Hello everyone,
I’m not the only one crying about hair loss then - my poor thin eyelashes! Just want my hair back!
Went to get bloods taken today and the chemo nurse was shocked at the state of my hardened veins, tracking and skin inflammation - she said she has never seen such damaged veins - and this is after 3 of 6 FEC - it took ages to get a blood sample and she said she really doesn’t want to put any more FEC into those veins - so I have agreed, reluctantly, to have a Hickman line put in next week, and have the chemo on 11th. Am now terrified.
Welcome Ostrich, sturdy ovaries if you have started a period, I had periods after FEC 1 and 2 and am now 3 weeks post-FEC 3 and waiting to see if my ovaries have given up the ghost yet (I’m 36.)
Thanks for letting us know about Tanya Cat - it’s so boring in hospital poor girl.
I wish my ovaries weren’t sturdy - I am 39 and have no desire for more kids and have been having the darned things since I was 11 so will be glad to see the back of them!
Sorry to hear about your veins Irina, I hope your hickman line goes in without any problems. It seems veins can be a real issue for many of us. My inner arm vein is not happy since my 2nd FEC and I am not looking forward to no 3 next week.
Can I ask whether any of you ladies have had LD recon and get “breast pain” in it. Although I don’t have any breast tissue I have been having stabbing pains in my breast/chest the last couple of days. Can I also ask whether anyone else is afraid to self-examine their “good” boob. I haven’t touched my good boob since DX as I don’t think I could handle anything else right now, silly I know, but I am telling myself I will return to self-exam after I get through chemo.
I had a WLE and node removal, have been getting lots of stabbing pains in scar area since starting FEC. It seems to be quite usual fro other women I know who ae having chemo. I am also afraid to touch either boob for fear of finding a new lump.
Welcome Ostrich, I’ve seen you post on a few threads and you are very welcome here, hows your back now? I seem to remember you were having terrible trouble with it a while back and were longing for a lovely bubble bath.
Irina, I’m sure you’ll be fine with the Hickman, I was talking to a friend of mine today who’s a nurse and she was telling me that the are very straightforward and for most people are a godsend in terms of the relief of not having problems with finding a vein and sore veins. My arm is still quite painful although the hirudoid cream does seem to have helped with the swelling. Think I may have overdone it with the crimbo shopping and carrying bags. If my veins are still this sore when I go for my blood test next thurs I’m seriously thinking of asking about Hickman or Picc line, anything rather than use my mx arm.
Think my ovaries must be quite sturdy too as still having periods. Wouldn’t be sad to say goodbye to them I can tell you.
Glad I’m not the only one having problems with wind too. My poor hubby - I’ve been telling him I can’t help it for weeks and it’s a side effect and now I can say it definately is. I was in the car with one of my best friends yesterday coming back from shopping in Bristol, when the car suddenly filled with the most disgusting smell ( must have driven past a seweridge farm or something ) and she looked at me and said ’ look I know you’ve got problems and all and can’t help side effects but MY GOD THAT STINKS!’ took me ages to convince her it wasn’t me. Much crying with laughter later, same thing happened - am convinced she didn’t believe me!!Luckily she’s one of those friends who is an absolute star and we really did laugh about it.
Hope everyone having a good day, Cat say hi to Tanya if you speak to her I hope shes OK.
Hi Ladies and welcome back Ostrich…glad to hear you are bearing up.
SE’s have been terrible this FEC I feel like an emotional heap of sh*t. Can’t stop crying and legs feel like they just dont want to move.
I’ll be brief as I just dont feel like looking at the screen…eyes are sore, nose is running and I have the worst taste in my mouth ever…gums are tingling like mad.
Even the smell of lenor on the washing is making me heave now…god I feel pissed off today.
Be back on track tomorrow so will catch up properly then.
Caz…You have given me my one and only laugh out loud today…Farty Pants!
I’ve had two periods since starting FEC, next one is due now-ish, but the past two weren’t as regular as usual. Like Irina, I’m waiting to see…and my eyelashes are thining too One of my friends had a Hickman line, said it was the best thing on the planet and made chemo and all the rest of the stuff much easier. Tanya had a PICC this week and that went fine.
Caz, you crack me up, that’s so funny!
Pheebes, so sorry you’re having a rotten day, nega-huge hugs. You sound like I felt with FEC3, bl00dy miserable and everything’s been just horrid.
I cried as I was walking home from acupuncture this morning, tears dripping down my face, I was a right snotty mess. God knows where that all came from. Joy the acupuncturist must have done it. She said she thought I was being too strong and needed some emotional release from the stresses of everything, and there I went, blubbing like a big baby with no clue what it was for. How on Earth does one do emotional release? I don’t know, that’s for sure. I have to be the strong one in my family, no one else can handle it and if I start crying, they’ll all be useless and cross with me. I couldn’t even have my nosebleed without James having a go at me about it. Pheebs, I feel as pissed as you at the moment.
On the Farty Pants level, my son has a couple of books about underpants, we are well acquainted with the fartiness of it all. At three, he’s now learned to snigger every time I let rip, the chemo is taking me the same way as the rest of you. I keep blaming the kid but he’s starting to speak up for himself and tells all and sundry that his mommie has done a farty bottom.
Sorry to hear you are not feeling well Pheebster, I hope your SE pass quickly, x
Caz, I live 20 miles from Bristol and am heading up there on Friday to do some more crimbo shopping at Cabot Circus (got 75% of my shopping done today in my home town) but thought a girlie shop with my best friend in Bristol would be nice before 3rd FEC and xmas shopping is a nice cover! Luckily my friend has had BC so knows all the side effects so hopefully she will be understanding if I let rip (accidentally!) on the way up!
My back wound is still open (5 weeks on *sigh*) and have persuaded nurse at practice to look at honey therapy or if that fails I have said I will consider maggot therapy (I am desparate!) to clear up the dead tissue that hasn’t yet gone so the new tissue can get on with healing. Chemo is def slowing it down and it may not be healed until I finish chemo. Mind you I am over my bath fixation as I got into a waist high one the other night, caught side of this wobbly bald person and thought “what would I do if I could lie down? No hair to pamper or shave only skin to wash!”
I have also got a bit of lymphodema in my recon breast and a touch in my mx arm which was only confirmed last week so generally fed up with BC which is why I thought I should cheer myself up by chatting with you lovely ladies!
Ladies, can I share with you a poem written by a friend of mine? He took a year’s sabbatical (he lives overseas) to spend time at home in Scotland and was hit with cancer. He writes so beautifully and maintains his sense of humour, always signing his mails to his friends as Angus the lymphomaniac, playing with his own brand of cancer. He wrote this poem a couple of days ago:
“Rebirth”
Chemotherapy
Took my hair
And something other was born.
Familiar but unknown;
A paradox of self laid bare,
Detached from the womb of lost imaginings;
Unreconstructed
From obscure shadows
Of its past;
Cast up from the sanctuary
Of vanished dispensation.
An adult infant,
More naked
Than naked,
I paused before a brave new world
And shivered;
A chemically induced reincarnation
With vanity in remission.
Nor can I regress,
Nor wish,
To curl up once again
In that too comfortable cocoon
Of quirk
And nervous disposition.
I feel the wind upon my skull
And see intensely
What I’d never truly seen
Beyond, beyond
In wonderment!
Just had a lovely chat with Tanya on the phone. She’s still stuck in hospital,very bored because the Internet connection is pants, her neuts are 0.4 still. Fingers crossed that they’re up to 1.0 for tomorrow so that the let her go home. She sends her love to you all and hopes that everyone’s SEs aren’t too horrid.
Pheebs, sending hugs ((((((:0))))))) I too feel more emotional this time round, feel teary even watching ads on tv. Popped out today and arm was a nightmare, for first time I thought ’ I don’t want to do this anymore ’ but of course we have no option so will soldier on.
Cat - tell Angus he’s a genius, mind you he’s also a git cos made me all teary!! lol
Morning!!! Thanks Cat for earlier posting and to everyone for your good wishes. Temp spiked again tonight. New development is that after 4 days in and a spiking temp and after looking at a dubious discoloured and tender area of skin below my right mastectomy scar and a bit below the left scar they have decided this looks like shingles. I am neutropenic but have finally been moved o a side room without charge for the protection of the the other 5 ladies in my bay. Ironic. Still sat waiting for last nights 10pm if antibiotics and the new iv acyclovir for shingles! Apparently the best place for me is at home if I am well so unless they want loads of iv acyclovir I guess I can hope this adds weight to my negotiations with the doctor for home. It does however add proof that it would have been wrong to go today. Mightily cheered by chat with Cat yesterday evenig and all the posts on here made me laugh. Love the pessary joke!
Wishing everyone better from side effects. Hi to Ostrich. Have seen your posts on other threads too.
Morning Girlies…what a lot of reading this morning. I think we are all needing each other at the moment. I thought the kimo half-way mark was going to feel like such a relief. But like many of you, I just think “I’ve got to do it all again…and on TAX too”. My energy levels are dropping - I think that may be due to the wbc shots and I may get my friend to do a routine asthma check on me today to see if I’m getting a bit too breathless. I think the loss of my usual high energy levels has hit me harder than anything…and it is that which is making me fed up more than anything. My morning trek through the fields with 4 Legs is my daily therapy, and I don’t have the energy levels for it right now, sadly. My tongue is really sore today too.
Hope you get out of hozzy today Tanya…here’s me moaning and you aren’t even home. Cat - stop blaming sproglet for your farting…the child will get a complex!!!
Ostrich…sory to hear about your wound problems. I wasn’t confident I could handle all the surgery invovled with mx and recon in one go… I can only imagine that on top of everything else you are dealing with emotionally and physically, non-healing wounds are the last thing you want right now.
To those of you considering/having/had hickmans/piccs I am sure you will not be disappointed. I am hoping to be able to avoid that now I know my shrinking veins are due to nerves (apparently) but time will tell.
Has anyone had their pep-talk on TAX yet? I’d be interested to know what steroids you get prescribed. Mine are dexa 8mg a day for 3 days starting day before kimo.
I’m going to attempt the ironing now before going down to work for my jab and no doubt another balling session…
Sorry for not touching base since yesterday morning but I,ve been keeping myself busy so that I don,t have too much time to think about tomorrow. Also trying to make sure that all is in order in case they decide to take me in. Another dubious area has reared its ugly head on the edge of the skin graft and the recon. It,s been weeping watery blood so will have to let the docs check that out as well tomorrow.
Tanya, hope you manage to get yourself home soon.
Pheebster, sure hope your energy levels are up soon, 4 Legs needs you…
A belated welcome Ostrich, I,m a bit of a newbie here too. Regarding self examination - I haven,t even thought about it. However my (hunky) oncologist checks me over every 3 weeks. It,s the only pleasure I get nowadays LOL.
hi again -perservering with a slow connection to be with friends and to preserve my sanity. Good luck for tomorrow Soo - my thoughts are with you. So sorry to hear about your sore mouth and reduced energy Pheebster. Visitors have just arrived so will come back later and finish off. Apologies. Tanya x
Sorry meant to say Cat, my friend returns to the UK today (just had a tearful goodbye ) so the ginger sweets should be in the post tomorrow. I hope they help.
Hi guys, a quickie because I’m tossing pancakes. Soo, thank you for the sweets, I’ll be saving them for my first Tax which I’m sure will be nausea-inducing. Soo, let us know how it goes tomorrow, will be thinking of you.
Tanya, how’s it going now that you have Internet connection that a snail could beat?
Pheebs, sorry you’re shattered, I am feeling the same as you today, just ready to wilt like a flower without water.
Fingers crossed that you get out tomorrow Tanya… I had to take the aciclovir when I had the coldsore. here’s hoping the strong IV stuff does the trick.
Good luck tomoz Soo!
And those feeling wiped out… hope you start to pick up soon x
I found FEC1 rough for 7 days… FEC2 rough for 9 days… FEC3 rough for 11 days… so FEC4 (yes staying on FEC) guessing it will be 13 days!!! having next Wednesday :o( 10th so will be good by 23rd! hopefully!!! then FEC5 on New years eve!
Hope you are feeling better Tanya and that the aciclovir helps. I am on 4 tabs a day to prevent me getting coldsores. My nurse friend said it is sooooo expensive that where she works in a private ward they charge the private patients extra for it and that whilst they could prescribe it for kids with chicken pox they don’t due to cost so I feel very special to have it prescribed free by my Onc. I am guessing right now you don’t feel at all lucky but hopefully it will do the trick and get you home.
Good luck for tomorrow Soo, will be thining of you.
I have to say that post FEC for the first week I drink gallons of ginger beer and suck/chew chocolate covered crystallised ginger and it really helps with the icky feeling.
I hope you ladies that are suffering post FEC wipe out pick up soon.
I am making the most of my good days prior to FEC 3 on Tuesday and consequent morning at hospital on Monday by going out with my team from work for a curry tonight (I haven’t seen any of them bar one since my hair fell out or even most of them since my op so I’m most surprised at myself that I haven’t had a blind what to wear panic yet especially as they are all blokes!) and shopping at Cabot Circus with my best friend tomorrow followed by having a friend who’s been a star around for dinner tomorrow night and OH is cooking so we can sip (not) wine in the background whilst he slaves!!
Will try and pop on tomorrow otherwise will catch up over the weekend!
One of my friends had a Hickman line, said it was the best thing on the planet and made chemo and all the rest of the stuff much easier. Tanya had a PICC this week and that went fine.