New to the group

Hi

Welcome to the group, lovely to meet you but as we say, I wish I could have met you elsewhere. You're having a bad day, scottishlady, that's understandable and you've done the right thing by posting on the site. Let me tell you that this is the best place to get support because we all understand your situation, many, many of us have been in a similar situation, it's terrible, I know, but you're among friends now who understand your fears and concerns. You'll have support 24/7, you'd be surprised how many of us are available all day and night.

Please don't begin to see the worst side of things. This is a very rapidly changing situation and as for your age, you're not in the extremely dangerous age group, or over 70. 

I do recognise your concerns, believe me. When I was diagnosed at the age of 57, I thought there was absolutely no way I would see my 60th birthday, however I will be 62 next month. 

What cancer have you and what treatment have you had? For every type of cancer you'll find people with experience. I look forward to hearing from you soon scottishlady.

Take care

Tvman x

Hello Scottishlady59,

Yes this virus is something else to add to our worries.  As if things aren’t bad enough!  I hope your chemo has good results for you.  It’s a tough time on chemo.  I am on a regime at the moment too which will last for 6 months.  2 down, 10 to go!

Everyone in this group is wonderfully supportive to talk to or just reading the comments lifts your spirits and makes you feel less alone.  We understand what you are going through.

I am staying at home with all of this going on. Just attending the necessary clinic and hospital appointments but actually just been out for a 20 mins walk.  Enjoyed a bit of fresh air.  It’s quiet round here so no problems keeping distance from anyone.  Well except my husband whose arm I was holding onto haha.

Nice to hear from you and I hope your day gets better.

Hi scottishlady59    I think there will be a lot of people on this site who are thinking the same things as you.I for one am on the same page.I am sitting here worrying about my scans tomorrow will it be the corona virus or the possibility of cancer that will finish me off, i am 61 and  would like many more years.                                    Now we have established we are both having a bad day i am going to try and buck my ideas up as my mother would of said, and carry on the best i can.                                                                                                There are a lot of people on this site we can talk to if we get down in the dumps and i have spoken to some lovely, kind, warm souls.We all look out for each other and encourage positive thoughts and feelings if needed. So today is a bit of a bad day,but hopefully tomorrow will be better (well for me when i have had my scans done) day Keep well Xx

Hi

I feel your pain. I’ve had a day of cancellation emails. Choir. Theatre. Yoga weekend. All the lovely things I had carefully planned to keep my spirits up gong down the drain. Glug, glug. So yes, I’m having a bad day too. 

It will pass though. I will pick myself up and enjoy the sunshine and watching the flowers come out. I’ll put on my gardening gloves and take out my frustrations on the weeds. I might even light a bonfire. 

Chin up chick. Tomorrow is another day 

xxx

hi i have terminal small cell cancer and was diagnosed in sept at stage 4 they said i have 18/24 to live after chemo and radio therapy so if this virus lasts for a year i will be gutted as i might only have a few months then its not enough time to do all the things i wanted to do. Im still going ahead with my 60th birthday celebrations on the 27th of this month as i more than likely have to isolate myself from everyone after that. im wondering if i will go for radiotherapy or not its only going to destroy m y immune system even more will have last chemo on 1st april then decide once i see the consultant at the end of april i hope your having a good day 

Hi 

That must feel so unjust. I keep saying to people that I go through all this treatment (and I’ve been in continuous treatment since November 2016) so I can live - not so that I can die slowly. And here we are, on the verge of lock down. 

I have been at the hospital today which involves a train and tube ride into central London.  The staff on the trials unit are very on the ball and are trying to organise things so that I can do my fortnightly checks from home as much as possible.  The proposition is that I get my bloods done locally, have a chat with the doctor by phone and then they send me my tablets by post. All good in theory except that I have an echocardiogram in two weeks time so I need go in anyway and a CT scan in four weeks time so once again a trip to London. My doctor has advised me to keep myself to myself as much as possible, not to go to the shops and insist any visitors are kept to a minimum and wash their hands on arrival. 

I don’t know what to say about your planned party. I can imagine that looking forward to it is one of the things that’s kept you going. I have to say that if I was your friend, I’d very reluctantly be telling you that I wouldn’t be attending. 

As for prognoses, there are many of us here who are well past our sell by dates. My mortgage life insurance paid out in September 2016 on the basis that I had less than a year to live. There are more and more new treatment options that are helping people like us to live longer. 

I think you’re right to question the value of radiotherapy, not because I don’t think it’s worth it (how would I know? I am not a doctor) but because it’s always good to be properly informed about any treatment and to be sure your decision to go ahead or not is the right one. 

Love and hugs xx

Hi thanks for replying the hall i booked for my small gathering has just called and cancelled my party im gutted so i will just have to wait and see what happens with this virus and how long it will go on for to reschedule it but dont see it happening any time soon i was raising money that evening for macmillan  nurses at my party so now im stuck with raffle prizes etc so im disappointed that i cant raise the money for them..hopefully in the future ive just done the daffodil appeal for marie curie on sunday at the local supermarket so at least ive done something. we are all fighting to stay alive and this virus is dreadful im going to isolate myself as much as i can so i dont get it as long as they dont cancel my scan and consultants appointment so i know where i stand with this cancer  love and hugs xxxx

Hi  thanks for replying yes we are all fighting to stay alive without this virus ive had 5 chemos next 1 in 2 weeks then ct scan and consultant and i will take it from there ive got mobility issues and the chemo been attacking my joints so been using my mobility scooter to get out when i can avoiding as many people as possible but i would go stir crazy if i was stuck at home all the time. its nice to get a bit of fresh air  nice to hear from you

Hi

Sorry to hear that your party has been cancelled for you. How wonderful that you were going to raise money for Macmillan! I think so many charities are staring disaster in the face with this virus leading to all their fundraising events being cancelled. My niece worked for a medium sized national charity for a while and their biggest fund raiser was the London marathon. That’s been cancelled. I think those of us with a bit of give in our finances are going to have to look at our regular giving and see if we can increase it. 

xx

Hi 

I'm so sorry to hear that your party has been cancelled especially since you were going to raise money for MacMillan but I wonder if given the corona virus situation is it a blessing in disguise? Everyone, particularly in this group, is going to have to take tough isolation measures to try to be sure to get out the other side of this situation. 

Italy, Spain, France and it appears to be Germany too, have taken decisions to try to ensure that their citizens have the best chance of getting through the current health crisis. I believe that the UK will soon be announcing similar measures to protect at risk members of the population as much as possible although keeping schools open is a decision that confounds most people. My wife works in a school here in Northern Ireland and her principal rang yesterday and asked her not to come to school until it's deemed safe to do so. He is aware of my health issues and is protecting me as much as he can. The sole caretaker has respiratory issues and has placed himself, quite sensibly in my opinion, in self isolation. He, like me, has heart disease also and having met the guy on several occasions, he's one of those I would be concerned about and would not like anything to happen to him. Now as there is no caretaker, all after school activities have now been cancelled as has the end of year show, for which my wife designs and makes the costumes. No caretaker is bringing the school closure closer to shutting the doors for a while.

We're hearing of school closures daily, just a handful at the moment although all special schools have been closed already for a week or two so it's expected that all schools are going to follow suit. All schools south of the border were closed a week ago so most staff that work in schools are perplexed that ours are staying open. Vulnerable people with respiratory issues such as teachers and kitchen staff have mostly been advised to stay away until the inevitable official closure of schools occurs both here and in GB. 

It's going to be a long frighteningly worrying journey over the next few months for our friends in this group and unfortunately I think that some of us may not complete it. I sincerely hope that I am wrong however those of us who have suppressed immune systems are particularly at risk.

We will have to face tough decisions in our private lives in the short term, self isolating from other members of our families or grandchildren, children, spouses and partners. Our mental health may suffer but contributing on this site will be invaluable and a positive action to help with our mental state. 

We're in this together, friends, let's see it through.

Tvman x