I‘m on weekly Taxel at the moment and my oncologist was preparing me mentally that keeping my hair is not a realistic option.
I do not style it, just put a hairband and away from my face. Luckily I‘ve always had fine hair which I wasn’t particularly proud of haha 
Cold cap doesn’t really bother me, so I‘ll continue as long as there is some hair left… I think shaving may become an option at some point but in the meantime I‘ll try to wear hats and caps if needed.
Sorry to hear you felt awful. There is definitely a cumulative effect.
It sounds like you’re on the same regimen as me. I was supposed to start 4 x paclitaxel last week after 4 xEC but I’ve had a week off due to hand and foot syndrome. My only side-effect from round 4 - no pain or discomfort but peeling skin. Judt need to mousturise lots and wear cotton gloves to protect my hands but theyre white and it’s all very impractical given how I use my hands to do EVERYTHING but they’re looking ready for Thursday.
I was very pleased to have an extra week off and felt like a kid who’d been let out of school an hour early.
Are you doing radiotherapy too? I have 5 days.
Is Zoledronic acid part of your protocol too? That’s definitely one infusion I’m a little apprehensive about.
Good luck with the start of your paclitaxel and I hope you’re starting to feel more human now.
Sorry to hear you’re having such an awful time with this round. Are you on zoladex/been put into chemical menopause? I read dry vagina and I’ve been wondering how many of us on here are dealing with more than just chemo side-effects?
Oestrogen is a life source to women so I’ve been listening to / reading about everything I can find on menopause and cancer and trying to get ahead of it all.
Vaginal oestrogen is safe for ER+ for example so may be worth a chat with your onco if it’s ongoing.
I had no idea about the Macmillan cards! I drink so much water I’m always needing the loo. Thank you for mentioning them. Just ordered one and also got a digital one for my mobile wallet
@healing24 , sorry to hear that your treatment has been delayed for a week, hopefully a week of wearing impractical white gloves will help ! Who thought to produce white gloves 
It does look like we are on the same protocol, however I am not having radiotherapy, as previous had DCIS ,so unfortunately had to have a mastectomy in January prior to starting chemo.
I am with you re the acid infusion, which I will be getting every 6 month for 3 years, not sure how I feel about that.
Fingers crosses for Thursday, sounds like we will both be in the chair at the same time for our first Paclitaxel…good luck. X
Thank you for making me laugh re-chasing the wig down the street! I hadn’t thought about that. Yesterday I had to chase down my cap twice so the image of a wig was too funny
When I first suspected I had breast cancer it was a month before a planned trip to New York for October half-term.
I deliberately didn’t use my private healthcare but stuck with NHS cause I knew private would’ve interfered with the trip and there was no way I was going to feel guilty about choosing my trip.
My mammogram was 2 days after we returned -still a quick turnaround for NHS and suited me perfectly. My twin boys turned 16 while inNYC and I have amazing tips for anyone who does start planning their trip!
I love travelling and already had lots booked before diagnosis and so far it’s all fitting nicely in between surgery, chemo, radiotherapy.
Bali sounds like an amazing call!
It really helps me having things to look forward to and I’m grateful that so far breast cancer and treatment haven’t stopped me planning, booking and attending things I already had booked.
Wimbledon ladies’ semi-final tickets too.
I’m starting to feel “lucky” that my chemo is happening before summer.
People talk about emerging from treatment and re-entering normal life. I don’t believe we’ll be our normal selves after this but I do believe we can thrive and the way I’m doing it is by starting now to reduce the burden, expectation, shock of re-entering.
I’m also now officially in menopause 2 months after turning 39 so I am very motivated to start working on that bone density, muscle mass, joint pain management etc now - I’m putting this out there so Paclitaxel gets the memo before Thursday 
So great to hear from you @healing24 , you burst with positivity!
I think travelling is the only thing I really miss these days. The weather in London hasn’t been that great so far and I miss the sun and warmth. My chemo finishes in September and I was hoping at least to go to Jersey before my surgery, as my insurance won’t let me travel abroad 
Has anyone else had an ultrasound after starting chemo? I had one this morning as my oncologist wanted to check on how things were looking after finishing EC. The woman doing the ultrasound said my lump was wider but flatter and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not… She did say that the lymph node that she saw last time looks normal, so that’s a positive but I was hoping for a smaller in all aspects on the main breast lump. I need to wait until Thursday for my follow up with the oncologist- this is going to be the longest week EVER!
@kitty77 hope your docetaxel goes well today. Let us know how things are on the other side! 
All this talk of travel is really making me want to book something for July in between chemo and surgery. I’m feeling so indecisive though about where to go! We don’t usually do summer holidays since we don’t have children and so don’t need to plan around school holidays. Any suggestions about places in the UK that won’t be absolutely chock-a-block with holidaying families?
Hiya 
Chemo cancelled unfortunately 
my bloods were fine but my liver levels are too high for the Docetaxal guidelines so I have another week off and more bloods next Monday and all being well will start on Tuesday with the Docetaxal 
.
@healing24 and @kitty77 sorry to hear your chemo was delayed, had the same happen to me between rounds 2 and 3, caught a random infection and my neutrophils were too low. While the delay means it will take a little longer to get done with all of this, it did feel like a little chemo vacation 
@healing24 I absolutely need to borrow a leaf from your planning book and get some post treatment travel plans locked in. I pretty much put everything on hold as soon as I was diagnosed. There are a couple of weddings coming up in the summer which may have to count as travel plans for now.
I’ll be having a zoledronic acid infusion at the end of this week with round 4, I figure it can’t leave me feeling any worse than chemo does. Ahh… the joys of medically induced menopause.
On a side note, I’m super excited to be done with EC, you’d think paclitaxel is not happening I’m sure it will come with its own set of horrors but I am not above celebrating every little milestone.
@Vibby I shaved my hair off after coldcapping twice, started shedding as I washing the conditioner out after the second coldcap session and by the end of the week, I was left with about half a head of hair and so many bald patches it looked like I let a baby play with scissors. Shaving it off was devastating but also kind of liberating cause I was done with the daily anxiety of worrying about how much hair I would shed that day. I have noticed that it starts growing back between chemo rounds.
@salbert you’re hilarious, I’m sure your oncologist appreciated the humor too
@kartoffel 
I’m glad that your lymphnode looks normal and keeping my fingers crossed that your oncologist appointment goes well.
have a great week everyone!
@kitty77 sorry to hear your chemo has been delayed due to liver levels. I’d be interested to know if you felt unwell with it and if it’s your LFTs if you don’t mind sharing. I’m in the same position and after two rounds of chemo with the same thing happening I’m now being listed for surgery and will commence further chemo afterwards as the liver issues were causing too many delays. I can’t find much information about this particular side effect so feel alone 
.
Surgeon appointment is Friday when hopefully i’ll get a date 
Hi,
No not on zoladex because I’m already post menopausal at 61. I was in full HRT when diagnosed and had to stop it. I lived my HRT and have it up very reluctantly. I find it difficult to reconcile because I’m triple neg breast cancer. I know I have an increased risk of a hormone driven cancer in the future but as my current cancer is not hormone related I find it hard to accept I think.
I’ve held on to my topical vaginal oestrogen pessaries and also started a vaginal moisturiser.
I’m hoping that it’s side effects from the chemo (mucositis) that’s causing it.
If it’s vaginal atrophy not sure what else I can do beyond what I’m currently doing.
Maybe I’ll be one of those who had to make the decision to continue HRT after all.
Hi @jayne1210
I haven’t felt unwell at all. The only thing I’ve had is a bit of a sore throat last week.
The nurse didn’t tell me exactly what liver level was high but she did say the limit for the liver level for chemo was 60 and my level on Friday when my blood was taken was in the 90s.
They thought it could be high because I had an allergic reaction to my last chemo but are hopeful levels will be in normal range next week.
I hope your appointment with surgeon goes well and you get a date booked in for surgery. I will post an update next week on how I get on with my bloods.
I’ve had my surgery and this is adjuvant chemo to hopefully get rid of any potential cells that might be in my body. Please drop another post on here if you have any more questions I’m happy to share my experience Xx
I’m doing Day 8 of the weekly Paclitaxel today (Cycle 3). Dreading to wash my hair afterwards, as it has been shredding so much.
At least I’m getting nice food at hospital haha 
Speaking of things to celebrate, I’ve now decided to do something when I finish my first 4 cycles and before the new EC cycles start. It feels like a milestone to me. I’ve of course delegated to my husband to organise it 
@tinatin My stomach just gave a little lurch when you mentioned hospital food. Maybe it’s because I only get the not-so-great lunch they serve mid-infusion, but just the thought of hospital food makes me a little queasy… 
Oh my word! You did warn me but that 4th and final EC was not fun. And yes, just the thought of the food that they give me during infusion makes me feel ill. I have felt rough for a week. Cold capping continues to work quite well for me but again, just the thought of a frozen head makes me feel nauseous. I’m praying that Paclitaxel isn’t so harsh.
Now…my mother has given me another hat. It’s no better than the last one. I’ll give you a clue. This one is Australian.
Sorry ladies for mentioning the hospital food! The combination of the cold cap and steroids makes me so hungry during chemo that anything they serve is delicious haha
I love the hat @salbert ! I’m still waiting for my wig to arrive. I’m glad I’ve cut my hair short, as now I just use a hair band and it looks halfway professional. I also use quite a bit of foundation and rouge to appear healthy and some of my colleagues haven’t even noticed anything.
Maybe that’s why I was laughing so hard when I saw this video: Redirecting...
