Good luck for tomorrow morning Gigi x
Thanks Michelle how did the trees come down? Hope you all had a good weekend xxx
Everything outdoors cancelled, miserable weather here today! Makes me very grateful for the nice weather we have had so far as it’s much easier and nicer way to fill time! X
Oh no sorry to hear that. I’ve been watching the world cup all weekend although feeling quite weak so not able to do much. Had 8 steroids so don’t know if will sleep tonight. Wildshell hope you are getting over your chemo now. Will see if I get mine tomorrow.
So hi everyone. Blood count has gone from 0.5 to 9.8! So thunderbirds are go. Had herceptin now have to wait 2 hours then having D. should get he in time for the footy. Just!
Have been thinking about you today, so pleased it has worked out and you can crack on. Hope you make the match!! xx
Thanks Michelle they say I can leave at 6pm. Long day! My daughter is on her way. Hope you are feeling fine x
It will be shorter for you next time, I went from 8hrs first time to 5 hours 2nd. I had Perjeta aswell.
All good here thanks x
That’s great news Gigi that you were able to get on with the chemo… Hope you’re feeling OK today and made it to watch the footie.
My first Paclitaxel went well and so 1 down and 11 to go… Though I’m slightly struggling to get my head around the fact I’m doing it all again in 2 days! It was fine on the day and on Friday though sat and sun I didnt feel great but yesterday was almost back to normal and today Im 100%… Let’s see how long that continues for, but Im determined to try get into a routine so I’m going to the pottery studio today and tomorrow and will borrow our neighbours dog for a walk this afternoon and tomorrow.
Someone had mentioned about having a cleaner ; it’s definitely made a difference to us though we’ve been very lucky to have found ours as the previous 3 we had were terrible and caused more stress! After the DIEP there was no way I could have done it and though my husband is very good, he has so much else to do looking after me and still working that it really has helped very much.
Wishing you all a good day x fiona
Michelle, how’s your swallowing and heartburn going? Even though I have tablets of renitidine and omaprazole as have a hernia and usually have really bad reflux without chemo, I was given intravenous renitidine with the Taxol that seems to have helped as was suffering quite badly in EC. Do you have something that’s helping at all? I hope it’s eased as It’s quite miserable x
Hi Fiona, glad things are going well. I was wondering how the side effects work with weekly doses. It’s great that you feel 100% for a few days, it makes all the difference. My swallowing g is fine now, back to normal. It seems to start up about day 3 and go about day 10, but I have a new plan of action for next time. As well as taking the fastab with the steroids I am going to avoid all acidic food and drink before it even starts. I think having a plan gives me hope that i can make an improvecnext for time,
My cleaner has been this morning so I will spend the next half hour moving things back to where they belong!
Hope everyone is ok x
Hi Everyone
The problem i have with weekly paclataxel is that no two weeks are the same. i do seem ok on the day of treatment and the following day and then all the side effects kick in to various degrees. This week it knocked me for 6 on monday and for the first time since school days i had to give in and spend the day in bed. It started with diarrhoea for half an hour to the extent i couldn’t leave the loo but the worse bit was i was completely drained and felt queasy. I hadn’t taken any anti sickness drugs before yesterday as they weren’t needed but every time i sat up i felt dreadful. On the plus side i have had it confirmirmed that that was number 10 of 11 weekly infusions so only this friday to go. Then on three weekly herceptin injections which hopefully wont be a problem. Also will be on Zoladex and a tablet hormone treatment Letrozole but i think that will wait until after DIEP.
Feeling so much better today. A good day after a bad one does make you feel so much better.
Great your counts were back to normal Gygi and you got the chemo. Observation times do go down dramatically after the first one. I felt like i was pasing the room like a caged Tiger by the time they finally let me home after that first one. My fourth infusion of herceptin etc was a half hour for each and a 10 minute flush inbetween.
All the best to everyone and hope you all have a good week.
Sounds as though you’ve had a rough ride over the last few days so it’s great to hear you’ve had a good day Christine. Your experience is really helpful to know - thanks. Sounds like my plan for routine is misplaced and I will just take it as it comes… Though to be fair, I’m not sure what else we can do!!
Your comment about putting things back in the right place resonates Michelle… There are a few things that have a new home on the basis of me not wanting to battle with the cleaner any longer!
Good evening all x
Well that was my last chemo and i am no feeling as elated as i was expecting. Not sure why. I have felt very emotional and even started crying just before the infusion finished. Perhaps it will just take a few days to sink in. i did speak to a lady a few weeks ago leading up to her last chemo and she was talking about it as feeling like being desperate for a wee then finally being allowed to go. I assume she was talking about the relief she felt. I am glad it is finished and grateful to have got to the end despite the side effects. I am pleased by most of the support i have had from friends and those on here and i will say thank you now for all your support. It has been such a help talking to those with the same problems.
I am looking forward to getting some parts of my life back to normal even though i now have the thought of the DIEP looming over me too. Determined to start cooking again in the hope my taste will return quickly and to start on gentle walks now my feet are much improved, thanks to the ccs cream.
I hope the day and weekend goes well for everyone.
Congratulations Christine! I think the mixed emotions are quite normal. What we are undertaking here is no mean feat and there is generally so little understanding of it from others who have not been through it. I hope all goes well with the DIEP and I hope you are going to keep in contact here and update us on how you are getting on. I think at some point in time I will have a reconstruction, although I have to have surgery first! So would love to hear how it all goes for you.
I hope the side effects are minimal this round and that you get taste, dry skin and hair etc back to normal soon.
Keep in touch
Michelle xx
You got to the end of it, Christine, and that’s great. Chemo is a taxing experience, so I’m not surprised you are feeling unexpected emotions. You may well have different emotions in the coming days. I hope everything goes well with the DIEP. I’m glad the CCS cream is helping.
I saw the oncologist today for pre-chemo checks. He was running the clinic on his own, so there were long delays. Hospital infantilises me I wander round looking for where I am supposed to be, unable to answer questions like “is your blood being tested for vitamin D?” (how should I know?). I came home exhausted after hours of sitting about waiting and worrying. All this obscured the fact that the news about my progress is good. Whatever emotions I felt today, this is what really matters.
Best of all, the holiday I’ve booked between last chemo and first radiotherapy got the ok.
Second best: earlier in the week I got shown how to put on my wig properly so it doesn’t look like a busby perched on the top of my head. They don’t make fine flat wigs, so mine is quite bushy but at least it looks like hair.
Hi Christine
I’m really grateful for your post - thought I was going bonkers with the way hospital wears me down, even when the news is positive. Re. the holiday, I’m off to Cornwall for just over a week. It will be ok if I can get easily to the nearest A&E, I take my thermometer and my picc line has been removed. I can see why sun in Cyprus could be a problem but it’s horrible having to cancel or put plans on hold. I hope you do get a lovely holiday with your daughter in the spring. Tennis and home-baked rock cakes sounds great for now.
A slim book, ”Emotional Support Through Breast Cancer”, arrived from amazon today. It’s not much bigger than the booklets you get from the hospital and I read it straight through in one go. It describes things that were true for me, like the wall of glass that was suddenly between me and the world after I was diagnosed. I recognisd feeling obliged to “put a lid” on my true feelings when I am asked how I am. Only my opinion but I think I am going to go on finding this book useful.
Hope it goes well for all of us next week. I now have a gruesome dark-blue (diy) mani/pedi to keep the sun out when I get docetaxel tomorrow. Guess I need to get more practice with nail varnish.
Great news Dorabel that all is progressing well, that is the important thing after all. I often feel so ungrateful whilst having this treatment, moaning all of the time but really it is a good thing. I think I’ll order that book too, a wall of glass between me and the world really resonates with me as does keeping a lid on how I really feel, “ yeah great thanks” is my stock reply and it’s usually followed by “well you’re looking well’ end of conversation. They have done their bit asking and have heard what they want to hear. I do wonder how I would have been if this had happened to a friend of mine and not me, probably exactly the same!! Hope today goes well Dorabel, is this your first docetaxol? I’m sure your varnishing skills will improve! X
Christine, I can’t remember did you cold cap? I do feel a bit like I obsess about hair on this chat, I must come across as so vain, I’m not, I promise! If you did cold cap I would be really interested to know how long after your last chemo your hair stops falling out.
I have had a very busy few days. It was my birthday on Thursday so went out for lunch with my family. The restaurant itself was slightly disappointing but the occasion was lovely. I also went for lunch on Saturday to a beautiful restaurant right on the beach and that was amazing. I haven’t been out much since starting chemo and it does feel weird. It’s like you are almost living a normal life but the almost is actually massive. I feel so self conscious of how I look, I wore a scarf for the first time on Saturday. I also worry about what I’m eating, food poisoning and hygiene. This is so not (normal) me. Although now I am getting closer to the finish line I can feel rebellious me coming out and I am not as careful as I was in the first few cycles. Maybe I was too careful then, hopefully I won’t come to harm with my new more blase attitude. I will be careful again for my next round on Friday.
Gigi how is your first week of docetaxol and herceptin? I hope you have coped ok. For me I found the first cycle had worse SE than the second.
At least we all have this beautiful sunny weather and our gardens to ease us through this rubbish time! Keep well everyone xx
Sorry Fiona forgot to ask how did the second cycle go? It’s odd to think you will have done your third round before I do mine on Friday! It must feel like it goes around quickly. Do you know why some have weekly and some 3 weekly? I know Christine said every week is different for side effects are you finding the same or is it too early to say? I hope it is going ok for you xx
I did cold cap and have kept the majority of my hair. If you didn’t know me you wouldn’t know about the hair loss. I had assumed i would lose a lot of it so ordered a scarf and silk hat that have never been worn. I will probably drop them off at the chemo unit and see if someone can make use of them as they are unused. I do admire all those who seem to have dealt with the hair loss so well. I don’t thnk it is vanity but just the want to remain ourselves and hide the internal turmoil without it showing on the outside. I have the horrid marks on my arms that i cover when i i am in company but that is a bit easier than hair loss. I have had the odd take away or meal out but i have been careful on what i have eaten and where. I am not sure at what point i can take things a bit more easily. A few week yet i think.
I think some drugs are done weekly as a general rule like the paclataxel and others and done three weekly like FEC and docetaxel but I think even then there are exceptions to this pattern. How the cancer presents and what we have been through before I think also plays a part. There do seem to be so many different protocols and we all seem to have some tweak from each other. I was thinking about last time i went through this at the age of 34 and with a 4 year old i thought i might night see grow up. I worked and made life as normal as i could for everyone elsse. This time as a 54 year old with a 23 year old daughter i feel more exhausted but less worried about the future.
Sorry i seem to be waffling on today. Enjoy your holdiay Dorabel. Cornwal was where i had most of my childhood holidays and i am sure you will have a lovely break.
Hope all is ok with you Gygi.