Here we go with day 4. Gonna pop to the pub tonight to see my pals ....most of them smoke but know that I am try to stop and are supportive. They are a great bunch and when one of them got sick with testicular cancer we decided to fundraise for cancer research. We held 2 kareoke evenings and raised £3k. He is now in remission. I called his cancer Roger the lodger who has been evicted. He has shown great strength and humour throughout.
One song which I love at the moment is I Will Survive especially the first verse!
At first I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never live
Without you by my side
But then I spent so many nights
Thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
Have a great day, stay strong
Kisses xx
Written by
bunnyrabbit
5 YEARS WINNER
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I love that song as well, I listen to it all the time I can't think of one either, I need my morning coffee first to give my brain a kick start :D, so the kettle is on if anyone wants a cuppa, or a coffee
5th April 2012 it was my birthday , I was 63yrs old. The week before I got a terrible chest infection, which made me feel so horrid I didnt even want a cigarette.
Dont get me wrong, as a true smoker does, I did persevere and try a couple , but didnt enjoy them. So that was the beginning of a very hard and gruelling next few months.
I went to see my doctor , with what I thought was arthritus pains in my legs. He refered me to the hospital. After being examined for about 2 hours from head to foot, I did think
it was a bit strange for pains in my legs. So I had an x ray of my chest before they let me go home. They said thay would send another appointment through the post.
Oh boy! 2 days later I received a letter saying go for a ct scan the following day. due to an abnormality on the x ray.
That was it I was taken into a room where an image of my lungs was on the screen. I knew deep down what was going to be said. The doctor explained I had a tumour on my lung, he was 99% certain it was a cancer. He did try and reassure me that it was contained and should be able to be removed.
After that day my world, and my familys was turned upside down.
Everyday after that seemed to mingle in together. I had numerous x rays , pet scans , and ct scans.
Then one appointment was with the consultant, he explained in full what I had. Yes I had 2 primary tumours. 1 on my windpipe which was pressing on to my main artery to my brain.
He reffered me for an exploratory operation to see how bad this was. As they couldnt operate if it was too dangerous. Then it would have been pallative care. (end of the road).
I had a 3 hour operation. When I came to, the surgeon said he had managed to seperate the cancer from the windpipe and artery, so the big operation could now go ahead.
I then had my whole right lung removed 3 weeks later. I was taken into a high dependency ward for 3 days. I dont remember much as I was in morphine city then.
On my 7th day I was discharged from hospital to go home. Very hard work, and I must admit I had quite a few panic attacks. with breathing and going upstairs.
Eventually I was feeling a lot better and just getting my strength back , when I got an infection where I had had a chest drain. So antibiotics which upset me, nurses to put dressings on.
After 2 weeks I had to go see the consultant again, regarding chemotherapy. She looked at my infection and doubled the antibiotics which made me feel even worse. Told me to come back in 2 weeks to see if I wanted to go ahead with the chemotherapy.
After talking it over, I decided to give chemotherapy a go, It was offered to me as an extra safeguard in case there were any undetectable cancer cells. They told me 1 in 20 people benefit. But it wasnt guaranteed plus there were a lot of risks too.
I went for the chemotherapy, I had 8 hours of it on the first day. I thought it wasnt too bad. Next morning I felt very sickly and had nausea. I got tinnitus in my ears, I couldnt stand any form of food . No I thought I will keep on taking the anti sickness tablets, and I would be ok. I stuck this out for 6 days , but by the Monday when I was due to have a pre-assesment for the next days chemotherapy, I virtually crawled into the hospital and collapsed.
I was on fluids all day via a drip. They eventually sent me home, but wanted to check on me the next morning. Next morning I got out of bed felt sickly again then collapsed back on the bed I just could not stand up.
Back to the hospital. This time they kept me in. I was put on fluids anti-sickness drugs and monitored for 5 days. The consultant came to see me and said NO MORE CHEMOTHERAPY for you. It is far too dangerous for your body.
The way I felt I could have kissed her.
The consultant has been really good , and has checked me for anemia, calcium, given me steroids to get my strength back. They are checking on me every 3 months, for the first year then it will be 6 monthly , then yearly.
I know all of this story may seem boring to you, but if you are trying to stop smoking , may be , just may be , reading what I have been through and being lucky enough to survive, it may encourage you to think IS IT REALLY WORTH SMOKING?
Without quit support and all its members I don`t think I could have kept going. The love and care you all sent was unbelievable. THANK YOU you are all angels.
THINK when the cravings start, is it worth it. I know my answer. I am sure your brain knows the answer too.
That's one heck of a story you have there Jillygirl, so happy you are here to celebrate it with us too xx
Bunnyrabbit, reaching day 4 already, congratulations! When you go out tonight, just remember that it's not that you can't smoke, you have a choice and the choice is yours to make. Stay in control and just think about how good you will feel tomorrow when you wake up and realise that you made the right choice
Lenne, lovely to see you popping on. I hope you are well and those little kittens of yours are still as cute as ever
Hey Simba, how's it going?
Gillyflower, I agree... those pesky cravings down pay towards any rent free space in our heads....
Sue, I hope you are still not missing doing the ironing Enjoy some more chillaxing time, in fact I think it's my turn to pop the kettle on now
Hey Emjay, cats are still mental as ever, and it's not long now until my 1 year mark I am really excited. I am currently working really hard to lose the weight I put on (went up three dress sizes). It's good fun when your lungs aren't filled with nasty stuff Big hugs to you and to everyone working their wee bottoms off here saying NO to those skanky cigs
Just changed my profile pic. This is my newly adopted rescue dog Barney. I've had him for 16 weeks and he is a pure joy He's 6 1/2 years and had a bad start. Saving up to buy a narrow boat and my partner, Barney and I hope to live and travel in it for about 5 years+ in 2 years time....nothing like forward planning!! All the money I'm saving will all go towards this adventure
That sounds like a fantastic idea, you just make sure that you keep putting that well saved cash away! Barney looks like a handsome dog, I bet you he keeps you on your toes in only a way that a springer knows
Hello everyone just got back in after seeing my family. Just want to say thanks you all for your kind wishes and comments. Like I have said before I am so glad to be here to thank you all. I am not trying to show off by any means, I just want to say by staying positive and staying in touch with friends anyone can get through anything even if its an operation, an addiction, family problem etc. Just think positive even when times are hard. Your sure to be a winner.
Hi Pete, Thank you love. lovely flowers and birthday cake. Wouldn't have got this far without you and the others., especially compo I love him to bits.
Going to sign off now and will see you tomorrow. Hope your day wasn't too hard.
Night night sweet dreams. luvs ya. xxxxxx
Nite nite everyone else. xxxxx
monkyAdministratorCake sniffer outer• in reply tojillygirl
Nite nite jillygirl, you Xsmoker youuuuuu sweet dreams to you too and luvs ya gal xxxxxxx
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
:D, so the kettle is on if anyone wants a cuppa, or a coffee 
Big hugs to you and to everyone working their wee bottoms off here saying NO to those skanky cigs 
hopefully i'll come back on later 
DAILY CHAT TUESDAY 9TH APRIL 2013
