Hi Jules and Andrew, not sure how I missed this earlier but your discussion has struck a chord. I wonder if anyone else has experienced the "brain changes" post-chemo? while I am back at fulltime work as a secondary teacher, I often cannot recall names or words for a crossword and I constantly have to refer to my notes about content that I really should remember/know. Is this just old age (I am only 53 thankyou) or does the bloody poison that we have poured into our system muck up our brains as well? I finished chemo in April 2008, but hings are often still alittle fuzzy at times. By the way, what are SSRI receptors? Samex ... View more

There is a part of me which responds positively to your thoughts. However, 2 friends used every treatment, both conventional and complimentary and both were very determined to live. Both died -one 6 months after diagnosis and the other lasted 3 years. Both were fit and happy pre cancer. I will admit that one was under a deal of stress but happy with his family etc and the other had made a sea change and was very content. This and my own unexplained cancer has made me reconsider that cancer diagnosis may have no rhyme or reason - it just happens to some of us.(Take away the obvious poisons of cigarettes etc) Samex ... View more

Hi rachel, welcome to the world of the "new normal"! i am by no means bring flippant. I finished treatent in April 2008 and returned to work 4 weeks later - much too soon and there have been days when it is all too much. But they do become fewer and have more space between them. The assessing is an intereseting phenomenon and you may find that you find the trivial events in the lives of others, just that - trivial. I found that I just kept quiet and stepped back as a way of managing. I'm sure that others deal with it differently. We manage the situations very individually. I too experineced a a shift - wanting to tick off the items on my list incase I don't manage to achieve them. My problem was/is, is that many around me don't feel the same way. But their experinces have been different to mine. I think that, in answer to your question, there are many who feel the way that you do. Samex ... View more

Hi Rachel, There have beena few posts about peripheral neuropathy. I suffer from it as well but it has improved over time. Didn'y kow about B6 but I know the massages help. I found some help with acupuncture as well. Samex ... View more

Hi Maddie, I've had the surgery and I was 50 at the time. If he has come through chemo, he will handle the surgery. If he is having it done laproscopically (keyhole) his recovery will be even faster than opening all the way up. He has a lot of surgery to contend with in the next few weeks/months and I'm sure that with the support that you've shown him, he should recover very quickly. Good luck for Monday! Samex ... View more

Sailor, you are living proof that moderation seems the best answer but I agree that each of us is entitled to do whatever serves their purpose. While I didn't really make significant changes to my diet, I found that yoga (with an amazing teacher) allowed me to cope with the side effects of chemo more effectively. They didn't lessen the effects - just allowed me to deal with them in a less panicky way. Maddie - I have had the bowel surgery and I am still addicted to chocolate! i hope your boyfriend enjoys every mouthful. Samex ... View more

The counselling is a good idea. I waited for too long and just expected evrything to be the same when I finished treatment. Silly me! Take each day at a time. Samex ... View more

Hi. I have been out of treatment coming up for 3 years. I have returned to teaching full time this year (for a variety of reasons) and really miss the days I have had off from work in recent times. I struggle with the deadlines and the constancy of teacjing but have pondered whether that was any diffeent before cancer. I know that I look at many things differently these days and that impacts on how I approach the many extra-curricular activities I do. I am quite happy to allow others to do them. I know that I am no longer defined by what I do for a living.I still work too hard and still put others first and this can have a dire effect on my emotional well being rather than my physical.But this is soemthing I have to learn for myself. Like Harker, I have "mulled over" a number of issues that I believe were brought to a head with my cancer and to soem extent exacerbated by facing our mortality.Unlike Harker, I haven't any answers yet - at least not for myself. While your boss is being kind - go with it. Work on projects that your mushy brain can cope with and let others do the rest. Again as Harker said, you still have surgery and all that that entails to deal with yet. Take care and take heart that many of us seem to have discovered the dilemmas. Samex ... View more

hi, Our kids at school had a huge effort for World's Greatest Shave. 3 of the Senior Boys went competely bald and there was a lot of leg waxing and hair colouring. Our school has had its fair share of cancer with my own, the daughter of a teacher, a PE teacher (who decided to leave teaching for an easier, less stressful life) and a number of parents - both survivors and victims. It would be interesting to address a group and wonder what to say. Well done and good to hear from you! Samex ... View more

Nothing like preying on the vulnerable. Sapm,spam go away, Please don't return another day. ... View more