OMG! I start my first of 6 x FEC on friday…do I have time to teach my 15yr old son to use the washing machine?! There are so many things the BCNs etc don’t tell us! Where would I be without this site!!!
Sue xxx
Flossied - no its not compulsary but I thought I’d get some mileage out of the chemo and try to domesticate him and give myself fewer jobs to do.
Great to have some friends to share this with. My partner came with me but hid in the waiting room.Bless, total denial.
Well my first one is out of the way and it was really really OK. Took some anti sickness meds - got steroids, Ondansetron and Metoclopramide. Needed to put my hand in hot water to get a vein up but once the cannula is in, you just talk to the nice nurse whilst she shoves the liquids in. Cannula is taken out and you go home. Feel a bit woozy in the head like I’ve got a cold coming on but thats it so far 7 hours in.
I drank 3 litres of water yesterday and am on my 3rd today, maybe that helped. And I’ve get off the gin for a few days.
Hope it all goes as well for you all. Try not to get too worried about it.
Teresa, you were not wrong with the farting!! My household is fairly liberal with this normally but I’m even repulsing myself now!
hi wriggly, OMG I couldn´t stop laughing, welcome to the FART CLUB, wait until you go out in public LOL. Just make sure you have someone with you who you can blame it on. xxx
P.S Hint number 2 diet now becomes important !!! No brussels, etc.
Hi everyone,
Hope you don’t mind me joining in, as I actually finished my chemo last june. Just thought of a couple of tips that might help a bit with some of the side effects of chemo. I found eating often helped stave off the sickness (when I say often, I mean nibbling hourly for first two or three days after chemo!) and I found the saltier the food was the better, which is bizarre as I normally can’t stand salt! Also I drank loads of pineapple juice as this apparently contains an enzym which helps reduce soreness in the mouth. Don’t know if it was the pineapple or not, but didn’t have too mny mouth probs. Re. the farting, have no good tips there but do remember it causing a great deal of laughter and silly giggles between me and OH who’d never even heard me burp before!
Good luck and love to all of you x x
welcome esme, of course your welcome to join us, any tips always welcome.
As you can see many of us suffering from wind at the moment, as for the pieapple i didn´t realise it helped but ivé eaten loads of this due to craving for it, maybe our body lets us know what we need?
Love Teresa xxx
Thanks Theresa,
Oh, those windy days! I still laugh to myself about the day I had an exceptionally bad bout of wind in an enclosed part of the garden. It was a lovely sunny day and I was alone. Then my neighbour came out into her garden and spoke to me over the fence. As she spoke she wrinkled her nose and said…‘Crikey, I think we’ve got a real problem with the drains, can you smell it?’ I didn’t confess but it did make me laugh!
I think you’re right, our body does seem to tell us what we need or are lacking. It seems to happen to pregnant women as well.
On my down days I just kept reminding myself of what a good job the chemo was doing.
Love Esme x
Hi Wriggly,
My post is a bit further back, but I am on day 9 of my first FEC cycle.
I hope your first one went well today.
I made very few arrangements before my first session … I got very sick on day one and was constipated for 3/4 days but eating a high fibre diet sorted it out eventually.
I have been fine since, and been to work every day except for days 1&2 and I am only planning to have 3 days per cycle off sick at the moment. I am lucky that I work in an office, but it is 20 miles away and I work full time. Assume the best and be prepared for the worst if it happens. But my advice would be to keep on as normal as your own condition allows. My life belongs to me, not cancer or the treatments for it. I have cooked dinner every night, done all my housework and managed all the laundry. I am NOT some sort of superwoman, and know things may get worst … but until they do why change your usual routines?
Jacqui
Jacqui,
You’re an inspiration, trouble is I don’t cook dinner any night really so it would be a dreadful shock to start doing that!
I would like to be able to go to work, but I’m a teacher and the kids are fulls of nasty germs. So the onc said I was not to go. Shame because that would take my mind off all the SEs.
I’m going to try to keep off the red meat to see if it helps the farting - had a steak on Thursday and oh dear it wasn’t pleasant. May need to acqiure a pet to lay the blame somewhere.
Hello. This is my first post on this forum. DX just before Xmas and I start chemo on Friday (5th March). I am having 4 x AC and then 4 x Taxol. Sessions are every fortinght so it is going to be quite intense.
The thing is DH is going to be away on business for the whole week after my first session (far from ideal but totally unavoidable for legal reasons!!). i’ve got help with the children (aged 4 & 5) during the day) but what I was wondering is is it worth getting someone to stay the night with me whilst he’s away. i’m worried I may feel really ill, or if the children are ill will I be able to tend to them etc.
Hi Pennies
I doubt that anyone can really tell you how it will be for you. I think we are all different. And I am older and have no children at home anymore, so life is much more straightforward for me.
Personally speaking, there hasn’t been anything that has challenged me since Day 1 (which was totally crap). I would have struggled to care for little ones on that day and possibly if they were frequent wakers I would have stuggled on that first night. But we are all different and I had FEC.
What bad luck you have to be alone at that time. Good luck.
Jacqui
just thought I would say hello to all as we are all in a similar situation.
Had my 2nd FEC on Monday and luckily have not been sick either time but def feel quite drunk and headachy at times (would be OK if alcohol was the reason)
For me the emotions run to extremes at times but getting a bit more used to that now.
Went out a bought a wig before my first session as thought I would not deal with having no hair but despite losing pretty much all of it have preferred to wear bandana or a hat. When I put my wig on it feels really odd and all the hair annoys me !!!
The kids are used to their bald Mum now but I know my youngest, 10, doesn’t like it.
Can’t believe I am wishing the year away but will be glad when it gets to end July and both chemo and rad over. Big celebration to be planned for August
Good luck to all and keep smiling
Karen x
Hi Wriggly
I have tried to post a reply to you a couple of times - not sure what happened to them.
I am sorry about my earlier post, it is a bit OTT, isn’t it? And I certainly don’t think that I am in any way inspirational, we are all just doing what we have to do. I think I was just tired of people treating me like I was ill, needed help or needed to adjust my life because of my treatment. I don’t know about you, but I was completely fit and well before all this started, yet must have had cancer for a while. Just because we all know I have it now doesn’t make me an invalid over night! I just want to get on with life as ‘normally’ as possible. And appreciate that I am lucky that I am able to.
Obviously I had no way of knowing you were a teacher and have learned to think before I rant off again. Of course I would always take oncologist’s advice too. I hope you have some wonderful hobbies to help you fill your time and take your mind off of treatments and their side effects.
How are you coping with the flatulence? I said to my hubby that was one SE I had avoided and he pointed out that I hadn’t, but it wasn’t that much worse than usual 
Best wishes,
Jacqui
Hi Jacqui 37
Just managed to get on to the Forum for the 2nd time, and your posting came up. How much this echoes my experience. Had Dx late last Nov, but knem as my experience at recall was almost written in 10 ft high letters. Suffice to say that the 1st treatment plan was surgery before christmas but MRI showed small tumour to be larger but still Grade 1 with axillary node so plan 2 was MM chemo x 6 Had 3 then another MRI got results last Tues, was so sure and hopeful and optomistic that this would show some change in size and therefore I could continue with 3 more MM foloowed by surgery and radiotherapy,was completely floored and distraught that vitually no change was shown. Starting FEC on Tues 2/3 terrified, wot no hair, inc eyebrows/lashes. Still working full time and need to continue as am on my own. Brilliant daughter who comes to Oncologist appts. Am a real control freak so find this all tough. Got back from brill holiday last Oct have been in really good health so recall etc a real shock. Now days can vary from waking up feeling OK to waking up and as soon as I open my eyes am in flood of tears that is always supposing I have slept in the first place !Comments Hope all goes well for you please be in touch.Jackie
Hi Jaqui,
No need to apologise, its good to hear that you’re putting up a fight. I’m hoping to re home a greyhound whilst I’m off work (not just to blame for the farting!) and do the stuff I never have time for -garden etc. Just feel to tired to do anything at the moment but I’m hoping that will lift.
Enjoy work tomorrow,
Best wishes,
Erica
Had my first chemo on Friday. Generally Ok so far. The steroids make me WIRED and last night I had my first GCSF injection which has made me feel achey and my face is quite flushed. Anyone else get this? If so how long did it last for?
Hi Pennies, Don´t worry this is perfectly normal, the aches will probably get a little worse before they get better, mine lasted about 4-5 days, i thought that was the worst SE for me.
Morning all, not such good weather here stuck in a rain cloud, so can´t see a hand in front of us, so small walks for the dog today, I don´t think I will venture the mountain, a little eerie when in a cloud.
take care all, love teresa xxx
Hello everyone…I am new to this forum so forgive me if I am asking questions which already have been answered…
I had a 19mm tumour removed last monday and go back to hospital to see what treatment I need tomorrow at 2…
I am also going back to work tomorrow too… I know that everyone is different and wont know how it will affect me if any…
the questions I have are
- After the first treatment of chemo if my hair falls out will it be after then or after a few treatment
2.I also work with children… am I ok to go to work? - I live on my own with two children who are great but they hate me being ill… any ideas … will I be sick straight away if I am sick
- Can I take st johns wort with this
5 I have told my friends but how do you tell your colleagues…
while al this is going on I am selling my house and going through a divorce so as I say if you gonna do something do it big time…
sorry for all these questions just dont know who to ask without blubbering and getting angry,
Hi Van
I can’t answer all your questions but just wanted to say hello, and you’ve come to the right place to ask them. Just about everybody on here has experienced the worry/anger/fear that you’re feeling and you will always find lovely ladies here who can provide advice.
You’ve certainly got a whole lot of stuff going on at the moment, but at least now you’ve found this site, you can come and let of steam here when you need to. Nobody minds!
Good luck for your results tomorrow…I hope they’re better than you’re anticipating. You may be able to get some of the answers to your questions from your Breast Cancer Nurse tomorrow?
Sue xxx
thank you for your kind words…