Hi All
I’m starting 3 or 6 EC and Taxotere Chemo on the 19th April.
We’ve got a night booked away in Colwyn Bay on the 21st April - Travellodge doing some £15 rooms so my OH thought it’d be nice to go away for a night and day and give me something to look forward to, seeing as I’m going mad with boredom, tiredness and being on my own all day.
It’s about 2 hours away from where we live.
I do wonder though, what state I’ll be in on Day 3, I hope OK. What are other peoples experience of 1st round of Chemo?
I’m also wondering if theres anyone chuckling to themselves reading this thinking “awwww bless, she’s got NO CLUE what shes in for has she” 
Any advice much appreciated xxx
Kate
34 Years Old
No Kids - was undergoing Fertility Treatment which has had to stop.
45mm Tumour - Grade 3
Er + PR Postitive (Er 4 - PG 3)
Primary Cancer
No Metatases
WLE and SLNB - fortunately both clear
Seromas under both after surgery, delayed healing.
Start EC and Taxotere on 19th April 11
Hi, I can only say that I just wanted the settee at that point in chemo. I had three FEC and three Tax.If I were you I’d book it for the third week. Other people were OK though. I found that I had a similar pattern to each chemo while on FEC.
Why not see how you go the first time and look for a special offer after the second or third one?
I’m not saying don’t go away - just more of wait and see and go when you feel good.
Good luck with your chemo and hope you get minimal SEs.
Stella xx
PS. Why not go away before the chemo? you know you’ll be OK then.
hi
i have had a few weekends away, im on my 5th of 6 FEC, but have done them on the weekend before my next one. im fortunate that i have it on a monday so i know i have a weekend clear.
everyone has different SEs after different times, and these can change with each one, although i think everyont would agree there is a build up over time.
my first one left me ‘off’ til the sunday, nothing dire. i think what ive learnt is that you have a finite amount of energy and you need to decide how to use it (a bit like a video character) when ive been away ive had a late start and then to bed about 4 so i can have a late night.
have a great time x
Hello Kate
Firstly just want to wish you well for your first chemo, it’s exactly a year ago today that I had my first of six sessions of EC, so I’ve had lot of flashbacks today. Anyhow I can honestly say that I didn’t feel too bad after the first one, I did feel sick when I got home and had a really bad headache that first day and I just took it easy for the first 24 hours. However on Day 3 I met a friend for lunch and went for a long walk with my dog. I know everyone is different and you will find that there is a pattern to how you feel after each chemo. I kept a little notebook and jotted down how I felt and there was a definite pattern.
We had two breaks away whilst I was on chemo, but they were always taken on the third week - just before the next chemo - when I felt almost back to “normal”.
If you decide to go away I hope you have a lovely time.
Good luck. Take care.
Beverley xx
It’s already booked and the cheap rooms were only available in April and none on suitable days. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens - if one thing it’ll be a learning curve if it’s miserable but I’m hoping I’ll be OK, I’m one of these people that gets flus and colds all the time, sinus infections etc, so I think I’ve got a resistance but cancer may laugh in the face of all that.
It seems people have v different experiences - like the tip for planning stuff on week 3 after treatment, that makes sense, just when there are good offers its not always going to be at a time that suits and we’re very strapped for cash.
Thanks xx
My advice is…go with the flo, hopefully you will not be too bad with the first chemo (the yukkiness tends to build up over each treatment in my experience) also you will still be having the steroids on day 3 which will give you a boost.
Getting out and about (even if its only for a short walk) in the sunshine, fresh air and a change of scenery can only be good for you.
Go with a positive attitude, enjoy and even if you don’t do much a change is still as good as a rest in my world
Have a good time, hugs Suze xx
Good luck Kate!
I was fine on my first FEC - out with friends the next day. Number 2 though, I was sick as the proverbial dog! Having finished chemo, looking back, the only thing I could ‘guess’ at, was that week3 was likely to be my best week (sometimes not even then! But then other times, week 2 and 3 would be ok)!
Wishing you lots of luck, and many SE free days…
Tracey
If it’s already booked, then the money’s been spent so I’d just keep my fingers crossed for nice weather and gentle SEs so you can do it. And yes, we’re all thinking “she’s got no clue what she’s in for”, but that’s because we have no clue either as the SEs can be completely different for different people.
For your own peace of mind find out beforehand where the nearest hospital is, make sure you have a written information card from your chemo centre (ask at your pre-chemo appointment for something). Bring a very comfy chair with you so if all you want to do is sit by the sea and watch the world go by, you can. Make sure you bring lots and lots of bottled water or squash or whatever you drink as you’ll find it helps to drink loads and loads for the first couple of days to help flush it through. Find out where is a convenient supermarket near your Travelodge so you can pop in to pick up nibbly bits and pieces that you might feel like to help stave off nausea, as little and often is usually the best bet for eating.
I hope you have a lovely time, and big pat on the back to your OH for wanting to give you a treat.
I’m with Choice Muffin - great advice from her - and just in case, can you and your OH agree how you’ll deal with cancelling if you have to. There was something for me in the begining of my chemo -when I had to cancel things- I just got livid with fury, it was all about the treatment taking my life away from me. Looking back, and seeing how quickly I bounced back when treatment finished, I dont think I maybe needed to be quite so cross!!
I LOVE your thing about “she’s no idea what she’s in for” - and indeed none of us do as CM says- there was a lass on here a few months ago who worked all through her FEC-T while I spent 5 months pretty much on the sofa!
very best wishes to you, Nicola
Yeah, I’m slowly starting to get the fact that all of this is so unpredictable and that it is the most frustrating part of it, you just never know from one day to the next how you’re going to be.
Everything I’m doing at the moment or saying I’ll do comes with a caveat attached… always “if I’m feeling OK, if I’m not knocked out” etc
As my BCN said, I’ll learn.
I’ve already been told to slow down and listen to my body, not try and battle through, you’re just delaying the inevitable and it’ll just make you worse. This is because I started doing things as normal again and then my body had a go at me - I suppose I am only a month out of surgery and I had 2 seromas as well. Really I’m doing alright, but just have to keep resting up.
Really pleased, I managed to get over to Lancaster today to see my best friend, my OH drove over to see a customer there and then we fitted in my best mate - thought I’d be really worn out by it all as couldn’t have a little sleep in teh afternoon etc, but have actually done quite well and had a great day, sun was out and spirits lifted and bless her, she’d bought me a load of books, a big bottle of Lush Olive Branch Bath/Shower stuff and a nice big box of M&S choccies 
Oh, and she gave me her old Uggs for comfort - when I say Old, she’s hardly worn them - bonus.
Hi El Good luck with the holiday and with the Chemo. I am into my third week after my first dose of Chemo. I found the first week tough but I had also had two lots of surgery in the previous six weeks. So I would say that how long since your last surgery would also have an effect. I hope you get your holiday, I am going away tomorrow and am really looking forward to it.
I went away day 7 of first FEc and was fine. I am having weekly tax at the moment and have managed to squeeze in a few breaks between hospital visits. The most recent was a weekend in Wales about 3 weeks ago. I had to have a nap saturday afternoon but apart from that was fine. everyone is defferent though. The best advice is to just go with what your body tells you x sarah
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll never really know how I feel but to try and arrange things anyway and listen to my body. I’ll learn. x
Hi El
I had 6 x FEC. My first one was on a Monday and I stayed at home the next day waiting for the SE’s to kick in. I felt fine so went back to work for the remainder of the week! The following week my husband and I went to France on a planned holiday.
I think you should just carry on as planned and see how it goes. You may well be ok and will be very grateful for a bit of time away.
You’ll get to know how your body will react the further into treatment you get.
I hope all goes well for you as you start this journey and I hope you get to enjoy your short break.
Karen
Good luck with the break - my experience with FEC is that you will know if you’ve major SEs early on (I had nausea and had to go back to the hospital after first 2 doses to get it under control) - other ones like tiredness you can cope with by going with the flow as others have said… I spent last summer having 6 FEC and wondering if I could make holiday plans, weekends away etc and made all sort of back up plans - in the end once initial nausea was controlled I made all the trips all over the country - had to have daily rest periods so needed a hotel bed mid-afternoon for this and managed SEs such as constipation but I was certainly out and about alot.
So good luck -have your back up plans in place - and it’s wonderful your OH has planned something fairly near to home for you - the “not knowing” is part of the chemo and I found that was not easy but I think it’s worth carrying on as normally as possible and hoping family can cope with the uncertainty too (not easy to cope with if you’ve always been a very reliable person…)
Take care,
Fran
Good luck with the chemo. Listening to your body was very good advice.
It’s over two years since I finished chemo but I remember how I felt in the few weeks leading up to it.
Everyone is different and unfortunately it’s a matter of waiting to see. After my first one I sat back waiting for the side effects to kick in (I honestly thought that they’d made a mistake and given the wrong drug) but I was fine. Slightly foggy head but that was it. I’d promised the grandkids a few days in North Wales and off we went. The trip round Carnarfon Castle was a struggle as I was feeling increasingly tired. Glad we went went though, as others have said the side effects did build up over the cycles.
Just batten down the hatches and it’ll soon be over.
Take care
Mal