OPA meeting in Adelaide Australia

[Jen1005]

Hello all

First post here and I am wondering if there is a opa meeting held in Adelaide Australia.

I had iver Lewis op in February this year, due to have gastroscopy with dilation on 27th this month, but otherwise ok.

Currently staying in Melbourne with son and family and have had all my treatment here. Has been fine , had what they call a sandwich , chemo then op the chemo which I finished on Wednesday this week. My pathology report was great, no sign of cancer at join site and all 19 nodes showed no signs of cancer. Dr said best result could ask for!

Looking forward to going home to Adelaide asap to the rest of my kids, and grandkids.

But would really like to get together with other people with similar cancer when I get home,

[haward]

Hi Jen

It is very tempting to offer to come out to Adelaide and help you set up a group but the OPA is limited to the UK. We can certainly provide you with advice on how to form a group if you can find the local nursing specialists or surgeons.

The last time I was in Adelaide was the night the Rolling Stones played. Hotels were so expensive we stayed in a student flat through AirBnB and we sat outside the Oval listening. I like Adelaide!

If you need some advice on setting up a group look at the OPA website and feel free to get in touch with me - [e-mail]

Regards

Haward

[Jen1005 in reply to haward]

Many thanks for you input. I will ask when I get home to Adelaide , specifically the Lyell McEwan hospital which is where I will be going. Hopefully I will be able to set up s group.

Thanks

Jenny

[sophielewis]

Hi from gold Coast Queensland

I had my surgery 4 years ago here on the gold Coast. Not met anyone else who has had it. I do know that a lot of patients are beyond surgery by the time my surgeon sees them.

The medical professionals at the hospital here have very little experience with the after effects on your life afterwards which we all know can be frightening if you don't know what they are and how to deal with them. The Internet has been a godsend for me.

Might be you will have a very small group.

[Jen1005 in reply to sophielewis]

I can only try. The after effects can be trying, but I am here to put up with them!

The most trying is bm's, having to get to loo in hurry can be a pain!

Still losing weight, but I figure that will even out soon, at least I had weight to loose.

Being an ex RN helps, some of the terminology can be intimidating,

Hope you continue to thrive post op.

Jenny

[Aussiepete]

As a fellow Aussie (based in the UK) it's great to hear you're doing so well. The OPA has been amazing here in the UK. You should look at approaching local cancer charities to see if they can help you set an OPA equivalent up. It's been really useful to me !

Good luck and all the best mate!

[Jen1005 in reply to Aussiepete]

Thanks for the good luck , where about's in the uk are you.

I was s psychiatric nurse and a general nurse and worked in Kent in the late '90s

Loved it

I will try the cancer charities to see what I can set up, thanks for the input

Jenny

Continued good luck

[kiddy]

Well done for getting through it all. I'm on 2nd dose pre op chemo ,finding it hard.Did you have 3 lots after? such a good site here even if you can't get to meetings. I see you are having dilation do you still get food stuck?

I hope you find others to share your stories in Adalaide. speak to your CNS nurse. Best of Luck

[Jen1005 in reply to kiddy]

Yes, 3 lots before and three lots after. The last lots were the hardest , I think the comulative effects seem to catch up for the last lot. Terribly tired and BM's very loose. Seems weird to be talking about these things, but at least here to talk about them!

I think my trouble with eating is trying to eat wrong things too soon!

I will survive!

Cheers

Jenny

[Mulomulo]

Hi there. I am from Singapore. Somewhere closer to u. My op was on 6th Aug last year.

My Cea marker was within range but now it seems to be going higher. It is at 17 now. Odd thing is that there is a light up at my lymph node but doing a biopsi it shows benign 5 months ago.

Doing a biopsi this Monday again so am praying that things are ok. So really don't know why marker is high.

I also have swallowing issues due to scar issues. Already done about 8 to 10 dilations but esophagus still gets blocked by scar tissues.

Other than that I am a happy 42year old. U can email me at [e-mail] to compare notes and diet.