chemo

I have asked macmillan for advice but they were just a helpline and they gave me a nurses phone number. I don't need practical help would they just give advice over the phone.?

Good to hear from you and glad that the side effects have not been too onerous. I would guess that the doc is aware that you need all the sessions and wants to let it take effect before scanning again.

Hello ethelbags, I was wondering how you were getting on, good to hear from you!
I would imagine that it's difficult to tell the effects on the tumour after only one course and it's the cumulative effect of the drugs that impact on the cancer.
I definitely wouldn't think he was hiding anything from you, just that perhaps the impact after one course may appear disappointing to the patient.
I'm purely guessing here and am sure other GNs can be more helpful.
, still keeping everything crossed for you x

I am getting a bit scared now, Im on second batch of chemo, apart from feeling a bit sick I have nerve problems in my fingers but they halved my dose and its a little better. I asked if there was anyway to tell if the chemo was working and the tumour is shrinking and the doc said no, I cant have a scan until the end of sessions (4-6) he said and now Im wondering if the stuff is working. apparently you can tell from the blood tests but the doc said he couldn't find the results. I realise he would nt keep me on the stuff if its not working but I thought he might be keeping something from me. anyone else had this experience.

Well, the illness may not necessarily make you feel ill if it is discovered before it has a chance to do so. The treatment could make you feel ill in the short-term but will treat the illness and make you better in the long-term.
A bit more long-winded than deeda's quote!

Shouldn't that be 'the illness that is making me ill...'?

Here's a little quote for you ethel Chemo is the drugs that make me ill that I take to stop the illness that isn't making me ill from making me ill in the future. Certainly rings a bell in DH's case!

At least he was well preserved albeit not through taking mistletoe!

Aka PETE Marsh and Lindow man

Mistletoe was what they gave pete bog just before sacrificing him!

Not as poisonous as I thought!

mistletoe.org.uk/homewp/index.php/medicine/cancer-therapy/

But I agree with rosequartz, don't take anything without consulting your consultant first - besides, the majority of the research seems to have been done on patients who were given an injection of mistletoe extract and I can't see that being available on the NHS!

Don't even buy it from Holland and Barrett or any reputable health store without thorough checking with your doctor and nurse first.
You have to be extremely careful as some natural products will cause a bad reaction with drugs.

I am all for trying to boost your immune system but would only recommend Vitamin D and perhaps a general vitamin ethel - or nothing at all if you feel uneasy about taking supplements.

Hi Ethel, I also had the same reaction , but I read that some chemo patients have benefitted from an extract of mistletoe. Perhaps worth checking ?

You will feel very tired ethel DH is amazed at how much time he spends in bed. Just go with it and do what you feel you can. You are sounding much more positve now All the best!

I suspect that your mother managed to take some assertiveness out of you etheltbags1, if you dont mind me saying.
She sounds like a formidable person.

btw, if I had lived in the 2nd world war like my mother, I would have been a GI dolly and gone for the nylons and chocolate. Taken the line of least resistance.(no assertiveness like my ma)

amarmai, yes I thought mistletoe
was poisonous too. Much to the dissapoinment of some gnetters, I will not be testing it unless I can buy it from trusty Holland and Barrett or such like.

So did mine annodomini - he nearly shot an American GI snogging a girl under a railway bridge Dad was 'guarding'!

I thought mistletoe was poisonous!

My dad was the captain of the local Home Guard. He always said that Dad's Army was very like the real thing!

ethel, i read an article regarding mistletoe extract being used to boost the immune system after chemo. maybe worth checking?

rose, her dad was in the local 'dads army', the volunteer defence force, or whatever they were called and he was just as forceful as she is now. (churchills secret weapon).

Well done ethel, glad you had a better day.

Who needed Dad's Army if your mother was around?

Really good to hear Ethelbags !