Hi Gilli2,
Well apart from wishing you were not having to go through BC at all, I am really pleased to talk to you. You get so much support on the trials and it really helps to have someone personally interested who understands all our worries. I hope you get as much from this site as I have since my dx on 29 Feb, 4 years before I face that leap year day again! I started chemo on 20 May, had a delay due to dodgy veins so has an extra op like you to put a line in. I have a port which is totally sealed in my chest with nothing showing from the outside. I was very worried about the op but should have realised that it would be so much less than than the one for the BC. Will you have a general or a local? I had a general but came out the same day fine. I have just had my 3rd epi, which is the first drug we have. It is raspberry red and unless you want to use the cold cap and save your hair it is a very fast treatment. They just attach the syringes to your central line, push it in , flush and off you go. Anyway won’t go on too much now but sending you big hugs as you start out. You will be fine but I know how anxious you will be until you get the first one under your belt. Ask anything at all and the ladies on here are fab and will answer anything at all.
Hugs for tomorrow. The sooner you start the sooner you are finished!
Lily x
Hi Lily200,
Thanks for the prompt reply, i will only be having a local tomorrow all being well. Have thought about having the cold cap, thought i might give it a go, got nothing to lose except my hair right. i am not really too bothered by the treatment at the moment, probably will be this time tomorrow when that’s all i have to think about. I am very lucky in that my daughter has been a great support to me since i told her about my BC( i did keep it to myself for a long time), she comes with me to all the appointments and asks lots of questions, i spend my time on the net getting as much info as pos, this site is good cos we are all in the same boat so to speak, its real people and not guess work. Well i’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow, thanks again.
Gill x
Hi Gill, the trial nurses advised me to have a picc line and its no problem - is that the one you are having?
Lynda
hi again, just posted that one quickly but you will find with the port that a lot of the anxiety is finding the vein and you will not have that. speaking to other people I feel very lucky to have the picc line. good luck for tomorrow.
Lynda
Hi
Gilli, keep us posted how you got on and good luck
Lily x
Hi all,
Just thought i would let you know that everything went well today, the line went in ok and is working well. I am a little sore now that the anesthetic has worn off but i can deal with that.
Now i am just looking to tomorrow and getting the first epi over with, and i hope all goes well with that.
Thanks for your support.
Gill x
Hi Gilli,
another thing ticked off your check list, it will take some days to settle. Hope tomorrow goes as well with your first epi, boy they are pushing you along!! You will be overtaking us all, they do have time limits on trials, for how long they can leave between surgery and the first chemo, so that might be why.
Thinking of you tomorrow and just keep drinking because epi irritates the bladder. You will know when it has gone because your wee will go back to a normal colour.
Lily x
Hi,
Well i have had my first epi and it was not as bad as i thought it might be. I am having the cold cap so there is a lot of sitting around but it was ok. I was chatting to the lady next to me which made the time go by more quickly, and my daughter was with me. I am feeling ok at the moment, so fingers crossed!!
Gill x
Hi
well done for ticking one off, I sit for hours with the cold cap too, like a fishfinger in the freezer! My side effects usually start when I stop the tablets so day 4, when I get a horrible mouth and start feeling like a slug with no energy at all. I never plan anything for those days and become a couch potato. If your mouth suffers, start your Difflam mouth wash quick after each time you eat or it builds up and is harder to get rid of.
Hopefully you won’t need this advice and will be a wonder woman and beat it, some people do.
Good luck, send me a post if you need to know anything.
Lily x
Hi Lily,
thanks for the advice there, i’m glad that the first one is done now i just wait and see how well or badly i cope, its all a waiting game at the beginning really. My daughter and son keep asking how i am all the time cos they are on pins too.
I have a few easy to eat stuffs in just in case i get a really sore mouth, i am prone to getting thrush anyway so i can’t see me escaping that one, still you never know eh.
Thanks again, its good to know that someone who has been through this is out there and will give advice, will keep you up to date.
Hi all, Thought i would let you know that i havn’t been too bad really, kept waiting for all the really bad side effects but they didn’t come.
I have had a sore throat and mouth and felt really tired, had a jippy tummy too, thats about it. So i think i have done well this time, i am waiting now for the 30th and my second treatment.
Well i will catch up with you again soon.
Gillxx
Hi,
that is brilliant, so glad you were not too bad on the whole and now you will be much more confident when you go in for the next one.
All you have to do now is go out and have a really good time until then
Lily x
Hi,
I started to lose my hair this week, and by friday it was comming out in hand fulls. My hair is only short anyway but it was still very noticeable. So this morning my daughter came round and shaved it off!. I feel much better now. I don’t think i shall bother with the cold cap any more as it doesn’t seem to have worked for me, still it was worth a try, at least now my treatment time will be less!. So anyone thinking of trying the cold cap be prepared!!.
Gillxx
Hi all
I have added the link to a Breast Cancer Care publication called ‘Breast cancer and hair loss’ which you may find helpful to read, it also contains information about using cold caps:
breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/hairloss_2004_v2_0.pdf
The booklet also contains information about our free ‘HeadStrong’ workshops which explore the many issues faced by people experiencing hair loss which may be available in an area near you, for more details and further support please contact our confidential helpline on 0808 800 6000, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday 9am-2pm.
Best wishes
Lucy
Gill,
sorry to hear that but really glad you feel better now it is done. The bonus is less time in the unit.Watch the sun though.
Take care and hope the week goes well for you
Lily