Pancreatic cancer and me

[AGTDenton]

Should have mentioned before, if you're a flavoured tea drinker, I found teapigs lemon & ginger to really help with the nauseous.
I will say it's an acquired taste but when it did actually work for me I was happy to get through a cup for the temporary relief it gave.
Main reason I went for this brand is all the other big brands have a measly 2-3% of ginger, this has a generous 65%.

Other tea tips I got were Chamomile for helping with sleep and Peppermint to also help with the stomach. I didn't find these to work but the two patients I was speaking to said it helped them a lot. However, I tried different brands and didn't think at the time to check the ingredients which knowing what I know now were no doubt low on the active ingredient.

I did at least like the Chamomile one though, quite tasty

[Saracen999]

For peppermint tea, which I've grown to like, I had a cheap 'herb' plant from a supermarket, stuck it in a larger pot with compost and plonked it on a shelf. I just harvest three or four medium to large leaves, stick 'em in a cup and add boiling water. Steep for about 5 mins, job done.

To be fair, a few thin slices of root ginger and a squeeze of fresh lemon works too (as lemon and ginger, not peppermint, I mean, that'd be weird).

[Galant]

Space....

What a shocker. Your openness, calmness and humour are beyond commendable. This sort of thing really reminds all of us how much of life is spent on utter nonsense. Cherish life, fill up with and share love and joy - live.

I don't know if there are any needs that can be helped with for your family, but I'm certain the community here would be happy and desirous to help in whatever way.

For my part, I just want to say - and I don't want to cause any offense, but these are those big moments and questions in life - I want to say that there is a reason behind this universe, a point to this whole life, as little as we might grasp of it at times. Justice, love, mercy, peace, romance, all of these are part of the reality we share, and the God who is weaving it all together. I've no desire to start a debate or, as I said, cause offense. I just want to say that if you have any questions or thoughts or doubts or fears, for my part, I'm sure of these things, and that there is a God, that He plans rest for all who would choose it. His requirements are just humility, honesty and love. A resting on Him, an asking of Him to take care of it. Any fears or thoughts shared with Him are not lost or forgotten. There are none who call on Him that He will turn away.

For what it's worth, that's what I believe. I've seen it at work in many lives as well as my own, and I share it with you as the best comfort and light that I have. I've bet my life on it and so far found it trustworthy and true.

Peace be with you.

And again, if there are any needs we can meet, just say the word.

G.

[spacein_vader]

Should have mentioned before, if you're a flavoured tea drinker, I found teapigs lemon & ginger to really help with the nauseous.
I will say it's an acquired taste but when it did actually work for me I was happy to get through a cup for the temporary relief it gave.
Main reason I went for this brand is all the other big brands have a measly 2-3% of ginger, this has a generous 65%.

Other tea tips I got were Chamomile for helping with sleep and Peppermint to also help with the stomach. I didn't find these to work but the two patients I was speaking to said it helped them a lot. However, I tried different brands and didn't think at the time to check the ingredients which knowing what I know now were no doubt low on the active ingredient.

I did at least like the Chamomile one though, quite tasty

For peppermint tea, which I've grown to like, I had a cheap 'herb' plant from a supermarket, stuck it in a larger pot with compost and plonked it on a shelf. I just harvest three or four medium to large leaves, stick 'em in a cup and add boiling water. Steep for about 5 mins, job done.

To be fair, a few thin slices of root ginger and a squeeze of fresh lemon works too (as lemon and ginger, not peppermint, I mean, that'd be weird).

Thanks both, always been in to peppermint and chamomile teas (not together, yuk!) and they have been helping. Tried the ginger thing last time to help nausea
Suffice to say it didn't work and ginger coming backwards doesn't half Sting which has put me off it somewhat.

Space....

What a shocker. Your openness, calmness and humour are beyond commendable. This sort of thing really reminds all of us how much of life is spent on utter nonsense. Cherish life, fill up with and share love and joy - live...

Thanks for your post. I've never been religious, I just can't believe in something intangible, I do often envy those who can though. My current position is I still don't think there's anything after death, just now I hope I'm wrong!

After more blood tests yesterday the Bittersweet news is I'm having chemo at 10:30 today. Treatment back on track but another 4 days+ of nausea, sweats, shaking, constant tiredness and feeling of being drugged up. I really do hope the scans show this was all worthwhile.

Guess I'll see you all in 4 days or so. Hope I don't miss anything exciting in the tech world.

[badass]

For my part, I just want to say - and I don't want to cause any offense, but these are those big moments and questions in life - I want to say that there is a reason behind this universe, a point to this whole life, as little as we might grasp of it at times. Justice, love, mercy, peace, romance, all of these are part of the reality we share, and the God who is weaving it all together. I've no desire to start a debate or, as I said, cause offense. I just want to say that if you have any questions or thoughts or doubts or fears, for my part, I'm sure of these things, and that there is a God, that He plans rest for all who would choose it. His requirements are just humility, honesty and love. A resting on Him, an asking of Him to take care of it. Any fears or thoughts shared with Him are not lost or forgotten. There are none who call on Him that He will turn away.

Tip: If you really don't want to cause offence a better way or wording it would be:
For my part, I just want to say - and I don't want to cause any offense, but these are those big moments and questions in life - as a religious person, I would be happy to discuss anything spiritual with you.

Cut the rest out. It's attempted forcing of religion upon another. Whether you mean it that way or not.

[sammyc]

After more blood tests yesterday the Bittersweet news is I'm having chemo at 10:30 today.

All the v. best

[g8ina]

Forgot to say earlier, Im in Northampton, just down the A43, so if you need anything that I can help with, just shout.

Hope the chemo isnt too brutal
David

[spacein_vader]

Well so much for that. Every time I go for chemo there's a very thorough examination first. Now I know why. They found a 3cm ish cyst on my back, I'd known it was there as I get them occasionally so mentioned it in passing.

Straight away the nurse called the consultant down. Apparently I'm very lucky it hadn't become infected already, but if they'd given me chemo as planned the likelihood it would be was over 90%, which would mean days in hospital and in the worst case sepsis.

Instead they called my GP, told him in no uncertain terms he needs to examine me and proscribe the relevant antibiotics today and then gave me a course of self administered injections (eek) to boost my immune system. I'll then be reassessed next Tuesday and if the cyst has gone down enough have chemo next Wednesday.

While frustrating it's served as a timely reminder of how fragile my body is and how thorough, caring and supportive the chemotherapy team are.

[AGTDenton]

Well so much for that. Every time I go for chemo there's a very thorough examination first. Now I know why. They found a 3cm ish cyst on my back, I'd known it was there as I get them occasionally so mentioned it in passing.

Straight away the nurse called the consultant down. Apparently I'm very lucky it hadn't become infected already, but if they'd given me chemo as planned the likelihood it would be was over 90%, which would mean days in hospital and in the worst case sepsis.

Good to hear they're on the ball. Interesting, I didn't get an examination prior, but every time I went to give bloods they asked a series of questions.

Instead they called my GP, told him in no uncertain terms he needs to examine me and proscribe the relevant antibiotics today and then gave me a course of self administered injections (eek) to boost my immune system. I'll then be reassessed next Tuesday and if the cyst has gone down enough have chemo next Wednesday.

Ah yes the old Filgrastin? You can ask for a referral to your district nurse if you're not so keen doing it yourself.
I had to in the end because the nerve damage to my fingers meant I couldn't accurately feel what I was doing.

While frustrating it's served as a timely reminder of how fragile my body is and how thorough, caring and supportive the chemotherapy team are.

Glad to know you're under a good team.

Yes definitely keep in mind how fragile your body now is. Even though I finished my treatment at the end of July, any little paper cut or knock still takes weeks to heal, I've yet to leave the house to avoid any bad luck. Once I get the results of my next scan & bloods I'll decide whether to go out.

Good luck with your next scan/results. Although mine was in a different area but on the same chemo, I did have a lot of shrinkage prior to an op to remove it. So fingers X you get some shrinkage.

My scan was cancelled on Sunday because of the fuel madness, they had to reserve the day for high priority only.

Thanks both, always been in to peppermint and chamomile teas (not together, yuk!) and they have been helping. Tried the ginger thing last time to help nausea
Suffice to say it didn't work and ginger coming backwards doesn't half Sting which has put me off it somewhat.

Fully understand, the burn in the throat is very off putting. I'm still suffering with acid reflux 2 months after I finished.

Good to hear the chamomile and peppermint are helping.

[Galant]

Hey Space,

Did you manage to get the doc appointment sorted and antibiotics? I can't imagine having to self-administer injections....

Everything look set for Tuesday re-exam?

[spacein_vader]

Yes, been on antibiotics since Thursday evening, my wife handled the injections, no way I could do them myself.
The combo of the two has floored me though, I'm sleeping 18 hours a day and it's brought on nausea which has killed my appetite.

That said the cyst is calming down and we're looking OK for Tuesday. Main issue for the doc is thst this isikely to reoccur unless removed, but I suspect removing it in my condition is an inpatient procedure.

Have to wait and see.

[razer121]

Spacein-vader, i have no words, This was so hard to read as it was 6 years ago I lost my sister at only 29 years old to terminal cancer. The chemo didn't work well and it was hard to be on the side-line but enough of that! Godspeed! I really hope you get lots of new memories your family can cherish and I love you outlook on it all! I'm sure your children and wife are cherishing every moment with you right now which can only lift spirits.

[Saracen999]

Spacein-vader, i have no words, This was so hard to read as it was 6 years ago I lost my sister at only 29 years old to terminal cancer. ....

That sucks pretty badly too.

I don't want this to divert from this thread being about spacein, but it's worth everybody bearing in mind that cancer strikes all ages. Yeah, sure, the older you are the greater the risk, but similar to razer, I lost my sister-in-law (and, clearly, my brother lost his wife) when she was the ripe old age of about 22. And heah, this was 50-odd years ago and treatments were nowhere near as good then as they are now, and there's still a long way to go now.

My point?

Just this .... everybody, all ages, needs to be aware that this calamity is an equal opportunity disaster and pays no notice to age, race, religion, gender, sexual inclination .... none of the usual characteristics we use to pretend we're different from 'them'. If anything loads the odds, it's wealth and at least in this country we have an NHS that treats us all whether we can afford it or not because without that, most of us can't, or not for very long.

Because it is an equal opportunity calamity, and because it often first shows in strange and often apparently trivial ways, if you get a persistent strange problem, get it checked out. I'm not suggesting you go straight to the GP every time you get the slightest twinge, because that's daft and they're over-loaded already, but a persistent (over time) issue might be much more serious than it implies and can show up in apparently unrelated ways and places.

Don't panic, and don't assume every twinge is cancer, but almost all forms of cancer are treatable if caught early. Just bear it in mind.

Sadly, some also show little or nothing in the way of even apparently unrelated warning signs, so if a screening opportunity comes up, don't just dismiss it.

I've lost both my mother and sister-in-law, and another family member still going through it, by not catching on quickly enough. Don't make the mistakes we did.

[spacein_vader]

Better news from the oncologist yesterday. My cyst has settled down so will be having chemo today (so I probably won't be able to post again till the weekend,) while my tumour blood marker has dropped from 1900ish to 1300ish. This is a positive sign that the chemo is impacting on the tumour.

My CT scan has been booked in for week commencing 25/10 so the following week I'll know how well the chemo is working and if I'm likely to make Christmas. Doc seems confident it's possible though.

Most positive news I've had in one go for a very long time.

[neonplanet40]

I hope it goes well!

[g8ina]

Good Luck, great to see you in high (ish) spirits after all this carp....