@carrie5 It sounds like you are also getting on with things going for your Persian Afternoon Tea. I do like the sound of that. Itâs really important to put cancer in a box and get on with life as much as possible. It helps to shrink it mentally while the treatment does the job of shrinking it/eradicating it physically. Well done! More afternoon teas all round, I say.
@arty1 Wow!! You wonderful person. How fabulous and massive respect to you for organising such an event just after you finish chemo. You are made of stern stuff! I hope it is going swimmingly and that you raise masses of money. Where would we be without the incredible Breast Cancer Now charity. You deserve cakes. Lots of them.
@fimac1 Thatâs absolutely the way to look at it. Itâs flipping it and rather than saying âPoor usâŠwhy did it happen to us?â you are saying âThanks for giving me this amazing treatment so that I can have many more years with my loved onesâ. I love that attitude. You are going to have one helluva party after your treatment is done. I hope you can post a pic on here when you reach that milestone. As for time off after op, I wanted to keep working and was able to do so as I worked from home. And so it was that I was working from bed the day after my ops every time, twice with a drain hanging out of my side. I know, nuts. However, itâs my way of staying sane and I have a tenuous grip on sanity at the best of times! As with all things, itâs very much dependent on the individual but that was my experience. Hopefully others will also be able to advise what they did. Your Trastuzumab and Pertuzumab cocktail is also known as Phesgo and is our wonderful, wonderful, wonder drug that has turned around HER2+ breast cancer from being one of the worst to the best according to my Senior GP friend. Great news that youâre getting that. Iâve been having mine since last summer and am due to finish the course on 10th April. I got many surgeries (long story), EC and Paclitaxel, a mastectomy, ongoing Phesgo and then I will get six monthly zoledronic acid infusions for the next 2 years. Yes, HER2+ breast cancer is a long haul journey but itâs worth it as our stats are excellent. We are lucky.
@sooz1 As many of us have said before, doing this with a young child is a whole different ballgame and we take our collective hat off to you. Your post isnât negative, itâs real and itâs your life right now. The one place you can vent is here. Never apologise for that. What a pants week youâve just had. You are getting a virtual hug right now. A big one. I really hope you are on the up again and good point from @naughty_boob (as ever) about having a word with the nursery about open windows. At least cold and bugs time of year will be coming to an end soon so there should be less about. I hope your new wig looks lovely. I loved mine. I had so many I had to have a word with myself and stop buying them. They certainly looked a damn sight better than my current pullet! (Pixie/mullet combo which might be all the rage but certainly not on my head!)
I have to cover three Funky Feet dance classes for someone now and I am no dance teacher. Fortunately, I do love funky dancing and have some fabulous dance moves to bust out. This should be fun with the little ones, ok with the middle ones but potentially excruciating with the teenagers. Iâll report back tomorrow.
I also had the same drugs as you⊠as @salbert said, the two combined as known as phesgo. You get it alongside your Docetaxel chemo every 3 weeks, and my phesgo was given as an injection into the thigh. I used numbing cream before it as I donât like needles (particularly in stomach/thigh type area), so if you want you could ask your chemo ward for some numbing cream too and just ask them to show you where to apply it. They alternate legs for each dose too.
If you have an oncology appointment before Docetaxel/soon then Iâd also ask them the plan for you in respect of the phesgo/how long youâll be on it (as it continues after chemo like with Salbert and can be 6 months or a year etc), and what the possible treatments are that you may get after surgery. Myself and a few others here got switched from phesgo leg injections to Kadcyla chemo after surgery (due to not having a complete response to initial chemo), so itâs worth checking with your team what your own specific plan looks like/what the possibilities are
@belle1 and @salbert Thanks for filling in the blanks. I will look up Phesgo and see what it says as the leaflet advises given over couple of hours seperately by canula and observed for several hours after, which made me panic a littleâŠand relax
Good luck with the dancing. Maybe you should change your name to happy feet?
Inspired as always by you ladies - Like the idea of keeping cancer in a box @salbert and impressed with @arty1 fundraising. My mini project- Iâm going to create a cancer swear box and anytime I find myself on an unproductive line of thought (what ifâŠwill I manageâŠ??) I will record a fine which will get totted up and donated to Breast Care Now. Have already placed âwhat if I canât do 9th March with dog at Crufts?â in there. Dog not showing, sheâs there as Pets As Therapy dog. Think PAT dogs should be there for stress relief while waiting in breast care clinics but no doubt would be considered unhygienic!
Hi @fimac1. You are right that itâs very much an individual thing about how much time is needed or wanted off work. I, like you, was keen to keep working as much as possible. I am lucky in that I can pretty much work from home so I went back to work after a lumpectomy and lymph node removal after 2 weeks. It was a compromise between me, the breast cancer nurses and my (very supportive) line manager. I worked flexed hours for a few weeks. My only advice is to listen to your body and mind, not every day feels the same.
Like @salbert, my Phesgo is given by injection. Apart from a bit of a squishy stomach () from time to time, no major side effects. Having said that, my heart function had deteriorated a bit at my last scan (they keep an eye on this throughout Phesgo). Canât be that bad though as I managed a 9km run (well ok then, jog) today. We are definitely all different in the reactions we get but you will be ok.
@@naughty_boob @@salbert Love the photo. You both look fab and itâs so lovely to put a face to the name.
@arty1 The event sounds amazing and fab of you to give back to Breast Cancer Now.
Just catching up on the comments as i have not logged on in a good few days. I been doing crafts and starting exercising etc also about to decorate the bedroom! Which i am excited for which makes me feel old all while juggling a 3 year old and i have told her at least 4 times today that i am not her friend because she been really naughty
Mine was also delayed about a week because my bloods was not up to scratch⊠i was not surprised though because i felt weird all week! Just try and get some rest in and they should bounce back again naturally ( mine did )
Loving the photo of @salbert & @naughty_boob
Im meeting a friend this weekend in leeds with some other ladies, she is going on a breast cancer now course and its near me so we going to meet up might have a glass of wine to celebrate!
Also i been asked to join breast cancer now im guessing to offer support etc which is nice. Got a lovely email from them. Im considering it⊠not yet but at some point. I do want to help others and turn a negative into a positive and hopefully be someones inspiration. Hope everyone as had a good weekend! Feeling a bit achey where i had radiotherapy⊠they did say it could take a week or 2 to feel the effects⊠also hormones are kicking in⊠anyway, we keep pushing on!
Todays little project⊠you could say i like peter rabbit ( need another coat of paint on chimney) also did some little draws up. Enjoying it and its keeping me going.
Iâm not surprised you have been approached by BCN, assuming to be a community champion (CC) and totally get itâs not right yet. I was asked while I was having chemo and delayed a couple of months until I was ready. I find it really rewarding and hope that my comments, advice and signposts help others. I remember when I joined the forum, I âintroduced myselfâ and had about 3 replies which was lovely but then saw others who had loads of replies. I felt a bit down and when I was asked to become a CC I didnât want anyone to feel that way. I did find the chemo starters thread very welcoming and soon put my feelings of being down to the side. If and when you do decide to volunteer you can DM me with any questions. I contacted 2 other CCâs by DM for advise.
@naughty_boob@jeml
Hi I just want to say that I have found your comments and messages really helpful and informative. I havenât messaged on this thread before only on the February Starters but I have read through most of it and it does really help.
I was diagnosed January with stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma her2+ and in a few lymph nodes. I have had my first chemo 2 weeks ago so next one is due next week
Xxx
@fimac1 My Phesgo takes about 5 minutes (although Iâm usually on the ward for about half an hour with all the weight, blood pressure checks, gabbing to the nurses etc) and goes straight into my thigh via a cannula. Apart from the reduced left ventricle ejection fraction, which is controlled by a drug and should repair itself after Phesgo finishes, I donât think I get any side effects. Happy Feet is a good name; they were indeed happy and Iâm pleased to report that the kids were too. I even had a 5 year old boy ask me how come I have so much energy. At the age of 54, Iâll take that!! I didnât end up doing the teenagers class as the teacher I was covering for got back in time for that one, otherwise it could have been a very different story!
@carrie5 - Great idea! It does take practice to turn around those negative thoughts but my therapist said it was a case of retraining your brain but could definitely be done and Iâve found she was right on that. The main thing is to keep doing it every time an unproductive/negative thought creeps in until it becomes second nature. We owe it to ourselves. PAT dogs are amazing. Have you got a pic of her? My dog brings so much joy and happiness to our family. I wouldnât be without her.
@norts Good to hear from you, old chum. All I can say to you is that I have just started MAFS Australia. What did you start? Iâm addicted!
@jeml All sounding really positive and I too have been asked to become a Community Champion. (Iâm guessing thatâs what theyâve asked you.) I am having an introduction chat on 4th March to find out about it but Naughty Boob also filled me in on Saturday. I figure Iâm on here so frequently anyway that why not? It would be great if you did it too when the time is right as you can encourage the younger people who find themselves on this pathway. Love your craft projects. I am in awe of people who can do crafts. I donât have the faintest trace of that gene.
Welcome @anb1 and itâs great that youâve found this thread helpful and informative. We are many in number and each new person just makes us stronger and more kickass!
And now I have my sonâs 6th form college interview at his school. I was thinking to myself how glad I am that itâs not a year ago today when I was in the midst of my steroid induced madwoman meltdown!! That would have ensured they didnât offer him a place.
Welcome @anb1 Iâm so pleased you have found the thread helpful. @salbert and I both think it should have its own category on BCN. I have suggested it to the powers that be but not heard back. Itâs such a brilliant thread with friendly participants.
Well done starting chemo. I will be checking in on you on the Feb chemo group.
I agree with you @naughty_boob ans @salbert
Once I learned that I was HER2 positive it took a while to find this thread. Feel that like triple negative BC it deserves a title of its own as our treatment pathway is rather long winded⊠much like my flatulent dog MorrisâŠ
Itâs a good news day!!! I also just got my results and got a PCR
They have asked me to consider the radical trialâŠ. Going to think about that before deciding
What an absolute relief! My poor oncologist had me cry on her but she did say some days her job is great xxx
) from time to time, no major side effects. Having said that, my heart function had deteriorated a bit at my last scan (they keep an eye on this throughout Phesgo). Canât be that bad though as I managed a 9km run (well ok then, jog) today. We are definitely all different in the reactions we get but 
you will be ok.
all while juggling a 3 year old and i have told her at least 4 times today that i am not her friend because she been really naughty 
