Louisa - Hope your fec went ok today, and that you will be well enough to enjoy New Years Eve.
Janice - Welcome - it sounds like you had a bleed from the vein when they removed the needle - it should get better on its own but I would advise to ring the place where you receive your chemo. Also the drugs in fec are very vein irratate so therefore the pain may be from the drugs rather than the bleed. But please get it checked out.
Sorry have been away from the thread for a while, where does all the time go? Had my 4th FEC on Thursday and am feeling okay again now, just suffered the usual sickness but is going today, had lovely Xmas, hope you all did too.
Hope you’re feeling okay Anne, am thinking of you lots and hoping that the TAX treatment is not being too harsh on you, over half way through treatment now, got to be good!
Janice, hope you’re arm has settled down now, I haven’t had such a bad reaction as you had, but my veins have been very sore and I was advised by a nutritionist that eating/drinking in smoothies lots of red/black berries would help as they are good for healing - have been drinking loads in smoothies (got smoothie maker for Xmas!) and symptoms have felt better, so may be worth a try?
Cally, how are you? hope you and your family have had a lovely Xmas and you’re feeling well. Is your first TAX coming up very soon? think I remember you saying it was early Jan.
Well, shall go and start hunting through wardrobe pretty soon for something to wear tonight to New Years Eve party, different hat/headgear for each course, so will get my neon blue bob wig out, and then raid the dressing up box for other two courses!
Hoping you all have great New Year, and roll on 2008 and getting closer to end of chemo for all of us!!
Been missing for a while - unfortunately christmas did not quite go as planned lol. Youngest daughter was very ill the weekend before christmas, so we had to take her to hospital on the sunday with a temperature of 39 - and naturally on the monday I started with it too. Went straight to docs and got antibiotics - but unfortunately they didn’t quite kick in quick enough - managed to cook xmas dinner, and eat it lol - then collapsed very poorly. Had to call doc out at tea time xmas day (so I’m Mrs Popular lol) - nothing she could do, except check bloods which were naturally low - and tell me to hang on for antibiotics to kick in. So spent next 3 days in bed - not quite the xmas I had imagined
Good news is I picked up by last Friday - so managed to get away for the wee break we had booked in the Scottish Borders. Just home today, absolutely shattered but had a good time. Roll on the third fec - it can’t be any worse than what I’ve just been through - can it ?!?!?!?!
Hi all , finished my fec on dec 12th ( 1st tax jan 9th ) but hope you all had a good christmas (sorry to hear about yours margaret)
Heres to a hairier, healthier new year.
I had a quiet one at home but the week before I organised a family meal in Liverpool for 23 of us. good to see all the sisters and bro. It was the first time they had seen my Wig ( I am in London ) so had all the comments and questions again.
louisa hope you had a good new years do . I am not one for new years celebrations , just a quiet drink with hubby kiddies tucked up in bed.
Oh Viv how dreadful to have to spend Christmas in the hospital.
I hope you are soon feeling better and that they manage to do your second fec. My third fec is next wednesday. I do feel better now (though my recovery was hampered by the fact that I felt so much better by New Years day we had a massive party - and I drank a very unreal amount of alcohol - the hangpver is still lingering even now lol - not something I will be doing again in a hurry !
Hi Margaret, Cally, Louisa and Viv and all you other lovely ladies
I am so sorry to hear that you have been poorly over christmas, you poor things having to spend christmas in hospital. I was meant to have my third lot of chemo yesterday but it has been cancelled due
to my bloods not being good enough - again !!! Seems to take my body four weeks to recover rather than three.
I would like to wish you all happy new year and hope that things improve for us all. Sorry for dipping out from this thread over christmas, needed a break I think. We did have a fairly good christmas although I was quite down for a lot of it - “will this be my last christmas etc”, you all know how it is ?
My hair has been playing up terribly over the past 3 days, falling out terribly all over the bed, shower, bathroom etc, gonna get my OH to shave it off today, it doesn’t even feel like my hair now, can’t do anything with it anyway, it looks awful, so I am gonna surf the net for headwear, wigs etc. Any recommendations ladies, how do I know what size wig I need ?
Anyway catch you all later, gonna check on some of the other threads now
Hi
I am new to this, although I had DCIS 3 years ago & I had a mastectomy & reconstruction. Now further cancer has been found in my lymph glands and secondary on my spine. I start chemo in 2 weeks for the first time. I hope to have hormone treatment too and then radiotherapy.
Its great to hear how you are all coping, it brings tears to my eyes but also smiles - you all sound courageous.
Thank you for your encouragements to each other.
That must have been a shock to you, but you sound brave and strong, you need to know that you can rant and rave on this site, cry, laugh and just generally say whatever you need to. We will be here for you, just let us know what you need.
Margaret, glad to hear you’re feeling okay now (apart from hangover!) hopefully the next Fec will go better for you. My last one was okay, was borderline for getting it done tho as white count was low, but luckily they said okay. Am feeling not too bad today, sickness has gone now, day seven, just starting to get sore mouth, and am feeling really quite tired. My four Fec have followed a quite predictable pattern on the whole, the second one being the only one where I felt okay the whole way through, but I have to say on the whole have been okay, have been very lucky so far. Am now dreading the first Tax coming up on Jan 17th, have to keep telling myself am halfway through treatment and to keep strong.
Hi Jackie, good to hear from you. Hope getting your hair cut wasn’t too awful, I too got in a complete state about mine when it really started falling out and felt better when I’d cut it all off (still cried lots while I was doing it though). Was one less thing to worry about when it was gone. I got my wig from a very good wig shop in Sandhurst who have an internet site where you can mail order if you want. Don’t think am allowed to post address, but if you type in ‘wigs in sandhurst’ it should come up. I think most wigs have a little adjuster tape at the back to help them fit snugly so unless you have very small/large head size you should be okay. I did find mine needed trimming though, to make it look more natural, so I took it to my usual hairdresser and she customised it a bit which made a big difference. Having said all that, I rarely wear mine, I always feel like a lady in a wig, whereas with headscarves I feel like me in a headscarf - sounds stupid I know, but it’s whatever you feel comfortable with I guess. My two best headscarves came from H&M and are Hermes lookalikes for £5 each - bargain!
Viv, sorry to hear about your Christmas in hospital, hope you’re feeling better today, and hope your treatment goes ahead on time.
Jan, hi and welcome. Am so sorry you’ve got to go through chemo, what treatment are you having? Like Jackie says, the ladies on this site have been and are amazing, hope you find as much support, advice and love as I have!
I need to learn the terminology - Tax?..Rads is radiotherapy…?
I have 13 days to wait for first chemo - seems a long time and have asked if there is a slot sooner…
I will be on FEC like most of you and waiting to hear about hormone treatment too.
My daughter in law thinks i should go for a blonde or brunette wig - she is a designer…have some of you chosen to buy wigs rather than use the nhs ones - haven’t seen them yet…
I have been given scarves & hats already!
Talking of family I have 4 grown up kids and its good that each one has someone else thay can talk too, that helps emotionally
2008 doens’t look good and was sad & wept on NYeve with good friends but here you are showing me there’s light at the end of the tunnel…
Welcome to this thread Jan - though obviously I am sorry you have had to join us. You will soon get used to the terminology - yes rads is radiotherapy, tax is just another chemo - usually meaning Taxotere (although sometimes used for taxol). I’m on fec at the moment (3rd one of 4 on wednesday - then I have rads then I go on to Taxotere. Please keep us posted as to hot you go with the chemo - we’ll all be here for you! And you are right - there is light at the end of the tunnel - it’s just that sometimes it seems dimmer than others - but it’s there!
Louisa - I’m hoping 3rd fec is kind to me - I have to say so far they have all been manageable - the fec itself hasn’t done anything outrageous to me (other than my hair falling out lol) - it’s the fact that with a youngster about, I seem to pick up everything from her - I’m going to isolate her and ban her to her bedroom for the next one I think lol.
Have to say I have given up with the wigs now - I just don’t like them. I have a coupe of party wigs that are neon and multi coloured that I wear occasionally - but I find the real ones too hot - I prefer the buffs if I’m going out, and just keep to the bald head if I’m staying in!
Jackie - I think at some point we have all done the ‘will this be my last’ thing - I know I have. Fortunately OH usually manages to pull me out of the doldrums - but I am glad that all the decorations are down and we have resumed some normality - I’m not good at xmas/new year most years - I find it most depressing so this year wasn’t exactly a blast lol
Cally - so pleased for you finishing your fec - and good luck with the first tax on the 9th - and to you too Louisa for the 17th. It will be a while before I get to the tax - have to have rads first for a month - starting sometime in february I think, so tax will be March- ish - I shall be awaiting your reports - good or bad!
Margaret, know what you mean about the kids bringing home all sorts of bugs (safe from nits at the moment tho! lol!!) Hard not to get upset at times and Xmas and New Year are always emotional whether good or bad, I am just trying to focus on what’s in front of me at the moment, keeping end of March very much in my mind as hopefully that’s when I’ll be finished with chemo, then another step at a time, otherwise it all seems to get too much.
Lucky you having snow! I grew up in Shropshire and remember ‘real snow’ getting snowed in and digging our way up the lane - all great fun for the first couple of days (and as long as we had plenty of logs in the log store) now am confirmed Southerner and more than an inch or two sends me into panic mode!
Jan, I went to a wig shop in Sandhurst for my wig (which like Margaret I hardly ever wear, but it’s nice to have the option). They book you in for an hours consultation and have a huge selection of wigs and you get a little private room to try on in. I think other people have mentioned a wig shop at Bluewater shopping mall (or Lakeside?). They can be quite pricey tho, so if you are offered something on the NHS you’re happy with maybe give that a try and if you want to go down that route have a look around for more later? (Think the avererage price for a medium length wig in shops is about £180).
Jackie, hi, hope you’re okay - any snow in your part of the world? Funny, we’re all out in cyberspace, think I only know Cally is Londoni-sh and Margaret is in Scotland, (I’m in Berkshire) where it’s drizzling miserably!
Anyway, shall go and bake a cake I think as all the mince pies are long gone!! btw, have been very good and still eating loads of beans, lentils, smoothies etc as advised by nutritionist, can’t say I feel much different but does stop feeling bloated which I think was caused by anti-sickness tabs.
Louisa - whereabouts in Shropshire did you grow up? I grew up there too lol - was in various parts of Shropshire from the age of 10 (1971) until I divorced and moved to Scotland in 1994. When I was younger we were in Tern Hill cos my dad was in the raf, family home was eventually in Calverhall nr whitchurch and my marital home was in Wem, where I worked for many years. Last job was in Shrewsbury, prior to move to Scotland - my isn’t it a small world.
I think Lorna has connections with Shropshire too if I remember right?
Hello,
Yes, I work in Shrewsbury and live in Telford. I work on a newspaper called the North Shropshire Chronicle. Did you used to read it Margaret? Can’t believe you used to live in Wem! It all happens in Wem.
Have been expecting snow here for a couple of days but it is a beautiful sunny morning.
LornaX
I’ve heard of it - but used to read the Shropshire Star more sorry!
I don;t think anything happens in Wem at all now lol - my eldest daughters grandparents still live there - all the rest of my family, my dad and my bro and sis live in Whitchurch - yet i haven’t been back there for over 3 years - how dreadful is that??
Last job was at the Fire Service in Shrewsbury (and no I wasn’t a firefighter before you ask haha) - loved it, but gave it all up to live with my current partner in Scotland.
What a small world!
Snow has all gone from here now - just grey and blustery today. Might go for a walk before the rain starts - might have to get dressed first though !!
Well you sound like you’re all quite local to each other we live in two houses which is a complete nightmare at the moment, because we both have teenage kids still at school studying we decided to
keep our “own” homes for the time-being, which makes this BC even more difficult to manage. we spend our lives backwards and forwards between the two houses, one in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire and one in Corby, Northamptonshire about 50 miles apart.
We haven’t had any snow but its a beautiful day today and I can feel a shopping spree calling me - TK Max here I come, although I usually get there and have to sit down to recover before I have even done anything … how are you all coping today ?
Hello all. I should have left this thread by now but just having a look around .
Jackie just to add on the wig front . The lady who fitted me was right when she said the more you wear it the more it moulds to you. Now my wig feels like a part of me (will still be happy to see the back of it when finished wearing it though).
Needless to say you need to go with someone who is brutally honest too when choosing. Mine was also trimmed around the fringe and thinned out a bit by the lady in the place where I bought it .
I got it from a place in ware hertfordshire (. Thats probably not too far from Beds but you are between places arent you ?) Its very easily found on the web .
Nowadays I throw it on in the morning in the dark the other morning it went on back to front for the first time which just shows you how tired I was !.
We are all coughing and keeping each other awake so no-one is getting much rest.
Margaret, I am originally from just outside Much Wenlock so Shrewsbury was our nearest large town - very exciting as a child going on shopping sprees to Shrewsbury! and the Shropshire Star was our local paper too - small world! Haven’t been back to Shropshire for years (about twenty!) although first husband still lives there - probably why I haven’t been back lol!! Is there a gig in Wem? I have very vague memories of seeing Robert Plant in Wem when he was with a band called The Honeydrippers?
Sorry have been absent from thread for few days, just been busy with kids off from school (they went back today) and husband home till yesterday. So had house to self today and was going to get loads done, but as usual, it’s nearly time to collect children from school and have done very little except walk the dog. Have to say, if I didn’t have the dog I think it would be very easy not to go out some days, I try and walk him for an hour after dropping the kids at school and feel better for it even on rainy days like today.
Well, am counting the days till I start my Tax on 17th Jan. Am glad not to have any more FEC to look forward to as hate the week after when I’ve felt so nauseous but am very nervous of Tax as everyone says it’s harder. Suppose it’s all relative really, shall try and stay positive - short term sacrifice for long term gain and all that!! Love it when friends say to me ‘but you’ve sailed through the treatment so far!’ doesn’t feel like that to me when I’m trying desperately to hold mind and body together by what sometimes feels like a very thin thread!
Hope you are all doing okay, bugs and chest infections on the mend, take care everyone,
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone is keeping strong this week. 3rd FEC tomorrow and I have felt really fed up today. My second FEC coincided with a heavy period and I think there’s another one loomed to go with the third one. It made it worse because I felt really drained already before I even had the treatment.
My healer came to the house this afternoon and the session really gives me an energy boost and lifts my spirits. I tried it before the treatments last time and I think it really helps to relax me. I feel much better now.
Margaret - hope all goes well tomorrow and good luck to anyone else having the treatment this week. I work just down the road from the Fire Station in Shrewsbury (as you say margaret it’s a small world.)
the other morning it went on back to front for the first time which just shows you how tired I was !.