Post Op Surgeon Consult

Wednesday at 10. Popsicles from From IGA or I expect max pack from the supermarket. In NZ we call them iceblocks! Hope they have lemon or orange. My favourite! Thanks Joy for the care and kind thoughts. Julie

Thanks for the confirmation on the Popsicles. I will get the mouthwash as you suggested. Bought wig and turbans today. Went for blond corporate rather than the drag queen one I became quite fond of! I love to ride my bike (tootling on it) so hope that still works for me. Thanks again Julie

Hi Julie,

Which day next week do you start your chemo?  I will be thinking of you.  These Popsicles, what are they and where do you get them?

Love

Joy xx

 

Hi Janey,

 You are so sweet.  Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings about not being able to work.  I know you are right and I will be working hard toward just accepting things as they come and finding "a new normal" everyone is telling me about.  2014 will be my year to re-adjust and I too  have many books on the bookshelf and also have put  one on my wish list for Christmas.  I also love photography so there is plenty of things I can continue to learn with that and I post my images to an on line forum which willl keep me busy and get me out and about.  I have been fortunate enough to already reconnect with old friends and will definitely catch up with them now more often.  The more I think about all the things I can do, the more I think I like it.  lol

Janey you have made me realize that 2014 won't have to be all about chemo and treatment and that I will have the opportunity to enjoy my life, for that, I thank very much.

Lots of love Joy xx

Good luck for next week. I felt the same as you about having those nasty little buggers sent on there way. I treated chemo as waging war. I had the Popsicles and I think they worked a treat. I only had a couple of mouth ulcers and that was with the first treatment but I then started eating the Popsicles and no more problems with my mouth apart from the 'no taste' and furry yucky feeling. I also cleaned my teeth after every meal and used Colgate dry mouth wash twice a day. Keeping up the positive attitude also helps I think. And as Robyn says, walking is really important even if you just do 10 minutes everyday. It keeps everything moving helping with constipation and/or diarrhoea. Fingers crossed you won't get either of those :) Love Janey xxx

Hey but away Robyn. You always give wonderful advice and info. Hope you're going well. Janey xxx

Hi Joy. This year I've been on a bit of a holding pattern. I thought I could work through chemo and only take the odd days off and keep a sense of normality in my life. But chemo hit me a lot harder than I thought and I had to take the whole year off work. This was initially quite a blow but I learned to use my 'time' doing things that I would normally not have time for. I've done a water colour course, taken up ribbon embroidery again, tried to play my guitar but that prooved too difficult because of the neuropathy in my fingers so I've put that on hold. I haven't touched my guitar in quite a while but at least it was out of its case. I've read a lot of books that have been sitting on the bookshelf in hope that I would pick them up, caught up with some old friends I haven't been in contact with in recent years and planned my house renovations which should have been happening this year but we will do this next year. For many years, I have been so busy and stressed at work that I didn't seem to have any time for me and I have come to realise and understand that I don't want to go back to work full time anymore. I want to keep on doing things for me and not just collapse in a heap when I get home from my job. Life's too precious to waste working. Part time would be my choice now if my supervisor agrees. Well I'll just have to wait and see what happens next year. I learned to adjust and do the things I could and not stress about the things I couldn't. You're going through a major, dare I say 'event' in your life. Don't worry if your life isn't quite the same as before. I knew I would count this year out as far as 'normal' goes but I'm kind of pleased too that I've had a chance to re-evaluate things and put them in perspective. 2013, even though it has been a year to try and forget, I'm surprised how it has flown by. If you find you need to take a year 'out' it's not the end of the world. Concentrate on getting well. You'll get the 'Joy' back in Joy :) Love Janey xxx

Hi Joy Saw my oncologist today and because of my tumour being grade 3 and my oncoDX score being 25, I am up for chemo starting next week despite clear nodes and all tumour removed. I am reasonably pragmatic about it tho. I am 59, otherwise healthy and fit and would rather have any random nasty cells knocked out than have a worse situation elsewhere in my body. I know it won't be fun and I expect to feel grotty but I have been taking up time I would otherwise brood looking at stuff to help with the symptoms of chemo. I am assuming you haven't started the course yet. I am definitely trying the Popsicles during infusion to help protect mouth and throat tissue. I understand probiotics are ok to take to help the gut and I intend to get a drop-dead gorgeous ( perhaps not the best phrase) wig to wear. Stay in touch and I will let you know what works for me. Julie

Hi Robyn

I will be having my chemo at the Gold Coast University Hospital which is our brand new hospital that opened on 28 September.  It is so modern and so much nicer than our old hospital.  Only problem is the parking  at $16.00.  Yes, walking is great and I like you walked the corridors of the hospital as did other ladies who had had same surgery.  Yesterday I think I did a bit too much because I am very sore today.

Hoping that tomorrow I will feel better and be able to go for my walk again.

Cheers Joy xx