Thank you @carrie5 
I spend almost Ā£50 worth of hygienic stuffs today, from wipes to antibacterial, u name it heheh. Preparing for next week. Her first chemo is on 1st of May and pre-chemo is on 29th April.
4-5 months chemo doctor said and the cycle is every 3 weeks for mum. How many cycles is that in total roughly. I forgot to ask doctor. He did write on paper but me I am still processingā¦it was too much info today hehe
Hi @munchkin1 Welcome to the group.
I had Paclitaxel and it really messes with your stomach. I was prescribed loperamide for 
and Omeprazole for acid reflux. Apparently it has castor oil in it which can upset the stomach. @arty1 wasnāt able to have Paclitaxel and moved onto Abraxane. So talk to your team about your side effects and see if they can prescribe something to help and if not they may be able to adjust your chemo.
I had surgery first but many in here had successful scan showing a complete pathological response (CPR) other didnāt and moved onto Kadcyla (Herceptin/chemo drug combination) instead of Herceptin/phesgo.
As far as sickness, talk to your team, ideally you shouldnāt feel sick at all. There are many anti nausea drugs that can prescribe alone or in combination.
If it doesnāt feel right, do not hesitate to call your helpline. They would rather know earlier than later and it be more of an issue.
Take care
@munchkin1 - Welcome to aboard 
You are in the right place for support guidance , laughs and virtual hand holding x
Iām so sorry to hear you are feeling rough while having your chemo , I was on nab paclitaxel
(Albumin bound ) and didnāt feel sick apart from a tiny bit of queasiness when I got home after cycle 1 . Do speak to your team as they can make sure to prescribe different anti sickness if needed. I see they are suggesting you have it iv on the day . A good idea I think as it can be kicking in while you have your chemo x
@sshini93 -if itās 4-5 months it will most likely be 5 or six cycles x
Hello, lovely to read all your messages and experiences. You all are a lovely bunch of strong people and a source of support for so many. My partner has had her third infusion of Kadcyla almost 15 days ago. Because her liver enzymes were a bit off during the second and third cycle her oncology team now want to monitor the liver a bit more. So we have had some blood tests early this week and the liver enzymes are off, another blood test next week before they decide to reduce the dosage or delay the next infusion I think. At this stage we are just going with the flow, honestly at this point everything seems just random jargon. We are sick and tired and also grateful and something else too. Itās a mixed bag of never ending emotions. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences to share about Kadcyla we would love to hear. Sorry for the rant just one of those days. It just seems very tiring, and to see your partner go through the roller coaster of this all, of having been put through this cancer bit all of a sudden when life was plain old normal q year ago, seems so unfair 
Ok, thank you for you reply 
Good luck with park run @galdiolus! I would walk it, but phesgo/paclitaxel aches are kicking in this evening and I canāt take ibuprofen, so wonāt be doing it this monthā¦ 
Hi
These are the drugs mum will be having. Anyone had similar drugs, how you felt after having your first chemo and side effects u had during your first week post chemo
@salbert - Iām going to try my hardest to get there ā¦ it just depends how tired I am ā¦ hopefully Less so by then x
@sshini93 - Iād recommend f your mum
Drinks plenty of water on the day or so before chemo and on the day tooā¦ it helps flush if through x
I had my herceptin infusion today , pumped full of steroids and piriton and three hours after getting home had a worse reaction than usual ā¦ rang triage and told to take 8 mg of piriton straight away ā¦ started to feel better after an hour but definitely feel rubbish . Iām due to stop after the next one as sadly the steroids have upset my cortisol levels and my consultant is worried Iām developing Addisonās but if itās just transient she said it explains my ongoing exhaustion .
Another weird thing ā¦ chemo seemed to have sent my ovaries to sleep and a recent blood test co firmed that Iām post menopausal ā¦ Ah well I thought ā¦ Iām nearly 53 ā¦ instant menopause is better than it dragging out I guess ā¦ the night sweats and insomnia were easing which I was quite pleased with ā¦ so imagine my horror when I had my classic menstrual migraine the other day and woke up to a full blown period !!
My ovaries have rebooted like a windows computer ! (I can hear the start up tune 
)
Iām very unimpressed !
Good luck with the park run @galdiolus - the only way Iām doing par runs is on a mobility scooter with a cup of coffee sbc a piece of cake
Mind you I went to get weighed today and they led me outside to a weighbridgeā¦. How rude
For those if you faced with the decision to lose your hair . I hear you . Iām not going to minimise just how traumatic it can feel ā¦ cancer erodes your identity without a doubt , but we can get it back x Internally It broke my heart to lose my hair as I had long red hair ā¦ I cried when I shaved it off . Itās coming back a lovely shade of silver which personally I hate .but everyone else likes ! . short grey hair doesnāt really suit me as i do actually look like a potato @kartoffel I think you found a secret pic of me ā¦ however . Iāve had amazing fun with wigs ā¦ have hair colours that wouldnāt take on my hair and my hair always looks good ! So itās a win ā¦ I guess ā¦ Iāve tried to take something positive from it and have been become mildly addicted to to buying cosplay wigs on Amazon !
Hereās the latest which Iām wearing to this weekends bookings ā¦ Ā£19.99 ā¦ Iām embracing the blue x
@naughty_boob - yep castor oil is what they used to give for enemas and to bring on Labour ā¦ so it definitely moves you ! Iām allergic to it hence the abraxane
Iāve had a similar experience to you Sassy. The BCN nurse has been good but getting the appointments, particularly with Oncology, has dragged and dragged. I finally saw the consultant this Wednesday and have to wait another 3 weeks for treatment to start. She assured me that the āthingā doesnāt grow fast and the timescales are fine, but I know exactly how you feel. The stress is the worst isnāt it. Try to keep busy and eat healthy. Iām with you. xxxx
Thank you for the tip
Thank you, it does help to share a rant 
xx
Love you in this wig, Iāve always coloured my hair but this past year Iāve been natural grey, hate it as much as by bald head, so you can bet your bottom dollar that when it grows back, it going wild, I may be 60 but iām not growing old gracefully lol
Hello,
This was the treatment I had. I had the EC first and the first cycle I didnāt have much in the way of side effects I think thereās a cumulative effect as the cycles go on. The second cycle I had quite bad nausea but I missed a few anti sickness tablets on Christmas Day - I agree with arty - plenty fluids pre and post treatment to keep hydrated. And make sure her anti sickness is taken regularly from the day of treatment.
EC mainly brought me nausea and fatigue then the docetaxel/phesgo was mainly fatigue, a scabby nose and a horrible taste / strange sensation in my mouth but they can give mouth washes and sprays and gels and stuff if needed! I also drank flavoured water and had a few ice lollies in the freezer to help with the taste. I know others have had stomach issues with phesgo too but again can get medication to try to help!
Docetaxel can cause a bit of nerve damage and I wore Suzzipad cold therapy gloves and socks that you put little ice packs in and I havenāt had any problems (although I may not have anyway but might be worth a try if she can tolerate them). My brother ordered them on Amazon for me and theyāre a lovely shade of purple!
Best wishes to your mum, let us know how she gets on!
Hello All,
Hope you all had a good Easter break?
Just jumping on here as I think I posted much earlier during my treatment but not been back since so thereās a lot of catching. All so brave and saw some beautiful pictures and read some sad stories and reflections and very happy many celebrating good news and sad to hear of ongoing unpleasant experiences and side effects.
@purple_rain - I am one of those @naughty_boob mentioned that had a DeXA scan and they decided I didnāt require Zometa as it would only be of ānegligibleā benefit to me - time will tell. I also am relieved as I didnāt want āanotherā infusion to be ongoing and happy to see the back of the hospital.
My treatment completed Sept 2024 and I am doing well. Got called back after my first mama in November for the other breast but thankfully it was just a āspaceā they saw around the clip they inserted as a marker from the MRI in 2023. Using strength training to try and help myself. Diet good 80 of the time - 20% of the time, I ate chocolates at Easter and there are some leftovers that I continue to tackle.
I also recently attended the online moving forward course which was useful and found more friends.
The fear of recurrence is there at the back now and again when there are niggles. I try to move in and not dwell too much. I canāt really tell if itās normal ageing (menopause) or the strength training 
I think my early warning signs previously were chest pain (I thought relating to heart), skin rash under breast that came and went (I put down to sweaty sports bra) and itchiness on the top of breast now and again which I thought was from the lace on bra- I put down to something else (heat rash).
Take care all and stay strong xx
Awesome thank you for your reply and tips i definitely shop around Amazon. Did you see any changes after first chemo, such as lump shrinking or redness going away slowly etc 
Maybe I am repeating myself really sorry if I do 
, Doctor said Her2 positive responds to chemo well with the Anti-Her drug. Whatās your experience. What is the challenge between her2 positive and her2 negative. Why is her2 positive considered good
In my mums case, she is her2 positive
Hi HER2 plus buddies!
Just checking in the day after first EC chemo. One treatment ticked off!
It was fine, even the cold capš¬ and all the nurses were lovely and fun, not what I had expected at all!
Feeling fine so far but early says I know, just happy that bit is done.
Hope you are all having a calm weekend xxx
Hi everyone, hope you are all doing good.
Since my oncology appointment 10th April everything seems so slow. It could just be me being impatient but I just want to get chemo started so feeling frustrated.
I have a heart scan this Tuesday 29th and a letter has just arrived today with a chemo start date 12th May.
I really thought Iād get a chance to visit the unit first and have a chat with the chemo nurses. Is that what normally happens and will I receive more correspondence for that does anyone know?
I also really want to cold cap and discussed that with my oncologist. Will the chemo unit know this when I go on the 12th May?
Sorry for all the questions, Iām just feeling anxious and nervous about it all.
Love to you all 
