I found this poem today and it really resonated with me. Only those who are going through or have had chemotherapy understand what it is like.
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Good luck for today! They still havenāt given me a start date for radiotherapy. Which means I donāt know the end dateā¦
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I have surgery first, most likely in the last week of August. I wonāt find out if I need radiotherapy until after surgery. Have people had surgery before chemo? Is anyone else having surgery when chemo finishes? Itās relentless!
I did have some good news today. My oncologist wasnāt sure if she wanted me to have another cycle of EC, which would have been #4 but I had such a terrible time after the last cycle, she has decided itās not worth poisoning me again! So no more chemo for me !
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I had surgery first. Still 3 taxol to go. Defo feels relentless..i dont think ill be finished radiotherapy till end of october. Practically a full yearā¦but getting through it!
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Hi all. Hope youāre doing well at whatever stage you are at now. Had my last pre surgery chemo (TCHP) yesterday. So phase 1 of Operation Kill the Bu@*#r 
(Iām triple positive ER8/PR8) As I got ready to leave I had two emotions:
- Relieved that there is no bell to ring at my hospital. I actually think it would be cruel to have one near people who are clearly having chemo for metastatic cancer and may never get the chance to ācelebrateā the end of treatment.
- Sadness because yesterday is unlikely to be my last time in the chemo suite. (which may have coloured my thoughts re above). I had a contrast mammogram a few weeks ago which showed a āpartial responseā. The chemo had shrunk the tumour from 25mm to 13mm after 2 cycles but no more and the tumour still showed residual āenhancementā. Both my oncologist and surgeon have (when pressed) agreed this is likely to mean I wonāt achieve a pathological complete response after surgery which is a depressing thought but Iād rather know what I am facing. So its looks like Iāll be joining the āKadcyla 2026 Startersā group shortly.
My lumpectomy is pencilled in for 12th September. Just awaiting confirmation. Then it will be radiotherapy, Zolendronic acid,aromatase inhibitors and of course the Kadcyla. Never bloody ending! 
Now to get this 63 year old body as fit as I can for surgery. Do share how you are getting on, if you feel up to it 
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Hi alpacagirl
I finished chemo 3 weeks ago now. I feel very similarly to you. I had 3 cycles of carboplatin/docetaxol/phesgo then switched to EC as I had peripheral neuropathy. The EC was to be 3 or 4 cycles, I didnāt find out if I was having the 4th until the day before it was due. I ended up having 3 as I was quite poorly after the 3rd EC, had 24 hours of IV antibiotics and a blood transfusion. Iām very happy to have finished chemo but I didnāt get that feeling of whooping cough, thatās chemo done because of the uncertainty about the final cycle. Like you, I will have 3 weekly infusions of either Kadcyla or Herceptin for several months so the visits to the chemo day unit are not over!
I am booked in for a double mastectomy on 3rd September. I have 2 tumours in my left breast which are HER 2 +ve, not close together then they found a small oestrogen +ve tumour in my right breast after lots of investigations. Not sure if I will need radiotherapy, depends what the pathology from surgery shows.
I am feeling pretty daunted by the surgery, I have opted for a DIEP reconstruction so recovery will be quite long. And tbh, I will miss my own boobs, Iāve always really liked them! But I get the need to get rid of every last nasty cancer cell.
Hope you feel ok after your chemo yesterday, at least it will be the last time you feel like this! I feel ok 3 weeks on, just a bit tired if I do too much!
Take care xx
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Hi@laineyb73.. lovely to hear from you. Sounds like youāve had a bit of a rough ride with the chemo too then. I ended up in hospital for 3 nights on IV antibiotics after first cycle as they forgot to prescribe Filgrastim injections! My neutrophils were 0.13, so I picked up an infection. Had a weekās delay cycles 2&3. They then decided to reduce the dose from cycle 4 onwards and which helped. My friend (who was diagnosed with HER2+ but hormone negative a week after me) felt poorly on her 3 cycles of EC but she ended up in hospital for 6 night after her first Docetaxel/Phesgo as it caused her colitis to play up. So I think weāll all be pleased to see the back of the heavy hitting regimes! Iām not feeling too bad thanks but on steroids fuelled āhighā at the moment, so expecting the usual crash tomorrow. As you say though, hopefully the last time weāll feel this rough from chemo 
Must have been a shock when they found a different type of tumour in your right breast. I do hope your double mastectomy goes well on 3rd and you have a pcr, so wonāt need Kadcyla. Will be thinking of you. Keep us posted on your progress Take care xx
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Hi All, well today was my last chemo session (3 EC + 3 Docetaxel )but totally agree it wouldnāt have seemed right to ring a bell. Itās such a long journey. Itās a recurrence for me, after 25 years and now they have more things to throw at it. So Iām looking at 15 radiotherapy sessions, 10 years of Letrozole, 3 years ribociclib plus infusions of bone strengthening stuff beginning with Z. Anyway, hoping the worst is over and big thanks to the āMarch Starters ā and others for sharing your experiences. It makes you feel less alone and puts things into perspective.
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Thanks, I will keep you posted. Likewise with your surgery.
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Well done on finishing chemo. I agree , itās such a long and arduous journey but chemo is a pretty horrendous part of it. Onwards and upwards. I agree, thanks to the March group for all the really helpful tips.
I am pleased to report that 3 weeks after chemo, my taste buds are completely back to normal. Wine and chocolate all the way!
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Finished 4ac and 12 taxol yesterday and had by 6 month post mastectomy follow up today.
Feel broken by the whole experience. I know i can still have a bright future but feel like i will forever carry with me a grief for the carefree outlook i will never have again.
Mixed emotions is the only accurate way to describe how i feel. 
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What a marathon. But you made it to the finishing line. You need time to recover and hopefully put it in the past.
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If thatās the path you choose then yes, you will blight the rest of your life.
You have come through a major disease with your body intact. You will need time to heal and there is always something of a āis that itā feel about the end of treatment. However, you made it and it is up to you to fully embrace the life you have ahead of you. Very few peopleās lives are perfect and so many of us have experiences in our background that we would rather not have had and that will have shaped us in ways we had not considered. Cancer is random, living your life positively is a choice.
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