It seems only yesterday that I heard the horrible diagnosis but now over five years since that terrible day, I have had my last oncology check up and all is well. I have finished taking anastrozole - thank goodness. Side effects are not good but my view is you do everything you have to to minimise the chances of this disease recurring. hopefully I will get a bit more normal life back.
I will still have annual check ups and mammograms with my surgeon every year for the next five years.
I am glad I live in this day and age and that medical advances continue to make dramatic changes to how this beastly disease is being beaten.
Sunday 2 November 2014
Monday 16 April 2012
Three years on -and it is still good news
Today was my annual mammogram checkup with the surgeon. I get a bit distracted in the run up to this and have a bit of a short fuse - But the surgeon spoke the magic words 'Your mammogram is absolutely clear' as soon as I walked into his office. Great feeling as though several kilos of worry had floated off my shoulders.
In general everything has gone well and the only lingering after effects are a slight degree of lymphodema in my right arm which aches a bit and tiredness as a result of poor sleep - that is down to taking Anastrazole but it has to be worth it for the benefits. I will stop taking it in November 2014.
In general everything has gone well and the only lingering after effects are a slight degree of lymphodema in my right arm which aches a bit and tiredness as a result of poor sleep - that is down to taking Anastrazole but it has to be worth it for the benefits. I will stop taking it in November 2014.
Tuesday 11 May 2010
4 Days to Go.
It is the 11th May and Friday is the big day. After all the preparation, money spending and menu discussions we are pretty well set up.
But as ever, the best laid plans etc. etc….I have a great big horrible insect bite on my cheek that won’t heal and will require a tanker full of concealer to disguise and…. The weather forecast for Friday is showing showers. And I think I am getting a cold.
But the show will go on. Our friends from New Zealand arrived on Saturday and guests begin to gather from various corners of the globe. Dietary requirements have been noted and we can confirm that we are catering for non dairy, vegetarian, non coconut, beef only, no fish and wheat allergy. The chef deserves a medal.
The table plan has finally been cast in stone…HEAR THIS EVERYONE…IT WILL NOT CHANGE AGAIN!
My best woman (who incidentally is on borrowed time along with one of my golfing friends after arranging the most outrageous hen party last Friday) tried to freak me out by deciding to wear fushia….Fine. Mother in law to be requires counseling because of indecision stress bought on by not being able to decide between blue and lavender.
And the groom…is colour blind so I have to buy his tie.
The best man is on the phone several times a day fretting about his speech. He has invited input from my partner’s golfing buddies. Needless to say the speech nearly ended up as a series of anecdotes about golf trips they have all been on. This will not happen.
The banqueting manager can’t spell so e-mails have sent pointing out that ‘mohito’ is actually ‘mojito’.
The florist has decided that the only way I can carry flowers and a clutch bag is to have a double ended arrangement. It will either look fabulous or be mistaken for a floral dumbbell. I dare anyone to say we are not trendsetters.
My son’s girlfriend is doing the reading but has been working all hours and doing loads of auditions (she’s an actress) so hasn’t had time to discuss it with us. She’ll be fine ….she’s professional…we’ll just tell her to think of it as a script.
Oh, and my hair dresser is currently stuck in Barcelona because of volcanic ash.
Here’s hoping the volcanic ash blows the other way, the sun comes out on Friday, the insect bite undergoes miraculous healing, and everyone has a good time.
I’ll let you know.
But as ever, the best laid plans etc. etc….I have a great big horrible insect bite on my cheek that won’t heal and will require a tanker full of concealer to disguise and…. The weather forecast for Friday is showing showers. And I think I am getting a cold.
But the show will go on. Our friends from New Zealand arrived on Saturday and guests begin to gather from various corners of the globe. Dietary requirements have been noted and we can confirm that we are catering for non dairy, vegetarian, non coconut, beef only, no fish and wheat allergy. The chef deserves a medal.
The table plan has finally been cast in stone…HEAR THIS EVERYONE…IT WILL NOT CHANGE AGAIN!
My best woman (who incidentally is on borrowed time along with one of my golfing friends after arranging the most outrageous hen party last Friday) tried to freak me out by deciding to wear fushia….Fine. Mother in law to be requires counseling because of indecision stress bought on by not being able to decide between blue and lavender.
And the groom…is colour blind so I have to buy his tie.
The best man is on the phone several times a day fretting about his speech. He has invited input from my partner’s golfing buddies. Needless to say the speech nearly ended up as a series of anecdotes about golf trips they have all been on. This will not happen.
The banqueting manager can’t spell so e-mails have sent pointing out that ‘mohito’ is actually ‘mojito’.
The florist has decided that the only way I can carry flowers and a clutch bag is to have a double ended arrangement. It will either look fabulous or be mistaken for a floral dumbbell. I dare anyone to say we are not trendsetters.
My son’s girlfriend is doing the reading but has been working all hours and doing loads of auditions (she’s an actress) so hasn’t had time to discuss it with us. She’ll be fine ….she’s professional…we’ll just tell her to think of it as a script.
Oh, and my hair dresser is currently stuck in Barcelona because of volcanic ash.
Here’s hoping the volcanic ash blows the other way, the sun comes out on Friday, the insect bite undergoes miraculous healing, and everyone has a good time.
I’ll let you know.
Monday 29 March 2010
Anniversary
The 13 March was the anniversary of D-Day (Diagnosis Day). As it approached I found it hard to believe that so much had happened in a year, and that I am now getting on with life as normal despite everything. My surgeon, Mr P, arranged for a mammogram a week before the D-Day anniversary and I saw him a week later for the results. Everything was absolutely fine and he doesn’t want to see me again for 12 months! – How brilliant is that?
So the hair continues to grow, the golf is getting a bit better, and I have spent a lot of money on wedding stuff.
The visit to Rigby and Peller resulted in a sexy black basque that requires the help of at least one other person to get done up. Then it was off to the dressmaker, Ling, for the ‘calico’ fitting. Much pinning and pricked fingers as I kept forgetting where the pins were. It was a bit hard to visualise the final product from the white calico version but Ling seemed happy with the result.
LK Bennett proved to be the place for shoes and handbag (I love that shop) – I left with a red hot, smoking credit card and went straight to a wonderful place in Guildford called The Mad Hatter. This is a tiny shop down a side street full of the most fantastic hats you have ever seen. I could have spent all day in there just trying them on.
When I explained what I wanted and showed her a picture of the outfit, the owner categorically stated “You can’t wear a big hat with that outfit. You will hide the neckline and collar.” She produced a small dinner plate sized piece of nonsense that tips fetchingly over one eye, has feathers and sparkly net. Not a fascinator and not a hat – something in between. It looked fantastic but was in the wrong colour. No problem – the Mad Hatter can make it in the right colour using the same fabric as the outfit for the trim. Done deal.
The first proper fitting for the outfit took place on 19 March. Even in its unfinished state it is clear it is going to be fantastic. I only wish I was 20 years younger to really do it justice. The great thing is that it is very slimming.
Final fitting on 9 April!
The only think that has seriously p***** me off recently is the fact that we got bounced out of the Royal Berkshire mixed open – it is so oversubscribed that our handicaps are now too high to get into the ballot. This was the competition we played last year when I had just started Chemo. I was determined to play it even tho’ I felt awful and had set my heart on playing it this year when I was well. – B*******s!
Everything has gone suspiciously quiet on the Hen Night front. It’s a bit worrying.
So the hair continues to grow, the golf is getting a bit better, and I have spent a lot of money on wedding stuff.
The visit to Rigby and Peller resulted in a sexy black basque that requires the help of at least one other person to get done up. Then it was off to the dressmaker, Ling, for the ‘calico’ fitting. Much pinning and pricked fingers as I kept forgetting where the pins were. It was a bit hard to visualise the final product from the white calico version but Ling seemed happy with the result.
LK Bennett proved to be the place for shoes and handbag (I love that shop) – I left with a red hot, smoking credit card and went straight to a wonderful place in Guildford called The Mad Hatter. This is a tiny shop down a side street full of the most fantastic hats you have ever seen. I could have spent all day in there just trying them on.
When I explained what I wanted and showed her a picture of the outfit, the owner categorically stated “You can’t wear a big hat with that outfit. You will hide the neckline and collar.” She produced a small dinner plate sized piece of nonsense that tips fetchingly over one eye, has feathers and sparkly net. Not a fascinator and not a hat – something in between. It looked fantastic but was in the wrong colour. No problem – the Mad Hatter can make it in the right colour using the same fabric as the outfit for the trim. Done deal.
The first proper fitting for the outfit took place on 19 March. Even in its unfinished state it is clear it is going to be fantastic. I only wish I was 20 years younger to really do it justice. The great thing is that it is very slimming.
Final fitting on 9 April!
The only think that has seriously p***** me off recently is the fact that we got bounced out of the Royal Berkshire mixed open – it is so oversubscribed that our handicaps are now too high to get into the ballot. This was the competition we played last year when I had just started Chemo. I was determined to play it even tho’ I felt awful and had set my heart on playing it this year when I was well. – B*******s!
Everything has gone suspiciously quiet on the Hen Night front. It’s a bit worrying.
Sunday 21 February 2010
21 February - Material Issues
Sunday - The morning suit debate is still in the air but I am leaving it to himself to decide. I am having enough trouble with my son asking me to tell his girlfriend she can’t wear pink! ‘Why not?’ I ask. Because she wants him to match i.e. to wear a pink shirt and tie as well. Apparently my son hates pink. I have to admit that I never dressed him in pink as a child. I see now that I have failed to put him in touch with his feminine side – mea culpa!
I continue to do my best to resist becoming absorbed in the wedding stuff. It’s hard because everyone else is so excited about it. Good grief – we are two aging baby boomers not a couple of twenty somethings. But still the whole thing gathers momentum at a remorseless pace.
There is the whole issue of the hen party. My sister-in-law-to-be has taken this one over along with a close friend from my old golf club. I am staying out of it. It became more complicated yesterday when friends at my new golf club started to plot their own event. I can see the headlines… “Lady golfers arrested in hen night gang warfare battle for custody of bride”.
The other big issue has been finding the fabric for the wedding outfit. An elegant, slightly retro suit in red. The initial samples I found were dismissed out of hand by the dressmaker as being too lightweight. She gave me the names of various emporia to visit/contact for something a bit more substantial.
So I left work early last week and took a taxi to a part of London I had never ventured into before. Somewhere north of Marylebone Road, bordering the Edgeware Road there is a mixed community that specialises in fabric shops. Amazing places full of fantastic material. Everything from sari fabrics to good strong tartan that would grace the plus-four clad thighs of Clarissa Dickson Wright. The first one I visited was Joel & Sons – purveyors of fine fabrics to HM the Queen. Thousands of rolls stacked to the ceiling. I asked for, and was shown, the heavy-duty fabrics they had in red silk. All wonderful – all nearly £100 per metre. Next to me a girl was fingering the most beautiful black lace material. The price? “£398 per metre madam”. I am out of touch. I retreated with some samples and smiling lies that I would get back to them.
Fortunately, I had also contacted another recommendation from the dressmaker – with a request for samples and prices. Hallelujah – they came through with the perfect taffeta silk in the right colour and just over £23 per metre – Something else to tick off the list.
Next week I am going to Rigby and Peller in Mayfair – to get a ‘foundation garment’ that will disguise all the wobbly bits and convince the partially sighted that I have a waist. Then I have the first fitting of the calico version of the outfit on Friday.
The week after I visit the hairdresser for the first time in 8 months – the new hair will be coloured and shaped (cut is too strong a word).
Needless to say the wig is getting a bit dejected.
I’ll keep you posted.
I continue to do my best to resist becoming absorbed in the wedding stuff. It’s hard because everyone else is so excited about it. Good grief – we are two aging baby boomers not a couple of twenty somethings. But still the whole thing gathers momentum at a remorseless pace.
There is the whole issue of the hen party. My sister-in-law-to-be has taken this one over along with a close friend from my old golf club. I am staying out of it. It became more complicated yesterday when friends at my new golf club started to plot their own event. I can see the headlines… “Lady golfers arrested in hen night gang warfare battle for custody of bride”.
The other big issue has been finding the fabric for the wedding outfit. An elegant, slightly retro suit in red. The initial samples I found were dismissed out of hand by the dressmaker as being too lightweight. She gave me the names of various emporia to visit/contact for something a bit more substantial.
So I left work early last week and took a taxi to a part of London I had never ventured into before. Somewhere north of Marylebone Road, bordering the Edgeware Road there is a mixed community that specialises in fabric shops. Amazing places full of fantastic material. Everything from sari fabrics to good strong tartan that would grace the plus-four clad thighs of Clarissa Dickson Wright. The first one I visited was Joel & Sons – purveyors of fine fabrics to HM the Queen. Thousands of rolls stacked to the ceiling. I asked for, and was shown, the heavy-duty fabrics they had in red silk. All wonderful – all nearly £100 per metre. Next to me a girl was fingering the most beautiful black lace material. The price? “£398 per metre madam”. I am out of touch. I retreated with some samples and smiling lies that I would get back to them.
Fortunately, I had also contacted another recommendation from the dressmaker – with a request for samples and prices. Hallelujah – they came through with the perfect taffeta silk in the right colour and just over £23 per metre – Something else to tick off the list.
Next week I am going to Rigby and Peller in Mayfair – to get a ‘foundation garment’ that will disguise all the wobbly bits and convince the partially sighted that I have a waist. Then I have the first fitting of the calico version of the outfit on Friday.
The week after I visit the hairdresser for the first time in 8 months – the new hair will be coloured and shaped (cut is too strong a word).
Needless to say the wig is getting a bit dejected.
I’ll keep you posted.
Monday 1 February 2010
1 February - Past tenses and future plans
Monday - January has been frantic work wise so it has been a while since I updated this blog. This is also partly because I have moved on a long way.
In January I had follow-up consultations with both my Surgeon and Oncologist. Basically they ticked all the boxes and I am now into several years of regular monitoring but I can say that ‘it’ is over. Significantly I asked my surgeon when I could say I ‘had’ rather than ‘I have’ breast cancer. His response was “now”.
It goes a long way to making you feel like a person rather than a patient.
The hair continues to grow…very grey and it sort of sticks out all over the place but it is quite thick. I will have it cut in about five weeks to start to give it some shape. I don’t wear the wig at home anymore and this weekend even went out to drinks at neighbors without it – they thought I looked like Judy Dench as ‘M’ in the Bond films. I still wear the wig to work and golf – partly because it keeps my head warm and it is still freezing here.
So now we look ahead.
On with the wedding preparations – when C and I decided last year that we would get married it seemed ages until 14 May 2010. Now it is racing towards us like a runaway train.
It is a long time since I last got married – nearly 35 years in fact. Back then in mists of time arranging a wedding was largely a do-it-yourself affair. You or your mum made the dress and the bridesmaids made theirs. A family member supplied a suitable car. And the local photographer took a few posed photos while your friends took lots of slightly wonky ones. There were no sky lanterns, table favours, dresses costing thousands of pounds, or photographers taking pictures of your wobbly bits and gummed up eyes first thing in the morning.
Now it seems that there is a multi million pound industry in supplying bridezillas with stuff that turns them into clone ‘princesses’ of one another and lines the pockets of photographers, caterers, florists and the weird suppliers of wedding junk. Quite apart from the ‘Wedding fair’ phenomenon -what is that all about? Somebody shoot me if I ever suggest going to one.
So the challenge is to avoid all of this as much as possible.
We’ve designed our own invitations and had them printed by a local commercial firm, agreed with a photographer that we only want pictures at the Register Office and up to the time we sit down to eat – so halved the price, found a dressmaker whose prices don’t start at £2000 and who understands that this is not a ‘meringue’ job. Ordered simple flowers…etc.
Then my partner starts talking about whether he and his best man should wear morning suits….mmmmmm.
In January I had follow-up consultations with both my Surgeon and Oncologist. Basically they ticked all the boxes and I am now into several years of regular monitoring but I can say that ‘it’ is over. Significantly I asked my surgeon when I could say I ‘had’ rather than ‘I have’ breast cancer. His response was “now”.
It goes a long way to making you feel like a person rather than a patient.
The hair continues to grow…very grey and it sort of sticks out all over the place but it is quite thick. I will have it cut in about five weeks to start to give it some shape. I don’t wear the wig at home anymore and this weekend even went out to drinks at neighbors without it – they thought I looked like Judy Dench as ‘M’ in the Bond films. I still wear the wig to work and golf – partly because it keeps my head warm and it is still freezing here.
So now we look ahead.
On with the wedding preparations – when C and I decided last year that we would get married it seemed ages until 14 May 2010. Now it is racing towards us like a runaway train.
It is a long time since I last got married – nearly 35 years in fact. Back then in mists of time arranging a wedding was largely a do-it-yourself affair. You or your mum made the dress and the bridesmaids made theirs. A family member supplied a suitable car. And the local photographer took a few posed photos while your friends took lots of slightly wonky ones. There were no sky lanterns, table favours, dresses costing thousands of pounds, or photographers taking pictures of your wobbly bits and gummed up eyes first thing in the morning.
Now it seems that there is a multi million pound industry in supplying bridezillas with stuff that turns them into clone ‘princesses’ of one another and lines the pockets of photographers, caterers, florists and the weird suppliers of wedding junk. Quite apart from the ‘Wedding fair’ phenomenon -what is that all about? Somebody shoot me if I ever suggest going to one.
So the challenge is to avoid all of this as much as possible.
We’ve designed our own invitations and had them printed by a local commercial firm, agreed with a photographer that we only want pictures at the Register Office and up to the time we sit down to eat – so halved the price, found a dressmaker whose prices don’t start at £2000 and who understands that this is not a ‘meringue’ job. Ordered simple flowers…etc.
Then my partner starts talking about whether he and his best man should wear morning suits….mmmmmm.
Wednesday 6 January 2010
6 January - Hair I come!
Wednesday
Sitting in my office at home watching the drifting flakes add to the already 12inches deep snow outside, I can’t help but keep rubbing my hands over the dense cap of grey hair I now have. It is not very long and it seems to be a bit curly but it is definitely there and much thicker than before I lost it. Even more exciting…I now have eyelashes and eyebrows, which makes a huge difference to the way I look. I have started to use mascara again.
Also for the first time in nearly seven months I had to shave my legs and pits while on holiday in Spain. I never thought I would welcome the day.
I still use the wig for work and ‘going out’ but at home and among friends I don’t bother.
Even the lymphedema in the arm has settled down so that I only wear the compression sleeve for long hours at the computer and after golf if the arm has swollen a little (which doesn’t happen much.) So that seems to be manageable.
My fingernails are improving. Not sure about the toenails as they have polish on them. Seem OK.
I’m due to see Mr P the surgeon tomorrow for a follow up but I have a feeling I won’t be able to get there as we can’t get the cars out of the drive at the moment let alone down the hill. Also due to see Dr S next week. Hopefully the conditions will be a bit better by then.
So all in all, things are going well. All I have to do now is lose some more weight, get the wedding organised, write the third book, and get my golf game up to a competitive standard again. (It’s getting there – I won the ladies Division 1 medal while we were away in Spain using my Xmas present – a set of duplicate clubs to those I have in UK, which I can leave out in Spain.)
Sitting in my office at home watching the drifting flakes add to the already 12inches deep snow outside, I can’t help but keep rubbing my hands over the dense cap of grey hair I now have. It is not very long and it seems to be a bit curly but it is definitely there and much thicker than before I lost it. Even more exciting…I now have eyelashes and eyebrows, which makes a huge difference to the way I look. I have started to use mascara again.
Also for the first time in nearly seven months I had to shave my legs and pits while on holiday in Spain. I never thought I would welcome the day.
I still use the wig for work and ‘going out’ but at home and among friends I don’t bother.
Even the lymphedema in the arm has settled down so that I only wear the compression sleeve for long hours at the computer and after golf if the arm has swollen a little (which doesn’t happen much.) So that seems to be manageable.
My fingernails are improving. Not sure about the toenails as they have polish on them. Seem OK.
I’m due to see Mr P the surgeon tomorrow for a follow up but I have a feeling I won’t be able to get there as we can’t get the cars out of the drive at the moment let alone down the hill. Also due to see Dr S next week. Hopefully the conditions will be a bit better by then.
So all in all, things are going well. All I have to do now is lose some more weight, get the wedding organised, write the third book, and get my golf game up to a competitive standard again. (It’s getting there – I won the ladies Division 1 medal while we were away in Spain using my Xmas present – a set of duplicate clubs to those I have in UK, which I can leave out in Spain.)
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