Hi Emma   I'm also a fellow endometrial cancer member (its a club we are reluctant members of!) I had my surgery, then chemo. I was meant to follow this with radiation treatment, but they pulled the pin on that and I'm in the process of entering into an immunotherapy clinical trial instead.   Your right, the whole thing about cancer is its scary and overwhelming, the world as you know it is completely flipped on its head. In a way the corona virus is giving everyone a real insight to what its like for your life to be at risk in a way that you just have no say or control over.   Your starting chemo next week and I would say that you really need to be prepared to take the best care of yourself in this time. Its funny because we are all usually the worst at doing this! For the first week after each round you will just likely feel extreme tiredness and nausea. They give you lots of drugs to help with the nausea and you can add in things like ginger that also really helps (fresh, tea form, travel calm ginger pills also awesome). I found the week after treatment the hardest and was really careful in what I ate. I love chocolate and am a big emotional eater but had to really avoid sugar in that week because it just made me feel worse.   The doctors tell you that you don't deteriorate over the course of your treatments, but I think they mean that in terms of your blood work/organ functions etc. I found the fatigue really kicks in big time once your half way through your rounds and mentally its challenging to keep pushing on. People will say "stay positive!" and dole out lots of positive statements. This can get annoying because sometimes you just feel like shit,  you want to have a nice pity party cry! Its also annoying because they just don't know what it feels like and as much as they are your support crew and you love them, they aren't going to know this journey and its challenges like you do. So its ok to not pretend your feeling great if you don't (this is no reflection on whether your being positive about it all or not - your just being human).   Your hair is gonna fall out from about 2 weeks after your first treatment. No escaping it - youre gonna have to rock a bald or almost bald head. This ones horrible because you feel like you dont even look like you anymore. I felt like uncle fester from the Addams family lol. When my hair started coming out I got my daughters to buzz cut it off - we made it fun - they took me through a side rave shave to an undercut to a GI Joe buzz cut and we laughed alot. It was less traumatic than the hair just coming away in my hands.  I made my own head scarves and avoided the aweful granny turban hats. One good trick is that you can buy normal scarves  and cut off one third to make a small bandana scarf and use the rest for a longer scarf tied with a scrunchie/hair tie. I didnt even bother sewing the edges as they tuck under. Youtube how to tie lots of different kinds of scarves. If you are having hot flushes compliments of your surgical menopause (what a fun trip that is!) stick with cotton fabrics that breathe 🐵   Just lastly when you having chemo just really follow the advice they give you about good oral care to avoid mouth ulcers. If you have any kind of side effects from the drugs you need to tell the chemo nurse before your next treatment occurs or tell your doctors. Even the smallest rash is important. I had a few allergic reactions and had to be managed with more medications. Trust your medical team - they are fighting for you too. If you spike a temperature get your butt to hospital! You wont be wasting anyone's time - remember you have to be ultra careful with your health and take the best care of you.   I wish you all the best Emma. Look after you 🐵   Cheers Carolyn ... View more

Hi Phil   Your chemo journey sounds like its own kind of special hell. Congratulations because you endured and the end is now in sight! I can hear Beyonce singing for you “I’m a survivor, I’m gonna make it, keep on survivin”   Ive already decided that on the last bag of poison they pump into me I’m gonna make them write on the bag “Yippee Ki Ya Motherf#ker!!” (Bruce Willis, Die Hard)   Thank you for the advice on letting others help. I’m a stubborn ass, hugely independent and that’s a big challenge to fight with my brain – that its ok to need help. I have 3 amazing daughters, just as stubborn and independent, so that’s had some fun moments (I lost every battle lol). Ive got buckelys of getting a foot rub because I have really big feet (if you painted them green they would resemble Shrek’s) My girls refer to them as “hoof feet”.. there's some things you just don’t make them do without paying a big price later… I can hear them now “Hey mum, remember that time you had cancer and you made us rub your disgusting hooves…”   Lucy and Sally are beautiful! I would say the same about your cats but they really didn’t give off any personality at all. You wouldn’t think something so small and cute could snore so hard they suck in the curtains.   Had surgery 4.5 weeks ago. My chemo treatment is Paklitaxel and Carboplatin (different to your poisons?), one day every 3 weeks, 6 rounds of treatment. From mildest to hard core chemo treatments, its meant to be in the middle? I think my big fear related to this is that like you, I’ve had some anaphylactic reactions to medications (penicillin – in May, and an anti-nausea drug straight after my surgery). My immune system is being a douche bag. I used to brag that I ate so much dirt as a kid that my immune system was mighty and I’ve barely ever been sick… til now    I haven’t done the education class yet, that’s meant to be on Thursday. Ive woken up with a snotty nose today and possibly a head cold brewing (shitty timing, haven’t had a cold all year!), will get assessed tomorrow if it can go ahead as planned.   Now the footy season is over, you need to concentrate on another sport, so instead of red and green wool, I’ll get some yellow and green for the Aussie cricket team! The whole ball tampering scandal has died down and I can look at David Warner without jeering (sucked in on all those ducks he scored in England though…). What do u think? Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!   Finally, a silly for all the cheese lovers…     Keep smiling! ... View more

Hi Phil   Thanks for the warm welcome! Have the Rabbito’s signed you up as a social influencer??? How can I explain to the Dragon supporters in the house why the white strip is now green without being disowned? They are feeling a bit sensitive about the crap season...   That was a real cheese smorgasbord you outlined, I reckon I can commit to a cheese and tomato toastie, will that be acceptable? Oh I can also make a baked New York cheesecake, a chocolate version mmmmmm (chocolatey chocolate goodness). You’re right, cheese and chocolate do go together! Maybe you should see if Maccas will do a cheese sundae with some chocolate fudge sauce?   This was my beautiful girl Lilly, a Shih tzu X. She made it to 16years old and was my best bud. She slept with a teddy bear in her mouth and snored like an old man. I miss her like crazy.     I looked after my daughters cat Leo for about 6mths – having a cat for the first time was a culture shock. Leo either loved you or hated you at any given moment (largely related to how hungry he was). Posting some funny pics of him catching a rare sunny day in Melbourne - I thought he had carked it.   Hope all is going well with your ball sucking chemo! I dont have balls (or ovaries), I wonder what the female version of that is? My first round starts wednesday - did you find there were foods you couldnt stand initially after treatment and ones that you handled better?   Keep smiling! Cheers Carolyn ... View more

Hi all of you amazing people   (#Addresses the whole group)… My name is Carolyn and I’m a chocolate addict… oh yeah and I also have cancer. This may possibly cause huge offence to all, but I don’t really like cheese much (but my daughter is addicted to the stuff, so I feel she makes up for both of us?).   I will come clean and confess I have been following your epic number of posted pages over my cancer journey. I was attracted to Claire’s first post because I also have/had/maybe still have(??) Endometrial cancer. I had no idea what to expect with my cancer journey as you’re given so little information and jumped on the Cancer Council website in search of information.    Thank you for all the information you have shared and the ‘realness” – your good days and bad days, they’ve helped me have realistic expectations and helped me cope better with the anxiety of the “unknown” road I’m on.    I had my surgery 4 weeks ago and like Claire have been thrown into menopause with the removal of my uterus/tubes/ovaries/cervix/appendix (why did I whine so much about periods before cos night sweats and hot flushes are the pits!). I’ve got the lumpy injection map on my stomach that’s decided its been stabbed with a needle enough – how do diabetics deal with this? My so called simple keyhole surgery ended up not so simple as I also had an unexpected tumour in my ovary that had spread to appendix and into the fat tissue of my abdomen (who said being chubby is bad because it saved my bladder and bowel!...taking the positive here :P). So I’m off to start my chemo journey this week and will have 6 cycles. Part of my therapy, similar to Lampwork’s knitting, is crocheting … my family are getting sick of all the hats I keep making, but ironically it will be helpful when I have no hair in a few weeks’ time 🐵   I feel like my head space at this stage is good, in part because of everything you have all shared. I’m armed with the recipes for health shakes, I understand there’s days I’m gonna feel like crap and my fingers and feet will also be numb, but these will pass. Most importantly, you have all showed me to keep moving with your life; garden, dance, sing, laugh and love, the cancer is a just a for now thing.   Maybe you didn’t realise it when you began your posting journey that you could profoundly affect others? So, just thank you.   Cheers Carolyn   PS I’ll send you all some sunshine – I moved up from VIC to NSW in July so I didn’t get to suffer the cold and rain of winter this year. It’s funny how much you appreciate a sunny warm day after living in VIC.. and not having to have flannelette sheets on the bed in October! ... View more