any tips for getting through chemo?

Hello everybody, haven’t been on for a while, been feeling a bit groggy. Pain from my bone mets has been getting noticeably worse since new year so had a scan recently which showed further spread (though still “only” in the bones, fortunately). The upshot is I’m to have 6 cycles of palliative FEC chemo, starting soon. I never had chemo the 1st time around so don’t really know how best to cope with it, and the list of side effects they’ve given me sounds v. daunting. Also, the morphine my GP has prescribed makes me feel sick and I think the anti-sickness tablets actually MAKE me sick! Or is it all just due to nerves? The trouble is, when you’re feeling so lousy it’s very difficult to get your mind off the cancer. Any tips from chemo veterans welcome! Burney

Hi Burney
Sorry you have to join us on the secondary part of the forum - none of us want to be here! I also have bone mets and when I was dx in 2008 was given a course of 6 FEC chemo. This helped stablise my bone mets and, along with bisphosphonates, have helped with them healing to some extent. I hope you are also on bisphosphonates?
I had not had chemo with my primary so was also anxious to be starting my 1st one. I found that, as long as I took the anti sickness tablets that you are given, exactly when you should I did not suffer too badly. Days 1-5 I was very tired and nauseous but not enough to be sick or not eat. Then suddenly on Day 6 I bounced back and felt fine - it was very odd but happened each cycle - even when I thought I wouldn’t feel better. I was able to work on the days I felt good - but this was only part time and not a strenuous job. I’m not saying that;'s what you should or could do but just letting you know it is very do-able. There is a great thread on here with loads of suggestions how to cope through chemo however we are all different so you may not experience every thing that is on there. You will lose your hair - probably just before the 2nd chemo and I also found my neuts (neutrophils - white blood cells that fight any infections) were too low on 2 cycles to have the chemo on the right day - I then had to postpone it for a week and also have white cell boosting injections.
I hope this helps and look out for the Top Tips to Help you through Chemotherapy thread. If I can find it and past it on here for you I will do.
Good Luck
Nicky xx
ps the thread I’m talking about is the top one in the Undergoing Treatment- Chemotherapy section

Hi Nicky, that’s really useful, thanks very much. I had been wondering how soon the hair loss kicked in. My daughter is coming with me on the wig expedition - felt I needed a bit of female moral support for that! I had bisphosphonates (Zometa) for 2 years 2007-9 - that was on a clinical trial but I did quite well on it and onc has said he will add it in again when I have the chemo. I think apart from strengthening bones it helps with pain. Hope so, anyway. Will look out for the Undergoing Treatment thread. Thanks again, Burney xx

Burny good luck with your chemo and hopefully you will be like me and not have too many side effects .I have posted loads of tips that helped me and other ladies on here and it is on page 2 of starting my pink road of chemo have a look it is really a good help I also had 6x Fec . big hugs Julie

Hi Julie, thanks for the reassuring message and I’ve now looked at your other posting, which is helpful. Hopefully I’ll find, as a lot of the other ladies have who’ve posted here, that the anticipation is worse than the actual treatment. I used to think that when it came to it I would turn chemo down but as soon as it was offered I said yes - it seems I’m not ready to give up yet! However I am pretty apprehensive. I keep telling myself, come summer I’ll be through this and running about again! Not sure I quite believe myself at the moment but I’m working on it.

Hi Burney

one good place to look for a wig and advice on your hair before and after chemo is the new service by Toni and Guy who have gone in with macmillan to give a service called Strength in Style. I used them before they went in with macmillan. They were in with the group My New Hair. They gave me great advice and help in chosing my wig. Cut my hair before my chemo and have been advicing and trimming my hair post chemo. I am one year post chemo and my hair is much darker than before and very very curly. It was poker straight and dark blonde before, so taking some getting used to doing my hair.

I would fully recommend them. Good luck with your chemo, I had 3 FEC and 3 TAX. Fec is very do-able.

Marian

Hi Marian, that’s very encouraging - I’ve always had the sort of hair my Mum disapproved of, bless her (straight, when she wanted something that looked like Shirley Temple!), but I think she would finally approve of what you’re describing! The tip about Toni and Guy is very useful too, I didn’t know they were working with Macmillan. All the best, Burney.

hi all, ive 1 more cycle of chemo to go and my hair looks like its growing (all be it slowley)back i dident try the clod cap but wished i had now my friend did use it and her hair although finer looks ok, if given a chance give the cold cap ago as to me the worst side affect of chemo is the hair loss and the wait till it grows back…

Hi - I also have bone met and other secondaries and started with 6 FEC -I also had Zometa at the same time that the FEC was given to work diretly on the bone secondaries and that was an easy additional 15 minute drip. I’m now on tablet biphosphonate and these seem to be controlling and bone mets well- all I’ve been told is that the bone mets treatments can be very successful - so do keep positive about this - not easy I know…

For nausea that could be tablet related I’ve been given stomach calming tablets - Lansoprozole - that helps and when I had nausea on FEC they did get me on a strong drug by the second dose that stopped that too - my advice is to ask for advice from Onc/clinic/GP and they can help. I didn’t early on and struggled on but now think it’s best to see what they can do to help - if my body is full of chemo what’s to worry about a few more drugs to help in the short term; and I was very drug averse before bc…

Good luck - hope this helps
Fran

Hi Burney and all,

This is my first post as a secondary so sorry to be in your club - obviously!! Even though you are all gorgeous - obviously!

Am on oral chemo tablets and zometa on a 3 week cycle and after 8 sessions the ingredients seem to be making me better. Blood markers dramatically down and side effects bearable. No hair loss with oral chemo but I still have my wig from my primary in 2003/2004. That wig has been to more fancy dress parties than I care to think about!

Tips for getting thru chemo? Try and get lots of fresh air - spring is nearly here so make yourself go for a stroll and breathe and think about good things. Your mouth will feel yuk, I swear by Rose’s Lime Juice, it’s the only thing I really fancy. Other people swear by pineapple juice so give it a try.

Good luck and positive thinking will get you through.

Starryskiesxxx

morning ladies,
just a quick question, what can i take/do/help my arm from feeling so bruised and sore,

thankyou

Donna
xx

My arm was very sore with FEC right up to my underarm especially when I stretched it up - the advice my onc gave me was to drink lots of water - I did try to keep it moving and 7 months on from last FEC dose it’s pretty normal although till hav some tension lines under the skin that I think are the veins. Good thing is that the TAX chemo I’m on now is much gentler on the veins. I did ask my CT scanner how long the veins would take to recover when he was searching for a vein - he said, “a very long time” - not sure what that means. Does anyone know?

Thinking of you Donna
Fran

thankyou fran,

xxx