Sorry to hear you are being messed about but the good news is you can hopefully continue at the reduced dose and finish in time for your summer plans.
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Same here, I was told 4 weeks after finishing chemo for surgery to let body recover. So 6 weeks from last dose, providing chemo goes ok.
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Ladies, not sure if would help anyone. Its my secind EC and first few days food tastes disgusting for most part.
But I noticed that I nejoy more colder food: like salads and cucumber from the fridge.
Yesterday my acid reflux was quite bad but at night I remember I froze some 
grapes i washed throughly back on Sunday and it actually sooo good, I even went outside fro 15 minutes aroudn the block before my bed.
Slept 4.5h straight and another hour later on. Feeling like myself again. So all I can say HOLD ON, its drugs thst makes us feel that way!!!
P.s. a friend said her mum used frozen lemon to suck on⊠not sure how much acid I want but will try and see if its any good.
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It happened it was not a regular ultrasound, they inserted a marker into the tumor in case it shrinks a lot or disappear s completely. Noone warned me about this 
it took 15 minutes, completely painless with local anesthesia
Having a break between chemo and operation makes sense, I will ask my oncologist about it
@misha thanks for the tips! EC is still waiting for some of us (including myself), itâs good to understand what to expect from it 
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I am struggling with no taste also. Pineapple in juice is lovely. I cannot taste savoury things which makes dinners difficult.
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Funny you should mention about the lack of taste. I canât really taste, sweet/salty or tangy but spicy - Yes! Makes cooking tricky doesnât it?
Did you find you couldnât tell the difference between warm/hot/cold foods?everything feels itâs at room temperature 
I found that out yesterday(a week post-2nd EC) and mightâve burnt my tongue as well to worsen the taste issuesđ„Ž
please be careful with super cold/steaming hot dishes.
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I try to stick to plain dished right now, rice, pasta, porridge is only thing i can stomach frist thing in the morning. Found rise puddings again as alternative to yoghurt as I did not realised you cant have biolove cultures during chemo till after I bought loads of them. Luckily my flatmate is benefitting from the stock 
I cant look at much meat either, so i made a litnof veg and agg muffins in the over on Sunday to keep me going on protein and been earing veg and fruits like crazzy. Mango still my favourite, cant look at bananas at the moment had to much of them. And made a fantastic lentil soup with all the veg and onions today and topped it up with fresh herbs especially coriander. So spicy food for me except salt and vinegar pringles to keep some kind of normality as I can tasts something. Gone off fizzy drinks for time being too. My poor stomach is not happy bunny right now. But oatcakes seem to be doing the deed of keeping me going for energy as a snack. Oh and soy souce keep rise intertainig. I think i go off slaty stuff for first few days but than with all the water im drinking i needed a bit more of it in my foods
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Well done! sounds like youâve sussed out your tastebuds and having plenty of variety and fresh foods. Canât stomach much more than toast, crisps, jelly sweets(they actually helped me with the runs if youâre suffering) and chilli con carne or a curry at the moment. Fruit intake has taken a nosedive but trying to get veggies in the dishes. Trying not to burn my tongue again tonightđ„Ž
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Update : Interested to know what you think of my experience on cold capping today.
Finally home now from 2nd EC with reduced dose. Hopefully my liver wonât get effected as bad.
Not a very pleasant session as the chemo nurse was quite obviously anti cold capper. 
She told me they had no surgical caps available to protect my bald patch.
No sugical capsâŠin a hospital? 
Wouldnât get any gauze for me and insisted she did a âcomb overâ with my existing hair.
After chemo she tried to take the cap off after 30 mins. I know for a fact it has to be left on for 90 mins after. I stopped her and she then checked with another nurse, who confirmed i was correct ! No apology.
She then said that the Paxman cold cap was not that good anyway and if I lose too much more hair , cold capping would be pointless.
I told her that the cold cap is also to help premote new hair growth after chemo , as stated on Paxman website.
She then proceeded to tell me that cold capping has its downfalls , and can, on occasions cause cancer on the scalp!!
She then told me that cold capping was actually banned in the U.S 
I mean what the hell?
Iâm still going to persevere with cold cap no matter what they say .
Thanks for reading everyone, wishing you all good health , and sending hugs xx 
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This has reminded me that a nurse specialist mentioned that pineapple was really good for helping encourage your taste buds during chemo.
But was told if on taxane (Docetaxel or Paclitaxel) that can upset your stomach, plain white food was best. White bread, rice, oats etc
@tigertot Iâm so sorry to hear your experience with cold cap. I know from experience that it does work and Paxman have done lots of research to show that it can help with re growth. If this had happened to me I would complain. The nurse is giving you incorrect advise. If you have the energy maybe contact Paxman and let them know which hospital you are at. They do all the training and Iâm sure will be upset to hear this experience.
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Hey @tigertot si glad to hear youâre back on track but sorry about that awful experience with the numpty nurse. How rediculous for her to sag those things.
Good job youâre well educated and could keep her right.
You have to be your own advocate right through this.
Take care and I hope you have a restful night.
X
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@naughty_boob Yes I will be calling the unit Monday morning, to inform the nurse in charge that I do not wish to be treated by this nurse again. All the others are really supportive.
Like you say its having that energy to go to Paxman on this, but I fear itâs only the one nurse that has the issue.
I have a feeling that the other nurses will be quite supportive. 
I have lost a lot of hair but Iâm slowly learning to accept that. Which is why I told her my main reason for cold capping now is to help premote new hair growth. Especially for when I switch to Docetaxel, where there is a slight risk of partial or total perminent hair loss. So if I throw everything I can at it , I know i tried my best.
x
Thank you @warmfuzzies but Sleep? âŠOn these steroids ??
x
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I hope you get somewhere with them Monday. Itâs so hard to advocate for yourself when having chemotherapy. You are doing amazing and you have to right to cold cap and do the best for your hair.
This particular nurse needs a kick up the butt about her attitude towards cold capping. I remember one nurse at a satellite site saying cold cap doesnât work with Paclitaxel but it did for me! My centre had no hairbands to protect your forehead, even though the leaflet says it would be provided. My first session I had a really sore forehead, the following week, I bought a pack of 10 headbands and used 1 and left the others for anyone else. I then found out they were reliant on charity to buy these items, so I bought another 20, some conditioner and spray water bottles. I hope it has helped many others after me.
Iâm trying to think if there is anything you may have at home that you could take to protect your bald patches in case next time they day there are no surgical caps or gauze ( which I would have thought is impossible in a hospital!) or ask someone to pop to local pharmacy to buy some gauze yourself. Would cotton pads work? Iâve read on an Australian site that is an option.
Take care
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Bless your heart. Sending you love and hope you get the answers you need very soon.
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@tigertot
Pleased you got your treatment Friday.
Really canât believe how you were treated by the nurse. As if youâre not going through enough.
x
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Hi @tigertot just want to say well done for standing your ground with the cold capping. Iâve been lucky so far . Iâve had 3 EC and 3 different nurses who did cold cap for me and all were lovely. But it just takes one . You do right to contact unit and ask not to have that nurse again. They need to realise the impact their words and actions can have on people.
Iâm coming up to my 4 th EC this Thursday. Then I have 4 paclitaxel. So feeling nervous about a different one.
Love to everyone and just keep thinking we will be looking back on this one day.
Xxxx
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@naughty_boob Yes totally agree.
Iâve already ordered my own cold capping paraphernalia (surgical caps, head bands etc) for next time . With the intention of donating the left overs for others to use. Think thatâs a great idea 
x
@wba Itâs been a rough week but got there in the end. How are you getting on with your picc line now? x
@pineapples123 Hey! 
Glad to hear you had a positive out come so far on EC. Iâm doing 21 day cycles of EC x 3 - Then change to 21 day cycles of Docetaxel x 3. Also nervous about the change. So know where youâre coming from there. Iâm finding that my veins feel bruised on my infusion arm and was told it was normal as EC can be a bit harsh on the veins.
Good luck with your change over to paclitaxel, let us know how you get on x
Hugs and support to you all xxâ€ïž
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WTAF that nurse is well out of order and completely wrong! Bald areas should be covered so terrible she cba to help you. They are not banned in the USA, I guess they have to pay for them so maybe not used as much as here in the UK. Canât believe she tried to take it off early too. I would have reported her, just because youâve got cancer doesnât mean they can walk all over you. I am actually fuming for you. What a bitch!!
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Crazy isnât it ? @jacx70 .
Admittedly, it wasnât a pleasant experience but Iâm going to take control of the situation, and Iâll be phoning the chemo ward tomorrow morning and tell them that i wonât be having that nurse again. 
x 
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Good for you, well done!
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