Hi Sarah
Im 37 tomorrow, married with two boys 3 and 6. Live in leeds west yorkshire. Work nights as a learning disability nurse in a 7 bedded unit for adults with severe learning disabilities. I adore cornwall, was holidaying there this year. Totally envy you!!
Ive been offered the cold cap and although the prospect of -5 on my head doesnt appeal, nor does being bald. So am gonna give it a go on thurs but if i dont like it then will not bother again.
Take care
Deb
XX
Let us know what it’s like! -5 are you serious!!! OMG…
Happy birthday for tomorrow…have a good one xx
I am starting on 6th January at Churchill Oxford. Scared of being sick so got everything ready. Peppermint tea. Ginger capsules etc. Seeing as a little alcohol is allowed a BC friend recommended Crabbies alcoholic ginger beer, Found some in local Lidls. Started drinking it already lol. I am ateacher too so no work allowed for me, Also having the white cell injections. Very anxious but lovely to know other people know how you are feeling. Jan x
Well I’m an old biddy compared to you young things–63 and kids grown up. I’m an adult education teacher and was also told not to go back to work. Most of my students have children at school.
The cold cap was mentioned when I last saw an oncologist and one of the leaflets I was given suggests fairly good results, but I get the impression that they work best for people with thick hair and mine is very fine. Also, I am one of those who sometimes get headaches from the cold. The chemo nurse didn’t say anything about it, but I didn’t ask.
The main risk factor is being female. Being post-menopausal like me is the other really big one. The risk statistics in newspapers are misleading–they’ll say 5% increase, but it’s usually 5% of a 1% risk or something like that, which is actually tiny. The oncologist I saw was very good at saying things like ‘That means that out of every 10 women with the same cancer, X survive at least 10 years,’ using absolute numbers. I think the ones that run in families are relatively rare. I have 3 sisters and 2 daughters, so I was worried that they might be at risk, but the BCNs and doctors say no.
I’m sure healthy eating will help us all to get through this, but morale is important as well, and if you are sick or very nauseous the main thing is to keep something down. This may be where melon comes in, especially for people who get sore mouths and throats. I found during my 3 bouts of monumental morning sickness that non-acidic fruit and fruit juice stayed down better.
I’m planning to take a tub of fruit pieces to the first session–what a pity this is the wrong time of year for the summer fruits I like best. I think someone on another thread said banana is good.
Best to all,
Cheryl
Ooh alcoholic Ginger beer. Sounds delicious, I love anything with Ginger in which could come in handy the next few months. I have found a lovely tea in tesco a ‘pukka organic’ one I think, it has Ginger, turmeric and something else I can’t remember what, it’s really warming and I drank loads when I was in hospital post op and was a bit queasy after all the anesthetic. nice with a spoon of manuka honey ( not the cheapest honey I know and a lot of people don’t believe it works), but I swear by the stuff and some say it’s really good at keeping your WBC up during chemo. X
Hi I have just joined this site and this thread seemed appropriate. Start fec 11th jan. Will also have radio therapy afterwards. My diagnosis was end nov and operated on a week later. It seems no 2 stories are the same. I was v. Unlucky in that had 2 tumours, one on each breast. However lucky in that although grade 3 caught early so no spread. Both different types so may take longer term drugs that could combat one of them. I am having the port catheter which I am happy about as have thin veins so don’t want tubes through the hands/arms. Opting for ice cap in hope won’t lose my hair. I have been so busy with Xmas and having two young children that not had time to dwell on it, it’s only now that it’s becoming a bit worrying. I still feel that I’m not sure what questions to ask yet and have dealt with each stage as it comes. Will start researching for tips to get through the treatment and this site looks very helpful. Good luck to you all. Den42 x
Hi Kaz,
I too had a lumpectomy and was Grade 3. I started Fec x6 in July and finished 25th November.
For me, and I know we all experience this very diferently, it wasn’t too bad at all. I did not experience any sickness, or any bowel problems or ulcers etc. The biggest problem I had was such a terrible taste in my mouth and going off all food basically! I lived on grapes and oranges for the first 10 days after Fec 1 & 2 (perhaps that’s why I had no bowel problems!)and I know that after FEC 3 & 4 all I could face eating was salted peanuts! The two other SE’s for me were tiredness and nearer the end I became very tearful and emotional, but I think by then I’d had a couple of treatments delayed because my bloods were never up to scratch and I just wanted it to be over and to move on to the next step - the Rads.
I work in a Secondary School and they have been fantasic with all of this. Basically allowing me to call all the shots. I stayed away for the week after every treatment and then went in for the next two - on the understanding I could leave at any time if I felt unwell or too tired to cope. During the last two treatments I reduced my hours and only worked until lunchtime - simply because I found that it got to about 1:30pm and I could have willingly fell asleep standing!
I have no tips re:SE’s but can only tell you to go with whatever your body is telling you to do and don’t worry about anybody else or if it puts them about etc. You HAVE to look after yourself for the next few months, very selfishly at times.
I start my Rads this Wednesday, so I am onto the next step and all that will go with it, and again I will just go with the flow.
Good luck to you. Good luck to ALL of you who are starting this month. You will find that you will become close friends while sharing this experience and I can guarantee at some point or other you will be very grateful for that friendship and understanding of what you are going through. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions that are niggling at you. There is always someone on here that will be able to give you an answer or some reassurance.
Take care - lots of love to you all as you start your journey.
Karen
Glad all you lot have found each other and can help each other through. I started ‘First chemo tomorrow’ thread in 2009 and it is still going, and was very useful to everyone.
Hope it all goes ok for you all!
P.S I had 5 fec treatments and used the cold cap, it worked for me!!
very cold though!! But i thought it was worth it! Everyone is different! xx
Weena - Hope you’re throughly spoilt today! Happy Birthday!
I’m an inbetweener, 52, two kids of my own 18+21, two step children 31+33. All but my 18yr old flown the nest. Step granchild No 3 due in June. Ex nurse, Was working full time in a university type library but have only managed odd mornings and a few key meetings since the BC dx. Live in North Hampshire and am due to be Fec-T’d at St Lukes in Guildford.
-5 head freeze! Yuk. I hate being cold and have fine hair too. Have wig and scarfs at the ready.
Can anybody explain why I can’t sleep even though I’m really tired??? Not on steriods yet either, doesn’t bode well… ho hum…
P xxx
Hi Peachez
I find that when I am over-tired, I have trouble sleeping. A glass or two of wine with supper is usually relaxing enough that I am able to get off to sleep. Drinking a lot or late in the evening doesn’t help as much.
I imagine we are all a bit stressed at the moment. I know I am, even though I am trying to keep busy and not think about it all the time.
Hi Peachez
From the couple of months I have been on these forums, it seems to be a very common theme - can’t sleep whether on chemo or not. I am not a great sleeper anyway, and the whole bc thing has made it a whole lot worse. I have decided to go with the flow, as I have found that feeling I ought to be asleep makes it worse, and have downloaded audio books for my iPod and as I am a huge cricket fan have been watching that.
The books on iPod at least empty your mind of the demons that run around in the grey matter at 2 in the morning. Also a couple of drinks mid evening helps sometimes, I also have a lavender heat pack which sometimes helps.
I have FEC3 on 7th Jan, and generally the anticipation is worse than the actual with chemo but I can assure you, I won’t be getting much sleep between now and then, although I know it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Sorry no magic answers but I hope some reassurance that what you are going through is normal. Try not to stress about the not sleeeping - easier said than done I know!
Hugs
SJ xx
I too am a bad sleeper, especially at the moment, off to bed exhausted about 10.30 and still awake at 1am… I think some of my problem is still not being able to sleep on my front after my op, although have progressed to lying on my side again without feeling like my tummys going to split open which is bliss. … ( too many Christmas chocolatesin the evening don’t help me either but if there’s a box on the table I just can’t stop,myself!!!)
Happy Birthday Deb- sorry you have to spend your 37th with this hanging over you but at least by your 38th it will all be over and done with and life will be back to as near normal as possible.
Cheryl I’m an old biddy like you 63 in a couple of months.
Re the cold cap – thanks for discussing it ladies- I had pretty much dismissed it as not being very successful and not worth the extra time spent in the chemo unit -but now I’m thinking again.
A friend who went through Chemo told me that she sucked ice all through her chemo sessions to try to prevent the sore mouth. She said she wasn’t told about it until she was half way through and she found it made a big difference- said it worked along the same theory as the cold cap in making the blood vessels more constricted so that there was not such a flood of the chemicals to that area. I know everyone is different but hey anything is worth considering and we all want to know what options we have. Then again for me too many choices is also a problem as I dither around trying to choose. I also recommend the ginger tea (available from Sainsburys) delicious.
Love and positive vibes to all.
Diana x
Just a question for those who have already started: what do you suggest wearing to chemo sessions in the winter? Do you need to bare your upper arm, or just the lower? I’ve been wearing layers of long sleeved tops and jumpers while I’ve been at home. When I walked through the chemo unit everyone seemed to have ordinary clothes on, but I didn’t like to stare.
Cheryll,
You should be fine in long tops- they just need your hand and lower arm usually. I’d make sure you wear several layers- ive quite often been a bit chilly - then at least you can strip off if it is warm. Saying that, I’ve also had the onc. turn up, and have had to bare all, but that is because my chemo is up front.
Don’t forget to drink loads of water!! Beforehand as well, because then you can have a big wee as soon as poss, and help flush it all through.
Good luck, I’m in tomorrow for my first Tax; have done 3 FEC, (hurrah?!) !
Tracey
Cheryl, I have a PICC in my upper arm, so I wear a t-shirt, but if I hadn’t had the line in, I know the chemo nurse told me that the chemo ward use from the wrist to just below the elbow - so I don’t think you’ll need to bare your entire arm.
The chemo ward wasn’t as stiflingly hot as the rest of the hospital seems to be - so if I were you I’d wear layers anyhow, so you don’t get too hot or cold while you’re there. My first session I was on a bed with lots of pillows, but next time I can sit in a reclining armchair if I prefer - they just wanted me on the bed for the first in case I fainted, I suppose!
Everyone else having chemo at the same time was really chatty and friendly, so don’t worry about staring… everyone in there will have been in the same place you are now, with all the same sort of questions. I couldn’t help peeking at who had hair/who was wearing a wig/are they wearing a wig? etc etc… <grin></grin>
When do you start? My second dose is this Friday, hey ho, one dose closer to the end of it all, anyhow!
Sophie xx
Oh, and have you been warned about peeing bright red, if you’re having the ‘E’ (epirubicin)? First pee after chemo, so be warned! Eat before you go/during if you want/and yes, keep those fluids up, Tracey is absolutely right.
Sophie xx
Tracey - good luck tomorrow with the TAX! I was discussing the drugs with the chemo nurse the first time around (think the steroids turned me into a motor mouth cos I’m normally so shy and retiring, lmao), and I mentioned that I’d heard TAX remained in a black bag during administration - my OH questioned why, and the chemo nurse told him, completely deadpan, “Because it’s too dangerous to even LOOK at” - his face was a picture. Oh, I’m so lucky to have a nurse with my sense of humour…
Sophie xx
Thanks Tracey and Sophy; good luck with the Tax, Tracey. As far as I know I will be in a outpatient area rather than up on a ward. When I had my ops, there were some older women with multiple health problems having chemo on the ward, though. It seemed pretty quiet in the outpatient unit, but then as this was on the 30th, everything seemed a bit quiet. I was thinking of taking a cardigan and a shawl so I can wrap up or cool off.
My appointment is at noon, so I’ll have a snack mid morning, drink water all morning, and take along fruit, biscuits, ginger ale, maybe a flask of ice cubes, and either a cream cheese sandwich or cream cheese and biscuits, hoping to get home mid or late afternoon–does that sound about right? The nurse suggested a sandwich.
Can you use the loo while treatment is going on after all that water, or should I just sip? Wednesday is the big day.
Thanks girls for my birthday messages. I hate having a january bday so may have to celebrate it post treatment. Im counting the days down now,am getting a bit tetchy.
I too was wondering if you could go to loo during treatment(at the hospital of course not during the whole 5months of treatment Ha Ha) cause all that driking will make me want to go. Anyone else going to do the sucking of the ice thing thats been mentioned?
Deb XX