Hi Girls,

Well, I had my telephone consultation - all 3 minutes of it!  As expected it was quite  cursory.  I asked what would have happened if I had gone in to the breast clinic. The reply was that I would have been examined, and given an appointment for my next mammogram, in September, then discharged. !!??
I asked about the ultrasound guided drainage of my seroma, which has been cancelled, she didn't know anything about it!  She asked if I had been given a new date for it and when I said it had just been completely cancelled. She said she would see that it was sorted for when all this nonsense is over with. I then asked her about a new thing that I have experienced recently to see if it was a known side effect of the Letrozole. I get cramp in my legs, in bed, not the usual calf muscle cramp I have occasionally  experienced, it comes right down the outside of my leg, from knee to ankle, no idea what that muscle is called. She hadn't heard of it and I said I was just telling her about it because the paperwork says to report anything different. I don't think she made a note of it.  The last thing she said was they would see me in about three months!  
Yesterday, someone in our neighbourhood group put up the message, "8pm, Clap for Boris" I deleted my reply before sending it, because these people are my neighbours and I don't want to antagonise them.  I don't know if they did go out and clap.

I spent a couple of hours grooming the fur ball yesterday- he hates it, but I was very gentle and he got a nice treat at the end of it.  Had another go with the painting, still don't know if I like it.  When I like a painting I've done, it goes on a wall somewhere so I can see it, if I don't like it it goes in a cupboard out of sight.  That cupboard is getting very full!

I've just seen something about keeping cats indoors because of the CV, don't know why, yet, just thought of it because I know you have cats, Sam.

I hope you get more satisfaction from your consultation, Caroline. It sounds as though they wouldn't have checked for more cancer until a year has gone by, anyway, so I'm just going with the flow!

Another exciting day ahead- walk Archie, next, then I'm going to get up close and personal with the cleaning equipment, ie vacuum cleaner and mop and if it stays fine I might mow the front lawn. I did the tiny back one a couple of days ago. 
Stay safe!

Christinexx

Hi ladies,

Christine, interesting to hear about your call. That is what I kind of expected would happen. I might just ring them and say I'm happy to wait until October.  I do need to ask if they will be doing an ultra sound as my cancer didn't show up on a mammogram. 
Love hearing all your news and what you've been up to and feeling a little bit envious of the slow down of your life style. 
As to be expected life working in the hospital is busy busy but I'm enjoying the business and learning new roles.

will let you know when I've called the breast team and what they say.

Caroline xx

Hi Girls,

Just a quickie, I got a message last night, to log in to the hospital patient portal, which I did, to find a letter inviting me to a General Surgery appointment with the Breast Specialist Nurses team on Wed 8 July at 8.45 am. I wasn't told about this at my telephone consultation but this was, obviously what she meant when she said she would see my in three months.  

 Cxx

Christine
Wow, 3 whole minutes eh? If your BCN does the things that she should not altogether a waste of time I guess?
My letrozole side effects are all bone & muscle related and in reading about others haven't come across your symptoms, I do hope the BCN made a note of these things, I mean how busy can the BCNs be when most things are cancelled/shortened/delayed?
I think the "clap for Boris" instruction was STD related, fear not, no-ones stupid enough to congratulate him the same way as nurses etc.
Yeah I saw the article too, it was encouraging those with cv to keep their beasts inside, if I had it & did it to mine they would knock a hole in the door/wall/me....let's hope it doesn't come to that!
Don't get confused and mop the lawn, I'm still on no housework - more through choice as the days go by, when it gets really bad I may do something about it.  Did I mention that I have very low standards when it comes to cleanliness & chores.
Did a stretching class online yesterday, couldn't do some of the stuff re duff arm but feels a lot better today re reduced numbness & seroma, I've also started the magic stroking that you recommended so that will be helping it feel more like the other arm too.

Caroline
You should be even more envious of my life if its the slow-life you're after!  My only exertions are getting out of bed in the morning (thanks to Letrazole!) and exercising - this is how life should be....and I managed to get an on-line delivery slot for 19th so will do a big/heavy shop to supplement my one bag for life trips into town.

So today's thrilling instalment in this cv story is a barre class (ooo get me!), finishing my book and shopping for stuffed pepper ingredients...gosh, am tired at the thought!! Ha!

Have a good and chocolate filled (for normal people, not me) Easter weekend

Sam X
 

Happy Easter,

I don't think it will be choc laden for everyone, I've had my chocolate order noted as not available on my daughter's Ocado order.  She has just told me she's got a delivery slot for next Thursday but I had to get my shopping list to her in the next hour, so it's very much a guess as you go list. I need to be able to browse to know what I really want.  Fruit, fresh fruit and vegetables and milk are what I always need so they are on the list. Saves money, though, not being able to impulse buy that lovely cake or whatever else has been put there to tempt us.
 

Sam, I think I have given you the wrong impression of my housewifery. I am very happy to ignore house cleaning until the dog hairs on the floor threaten to clog up the vacuum cleaner, which is when I scrape them with rubber soles shoes and create long ropes of hair that can be picked up by hand! I'm a firm believer in doing the necessary stuff and ignoring the rest. I like clean, but dusty and untidy don't get to me that much. Having said that, yesterday I nearly did myself in with the Good Friday cleaning.  It was a ritual when I was a girl that Good Friday morning was when the house got scrubbed from top to bottom and you recovered in church in the afternoon! I don't go to church any more but the cleaning gets done. I recovered in the garden with a good book!

I'm a bit worried about your arm, Sam, I never had any problem with the stretching exercises, and was able to fully extend my arm even when I had the cording. I suppose it's still early days, though.

My silly knee has become painful again, but my new physio who examined me over video the other day has given me a new set of exercises, and I have an app on my phone that guides me through them and records my diligence. I get the chance to give feedback, and say if I had any pain, on the app. One of the new exercises gave me cramp which I reported and I'm not going to do that one again until I hear from her.

Well,  it's a gorgeous day. We have already been up the lane, the deer were clearly visible today, and some of the horses had been let out into the field.  Last year three of the mares had foals, but there were only two horses out today, one was lying down sunning herself and the other was looking very rounded in the belly so we might be having more babies this year.  I love that lane in the summer with all the animals. We get lots of baby deer, baby horses, usually lots of lambs, but they must be on another field, this year as I haven't seen any sheep at all. The bird life up there is fabulous, too. A little patch of heaven! Last year I wasn't feeling well enough to enjoy it as much, so I'm looking forward to daily treks this year.

Have a lovely weekend, despite the lockdown!

Love

Christine xx

Hi lovely ladies,

I managed to have a restful day on Friday. Like you Christine, I did my cleaning/washing in the morning then sat and read a book in the garden. Yesterday I did a 9 hour day at work. Off today then work tomorrow. My alcohol consumption seems to be creeping up so need to get that in check!!! Think I get home from a manic day at work and am treating myself but I need to get back to no alcohol on a week day! 
We are very lucky where we live, that we have the countryside on our doorstep so can get out for some lovely dog walks, although he has been limping for the past 2 days, after chasing a deer! He forgets he's 9 years old and over did the excersion! Seemed better yesterday so might take him on a short walk today.

Luckily I bought Easter eggs about 3 weeks ago so we do have chocolate here. And we have had loads of lovely donations at the hospital so I did sit and eat a whole Easter egg while at work yesterday (did feel quite sick afterwards)

Hope you have a lovely Easter!

Caroline xx

Hi there

Had a thrilling radiotherapy planning session earlier in week, pity it was at 8.45 in the morning otherwise would have been a nice time out! So am all lined up & tattooed (was quite disappointed to learn that in order to get a teardrop below the eye prison tattoo, as that's what these dots are, you have to murder someone...mind you the time may come!).

I start rads on 30th April and finish ( all being well) 21st May so we're all set.  Picked 11am as my time so I have time to put makeup on (not sure I'll remember how given its been so long!) and don't have to get up earlier than normally do.  They took a picture of my face Tues and i did point out to them that all being well will look even more gorgeous when they see me next!

Apparently I get a call the day before re maintenance during rads, moisturising & stuff I guess.

Oh and got my 6 monthly follow up meeting letter for mid-September, its currently planned as a meeting but time will tell..

Still aching on arm mainly but also seroma, oh and my legs impacted by hormone tablets, you're right Christine, will call BCN when I can be bothered (tomorrow) to check all is well in this respect & see if any physio type exercises can be recommended.

Also managed, amazingly, after 4 wks of trying, to get through to the DWP as can claim ESA to supplement the insurance payouts (that assume you get this benefit) so fingers crossed on that one.

Christine 

Hope the new exercises are doing their job and the app is recording you doing them all diligently...its like knee exercise big brother!

It sounds so idyllic where you love and makes me yearn for the north even more..far too built up and full of people (mainly idiots) round here.

Caroline

Glad you had a "good" good Friday, you deserve it, hope the book was good.  When it gets nicer I'll get back to mine...the garden is the best spot for reading, too many distractions when in the house I find.

My friends have similar thoughts re the creeping alcohol consumption, luckily I'm not yet back on it but soon....and sounds like an excellent Easter diet combined with the whole Easter egg!

Am lucky I don't like chocolate to was bought some fudge instead (salted as prefer savoury to sweet stuff), give me cheese over puddings any day - as long as its blue & stinky happy days...

Ordered a jigsaw earlier so the spare room is now my jigsaw room, that does however mean those curtains are still getting no attention whatsoever...oh dear!

Hope you and your furry beasts are all well.

X

Hi Girls,

Good to hear from you both.  I got an Easter egg today!  My daughter delivered my shopping from her Ocado delivery and included an Easter egg she had been given but couldn't eat as she is dairy intolerant,  

My new exercise regime is very Big Brother! I didn't know at first that it has a timer to make sure I do them properly. It certainly makes you scared to miss them because it has "results" which show where you have missed them.  There are things I haven't sussed out yet, too. I wish these things came with instructions!  I don't know how helpful they are, yet, as I'm still taking tablets at night to stop it hurting when I'm at rest. I'm walking ok though, so as long as I can do that I'm happy.

My brother told me he is drinking more while at home all the time. He says he'll look like a drunken yeti by the time this ends and he gets his hair cut.  I think he sometimes wears pjs all day, too! 

Fortunately, I'm not in the habit of drinking as I'm usually the designated driver when I go out with the family or friends. A glass of good wine at dinner in a restaurant and a gin and tonic as the first drink of the evening if we go to the pub is about it, except for Christmas when they come to me and the Bailey's comes out!

Well, some of my mad neighbours decided that we would sing Over the Rainbow when we had our communal clapping for carers. We've just done it and the people from round the corner are putting messages up saying well done. Well done? It was pathetic from where I stood.  It was like at church when they play a hymn no one knows and people just open and shut their mouths and the noises coming out are not exactly musical.

I got a letter about my checkup phone call and the nurse did note the cramp I have been getting in my legs since starting the Letrozole and confirmed my new appointment in July, although we could still be in lockdown by then from the looks of things.

While I was out doing the clapping, I knew Archie was up to something because he didn't follow me out,  I didn't think it could have been much, but when I came in he was chowing down on the ham and salad sandwich I had put to one side when I answered the phone earlier.  I'm hungry now and would have loved that sandwich, but I know I'm going to eat rhubarb crumble instead, or even Easter egg!

Another lovely day today, so I spent the afternoon in the garden, reading, after I'd mowed both lawns and picked rhubarb and made rhubarb crumble for my daughter, my neighbour and myself. I think it's going to change soon. One newspaper said we're in for icy blasts!  Lovely!

Take care, stay safe 

xxx

Love reading you ladies chats.  I have been there with breast cancer but was one of the lucky ones as everything was very straightforward from diagnosis, op, radiotherapy and then discharged.  Started in July 2019 and discharged February this year.  Keep strong ladies, and keep your sense of humour.  My husband and I are unable to go further than our front garden as he suffers from COPD (he is very well at the moment thankfully).  Our garden is looking the best it has for ages as it is getting tended every day. I envy you the walks, shopping trips and freedom.  We get online deliveries from Morrisons which is usually the highlight of the week.  We then spend ages disinfecting it with 'whisky' which is the only alcohol based stuff we have in the house!  Take care, stay safe and all the best on your cancer journey.