I’ve been reading all your posts for the last couple of months and have always wanted to join in, so here goes.
A little about my own situation. I’m 51 and live in Aberdeen and I was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer way back in November. Initial scans showed the cancer to be 1.5 cm, so WLE was carried out at the end of December. The cancer turned out to be 3.7 cm (lobular is often bigger then originally estimated) and my margins weren’t clear, so it was back to theatre. Clear margins were achieved on my second op which wasn’t carried out till mid feb, and it was decided by my surgical team and Macmillan nurse that I would only require rads as my lymph nodes were neg. Then my oncologist ran my results and decided I would benefit from chemo, so here I am 6 months post diagnosis and just had fec 4 of 6 rounds of fec75.
Is anyone else on this chemo? Everyone else seems to be on fec followed by tax. Feel like the odd one out!
The worst thing about this flippin disease is that it makes you feel like your world has stopped when everyone else’s just keeps on turning. In a wild attempt to try and kick start it, I decided to enter the moonwalk in Edinburgh next week. 26.2 miles dressed as cat woman lies ahead. Anyone else batty enough to take this on? If so, I would love to her from you. Must admit the training has kept my mind of the nausea and tiredness, but I do wonder if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
Have been really lucky with the SE’s. Only mild nausea, but my god, the tiredness hits you like a freight train at times.
Stay strong ladies and let’s kick this disease’s bum!
Hi, weeannie and a big welcome, you will find the ladies on here very supportive of each other , also with a great sense of humour! Just as well with all what we have to put up with!! I am also 51 ! X
Hi Weanie very impressed with your Moonwalk I can manage to the end of my garden and then need rest. I too am FEC only and 2 down 4 to go and already feeling this is not the hobby for me!
No probs Louise, I’m not that great at spelling myself! To be fair, I initially entered the moonwalk when I thought that I was only having rads, and by the time that they had decided to give my chemo, I had already started to acquire sponsors. Felt a little trapped, so decided to go through the training regime. Totally surprised myself when it made me feel better to walk after chemo. Culminated in me walking 20 miles round Aberdeen last Friday. Was totally knackered but so euphoric. Hadn’t felt so good since my last bottle of red, and that was many moons ago! Still not sure I’ll manage the 20 miles though, but I’ll do my best
Good on you Kirstie, wish I could get my daughter to take one with her in case I need it! Not sure what to stick on my bonce while I do this walk. Have a light weight wig, but it does make my head sweat, and I hate bandanas. Am also too much of a coward to go au natural. Any suggestions? X
Think you’re right Kirstie. If I can’t wheek my wig off in the company of thousands of women, some of whom will have already gone through what we are all facing, then when can I? Will prob opt to wear the wig to start with then loose it when I feel comfy enough. Am taking a large bum bag with me, so can always put a beanie in there too. Thanks x
Rosie you would be horrified if I told you rubbish I have been eating, yesterday I had about 10 pickled onions, a whole big bag of cashews, rum and slimline tonic, risotto (enough to feed a small army) and anything else that was food which I could grab !
I too feel so unfit, especially as the leg is not healed yet so I can walk far as when I do it weeps, I just figurei will focus on getting fit after and that will probably help take my mind of the last 6 months !
Go easy with pool I have been told no no no swimming don’t want to put a downer on it but you have not had the best time of it lately and set backs are so devastating x
My injection has kicked in today so I know that’s the start of my bloods coming up never have I enjoyed the feeling of back ache so much lol
Hope you are all doing okay and chin up those who have just had chemo x
Yes I too am eating loads of crap- particularly maltesers and cheese and onions crisps! Good on you Kirstie and ann for doing the walk- my lovely daughter in law is doing 10k race for life on my behalf , so will be there cheering her on!
Hope everyone’s side effects from recent chemo are not too bad. Wendy xx
Hope the sun is shining where ever you are. It’s a beautiful morning up here in Aberdeen. Got to make the most of them while we can coz we can get all four seasons in 8 hours up here!
Hope everyone slept as well as poss. 2 days post session 4 of fec75, and they gave me a new anti emetic called levomepromazine and it certainly helping me sleep. I normally waken up 6 to 7 times during the night post chemo, but only woke up once. Ok it was for 2 hours but went back to sleep and only woke up at 9.15! Hope it might help anyone else in a similar situation who fancies asking for them.
I’m so envious of your caravan kirstie! We had a static van on the Moray coast about 55 miles north of Aberdeen when my daughter was little. We spent many many days on the beach and I have lots of happy memories. Would love to buy a camper van in a couple of years and explore all round Britain. I’m sure your caravan will bring you nothing but joy.
Rosie, I hope you manage to plunge in your pool in the not too distant future. Must be lovely when the weather’s so hot to be able to cool off in. The red drug you had might well have been epirubicin which is one of the drugs given in the fec combination. The others are fluorouracil and cyclophosphamide and you take the first three letters to give you the fec name. It is also given in it’s own, as well as with other combinations, but i suspect it’ s the one you had. It’s the little fecer that makes you lose your hair.
Love wine, eat as many maltesers and cheese and onion crisps as you like. I’m sp letting myself forget about my flabby bits right now. They can dangle about as much as they like at the mo (and boy are they!) Will worry about them when I beat this horrible disease. I’ve had some weird cravings on this fec routine. Last time it was eating spinach soup and marshmallows! Took me all my time not to dunk the marshmallows in the soup. The very thought turns my stomach this time round.
Right, that’s me off to drag my pooch for a walk. Gotta make the most of the sunshine! Hope all have as good a day as poss!
That’s great news Kirstie! Happy caravan nine days here you come, enjoy your wine, I am going to have a large one tonight too-,not a special event, but will toast your continuing employment!!
Ann, I did a nice dog walk, but not in the sunshine like you- cloudy and quite chilly here in East Midlands, Rosie, hope you get to gave a nice swim soon too, and yes let’s worry about wobbly bits when we havefinished FECing! Carry on eating what makes us happy right now, even if it is a strange combination! Xx
So glad for you Kirstie. It’s bad enough having to endure all this treatment without the threat of redundancy hanging over you too. Well done you and enjoy your wine!
Lovewine, did manage my walk in the sunshine, and it’s still lovely here, so managed to cut the grass too. But. . . .the dreaded chemo brain has struck again! Decided to clean the woodwork in my living room and was just putting the bottle away when I noticed that I’d used anti bax instead of wood cleaner. Guess who’s got the most sterile woodwork on the planet? What an idiot!!
Hi all, just had to catch up & read 3 pages of posts! Even though my little girl doesn’t go to school I always seem busy catching up with everyone & their children during the half term & in the evenings been sorting out a hen night,doing aerobics DVD,watching bgt or corrie!
Welcome to jos & weeanie1 nice to have you with us.
Well done to those doing walks & race for life! I have put things like that off until next year! My mum & sister doing the race for life though so will be there for them.
So glad to hear about your job kirstie77 & enjoy your well deserved glass ofwine …or two! I will be having one tomorrow night as going to a barn dance! Would love to go caravaning! We may stay away in one when I have my rads.
So you’ve had your first tax then rosie14? Loulou am I right in thinking you’ve been on tax all the way along? Rosie it would be good if you can get in the pool but I went on here to find out if I could at the start to carry on with my little ones swimming lessons & everyone warened me off!
Well just got back from third Tac, starting to feel a bit tired now. Going to have my steroids though so will be knackered but not able to sleep. Eam ive been on Tac all the way through like Rosie, but ive had mine every 3 weeks where as Rosie was having hers fortnightly, god knows how you managed that Rosie !! Tac is slightly different to Tax, only very confusing xxx
Ahh that’s OK then Rosie - sorry if I sounded like I was telling you what to do! Hope you enjoy it as the weather warms up. I’ll be thinking of you when I get me paddling pool out!
You go for it kirstie! - what better night than a Fri night to have a glass of wine & your favorite snacks:)
Oh I see loulou - I thought you were on tax & as I’m (like a few others) moving onto that I read that you were getting emend for nausea & thought oh I was hoping not to get that side effect anymore like I have on fec!