And so to chemo...

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything - its been a strange kind of limbo up and down past few weeks but at least I've got a chemo start date now of 5th November.

Took off to Edinburgh and Loch Lomond last week for the school holidays to chill out with the boys - took a trip on a sea plane across the loch... 

 

drank plenty of malbec ...

and generally tried to relax...

 

I've recovered well from the surgery but if honest would probably rather go through another operation than go through chemo but am going to have just get on with it and focus on the outcome...

 

So its a dizzy itinerary of flu jab, wig fitting and blood tests prior to next Wed - affa exciting eh!

 

If I was to try and describe the head crank of getting this disease, the best I could probably do at the mo is to say that its like trying to reframe your future i.e. what you thought was normal now has to be defined as a new normal and due to my usual level of impatience I wish I knew what the new normal will be NOW! I realise that time will be a great healer and so amongst the many lessons I'm learning is that I need to develop more patience and enjoy the 'now' - oft said but less practiced...every day I try and focus on small 'treasures' and coincidences and that's probably as close as I can get to articulating my weird and wonderful thought processes of the mo :) Enough of the philosophy!

 

Great day yesterday, spent the day kind of 'working' (yes I know I'm supposed to be off) but I was just being kept in the loop about what's going on and I really really enjoyed it. So much so, brace for impact my lovely 'team electra' cos I'm coming in for a cuppie and a visit Monday :) :)

 

There were lots of lovely texts and messages to try and catch up on (sorry if I'm late getting back to you, I will get there) and then watched Elf (all time best Christmas movie ever!) with the boys and I laughing out loud at all the eminently quotable lines we repeat to each other every year, I'm singing/I'm in a store/and I'm siiiiiingiiiiing!/I'm in a store/and I'm siiiiiingiiiiing!  and of course SANTA! OH MY GOD! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!

 

so with only 57 days to Christmas...

 

Will post again after next week's first Chemo session (unless of course the Wig Fitting episode is particularly good which I suspect it will be but those pics may have to remain censored!)

 

love

 

Skerry

xx

 

PS I just like to smile! Smiling's my favourite :) I could now be really cheesy and ask you to smile at someone today - as someone once told me "Thou shall smile and have a nice day for it confounds those who have other plans for thee".

 

 

 

 

How to Post a Comment for me!

Thanks to Donna and Morag for this one - I've combined both their instructions on how to post a comment onto this blog (with options to either remain anonymous or add your name to the posting)....

• At the bottom of your text, where it says '2 comments', click on '2 comments' as if you wanted to read them.
• After the most recent comment is a freeform text box called 'Enter your comment'.  So, enter your comment! (hard this, isn't it?!!)
• Below the comment box you are asked to 'Select Profile'.  Click on the dropdown, and select 'Anonymous' (make sure you have signed your name at the end of your comment, so people know who you are - unless of course you want to remain anonymous!!)
• OR
• Choose Name/URL from the drop down and then type your name into the 'Name:' field (you can leave the 'URL:' field empty).
• Click on the 'Publish' button, and you will see a Preview and be asked to 'Prove you are not a robot', by entering the text/number shown in the picture that has appeared.
• Type in this text, and hit 'Publish' again.
• Et Voila!  Comment is posted.

Thanks ladies :)

x

 

PS If these steps don't help you, email and let me know (and then remind me a I'm a trainer by trade ;) !!)

Update from the Oncology Appointment

Hi there, just a wee update from the last few days - feeling better every day since the second op, arm movement is improving but am still quite tired and on the pain relief :(

I saw the Oncologist on Wednesday and the good news is that he said by having had the mastectomy it means in theory my statistics are 65-70% chance that I'm cured for a long time. By also undertaking chemotherapy followed by taking tamoxifen for 10 years (a bit of a treatment list!) it increases the number to 85% - which is a great number! I also don't need to have radiotherapy which is a real bonus.

So now the boys are on school holidays we're hoping to maybe get a few days away to relax and spend some time together and then the chemotherapy is due to start on either 5th or 12th November, subject to feeling well enough. Reading through the information they've given me makes me think that this may be the hardest part of treatment based on all the potential side effects it can cause.

Meantime I'm taking it a day at a time and trying to get one or two things done each day which can be anything from a few emails to going out for lunch. Last Friday was mum's birthday so I was delighted to celebrate it with close friends from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Stavanger (cancer perks you see!) at a gorgeous girlie lunch as evidenced below. Plus it was the first outing for my temporary prosthesis (had to remove half the padding so I didn't look completely lop sided!) which has now been christened 'Betty' by the girls)...

I feel very lucky to be surrounded by such amazing family and friends throughout the last few weeks - thank you to everyone who has sent me texts, cards, emails, food and flowers, you are lovely and I do appreciate all your positive thoughts... please keep 'em coming :)

Onwards and upwards - till next time,

love
Skerry
xx

PS One thing that would be really helpful for me is some advice - if you have managed to post a comment successfully to this blog (without having a gmail account) and found it easy - could you email me your instructions and I'll post them on as a few folk have given me feedback that they couldn't post a comment, that would be really helpful, thank you...

Good News!

Quick update - had my follow up appointment with the surgeon last night as my second pathology report results were back (quick eh!) He used the word 'excellent' when going through the results as he described that no more cancerous cells were found in the breast tissue or lymph nodes he removed. He was also really pleased with how well my wound is healing. To say that I was delighted to hear all this may be the understatement of the year. It also looks like I won't need to have radiotherapy either which is ideal. So I should hear today about an appointment with the oncologist for next week to find out all about chemo and when it starts etc.

love to you all from a very happy Skerry :)

PS a big thank you to Louise and Neil (my lovely friends in Calgary) who sent me this yesterday which produced a huge smile on my part (as you can see from the measurement lines they know me well!) I feel pretty certain that it'll be christened with red wine very soon...