H

Had results today from biopsy on tonsil and now know its cancer, its all been really quick what with scans and hospital visits so not really had time to think about it now it's just starting to sink in but I'm pretty positive, I'm told its spread to a lymph node has anyone else had this 

HiAli

I am sorry to hear your diagnosis, but the first thing I would say is there is always hope. Al my friend here has the same and is currently undergoing all the treatment. He is having a six week course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy over most of the week meaning daily trips. The first thing they have to do is make sure you have no teeth that will get corroded by treatment so need removing first,. They then measure you for the mask this apparently is quite comfortable. They then arrrange the neginnings of the treatment. It will not be easy so you will need a good support system around you - family, macmillans, friends especially when you have down days. Some people loose taste buds during treatment some can find swallowing hard but if you look back on our talks there are mouth exeercises to do. 

Find all the exciting food things you love that are highly flacoured and stock up you will need to keep your weight up and need things that are exciting to make you smile. 

good luck i am here is you want to talk. 

stay strong x

We reached 200 posts on this thread yesterday!

congratulations on the 200 posts.  

the funeral was lovely to watch and really personal for Prince Phillip. Feel for the Queen she will miss him. 

I also painted yesterday lol i painted a wall in the living room in the dinningroom area. it is gettting there. Might do the bit of skirting underneath day. 

sun is shinning and did get outside yesterday moved 2 stones but they are heavy and i should not really move them due to my back but am like a bull in a cina shop plough on regardless !! you need that determination to get through anything you have to in life. it was quite cold outside and looks like the same today. 

Hair done - yay respectable again !! not that iam the sort of person who really cares what people think about my looks but feels good and long side hides my lump nicely. Not sure what made me go radical perhaps I need a new episode in my chapter now. Things to mell over. 

Glad Al you liked the day bed i love watching the world go by so i bet that was fun and relaxing. 

Alli dont worry about the appointment - try to chill it will come when it does. as Al says enjyoy the time you have at this moment find something lovely to do today with your son, or on your own and enjoy every minute. 

finishing cuppa with pedro lying next to me. have a good day. 

keep smiling x

Morning

A lovely sunny day hope it is sunny by you Al and you have a fab day with your friends today on your lovely day bed, I couldn't watch the funeral just looked at bits it was to sad but he had a long and wonderful life, just feel so sorry for the queen, off out for a drive today I'm a bit nervous going anywhere were its to busy but maybe we will find somewhere quiet will just be nice to be out, finally managed yesterday to rake up last of leaves and went for a walk to I'm paying for it now I ache in places I forgot I could ache lol, hope your new hairstyle turned out nice Elona I'm sure it looks lovely and good luck with the doctor tomorrow hopefully they can give you an idea of treatment and when it will start the waiting to know is no fun

Have a great day

Allison x

HI

had a good day yesterday watched coming 2 America and laughed no end it was a really good and funny film. If you liked the first one then you will like this one only it is on Amazon unfortunately so you have to have that. A good distraction. 

hope Alli you enjoyed your drive it is good to get out hubby and I are planing to go into town Wednesday. 

Hope Al you had a good enjoyable day with your friends yesterday.

Dismantled the old hen coup yesterday boy it opens up the garden no end with space !!!! hard work so no heavy moving around today. as it is quite glum outside will concentrate on doing a job indoors. still sticking to a job a day keeps me going or i probably wouldnt bother!! Have also started writing the chapter on hedgehog diets quite interesting finding out that the first person to discover what hedgehogs ate was part of the Bronz zoo. 

Hubby is entertaining Pedro outside who is being a true adolescent dog these last couple of days!! a true pain in preverbial lol constantly wanting attention and barking at everything. even the dog bone i got him yesterday didnt work lol. So iam left drinking my cuppa with Rasputin curled up next to me. He is an adult cat i rescued before i moved. he had been coming round to eat and was getting a bit used to me then one day i noticed a lump on his face and swelling poor man he wouldnt let me see then and it wasnt until a week before we moved that i grabbed him got him in to be castrated and notied that the injury had been from hitting a car and breaking his jaw so now he dribbles all the time has hi tongue out and a lumo on chin. We called him Rasputin after the Russian and because as an adult he had probably sown a few oats in his time lol. 

sun is trying to emerge so enjoy, have a good day everone. 

keep smiling x

Morning

Rasputin sounds adorable Elona, Gary has a cat hes called Softlad he was a stray I had been feeding at mine and we couldn't find his owners so Gary adopted him, he's very friendly and very vocal I didnt know cats could meow so much lol he's quite a character, a bit more action on the bird table a couple of jackdaws were monopolizing it yesterday as the wood pigeon looked on with disgust from the roof of the shed but they didn't stay long and normal activity resumed and the wrens came back but no sign of my robin. Hope you had a lovely day with your friends Al and the weather stayed nice yesterday for you, the weather was nice here so after we had a drive up to witchurch and through all the lovely villages we went to Garys he lit the fire pit and made a scrummy dinner and we sat in the garden for rest of day which I thoroughly enjoyed, off to see my mum and dad today he's not been very well hes 81 and was in hospital before Xmas and is very frail, going with Gary and my daughter Emma so another nice day planned, Elona I will look out for that film is it the one with Eddie Murphy in ? I've been stocking up on dvds and will put a tv in my room with DVD player for days I feel rough during treatment

Hope you have a lovely day 

Allison x

morning, 

apologise if writing gets a bit dyslexic looking but have woken up feeling really dizzy got up at 4am with the world spinning so much quite scary and is still abit yuck. Bed day me thinks lol. Ecuse not to do anything anyway. 

Love Softlad what a wonderful name and how original. Cats are my first love i ahve always had them i currently have six and they have theor own individual characters. Rum Tum Tugger has just jumped of my lap he is one of my bengal cats and named after tS elliott cherico cats. full of mischief and amazing. the three of them were picked up from kids that werere throwing them at brick walls so Rolo Lee Haggis and Rumpleteazer had to loose both of their eyes and Rolo has lost some of his orbital bione but boy he does not behave like a blind boy he jumpos at you and is really brave. the problem is he does not sit on your lap but trys to sit on youjr face!!!!

your bird table Alli sounds fantastic mine has been quiet recentlhy or perhaps have not been looking at right time. 

AL hope your ok and not been over doing things?

phone call with doctors a disaster yesterday so came of feeling sad. Apparentoy the biopsies shoould have been stained to identify the cause so i should not have had to wait for cause. the referral should have happened so doctor is going to try and chase up for me. Hace to speak to work this afterniin as doctor said cannot go back until i have had the referral. more hassle. 

anyway sounds like Alli you are goung to have a goo dday - brilliant hope you will have a good day to Al. 

cuddle a cat day!!

keep smiling 

- oh uyes Eddie Murphy.

x 

Hi Elona and Alli :)

Had a great day with our friends, seeing them again on the 22nd May.  We always meet up for Eurovision - please don't judge me :laugh:  When we lived in the same place we would go to each others houses each year, sadly couldn't do it in 2020 so will make up this year.  Don't think I will be able to drive to theirs, so they are going to be coming back to us.   I was so tired yesterday, slept through most of it.  Found out today that my iron levels are low, so that's not helping with the fatigue.

We loved Coming to America, so will definitley give number 2 ago.  Another film worth watching (Netflix this one) is Love and Monsters, it's very silly but very well made.

Elona you tell me to take it easy, but reading your posts I think one needs to take a leaf out of ones own book lol.  So sorry to learn that doc didn't go well, more waiting :(  The NHS are either brilliant or rubbish, there seems to be no inbetween.  I hope that you manage to sort out your dizzy spell, finger crossed it was a one off.

Alli it's a good idea to get a stock of films etc.  You'll be glad of them over the coming weeks, though if you end up being anything like me you'll end up sleeping through half of them :)  A few posts back you mentioned not feeling ill, that's the thing with this pre treatment, you feel great some days, like there is nothing wrong, almost to the point of feeling guilty.  Enjoy it is my advice to you.  I also forgot yo mention that after you have your mask fitting you go for a pre radio appointment where they set up the machine, when I had mine they also gave me a tiny tattoo on my chest.  They use this to help correctly line up the machine each time.

One of my favourite cats that we had was a stray that adopted us, Stumpy was his name.  We called him stumpy as he had a silly stumpy tail.  He was the most lovable cat with a huge permanent smile.  Sadly he passed with an unknown illness.  They tested him for everything, but to no avail.  We now have two cats Twonky and Bubble, two dogs Eggie and Spoonie and 5 birds Popty & Ping (Lovebirds), Cheesecake (Cockatiel), Monet and Da Vinci (Budgies).   The wife says no more pets lol.

Another beautiful day here in the valleys, apparently we are in for a week of it :)  I hope that the sun is shinning with you both too.

Stay Strong.

Al x

Hi

That's not good Elona hope your feeling better, what will happen now about your treatment hope they sort things out soon it's making you really poorly, I can't believe how cruel people can be to hurt animals like that unfortunately in your job you probably see a lot of it. Finally got phone appt with oncologist its tomorrow 10.30 so will know what's ahead with a bit of luck, had a lovely day at mums and the weather was glorious so we sat outside for hours my eldest daughter came as well who I hadn't seen for months,and have just spent a lovely couple of  hours chatting to my friend in the garden so think I have well and truly topped up my vitamin d. Hope your ok Al and you had a lovely day Sunday 

Have a lovely day

Alli x

Hi Al 

Glad your ok I'm a message behind again story of my life lol, my son has helped my navigate this a bit but I'm still rubbish but have managed to send friend requests, it sounds like you had a lovely day with your friends and as things get back to normal you can have lots more, that sounds like a lot of pets and the names are fab I may be wrong but someone told me once that poptyping was Welsh for microwave I think they were kidding, I don't have any pets now we had a cat misty that was my mum's, she got depressed when mum got another cat so we took her she was lovely but she started getting nose bleeds and couldnt breath properly  and vets couldn't figure out what was wrong she got really poorly and had to be put to sleep she was 13, my daughter has just got 2 guinea pigs called Ben and Jerry and there so cute

Alli x

Popty Ping is indeed a Welsh word for Microwave :laugh:  

Popty Ping is indeed a Welsh word for Microwave :laugh:  

Haha I thought they were pulling my leg, I think i will use that name from now on its so much better than microwave 

Alli x

lol I love that name too!!!!!

morning 

bit dull this morning but not too bad. 

hahaha to eurovision!!! the hubby as a true rocker and metal head absolutely detests the veurovision, howver, there was a take off on you tube last year that was absolutely brilliant. i find the original amusing at times but the scoring too long drawn out. i dont think though i have actually watched one all the way through! 

Al will look out for that film. thanks. told hubby name of microwave and he thought it was brilliant!

hubby is having second covid jab friday - we are hoping they will be able to do mine too. At least that will be oned thing done then. 

Alli good luck with the mdt phone call. 

bit disappointed with some of my plug plants but then surpose thats always the risk you get with offers. the plugs were so tiny the journey did not help so think will loose half of them. some of the geraniums ding well, so keep hoping. have now got 5 butternut squash plants so really pleased. they obviously just needed a good tallking too!

Al love your pets names and Alli your girls guinea pigs! 

i have two hens celeste and cecilly who live with sir reggie perrin. five koi carp two originals were named susies spirit and sharras soul. 6 cats rum tum tugger, rolo lee haggis, rumpleteazer, rodney, stanzia, rasputin, 2 dogs pedro and shugs and an african grey socrates. most have come from work lol never work at a vetslol. like Al we have to say no more at moment cannot go back to ten cats like we were two years ago!!! they all have amazing stories but are all wonderfully affectionate. thesevare my family!

having another restfukl day, hope you all have a good day

enjoy your days keep smiling

x

Hello

Sun is struggling to come out and a bit cooler today here, will have to stay out of Sun today as my face got a bit burnt after sitting out yesterday kept thinking I was having a hot flush till I looked in mirror lol. Hope you are feeling better today Elona you and Al are so lovely to take care of so many pets I love all the names you have for them. Had my phone appt off the oncologist and he explained I would have 30 sessions of radiation over 6wks you were right Al and 2 sessions of chemo, he said they do either 2 big doses or 6 smaller ones so they have gone with the 2 doses for me, I will be going in the next week or so for scan and mask fitting and to see dentist I think all in one day, he mentioned about feeding tube and said I might be better getting it fitted in the beginning did they discuss that with you Al ?  he also said that I have a 70 to 80 percent chance of beating it so feeling very positive. 

Just filled the bird table with goodies so will sit with cuppa and wait for feathered visitors 

Have a great day

All I x

MOrning 

lovely here too thats good. 

Alli glad you have had your chat sounds really positive and thats great just got to remember when you feel down to have something to remind yourself of the positiivity that there is that lovely light at the end of the tunnel with lots of hope. 

thank you am feeling better today as Al says you have up and down days well i do too! now furloughed until end May so dont need to worry about work, one relief of my mind. 

I like to write all sorts of things here, the animals, the birds etc because although this is for everyone to share expereinces and we do it is I also feel a place of hope and to make peopple smile a welcome distraction in the hard times people go through. so if i can make people smile and give. little distraction i have helped. (i hope). 

The mini mafia has been spotted down the garden so the banners are out - declaration of war is being discussed in the war room of the bungalow and plans are being drawn to expel them from the garden - humanely! may involve cementing more holes and barracading. 

some light painint today i think and going to make an indian for tomorrow. Cant eat spicy food like i used to which is a shame but then sometimes you get more taste without too much spice anyway. Have not tried butter chicken AL like you suggested but am allergic to cream so have to be a it careful, will have a look at the recipe. -oh and will look up that film you suggested. 

enjoy the sun today and get rest

keep smiling x

Hi Al

Was wondering did they give you a full body scan pre treatment or just head and neck

Alli x

Hello

It's been a massive help being able to come on here and listen to all the lovely positive things you say its been a godsend, I look forward to reading about what all the animals are like and the mini mafia, I think your hubby will miss making up the stories about them when they go lol maybe you could get him to write the stories down would make great children's books. Had my appt date its Tuesday apparently it's for dentist scan and mask fitting so a busy day I'm getting transport from them as I don't drive and Gary's in work so I don't have to worry, so looks like the balls rolling now also had pack in post about treatment the chemo I'm having is called Carboplatin. Hope your ok Al and feeling better each day I didn't ask did you lose your hair, can't say I'm that worried you can get some amazing wigs and I would save a fortune on shampoo lol. Good news about being furloughed Elona that means you can concentrate on getting well and not have to worry about work

Hope you have a lovely day in the sun

Alli x

Hello Elona :)

Cor blimey it's hard to keep up with you two :laugh:

I find it hard to get on here every day so for ever playing catch up lol.  Away a bit longer this time, had my second covid jab on Tuesday morning.  Went to bed at 10pm Tuesday night, woke up a few times through the night with night sweats (nothing unusual there).  Got up at 6am feeling blooming awful, flu like symptoms.  Slept on the sofa all day, went back to bed around 9pm on Wednesday.  Woke up 8am Thursday feeling better than I had in a long time, go figure.  We worked out that I slept for 34 hours!!!

Anyway back on the straight and narrow :happy:  Throat has cleared right up in the last week, looks like there was never anything wrong with it.  Tonsil has gone right down as has my biggest node, which looked at one time like I was trying to grow another head.  Throat still very painful though.  My Mum, who was in the medical profession for over 50 years, seems to think that the pain is down to my nerves fixing themselves.  Which makes sense.  Fingers crossed a few more weeks and I will be pain free :happy:  Myself, my Wife and my Mum are going to England mid May to see my two other daughters (I haven't seen them for over a year :sad:).  My target is to be eating enough to have had my tube removed by then.  I have found that I can eat very plain foods, I had boiled rice and a boiled egg yesterday.  Stomach must have shrunk as I could only eat half the rice and two thirds of the egg, wont do much for my calorie intake.  Off to buy some rice puds today.

The flowers arrived, all 125 of them, Yay!!!  A mix of Petunia and Geraniums, all arrived in perfect condition with the words 'Warning Live Babies Inside'.  They also answered a question that I had for you, what are plugs?  I now know as these plants are plugs, every day is a school day.  So easy and fun to plant, can't wait for them to grow now.  Also transplanted my sprouts to outside on Tuesday, going to transplant the herbs today, but keep them inside till May.

Goodness this has been about me, me, me lol.

I can see that your hubby would not be a Eurovision fan.  We use it as an excuse for a party, we love the fact that it is so rubbish and by the time it gets to the scoring we are a few too many sheets to the wind.  Although this year I will be sober, scary.

I am sure that you can make butter chicken with cream alternatives and it'll still be as nice.

Loving the stories of the mini mafia, Alli is right there is a book there somewhere.  I illustrated a childrens book a few moons back.  It was for my late brother in law who sadly passed at the age of just 30.  I still have the original artwork and plan to do something with it in his memory.  Also thinking of writing a follow on book.  Too much thinking and not enough doing.

I hope you are feeling better today Elona, the sun is shinning here again.  If you can stay awake, or you are up between midnight and dawn.  Look up into the heavens and you should be greeted with a meteor show.  One of the best of the year, usually between 30 and 100 shooting stars an hour at its peak.  Last night and tonight are the best nights to watch.

Hope you have a great day

Stay Strong

Al' x

Hi Alli :happy:

Sorry for the delay with a reply to your questions, I was on my back post second covid jab (Oxford).  Slept for 34 hours!  Quite common apparently.

I'll start with your last question and work backwords, easier scrolling up :)

My first two scans, MRI and CT were just head and neck.  Closer to treatment I had a PET Scan which was full body.  The PET Scan is to see if the cancer has 'Metastasised' (Spread) to any other parts of the body.  If you are HPV+ then there is a very good chance that it has not as it is rare for HPV+ to spread further than local tissue, I believe.

With regards to the feeding tube it was discused with the oncologist, although it was the dietitian who talked me into it a few weeks into treatment.  In hindsight I would have had it fitted at the beginning.  Mainly because there is a 99% chance that it will be needed anyway.  The throat and potantially the mouth do become painful and uncomfortable, so getting it fitted early will relieve later stress.  The tube fitting is easier than you think it will be.  It is a bit uncomfortable and scratchy for a day or two, but you soon get used to it.  It quickly becomes part of you and you forget that its even there.  I just tuck it behind my ear and into the neck of a shirt.  You can still eat and drink normally whilst you have the tube.  But at least it's there when you need it.  Also the treatment can cause the flippy flap that stops food entering your windpipe to stop working properly.  If this happens you will definitley be happy for the tube.

I see that you are seeing the dentist, scan and mask fitting all in one day.  It is a whirlwind at this stage, feels like your feet are not touching the ground and so much info to deal with.  Everyone you see will chat to you and give you yet more info laden paperwork to divulge.  if you let it it will make your head explode, we simply got a folder (which is now breaking at the seems) and added the paperwork to it, getting it out to read when ready to do so.  My amazing wife did most of the reading and note taking allowing me to consentrate on getting better.  If you do need to have any teeth removed you will probably find that you will have to wait at least 10 days before treatment starts to give your gums time to heal.  Dentist will explain all this.  

I had 6 chemo, so I have no idea how they do two big ones.  This option was not given to me.  70% to 80% chance of beating it are very good odds, same as me :happy:  3 more months and I will have another PET Scan to see how successful the treatment has been.

At your stage we stocked up with soft foods like Rice Pudding, Custard, Ice Cream, Soup, Fish in Sauce etc.  We didn't use many of them as it was my total loss of taste that caused me to stop eating rather than pain in the throat and mouth, but I was very lucky in that sense.  However I will be needing them as I come out the other side as my throat is no longer used to swallowing more solid food.  Even with boiled rice I have to swallow water after each mouthful to help it down.  You will be given mouth and throat exercises to do, my advice do them!

Alli I hope that this is of help, if only a little.  Take each day at a time.

Hope that the sun is shinning with you.

Stay Strong

Al x

Morning 

sun is definately shinning and looking nice. We are both hoping to get our second jabs today hubby is excited he is hankering me to take him to town! 

there was a huge commotion in the carport last night we think the wedding reception had the usual fisty cuffs!! or the alligators had been invited back for the party and got annoyed that the food was a bit scarsce! on my list for a real sort out but need someone to help me shift some heavy bits of furniture. 

Brilliant to hear about the plants Al sounds like you should have a lot of colour this year how pretty that will be. you must have had some decent size plugs mine were the tiniest ones not even 1cm across and am unfortunately loosing half of them. however, love seeing the others growing. I love things growing from seed or small it is fascinating and exciting all in one. My veggies are doing well not quite to the transpkanting stage yet but getting there. 

I have ordered a truffle kent cob tree to go in the corner of my new area being develpoed, should be exciting if i get a truffle in 4 years time. 

Alli no scan only covered neck and throat. Hope all goes well with dentist and enjoy the mask fitting Al said it was quite good. you will have to tell us what name you call yours. 

Al what fantastic news re your eating so plesed for you that is something to celebrate!! 

last night was hilarious. i was sitting on my bed and had rasputin next to me. rodney was on a small cat tree curled up and a couple of the bengal boys were around when a pigeon strolled across the fence outsode. we could not see the pigeon but his silhouette was apparent throught the blinds suddenly he moved rasputin flew up in the air after him and rodney shot across the room like he had seen a ghost !!! took a while before they all settled and pigeon landed on bird table to eat as if nothing happened. 

enjoy your days and the sun keep smiling x