I'm Back again

Hi MSCARER,

I think I remember your name from when I first joined the forum 3 years ago. Your post made me laugh. Although I do not live alone I share many of your frustrations!! I feel that life is short enough without these frequent interruptions, and I would simply LOVE to see my daughters again!!

My 2 lasting memories of lock down follow. I was lamenting the fact of being unable to get flour in the first lock down. A good, young neighbour sourced a sack full, way too much for me. I spent the next day bagging the flour up, and managed to sell it to neighbours and friends!! I had flour all over the kitchen, and even sent some to my daughter in Essex at a very inflated price!!

The last memory will be of home schooling. My first daughter is working from home and husband was swotting for an exam. There was no way this would fit with home schooling a 6 year old.!!! After all, I used to teach 30  five year olds. How hard could it be??   I'd rather have 30   5 year olds than one grand daughter, who would really rather do anything other than school work!!! 

People survived the war, I'm sure we will survive this!!! Good to hear you are doing OK.xxx

My sister has some sort of role in school catering and my niece is some sort of teaching assistant at a SEND school so both have been working and both have had  been picked up on track and trace more that once although i dont think either of them actually got covid they just had to isolate.  My brother in law was furloghed although he also has some underlying health condition My 88 year old father was due to get his vaccine in January, but he wasn't able to visit a centre - he'd fractured his pelvis in 2019 and they'd arranged for a home visit, but then the centre ran out of vaccines, my father finally got it last week.  In their area they seem to have a mix of the pfizer as well as the Oxford one and various members of my family have had different ones.  My niece and b-i-l got their first at the end of January, them my sister got hers the same day as my father got his last week.

Most people in my area seem to be getting just the pfizer.

I have a friend in Canada and they seem to be having vaccine shortages - which they are probably blaming on their former neighbour from south of the border !!!- she's almost 65 and her husband is 72 and they have daughters 33 and 28.  Ken may get his vaccine in April, Nina in June or July and the girsl probably wont get theirs until August, so UK seems to be well a head of the game at the moment

Hi MSCARER,

I remember reading your posts way back and It's good to hear from you again and to know that you are doing well.  I passed the 5 year point last November - I just had a blood test and a telephone discussion before I was signed off. 

 I feel for those who have been diagnosed during the last year. The uncertainty about timescales on top of worry about Covid  makes my experience way back in 2015 pale into insignificance.   I had 2 cataract ops last year and  found it stressful enough travelling  backward and forwards by public transport for ops and followups, so I can't begin to imagine what it must be like if you have cancer. 

As we are in our  eighties we have largely restricted our activities for the last year to daily walks. We did have one highlight. Two friends had planned a civil partnership ceremony to which we were to be, not only the witnesses, but also the only guests!  Fortunately the date they had chosen was  in the late summer when  covid-wise things were easier and to make things as safe as possible they booked us all into a club for the night and for our meals.  In normal times it would have been a lovely experience but at that point in time it was extra special.  A brief moment of near normality even if I did sigh with relief 14 days afterwards!   Now we have both had two doses of the Pfizer vaccine so perhaps we will be able to get out more.   Sadly I don't think we will ever be able to return to our previous theatre and concert going. 

I hope you will be able to get that  hairdresser appointment sorted soon!  

2020 was the year that i was down to just 2 annual clinics - one oncology in May and one gynae in November.

The oncology clinic was done over the telephone we only discussed  the scan but the blood test form that came through the post was unexpected.

The gynae clinic in November was face to face (masked of course) and i saw the consultant/surgeon for the first  time since the 2016 surgery which may not have happened in normal circumstance?

In theory i should have had one more gynae in november 2021 but as oncology had already  talked about signing me off in may, he decided that there was no need for anymore gynae clinics so signed me off early.

He was the only one to talk about the internal scarring that has been giving me a few problems with bowel and bladder which he thought was most likely from the radiotherapy.

My nephew had been due to get married at the end of May 2020 by which time he would have been with kirsty for 12 years.  They met at UNI and he proposed in february 2018.  They've booked one of these Barn venues with Llamas/alpaccas.  of course the first dates had to be shifted to August 2020 and then to 15th April 2021 - however with the limit still likely to be only 15 not sure what they will do this time.  Personally i dont understand why they have to keep shifting it - they seem to be putting the 'party' above the legalities.  If it had been me I would have just shelved the party and got legal side sorted within the restrictions

Hey Ho

Our friends had been together for 25 years and the date they chose was their "Silver" anniversary!  They had always planned to have the intimate ceremony.  Seemed sensible.

My nephew had booked the venue (for 2020) in 2018 so COVID blindsided them

Hi MSCARER. Haven't met before so welcome back. It's good to hear from someone who went through all of this a while ago and is coming up to their final consultation. So very sorry though to hear you lost your husband whilst you were undergoing chemo - that must've been a truly dreadful experience for you.

Thinking back to this time last year when Covid was well and truly rearing it's ugly head and we were just about to start lockdown I didn't have a clue what would be happening in the course of the next few months - I didn't any idea I had a cancer growing in me - a potentially aggressive one at that. Hubby never went food shopping with me so I just was more careful and eventually did more on-line shopping. I haven't been in a big supermarket for nearly a year now!

Once I noticed my spotting in May and spoke to my GP by phone she set up the 2 week wait pathway. I went to every test and consultation alone, heard from a nurse about my cancer rather than a face to face with a consultant. I did see him a couple of days later. I drove myself early morning to the hospital for my hystereroscopy and biopsy. My bestie drove my husband on a 160 mile round trip to collect me and to drive me back in my car late that afternoon. Every trip I made alone to the hospital was a nightmare worrying in case I caught Covid.

But had my op, 3 brachytherapy treatments ending November and now it's all a distant memory.

Covid did take my daughter-in-law's Dad and in January my sister in-law. (Hubby's brothers wife) 

Having had cancer has made me stronger person but at this moment I'm feeling very emotional in dealing with my brother-in-law's grief. To have an 86 year old sobbing on the phone is awful. We're over 200 miles away so I can only speak on the phone.

Anyway had 1 jab, next will be 6/5. Still not sure if I'll go back to confident old me - hope I will! Can't wait to see my hairdresser. I look like Hagrid except for the beard (even that's coming on nicely)

Sending hugs, Barb xx 

I'd had my menopause at 50, so when i started spotting in 2016 which was 10 years years later i was confused but not unduly worried.

I had to arrange Carer cover 'Piglet' for every one of my appointments as he couldnt be left on his own and neither of us had family who could help out, after the hystereroscopy and biopsy i was given duff information that i was all clear (it was april 1st afterall!!!!) and a week later i got a call to see the consultant and was told it was stage two and i needed urgent surgery.  when they came up with the surgery date i had three days to sort out a care home for him. 

The next shock was the post surgery appointment when i was told that i needed chemo plus RT not just RT, so my husband's stay at the care home was extended.  My 60th birthday was the start of my second cycle of being pumped full of toxic chemicals. My hair had started falling out a few days earlier, so i borrowed some clippers and took it all off.

I was initially quite pleased when it grew back after the final chemo, but it eventually it became very brittle (and grey) over the next few years and during covid i switched to DIY trims then finally  last december i took it all off again it's now back to a short crop which i colour every couple of weeks.  I've stopped using shampoos and conditioners apart from those in the colour lotion - hence the need to get some new wigs - but i will see how it grows out once the warmer weather gets here

Hi MSCARER,

Talking again about the Virus. We heard a song on the radio one morning that really gave us a laugh. The grand daughter of 6 has learnt the words and drives mum mad!! Its a catchy tune, and quite funny words. Its called 'The new jab' by the Marsh family and is on You tube!!  xxx

i've seen a few of their things on U Tube - lovely family