Hi all – I am trying to catch up on everyone who has posted since I was last in this thread. As ever, it is so great to hear from everybody about their experiences. And so I thought I should add my report, for those joining.
I am now at my 1-week anniversary of neoadjuvant FEC cycle 1 (29 June PM, so barely made the previous month).
So far, so good, despite the heat – barely any SEs. I seem to have come off the steroids with minimal weepiness and I haven’t had to take anti nausea meds since the required pills ended on Day 3. My chemo nurse suggested that I “get ahead of the nausea” by taking my mandatory 2 pills before breakfast and supper, and take 1 of the “as needed” before lunch. I gave them all a nice 30-45 minutes to settle and they seem to have done the trick. Might be worth asking your nurse about this option. Only small bit of nausea I had was on the night of chemo, and it may have been provoked by the lingering taste of Corsodyl.
I am fatigued – but cannot work out how much is chemo versus the heat and lack of sleep (first the steroids, now the loo trips). I work from home freelance, so I am just trying to do things at a comfortable pace.
On Day 6 I woke with my scalp tingling, which the Junebugs have observed means the hair is beginning its journey to the bin. I am set for a wig-fitting this Tuesday, but not yet decided if I want one. My hairdresser volunteered to come with me, however, and I know he wants to help out in some way. (He’s been cutting my hair since I moved here 9 years ago, and cutting my OH’s hair for 25+ years.) I am trying to think in practicalities: come November I might be happy to have a second layer of warmth on my scalp. Plus, I think my hormone therapy on the other side of surgery means my hair will be returning slowly. I stocked up on beanies and some scarves because I think I will use them more often, especially through the early autumn.
Last night was my first temp scare – I have been taking AM and PM simply because I tend to run a bit cold – and found I was at 37.6C, which my hospital has decided should get a call to the chemo hotline. I took it 4 times with 2 different thermometers to be sure, then phoned. The on-call onco was with another patient and asked if I could call back in 15 or so minutes. Somehow my temp dropped to 37.2C in the 20 minutes I waited, so I decided to just keep monitoring it in the night during my loo visits. Back to my usual 36.2 this morning. Phew. (I started chemo 10 days after my biateral sentinel lymph node biopsy surgery, and one side sprung a leak in surgery day, so I had a bit of worry, all the more so since I have finished my neutrophil-boosting injections, too.)
Now just back to the SLNB side effects – the tingling pain in my hands, the pain in my left biceps. By the time I recover I’ll be having surgery on the breasts themselves! (All my nodes were negative – best news in months.) I am hoping that getting back to my Knitted Knockers will distract the nerves and provide some relief.
Take care everyone – and stay hydrated! I have been aiming for 2 to 3 litres each and every day, given the heat, and that may be helping a lot.
