Good evening. So went for results of bone and ct scan and treatment plan this morning. Had bit of a meltdown whilst waiting to see onc and the first words she said when we went into her office were “all your scans are clear”. Talk about relief. For one miraculous moment thought this meant I wouldn’t have chemo, regrettably not. So 3 lots of FEC 3 of FEC-T and rads. Frankly I don’t care. Bring on the chemo, I know it’s going to be horrible but the sooner it starts the sooner it’s over. Got pre-chemo assessment next week. Must go and eat, while I can lol! x
Karen welcome to the July Junkies. Serious envy if you have no SE, I had my 1st dose of FEC yesterday and I’m dizzy and nauseous ( have written out a chart as I’m counting down the hours till i can take next lot of anti sickness pills) Tried ginger and it is not working for me and I have just found some old sea bands so will give them a go.
Piggsytrotter wonderful news about your clear scans, I remember when I got mine OH let out an audible sigh of relief.
Tamsin hope you are home and not to sore, hope so as you went in at 7
Hope all the other JJ’s are enjoying Wimbledon and feeling OK
Kat xx
hi everyone im starting tom i had fect last year finished treatment in jan and starting more chemo for a reocurrance im having paxitoxal and carbplatin anyone else had it please x
Good morning July Junkies, How are we all doing this fine sunny day? I have just had my friend round with her 3 month old little girl, god I forgot my little boy was ever that small!!!
Ah Orangecat I felt like it was a waiting game to take the next lot but I think it was because I was more worried that I wasn’t feeling poorly. The sea bands are supposed to work too, so good luck with them. Do you think we only hear bad stories so it is easy to focus on them??? Good luck quinny for tomorrow, hope it goes as well as can be expected.
So had my wbc injection yesterday at 4pm and depsite lots of emotions and a wobbly/butterfly/jittery feeling that is it! I am now finished with the anti sickness tablets and onto the back up pack. Took two before bed last night and had one at 9ish this morning and so far so good. God I know I should be jumping up and down but I cannot get my head around not having anything other than something similar to what I had when pregnant and ginger snaps fixed that. I am eating normally and nothing so far has changed, well excect the fact that last night at 10pm I ate the biggest bowl of icecream! Ha ha maybe I am pregrant and it wasn’t chemo - god if only eh?
I am now going to sit in the garden under the umbrella and enjoy some fresh air and read some of my book until Wimbeldon starts; my little boys school fayre today…I didn’t think I was going to make it when we realised I was starting treatment this week but I am fighting fit! I do believe all the fluids I am drinking is helping, could be psychological clap trap but if it’s getting me through it then bring it on. Has anyone else not had any S E? I might get two lots worth on cycle two, who knows eh?
Anyways, take care and speak soon
Karen
x
Oops tennis starting so just a quickie.
Really pleased you are feeling so good Karen and a big bowl of ice cream too. I am feeling better today with energy, just hoovered and watered the garden. My Bp is still low so do feel dizzy but exscuse to put feet up and chat on the phone. I’m also drinking like a fish and am loving Robinson’s Lemon barley (very Wimbledon) and supposed to reduce the risk of cystitis.
Hi Quinny you are our 3rd July Junkie who is going around again so welcome.
Kat xx
Hi Karen
June Jewel popping in…ditto re side effects. By day 2 i was even thinking maybe they hadnt given me the right stuff lol. Apart from a slight hangover type feeling that eve nothing was different. Still mega appetite, thank goodness for zumba lol!! I didnt get steroids (just Emend anti sickness) so not sure if they can cause their own side effects too??.
TMI, I had a bit of constipation by day 5 but that was sorted and thats all. Ive worked right through bar day of chemo (day 10 now), and my WBC jabs stopped yesterday. Long may it continue, but still 5 cycles to go could we be that lucky??. I drink loads all the time and went into this pretty fit, again i think that all helps.
Youll find the board so good for all sorts of tips, chat and making genuine friendships. No-one in our real lives understands unless theyve been through it themselves. Hope the SE’s stay away.
take care
x
Hello to all the July Junkies on this beautiful afternoon. I’m thoroughly enjoying watching del Potro give Novak a run for his money and thought I’d catch up on here at the same time. I did write a long post last night which got lost so I’m afraid I gave up and went to bed rather than re-write it. All went well yesterday and I was home by about 5pm but I’m feeling more battered than last time. Lots of pain killers being consumed! They plan to fast track results so I can get back on track with chemo, so I should still be a proper Junkie rather than an honorary one!
I’m going to take a sheet out of ChelleB15’s book and post a list of everyone’s chemo dates so we can keep up to date with who’s doing what when. Hope this is ok with everyone and thanks to Chelle for the idea.
Welcome Quinny: Another second timer - we’re developing quite a little sub-set aren’t we…
Welcome Karen: How good that you’ve had so few se. Long may that continue. And Happy Birthday for earlier on this week. You talking about looking forward to your birthday this time next year made me realise that the one thing this disease has made me do is appreciate the little things more, but also how quickly time goes. You talked about Top To Toe - is that a local shop? I’ve decided not to do the cold cap this time - agree with Piggsytrotter on this one - and want to get organised with scarves etc. Haven’t found anything particularly inspiring on line so far and I wonder whether anyone else has.
Kat: Glad you’re up and running again, but the hoovering??? Come on! 
Hope you’ve stll got your feet up in front of the tele.
Still no news from positivelady. Hope all is well with you.
I’ll post the chemo timetable separately. Let me know if there are any errors.
Tamsin x
1st positivelady FEC
2nd Nazgirl - Karen FEC-T
3rd orangecat - Kat FEC-T + Herceptin
5th Quinny Paxitoxal + carboplatin
10th pironm TCH
16th s_bruce - Senga FEC
Had my first chemo on Monday 1st July. Less troumatic than I expected. I am ok on anti sickness pills and I have been taking them exactly as prescribed whether I am feeling sick or not. They finished last night and now I am injecting into my stomach for 5 days. That worried me but the first one this morning was fine, no problem at all and can’t feel any symptoms yet. I managed to go to town today to buy birthday presents for my daughter and grandchildren for their birthdays at the weekend. Maybe shopped a bit quicker than usual and not quite so much thought put into my purchases but I am sure they will be pleased and surprised with their gifts.
Have a lovely weekend ladies and enjoy the sunshine from the shade xxx
Hi Benedictus. Thank you for the list. I will be on Herceptin as well as FEC. x
It’s a lovely day here near Stonehenge. Husband off work so we took my aged Ps shopping, which is an expedition in itself. They live with us and I must say it’s all much easier when OH is with me when we all go out. Please add me to the list Benedictus. I’m going to be on FEC x 3 and FEC-T x 3, then rads and Tamoxifen. Oh and I’m having a line put in. Think she said PICC but can’t quite remember. Not sure when that’s starting, but I suspect it will be the 18th.
Having got the excellent news about the scans OH and I are hitting Bristol with friends for a big night out to celebrate. OH has racked up millions of brownie points for volunteering to drive us home tonight so we don’t have to find someone to look after puppy (well she’s nearly 2, but still mad as a box of frogs). So I intend to fall into a vat of gin! Looking forward to some calm before the chemo storm hits! Have a good weekend everyone. At least for us the waiting for results is over. xx
Hiya all newbie here… due to start chemo in 3 weeks subject to all sorts of scans heart test and whatever else they going to throw at me, strange thing is chemo was my big fear, and now all I want to do is get it started and over with, my cancer doesn’t even measure 1 cm with 2 /19 nodes affected, how can such a speck cause such havoc to your life? Have to say this site is a godsend and I so much admire all the ladies that are managing to keep their s.o.h . Just hope some of it rubs off on me
Goodness, a vat of gin sounds inviting! With lots of tonic and ice and lemon. mmmmm!
So glad you’ve had an ok first chemo positivelady. I’ll add the Herceptin to the next list.
Piggsytrotter: I’ll add you in for the 18th. Let me know if the date changes. I’m having a PICC line as well so we can swap PICC stories/tips etc.
Still sitting watching the tennis. What a fantastic match! Enjoy the sunshine this weekend everybody. xx
OOooooooooooh G&T lovely. Have a great evening Piggsytrotter.
Hoovering not as bad as it sounds, honest. After surgery did some online shopping and treated myself to a Gtec AirRam which is still a novelty!!
Tamsin glad you are behaving watching the tennis and taking your painkillers, thank heavens for the tennis.
Poslady good to hear from you and out and about too.
Im looking for scarves too so any suggestions would be good, have my NHS wig fitting next week, but would you believe my mother in law has offered to take me to Bond Street for a fitting (seems she went with a friend a few years back) It could look better than my real hair!!
Well Im multi tasking here watching tennis, watering veggies and cooking dinner, not sure if I have to pick up from ballet as OH is not back from work yet.
I have a friend and arriving from Aus this wkd who i have not seen for 5 years. She returned home with her family the week after my first diagnosis and I missed her leaving do. So really excited to see them all.
Looks like she is bringing the sunshine, so everyone enjoy.
Kat xx
Welcome Pollyanne! Soh essential on this journey - the blacker the better! Let me know what, where and when and I’ll add you to the list.
Kat. Enjoy your time with your Oz friend. We treated ourselves to a huge family holiday for my 50th (not least to celebrate the fact that I had got there two years after my first diagnosis) and we went to New Zealand and Australia. Were supposed to be seeing old Australian friends for a long weekend, but the Icelandic volcano went up so we ended up staying with them for 2 weeks. How lucky was that! Was planning on going back this November, but that will have to wait now. As you say, Pollyanne, this thing plays havoc with every aspect of your life.
Hope everyone has fun, sunshine filled and se free weekends
Tamsin x
Hi Ladies,
Just to update you my bone scan and CT scan were clear. Hurray! I don’t think I have ever felt such relief in my life. Next wle on Wednesday, fingers crossed yet again. Roll on 25th to get my treatment plan. So looks like I will be an August angel!!
Off to the races today for a hen day.
Sam xxx
Hi
Another newbie… I will be starting chemo on the 18 July, I saw my Onc last Thursday he didn’t have the same lovely manner that my consultant has, he was very matter of fact and felt like he just wanted to go home! He wanted to start on the 11 July but I am not ready and want a week of normality before all this begins. I am feeling a bit better about it all now as I have been shopping for hair. The first shop I went to was a local one in Ware, the lady was lovely and she has ordered a couple in for me. Also she asked if I would donate my hair to The Little Princesses Trust, a charity that makes real hair wigs for children that have lost their hair either through chemo or for other reasons. I have long strawberry blond hair, lovely hair as I am always being told 
I am going to do that. I also went to a shop in Notting Hill London called Trendco and purchased a wig and it does look very natural, I have it at home sitting on a polystyrene head I have called Polly!
I have been back to work since my operation and will be in all this week, working in the West End, I have no idea how I will be feeling to be able to make it into work during the treatment. I have been given a laptop so I can work from home, so will just have to wait and see.
Everyone so far has been very supportive but can sometimes feel very alone but I think that is due to the unknown, not being able to plan anything in the near future as we don’t know how the chemo will effect us.
I think the hair loss will be the worse. It has been very helpful ready the forums and other peoples experiences and what they have found to makes things easier during this unpleasant time.
Enjoy the sunshine. Mel
Hi Mel,
Welcome to the BCC discussion forums where I am sure you will get lots of good, honest support from the many informed users of this site. To help you along I have put for you below links to a couple of BCC’s publications you might find helpful. Also our helpline staff are just a free phone call away to help you through this, they’re here to support you, so do give them a call. 0808 800 6000 lines open Mon - Fri 9-5 and Sat 10-2.
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/treatment-side-effects/chemotherapy-breast-cancer-bcc17
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/treatment-side-effects/breast-cancer-hair-loss-bcc54
Take care,
Jo, Moderator
Hi again,
Popping in from the June forum, some tips for PICC lines…Limbo water proof cover is great for showers/baths, costs about £13 but well worth it, also picc line covers on ebay, £9 for 3 and in a variety of colours, defianatley better than the tubi grip you get.
Hope your journeys are made easier with the support of those in your group, it truly helps to share it with those who can identify with your situation.
take care
xx
Hi Ladies, does anyone else have two separate issues going on at once? As well as starting chemo on 16th July, I have also to have an endescope done on 12th July, this is because my blood tests came back with an abnormal liver function result. As if having the cancer isnt enough! So my diary for next week is as follows: Tuesday- go for wig fitting. Wednesday- appointment with Headstrong club. Friday- endescope. Sat, Sun & Mon - freaking out about starting chemo!
But on the positive side, I have had a lovely weekend going to cinema, going for a meal, having some retail therapy, watching Andy Murray winning Wimbeldon and sitting in the lovely sunshine.
Hope everyone has had something to enjoy this weekend too!
Senga x