@angieb1 thankyou for your reply.
yes I also have quite thick hair. It is reassuring that most people cant tell that your hair has thinned - thankyou for the reassurance! I even had my hair cut blow dried and styled last week - and my lovely hairdresser didn’t even charge me (she’s ace).
I’m continuing with the cold cap for EC x4 and i always pull it down really really hard It doesn’t bother me apart from the having to leave the unit with wet conditioned hair which I don’t wash till the next day.
I think i will also find it hard going from weekly to fortnightly chemo as a fortnight will feel like an age. I am focussing on the fact I have done 12 and am 3/4 of the way through!
Did you have EC? and when do you finish your chemo?
@kerrylou1 Yes I had EC for my first 3 and had it every 3 weeks. I found the first few days ok, then had about 4/5 days of feeling really tired, headaches and achy. After that I started to feel better each day. I’ve changed to Docetaxel for my last 3. I’ve only had 1 of those so far but finding it a lot worse side effects than the EC. My last chemo is on 4th November then I have 3 weeks of radiotherapy. xx
@kerrylou1 - I’m on the weekly Paclitaxal now and had my flu jab on Saturday. I have blood tests on Fridays and treatment on Mondays so that seemed like the best option to fit in with weekly treatment. My last treatment is 18th November and I didn’t want to wait that long before having the jab! I did ask my oncologist about it and she said it was fine to have it just not straight before blood tests (I think she said that about blood tests, although my memory is awful at the moment ). I had a slightly raised temperature after and felt pretty awful after the treatment on Monday - not sure though if that was due to the flu jab or just one of those things! Xx
@kerrylou1 if I had a £ for every time someone said I didn’t look like someone who had chemo I would be able to pay for a slap up tasting menu meal
And the comments about how much hair I’ve kept is annoying. I didn’t need to shave it but it’s not me. Speaking of hair what cut did you get? I may reach out to my hairdresser and get a bit of a chop (thinking chin length)
You’ve inspired me
And 4 Nov will be here before you know it!
I do wonder if I did the right thing doing dose dense va weekly pax as I’m so tired tbh, I need to nap most days but think it’s starting to ease
I start radio on the 15th Oct & hear it’s a breeze compared to chemo. I do have to take the tube there & back to another hosp for it so will make sure to avoid rush hour
@angieb1 and you’ve inspired me to get some dark choc yum! It also helps increase wbc (might be an urban myth lol)
Has anyone been briefed on their endocrine? Had my first Zoladex this week but I’m still non the wiser re Letrozole like when to start
One onco says starts nxt week, radio onco says after radio, BCN says there is no right or wrong but I can start after radio
@idcand49 I started Letrozole after my radiotherapy finished. I didn’t get a lot of information about Letrozole just a leaflet given by radiography team who said someone will call in a week to see if I had questions.
Hi I had the covid vaccination last week and have the flu one this Friday. Only advice I got from BCN was to leave a few days between vaccinations and treatment in case it raised temperature.
I have finished my last paclitaxel this week! At the beginning 12 weeks seemed so long.
I move onto EC & pembro next week. My haemoglobin levels g
Have been dropping steadily and are now in the 80s. Bcn has said if they drop again I will need a blood transfusion the day after the EC. Has anyone had a blood transfusion during chemo? Just wondered how long it takes?
I had been feeling a bit tired but put it down to normal chemo fatigue but this week have been feeling dizzy after cleaning out a low kitchen cupboard and standing (housework official dangerous ).
Congratulations on reaching halfway on your chemo. I start EC and Pembro on Thursday. I’m anxious too but keen to keep going. I didn’t have Pembro the first round due to my liver, which has now recovered but starting again this round.
My tumour has shrunk from 4.5cm to 1cm - so hoping EC is going to zap the last bit.
My oncologist didn’t talk about blood transfusions but said it’s likely I will need injections?!? I forgot to ask why and how?
Hiya ladies. @kerrylou1 good luck on thur. Yes people do say how well we look don’t they. Think they would say it no matter how we look. Keep your chin up lovely.
I had flu jab ladt week and was fine. If im going to have covid jab before my next treatment will have to get a move on or may just wait a couple more weeks until I finish chemo. @angieb1 glad you had success with your hair as you are the same as me treatment wise have they told you how long after your last chemo does your radio start. Im thinking/hoping we’ll be done for Christmas. Take care everyone
Hi @bex1 thats great news about shrinkage! I have a scan next week to check progress
Good luck with the EC & pembro on Thursday. The injections might be the filigratrim ones? I have had them off and on on paclitaxel to boost white blood cells but think they give them to you on EC too.
Yesterday I discussed the medical menopause symptoms with my oncologist and he has prescribed me 6 sessions with the acupuncturist… whilst I hate needles, I hate the night sweats and feeling teary more, so will give it a go.
I don’t know if it’s just the Royal Marsden that offer it, but wanted to share incase others can ask for it. I’m 45.
@bex1 that’s brilliant news about your tumour shrinking. @booklover1 Hope your scan next week goes well and you get good results too
@debi1 I saw my Oncologist today. He said I should be able to start radiotherapy approx 3-4 weeks after my last chemo so should be finished by Christmas but he has also given me option of applying for a clinical trial using different radiotherapy techniques. I’m keen to try it but he did say I might not fit criteria and it’s at a hospital quite a way from where I live, and takes a while to go through selection process which means I might not start radiotherapy until January so a lot to think about.
@idcand49 my oncologist said I would start Letrozole after radiotherapy. I also need to take some tablets called Abemaciclib, but not sure what these are for.
I asked about flu and Covid jabs which he said I could have before my next chemo on Monday but I said I was worried as I can’t have injections in left arm because I had all lymph nodes removed and my right arm has PICC line in and injections would be close to this and I didn’t want to have anything that might give me a reaction and delay my next treatment so he said it would be fine to wait until I’ve finished chemo at beginning of November when they’ll take out PICC line and I can have jabs then.
Hope everyone is having as good a week as possible. 🫶🏻 x
I’d wondered about the flu/covid jabs with a PICC in one arm and no lymph nodes in the other - I was going to ask at my onco appointment week after next, but your man has answered the question, thanks x
@bex1 double hooray re the shrinkage @ @booklover1 hope it’s the same too
@angieb1 the drug you mention starting with the A was also mentioned to me but I didn’t qualify as it didn’t meet the size or grade
(I’m grade 2 & had a 3.2cm idc /dcis) but did have a node involved
So may check again
My usual onco is lovely but the locum the have isn’t great - I don’t connect with him & he seemed a bit all over the place esp when he thought I had already started Letrozole
And I’ve meet him now 4 times & he always opens with a “nice to meet you”
The other onco (and both surgeons) know me by name …
Hmm
@angieb1 clinical trial sounds interesting but lots to ponder
I’ve just had my Covid and flu vaccines and a lady in front had a PICC and had both in that arm. I was bi lateral bc with sentinel lymph node biopsy in both sides with a PICC line last year. I had them both on one arm as I had weekly bloods in the other.
Just mention it to the person doing your vaccine. I always mention my bilateral surgery and lymphoedema risk.
@idcand49 It’s hard when you don’t have confidence in the person treating you. Hopefully you’ll get to see oncologist next time and not the locum.
My cancer is oestrogen positive. My tumour was 3.8cm, grade 3 and it was in 8 of my lymph nodes. Onco hasn’t really told me much about the Abemaciclib. He just said to focus on finishing chemo and radiotherapy first.
It doesn’t bother me apart from the having to leave the unit with wet conditioned hair which I don’t wash till the next day.
). I had a slightly raised temperature after and felt pretty awful after the treatment on Monday - not sure though if that was due to the flu jab or just one of those things! Xx
I do have to take the tube there & back to another hosp for it so will make sure to avoid rush hour
).
I have a scan next week to check progress 
