hi everyone, esp keyfeatures, inshock pestering pixie and the others started on sept, chemo.
have caught a pretty crappy cold and obv we cant take much medication. i’m starting to look ahead to the next few cycles and that it will be getting worse, more fatigue, different se etc as the chemo works. its also made me aware how crappy christmas is going to be and what i wont be able to organise, or cook, or get in the mood, we dont have a big family and my 2 at home will be happy with whatever, a daughter 15 who also has birthday after christmas and husband. i dont have big lists of presents to do, but i like doing the organising. and we just wont know how we will feel.
if i was chatting to someone else i would say its just one year, and we have to put ourselves first, and not to think too far, just go day by day,
love to you all,
hopefully i will switch off with a bit of telly tonite. dowton is on that will give me somthing to focus on.
and start over tomorrow
xxxxxx
Hi amd,
I was just browsing the latest posts and saw yours, and could not just ‘read and run’. I am almost exactly two years ahead of you chemo-wise and am one of hte old lags who hangs around to chat to frineds, and offer support here and there. My chemo went from 17 Sept to 31 Dec 2010, and included my birthday (in a week 2) - dates engraved on my addled brain!
Having a cold is miserable, so please take care of yourself - keep sucking the strepsils and drinking plenty of fluids. Watch your temperature too, and if it spikes “get thee to a hospital”. Hopefully in a day or two you will feel a bit better.
Christmas won’t necessarily be cr*p, but it will be different. Rather than doing everyhtign yourself, this year call in the favours from family and friends. If money will stretch that far, cheat and buy in things you might make. Use online shopping to avoid hot, germ-infested shops. Then think of little treats you would like, and make sure they get planned in. You don’t have to put on a brave face, it’s OK to be sad, but you know what, I reckon you’ll be fine.
Sending you a big hug and making sure the light at the end of your chemo tunnel is turned up a little brighter!
Hi amd…ditto what RevCat says…Christmas will be different, but you can hopefully make it as enoyable as possible by approaching it in the best way you can and actually plan to make it an experience that is not the same as in other years? Easy to write, but harder in practice, so set yourself a challenge? Will hopefully make chemo more bearable/doable if you are immersed in planning festivities unique and manageable for you? My biopsy, with a 90% warning I had breast cancer was the day before Christmas eve 2011. I sort of went into meltdown in parts over Christmas (results 9 Jan) but apart from my husband, who knew, none of my family had an inkling! For me it was a different Christmas, but positivity kept me sane. My chemo was Mar to end of June, and I had my daughter’s wedding to plan for August! Again, having something to focus on (apart from work - I managed to work as much as possible during treatment) made treatment more manageable and I felt more in control. Chemo now really does seem a dim and distant memory! In fact my daughter said today ‘I will always remember the last 3 weeks wedding planning after we broke up from school…frantic buying, making, planning, printing, designing and the daily trip to hospital for your radiotherapy’ That made my heart sing as it actually felt quite ‘normal’ at the time. Not sure what else to say except you will get through this…listen to your body, accept all offers of help, plan little treats for yourself, remember who you are and find something to make you smile every day…especially on the rubbish ones!!! Every day is a new beginning…take a deep breath and start again 
xo
thank you revcat, good to know you got through yours at christmas time. i didnt know about strepsils so will go do that now,
just accept it will be different and hugs to anyone else who may have had a rubbishy day too,
big love
xxx
and to maryland, revcat read that as rinstead pastilles, dur!! they will do a bit of good though wont they, dont have strepsils xx
Get some menthol crystals of you don’t already have them…dissolve a few in boiling water and inhale…does wonders for cold symptoms!!! Also no problem taking over the counter cold remedies; just check with the pharmacist first…nearly time for Downton
Hi again amd, yes I’m sure rinsteead pastilles will do the job too - anything gently analgesic and bit antiseptic should be OK - whatever keeps sore throats at bay.
Hi there. Hope the cold soon passes and you feel a little better…as good as chemo will allow!
Just wanted to offer up my experience in the hope it may make you feel a little better. My chemo started 18th July (2 days before the kids broke up from school) and last one was 13th Dec, so only days before Christmas. I can hand on heart say that my first chemo was the worst. I felt horrible and couldn’t actually imagine walking back in ther 3 weeks later to put myself through it again. That’s how rotten I felt. But I told my team and they changed my medication etc so that it was better the next time. And a further change made it better again by the 3rd time.
I love Christmas and all the shopping and planning, and imagining the girls (aged 6 & 10 now) excited faces as they open things etc I flicked through all the Christmas gift guides and made lists etc. I sent hubby to collect some stuff and ordered other bits online which made me feel like I’d done some of the shopping myself. Once you know when your good days are going to be, plan some nice festive days for you to enjoy. I loved getting on the christmas tunes and sitting merrily wrapping
Christmas day was less than 2 weeks after my final chemo. Yes I was tired etc, but I still managed to cook our Christmas dinner and we had some lovely lazy family days snuggled on the couch watching films and eating all the Christmas munchies. It may not be your usual Christmas, but it can still be good, just in a different way.
Paula x
Hi amd, am from October Pumpkins and was just browsing the posts and wanted to say hi too.
Am on day 13 from first cycle TAC, and Christmas plus my birthday in Jan fall right in the middle of ‘not so good’ weeks!! However, have got my family excited about doing the Christmas dinner & they’re seeing it as a bit of an adventure! Am making lists and browsing the catalogues Big Time, and am more ahead of the game than I’ve ever been on the choosing front so am quite enjoying it! I’ve decided to put lots of Christmas music on and generally see all the Christmas razzmatazz as a distraction which will make the chemo time pass quickly!
I can say this today, because it’s a ‘good’ day, but I know there will be times when I am weepy and downcast too! I’ll have to pop back to my own post & remind myself of my ‘plan’!
A big hug to you Amd, and I hope you feel better today xxxx
thank you little bear and Paula, all your words have been great, and to those who have a day like mine, just remember tomorrow is another day, and today has been better, no tears from me! a friend said i just needed to let it out. its a rollercoaster, with good and bad.
lots of love
anne xxx
Hi amd66. I had a bad cough recently and had to go on antibiotics. Think that put me at my lowest. Having a cold is definitely going to be taking its toll on you, and don’t take that lightly. BUt it will pass. I have a couple of favourite things for colds - hot water with a spoon of honey, a crushed garlic clove, some fresh ginger, juice of half a lemon. Just be careful if you have a very sore mouth as the lemon and garlic might be too much. Also, if you can afford it, get some manuka honey with a umf rating of 15 or above (watch out for the stuff that is labelled ‘active’ rather than having a umf rating as this isn’t independently tested but can still cost a fortune). Manuka has natural anti-viral properties - a teaspoon 3 times a day really helps when you have a winter bug. If you can’t face going out you can order it online.
Don’t write off Christmas. I know chemo makes us feel horrible, but not every day is awful. If Christmas day is close to a chemo dose, why not schedule in a day to celebrate it that is in a ‘good’ week? I know that in NZ and Oz they have mid-winter Christmas in August for people that feel they BBQs on the beach don’t do it for them, so why not have chemo Christmas? If it’s after the event, you can probably even pick up bargain crackers and the like since everything is heavily discounted after Boxing Day.
Sending hugs - you will feel better soon.
Nicola x
BTW - a lot of countries / people celebrate Christmas on 7th January. Think it was Pope Gregory (Gregorian calender) that got it changed to 25th December.
Thank you again, its just stopped me in my tracks, not being well enough to want to get out or do something. I am just going to make another lemon drink though, more positive thinking, it will pass. i went for short walk in the sunshine but I think my new hat gave a few head bumps, perhaps i should have washed it first,oop!
love to you all xx