Hi Georgie, my sleep pattern is all over the place. I am often wide awake at 3ish and that seems to be fairly common. I got a rash on my chest hand hands last cycle. I thought it was heat rash, but now think it was also chemo related. I have found my hand getting very dry so keep well moisturised. Hydrocortisone helped a lot. In terms of meds, if I need anything mid cycle I just ring the GP.
Have a restful night xx
Kirk and ladies, tip for dry skin during Chemo, underly smooth moisturising cream with urea from Amazon, it’s brilliant on hands and feet and a tip passed on from our darling tatyana ??
shi xx
First EC done on Friday. Just felt groggy/hungover so far. I have had anti emetics and steroids prescribed for 3 days but nothing else - no injections or anything. No cold cap so have been bought headscarves and a hat by my cousin and I want to get a wig sorted out. I hope you are all ok xx
Well have decided that my good 3rd week of cycle has not been so good on this first cycle:
A week long period - was premenopausal before I started this chemo game so not unusual but could have done without it.
Had the sniffles - ironically I have passed it on to colleagues at work and they were all worried about me catching something off them! - got bloods today ahead of chemo on Weds so hope everything in correct range.
Got a copy of letter from onco to gp which seems to say I have TNBC - suspected it could be as knew at diagnosis that I was ER neg but hadnt had pr or her2 results- have now! Seeing onco this pm so will talk to him then.
And finally yesterday I did the shave - cue tears all round - do feel better for doing it now and had a quick look on you tube for scarf tying ideas - have got a wig but think it will be too hot.
Have decided the only way is up - the sun is shining and I am feeling ok today.
Good luck to those on 2nd chemo this week - may the se’s be manageable.
Lal
Hi Lal. Welcome to the TN club! Do not google! Just get on with the treatment and we will be fine! Onward and upward! Kxx
Hi ktk
Definitely not Googling - had already decided to just deal with the here and now for my own sanity - trusting my onco and treatment plan.
Lal x
Hi Lal
If you use FB then search for triple negative warriors uk as I run a forum dedicated to tnbc! Karen I’ve sent you a Pm after your request but you’ve not responded yet?
Chemo has started and I’ll be here until 5/6 ?
Good luck to all other ladies this week with side effects, treatment etc - these forums are fab ?
Lal, good book for Tnbc is surviving triple negative bc by Patricia prijatel. It helped me. Also positive tnbc survivors are Shannon Doherty, robin roberts, Joan lunden. Have they suggested brca test to you? If not push for one. There are triple negative threads on here, so please jump on them too ??shi xx
Ladies hope you don’t mind me jumping on the thread. Noticed my mate shi has mentioned pushing for gene testing if any of you have been turned down, i did im currently waiting for my results i am post treatment 6 months now!!! Had the triathlon of op chemo rads!! Doing well have full head of short curly thick hair feeling much better than ever since it ended was denied gene test (was tnbc with node inv) as i was nearly 46 on diagnosis however my persistent nature paid off at follow up after treatment persuaded the bc team to send me got an appointment at genetics in may had test back end of may just waiting niw i don’t regret asking for it being a pest does pay off!!!
Goid luck to you all with your treatments there are plenty of lovely cc on her inc Shi who will be of invaluable support as well as your ladies in here xx take care xx
Hi,
I start my chemo on Friday, 20th July. More results tomorrow. I’m TNBC. Feeling very low today but have usually managed my feelings well. Good to hear positive things.
B
X
Hi Linda.
Yes, me too, but they still do the extra tests anyway. I guess each hospital /oncologist is different.
Sue xx
Thank you! Lymph nodes are positive. I know that means removal during surgery but not sure 8f it changes my survival chances. I’ll ask the breast nurse later.
B xx
Hi Beckett. I’m TNBC too. I’ve had surgery and two cycles (of 6) FECT. It is all doable. Keep positive. Xx
Thanks! Xx
Thanks Shi. I’m doing fine, meds are working as they should be so SE are practically zero at the moment. 1st G-CSF injection tonight, scary but I will do it! I have a very high pain-threshold so I know I’ll get through it.
PICC line bled Saturday so went to A&E to get it changed but ECG showed a discrepancy and blood tests showed an abnormality so nearly had to spend the night. Luckily I had no other symptoms so they let me go home instead, phew!
Hello ladies, I’m Fran in South Herts.
Have just read all 6 pages of this thread(!) and have to say it’s marvellous that everyone is so upbeat, everything I’ve read has been informative and helpful.
I was diagnosed at the beginning of May and although I’ve now had my surgery it was delayed a couple of times after the MRI picked up two further areas that had to be investigated, secondary cancer in the breast and also in the lymph nodes so on 12 June I lost a few pounds, bye bye right boob, and some lymph nodes, thankfully ct & bone scan shows no spread. I saw my oncologist today (I think I fell in love a little bit hehe) and he tells me I’m due to start EC T chemo in the next couple of weeks, I think he was a little alarmed that I wasn’t stressing over what’s coming but it’s gonna come whether I stress or not right? I told him that I knew I was in the right hands and was just along for the ride. Knowing how all you lovely ladies are doing is definitely going to help me deal with stuff I may not want to burden my daughters with.
I’ve decided not to opt for the cold cap even though I too will probably look like Daniel Craig and anyway I’ve always fancied swanning around in a variety of different hats, and it’s just another (perfectly valid) excuse to go shopping ?.
I’ll lurk on here reading about all your experiences and will post again with my own experiences when my journey has begun. In the meantime I’ll be sunbathing like mad until then hehe
Good luck lovelies
F x
Hi ladies,
Hope all is well for all of you.
Welcome to Fran and Beckett and Mishy ?
Had a busy day, oncology appointment with a different dr today as my usual dr was away. He didn’t discuss the issue of the MRI guided biopsy so I thought I would leave it until next time and talk it through with my other dr she seems much better. ?
All good to go for cycle 2 on Friday with a slightly different mix on the C part which made me ill last time… good news is the tumour has shrunk by half a cm already , yay ?
I did the look good feel better after my appointment and have to say it was fab and well worth doing. Taught how to draw on eyebrows and enhance your eye make up which was very useful, not to mention the goody bag with lots of very good make up , Chanel, D&G, Clinique, Lancôme. The ladies were lovely and we all had fun, book up if you can ??
Using a mixture of wigs and hats has helped get used to the lack of hair and been getting out and about a bit more after hiding away for a day or two.
Good luck to all those having treatment this week , another step on the road to beating this ?. Stay strong and positive ?
Best wishes
Karen
Hello July Chemo Ladies!! Glad to see you are all doing well and dealing with the joys of chemo. I have had 2 x FEC so far, next one is on Monday followed by 3 x T so almost half way. Must say the thought of the chemo is actually a lot worse than the actually thing (so far that is!!)… I have had some strange mouth problems, dry, bit sore feels like its been burnt, foggy head and nauseaus feeling but they all pass and by 2nd week I feel almost back to normal. I braved the shave on day 15 of cycle 1 as the hair was really falling out, I’ve got used to being a baldie now, I have a wig and various hats/scarves… thats not to say i can’t wait to have hair again… althoug not teh washing and styling of it!!
By the way I am ER+ HER- and had a single MX (no reconstruction) back in May… keep on keeping on girls…
take care Kip xx
Hi fellow Chemo’ers, been a while since my last post in this thread but I have been following you all on your chemo experiences which helped me prepare for my start. So here is my 1st check in…
Diagnosis: Grade 3 ER5/8 HER23+cN0 MX or in my simplistic terms Grade 3 HER2 positive BC ?
Started Chemo on the 10th July (2 red and 1 clear meds) and managed the cold cap. I initially was not going to do the cap but that morning had my over colour processed hair cut really short and shaved round the sides and I love it and everyone approves including my 6 and 10 year girls… so the nurses and OH persuaded me to try it and at 1st it was fine…it does gradually get more uncomfortable as time goes on and I felt the onset of a migraine lurking but the full migraine never really hit…I’ll give it a go next time and see how I get on. The 5 days after chemo I had no major side effects, I was expecting the worst, sickness and diarrhoea but have actually been really lucky. I took my meds as prescribed…the pharmacist at the hospital was lovely and created and printed off a sheet for me with the medicines and times to take them and colour coded each medicine which I really really needed as I was a bit spaced out (or very very chilled) during the days after chemo…tastebuds were all over the place so appetite was not great and had a ravenous thirst on so carried around a 2ltr bottle of water. Day 6 and 7 the fog in my head has cleared and I feel almost normal again except for ZITS…yes since day 6 zits have been appearing on my face…the horrible zits I had when I was teenager…I think it probably the toxins coming out so will try and flush through with water. Oh one other thing is my appetite had returned with a vengeance… and I want to eat anything and everything…chocolate, the kids cereal with cows milk…I gave up cows milk when I was diagnosed and moved onto almond but I think my body wants it again…has anyone experiencing zits and ravenous appetite?
Right better get back to attempting to do some work now that I can ?..oh and housework 
Have so much washing and cleaning to do where I could not be bothered last week.
2nd Chemo on the 2nd Aug.
Good luck ladies with you next treatment and look forward to your posts ?
Claire x
Day 8 of the 1st cycle of EC, Sam’s taste buds have been evicted (imagined BB voice style haha). It’s weird for everything to taste the same, completely bland and actually tasteless, and for even the strongest flavours that usually would burn my face off to have no effect whatsoever. I hope it soon comes back as I’m losing my appetite because of this. I know it could be worse (eg mouth ulcers, sores, etc) so any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Sam xx