did not get an actuarial pension ie not penalised..... I could have still worked and added 2 more yrs to hit maximum benefit. In addition I was thrown a bit because I was offered a promotion ( which in theory would boost my pension also). So.... sat with the organisations pension calculator puting in all the extra time and pay rise to see final outcomes. For the extra I got ....for me was a no brainier for the happiness I would gain lol. So I declined the promotion (didn’t need the extra pressure just before retirement) and set the retirement process in place.

in the light of diagnosis 10 mths later and how happy not to be working I was....def the best decision for me :-)

now.....something to look into for u is....can u retire on the grounds of ill health and get your pension boosted to maximum benefit. If I had still been at work my pension rules would have done this. Worth looking into :-)

I also had a spreadsheet with all my outgoings etc. Because I knew my annual pension was well a bit pitiful and knew I would b relying on savings to boost my monthly income. I needed to know savings would last till I got state pension ( so a 6 yrs gap). Delighted to say my math was right... the annual savings used to boost income is spot on. Go me lol. Could still spit at not getting my stats pension at the states times in the letters they sent 1st letter stated 60 ( nd so did the website) then at 4 yrs to pension new letter stating it’s now aged 62. Then at 2 yrs t pension new letter stating would not get till 66. Grrr but stil.... happily retired lol. X

Afternoon gadgetgal :-)

been there done that on the pension front.

When I worked mine out if I lived beyond 10 yrs then it was more financially viable to take smaller lump sum and larger monthly pension. At time of my decision I had always been fit and healthy and on no meds. So... yup I took smaller lump sum option. 10 months later.... cancer diagnosis nd hypertension.!?!. 2yrs past November I retired so.... 8 more nd it’s a win lol. (4 more now till get state pension ...grrr)

I retired at 60 so although I did not get an actuarial pension ie not penalised..... I could have still worked and added 2 more yrs to hit maximum benefit. In addition I was thrown a bit because I was offered a promotion ( which in theory would boost my pension also). So.... sat with the organisations pension calculator puting in all the extra time and pay rise to see final outcomes. For the extra I got ....for me was a no brainier for the happiness I would gain lol. So I declined the promotion (didn’t need the extra pressure just before retirement) and set the retirement process in place.

in the light of diagnosis 10 mths later and how happy not to be working I was....def the best decision for me :-)

now.....something to look into for u is....can u retire on the grounds of ill health and get your pension boosted to maximum benefit. If I had still been at work my pension rules would have done this. Worth looking into :-)

I also had a spreadsheet with all my outgoings etc. Because I knew my annual pension was well a bit pitiful and knew I would b relying on savings to boost my monthly income. I needed to know savings would last till I got state pension ( so a 6 yrs gap). Delighted to say my math was right... the annual savings used to boost income is spot on. Go me lol. Could still spit at not getting my stats pension at the states times in the letters they sent 1st letter stated 60 ( nd so did the website) then at 4 yrs to pension new letter stating it’s now aged 62. Then at 2 yrs t pension new letter stating would not get till 66. Grrr but stil.... happily retired lol. X

Thanks Sandra 123. I did look into retiring on grounds of ill health for both my pensions (two separate long term employers). With my current employer, looking at the form there wouldn't have been any point as I do not qualify. You have to be incapable of working, rather than having a possible shortened life expecancy. With my previous employer, I asked for retirement on ill health grounds and it was considered by the trustees and declined. Irritaing. Apparently cancer of itself is no guarantee of being able to retire on grounds of ill health.