Hello Baglady

Max56 is right, my lung and brain are thought to be  metastasis from breast cancer I had 15 years ago, they were unable to get cell sample from the lung so I had the brain one removed which showed it was breast related, was 't expecting that after 15 years! As it was hormone receptive I am on Letrozole and after 6 months it seems to be keeping it under control.that's the best I can hope for.

Eileen

Hi Eileen .... its such good news that the Letrozole has stabilised your disease.  It is really scary to be told you have secondary cancer and it hit me particularly hard when I knew my brain had joined in!!  You and I seem particularly lucky to have been offered brain surgery and radiottherapy (cyberknife in my case).as it seems pretty rare in the case of breast cancer.  Sadly I am Herceptin receptive so cannot have this drug or other hormone suppresents, but I am doing ok on Herceptin and chemotherapy and hope to stick around a while longer.  It will be my 40th wedding anniversary in Feb and my 60th birthday in March so I really hope to reach those milestones  -  something I never dreamt in a million years would be possible.  Are you feeling okay??? I hope you have some good plans for Xmas.

Pauline  -  it is so good to see you on the forum, I love reading your posts. Your positivity and strength pushes me on when I am 'blipping'.  How are you feeling - I do hope you have been able to get help to control your pain and that you have shared a little more with your family so that they can support you. I was so sad to see that you find sleeping so difficult - it makes everything so much harder to cope with when you are tired.  I take a sleeping tablet - why not get all the help you can! Also on slow-release morphine and it has made such a difference to my quality of life.  Please dont suffer and ask your GP for help to keep you comfortable P.  Much love x

Hi, Max, I went to my new hospital last Wednesday and how I wish I had gone there in the first place.  i sat in the waiting room in a really comfy armchair whilst the choir, who had come from Kings College, Cambridge, sung Christmas carols.  I was asleep when they called my name!  :-)Nothing has changed, my prognosis is the same but I felt that they cared, and that is all I really want.  He told me to take pain medication all the time, not just when I needed it and to stop trying to ride out the pain as it wasnt going to happen. I have heard others on slow release morphine and they also appreciate it.  Does it make you constantly tired?  as you probably know I have refused chemo and radiotherapy but I have a feeling that they may offer it as palliative care. My cancer only has about 12 - 15 months from the date of recurrence (so I am nearly at my sell by date),  so I don't understand how this will help. 

Well, I hope you are as well as you can be, Max, and you have a wonderful Christmas surrounded by all that you love! x

Hi Pauline ..... the slow release morphine is truly brilliant for me. Nope I don't feel tired on it although I would say it takes 2-3weeks to settle and start doing its job so you may feel a little tired initially.  You can take 10-60mg twice a day and I am only taking 10mg x 2 increasing to 20mg x 2 the week after chemo when I always seem in more pain. I take ORAMORPH in between doses for a top up if needed but I rarely do.  A warning is that it causes constipation which in my case is great because my chemo causes diarrhoea haha!

I would imagine that chemo and/or radiotherapy would be to slow the cancer PAuline.  In my case it is doing a blooming good job and in many other people here too.  Ultimately it is your decision but don't rule it out completely. Maybe gather a lot more information about it and talk it over more fully with your GP, Oncologist and McMillan.  You can then make an informed decision rather than working on hearsay or assumption.

  Good luck and I'm so glad you have found the support you need at the hospital - it makes such a difference x

Hello Max,

Thanks for your reply, yes it's very scary to hear you have an alien in your brain, they removed mine to see if it was breast related as the breast surgeon said it couldn't, wouldn't be. Wrong! They could 't biopsy the lung because of the  position it is in and the biopsy of the brain was the same procedure as removal so they did that and got it all out although I still have symptoms, unbalance and nausea, so not sure if it will eventually go or if there is some damage there. The last scan was o k so that's great. I have no symptoms from the lung and it is small but I would have to have half of my lung removed because of where it is so they are sticking with Letrozole . Big celebrations coming for you! Enjoy.

Eileen 

Hi Max, your post has given me some hope for my mum who was diagnosed with secondary liver cancer on the 18th November. I feel like my world has fell apart and my mum feels like she is going to die today it's awful. She was told without chemo she would have 4-6 weeks but with 6-12months. She started chemo on weds with cisplatin and gemticabine and has been admitted today with a high temp suspected infection and is hardly awake we are so worried. You post has given us a glimmer of hope thank you

Hi, Max, I would love to take sleeping tablets but because the cancer is affecting my bladder when I lay down to sleep I get dreadful pain and my bladder stops working.  I then have to walk around for an hour or so to get things moving.  This happens 4 or 5 times a night so I get no sleep.  Do you have a syringe dtiver?  I have been referred to the pain clinic at the local hospice but I am waiting to see the oncologist with results of my scan .  I go to see him on 6th January, so not too long.

Going to my daughter's tomorrow for dinner, so looking forward toit.  My other daughter and 5 of my grandchildren will be there too.  

I hope you have a lovely, peaceful, pain-free Christmas, Max x

Hi Pauline .... I can certainly see why sleeping tablets are a bit tricky in your case!  I'm not on a syringe driver but have been helped so much by Zomorph which is slow-release tablet-form morphine.  I take it twice a day at 12hr intervals and top up with liquid Oramorph if needed.  Being almost pain-free has changed  my life Pauline.  It is weird because I was thinking today and realized that although my disease is more wide-spread I actually feel better than I did at this time last year!  It has taken a loving and supportive GP and a lot of trial and error/time to sort things out though. I guess one size doesn't fit all!

I bet you are looking forward to being with family tomorrow! How do you find eating?

I hope you have a great time Pauline. I will be thinking of you.  We are hoping for good weather and a couple of dog walks.  Then obligatory card games I hope haha!  We are getting away for a couple of days next week with both our son and daughter which will be great.

Just had to mention that we went to the Christmas Carol service at canterbury cathedral this afternoon. Talk about chills up the spine as the choir walked through!  Magical!

Sending you and your family much love Pauline x