Mandy Harvey aka Beadsme: December 2009

The Big C .... Cancer (Breast)

I thought I would add some details to my blog for those that are suffering or have suffered from breast cancer.
I was diagnosed in Sept 2000.
Underwent a lumpectomy, following by chemo and radiothereapy. They also removed some lymph nodes to check to see if it had spread. Luckily it hadn't.
I was told that I was stage 1 (very early stage) and grade 3 (nasty).
Chemo - I had 6 sessions of chemo usinf FEC (Fluorouracil also known as 5FU), (Epirubicin), (Cyclophosphamide). I cannot say chemo was nice. The first 3 sessions were ok just a little bit of sickness but after that bad sickness, severe tiredness, no energy, bleeding and sore gums, bladder problems.
Radiotherapy - Didn't find that this was a problem at all. Have a couple of dot tattoos left on my chest area. At this time I was still tired from the chemo so not really sure if radio made it worse.
Here I am a survivor.
If you want to ask any questions please contact me and I will do my best to give you a truthful answer.

Saturday, 26 December 2009

Christmas Dinner For Two

A weird Christmas for me. No family, just Barry (hub) and I. Kids away either overseas or in another state, what on earth do we do???

At first I thought "OK, adult time". Hub wanted to take the boat out Christmas Day and I was thinking - hmmm chance to laze about, run around the house with no clothes on or even skinny dipping in the pool. No chance with any of it. The morning turned out humid and quite warm but by lunch time it was raining and rained all day and through the night.

What did we do? Play on the computer and watch the TV.

I also didn't have a clue what to do for Christmas dinner. Turkey was too big and neither of us fancied a thigh. So we opted for a small joint of beef, roast vegetables, potatoes and hubs favourite, brussel sprouts.

The other night we were watching Jamie Oliver and not sure if I remember this right but this is what I did and it was yummy.

Firstly I had 3 potatoes, 3 carrots and 2 parsnips. Sliced and cut them. Popped them in a roasting tray with a little oil. I then added 2 gloves of garlic, cut in half and sprinkled Rosemary all over them.

A couple of hours later our Christmas dinner looked liked this. And the garlic and rosemary flavouring was awesome. Funny how the roasties become the feature of a beef dinner.

Oh and that isn't lumpy gravy <<<<< before my daughter makes a comment. I made the gravey with a bit of brussel sprout water and the juice of the beef.