Hiya folks, all I can do is apologise to you all for not writing much lately. Things have been all "6's and 7's" here (that's English for all over the place!!!!).

I've been making a soft toy for my helper, Emily - an octopus can you believe? It'll be finished tomorrow, thankfully, although I must say I have enjoyed making it. It's so straightforward, I've not had a pattern to follow, I just went by a picture she gave me. I'll take some pics of it when it's finished.

Mainly I've been very concerned - worried - scared, call it what you like - but Mandi, my daughter, had found a lump in her breast. At first it was very jellylike and the doctor had said that they'd take it out if she wanted - but it was benign. As she'd had her major hysterectomy only a few months or so before, she said that it wasn't hurting her and if it was okay - she'd like to leave it for a while. They were okay about that.

Well about 6 weeks ago, it started to irritate her, it was becoming rather tender. She went to her doctor, who sent her to the hospital, who said that the lump had gone solid. That was scary to hear - so she went to another hospital which had an oncology department, but was almost 200kms away!!

They did another MRI, also a test with some barium put through her veins etc. and they said that they also wanted to do a biopsy. So she had to go back up there a week later and the doctor did the biopsy without general anaesthetic. They just did it under local, but it hurt her so much. They cut her and then through that opening, they took 10 samples with a cutting and plucking tool. She said it was absolute agony and they kept apologising for causing her pain. Why, then, didn't they give her more anaesthetic, or even better - a general for just an hour?

She then had to drive back home (200kms) because her husband won't drive on main roads like that!!!! What a wuss!!! Well she got home without too much discomfort, because lo and behold - the local anaesthetic started to work properly!!!!

She was told it would take about 10 days for the pathology results to arrive, and she would have to go and collect them from the hospital!!!!! She told them that it was around 200kms and she couldn't afford to keep coming up to them, and she asked if they could e-mail the results to her, but they don't do that. Luckily a friend of hers was going up to that hospital with her husband, so she offered to collect the results for Mandi.

The results arrived and Mandi couldn't make head to tails of it. So she tried to make an appointment with her doctor in hospital, and she managed to see her today. The results are "borderline", which makes me feel scared that cancer had come back again. So the hospital are going to take it out on Tuesday/Wednesday!!! They said it was better to get it out sooner rather than later.

The hospital and medical systems there in Turkey are - on one hand - very old fashioned and at times chaotic, yet again - they really jump on anything that needs sorting out.

So that is why I've been absent in the blogs etc, because I just can't seem to concentrate very well. Apart from the obvious with Mandi - it's also gone extremely cold and I hate feeling cold. It's not too good having cold hands and trying to sew by hand!!!!

I will keep you informed as and when I know anything. I'm just glad that they're going to get rid of those lumps - she found out that she actually has two lumps (one is hidden behind the other), and the big one is 2.5 ins by 1.5 ins. - now that is big.

I've just realised that since she's been living in Turkey - she's been ill for quite a lot of that time. Also she's lost a lot of bits of her over there!!!! I'm just hoping that this is going to be the last of these treatments and that she'll get back to being fit and well.

I wish you all a lovely weekend to come.