Amazing progress and keep going. Well done for walking. Its tough sometimes with so many aches and pains. Has treatment team talked to you about neuropathy? I had some acupuncture which did help. Is that available at your hospital?
The June group are getting through this together!
Big hug xxx
Thanks everyone for the support! I had my 13th session woop, ticking them off, 3 left!! @rachel60 I actually had 5 sessions of acupuncture for hot flushes and I found it really helped and even now the sessions are finished, the hot flushes are still much better. I might see if I can get some more sessions for the neuropathy too if it helped you xx hope you are finding EC okay - sounds like you are coping well with it!
Two women rang the bell during my last session which made me get really excited (+ shed a little tear) to see how happy they were!
I’d certainly try to get more. It helped and I haven’t had further problems.
EC is doable - day 6 to 9 is so much weakness and fatigue and awful taste so even water tastes like sludge. I lose weight but it then goes. Weird. 2 more to go!
You’ll be ringing that bell soon - brilliant. You’re doing it Jess and that takes a strong woman
Xx
I also found around day 7 pretty tough on EC with fatigue and just feeling rotten. My breast care nurse said it’s when your blood counts are at their lowest and that can make you feel really tired, this was confirmed once when they took my bloods at day 8 (for something unrelated) and my neutrophils came back as 0.1 . I found tapering off the steroids helped slightly, the team made me a different dosing schedule so I ended up having the same number of steroids but spread out over more days, perhaps ask them if that might help you? I found my appetite and taste wasn’t good either, I don’t have much to suggest on that front apart from lemon sherbet boiled sweets and juicy fruits like nectarines I enjoyed! Hope you are looking forward to your break/holiday, are you going anywhere nice? 
XX
Any old clothes to recycle Asda have a scheme that gives to Breast Cancer Now and Coppa Feel. They give you 10% code off next purchase
Thanks so much Jess. I’ll talk to my team about the steroids as I hadn’t thought about the mid blood lows. Just bought some lemon sherbets which certainly helped so thanks for that. Lemons do seem to cut through the rotting taste I have.
Its tough for all of us and I know you are way younger than i am in my late 50s.
That’s really tough and I’m so sorry anyone young has to go through this. Hope you never forget how inspirational you are and you will get through it. 
Hi @Geo23 Hope radiotherapy today goes well.
Paclitaxol 5/12 done. Side effects harder each time. Had a really lovely weekend with my son visiting, the only problem is it’s my worst two days of the week. He’s coming again this weekend to watch the England rugby semi finals. I used to watch him play when he was young and now I actually enjoy watching a sport, even been to Twickenham twice.
Hi @naughty_boob,
I hope you have a lovely time with your son, I bet that’ll be lovely to watch the finals together since it’s something that links you both to memories of his childhood. I’m sorry to hear the accumulation of the Paclitaxel drugs is leaving you feeling unwell. I found the more the last two caused me side effects. I hope you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Someone told me “this will not be forever. Every phase comes to an end.” The helps to know that better days are ahead. You’re going to be able to look back at this from an advantage point, feeling so much stronger. My Radiotherapy has been put back until next week. I’m glad though, gives me a bit of breathing space. The breath hold was hard to grasp until I was told about using a technique lining up two bits of tape on my breast bone, 1cm apart, and breathing starting from lining up the highest bit ogpf tape to the one on the mirror, then breathing so that my ribcage lifted high enough so that I could line up the lowest bit of tape. I mastered it after practicing that. All the other info I’d received was really unclear and confusing. It means that the lymph nodes by my breast bone can now receive the radiation rays, and the rays will steer clear of my heart. I’m very thankful for that. Have a lovely week. I hope you do something that you really enjoy. Take care xx
Glad you’ve mastered the breathing technique. I will be due radiotherapy on both sides and already have a heart issue and family history of cardiomyopathy, so need to do utmost to protect heart. Not to mention the Herceptin for a year affects the heart, have had a gamma heart scan and will have them repeated every 4 months until the Herceptin finished September 2024.
I had also read somewhere about the tape method on your chest and mirror, I will be asking when I have my CT scan etc. Not due to December/January.
Hi @naughty_boob,
I hope you enjoyed the weekend with your son.
I hope you master the technique easily. Some people get it straight away, but I found the explanation about where the lazer is and how to master moving your ribcage 1cm upwards with the tape really helpful and wished I had been told that from the outset. It would be helpful to put that on the respire video that the hospital gave me.
I hope you have a good week. Take care.
Hi - how is everyone doing? Hope chemo is being as kind as possible. Everytime I look at messages here, I think how incredible human beings are.
I’ve just at EC 3. Waiting for day 6 to 9 to hit me and then hopefully spring back. Just one left 
and then I get a break until op in 2nd Jan.
I’m not sure what op yet as waiting for MRI guided biopsy to come back. There is a UFO in my breast just behind the cancer lump. They don’t think its anything but want to be sure. Plus I have to wait for genetics because I’m triple negative breast cancer. They don’t think its genetic but need to be sure. So it could be mastectomy if either of the tests are positive or a lumpectomy. If mastectomy a reconstruction is an 8 hour operation. Yokes. Not sure I can be bothered but i’ll keep open mind.
As my surgeon said “we plan for uncertainty”.
Happy weekend to you all xxx
Hi @Geo23
Yes we had a lovely weekend although I needed to rest at lot. Shame about the rugby. He is planning to bring my daughter with him for next weekend so that will be lovely as I haven’t seen her in person since before chemo started.
I have now had week7 of 12 Paclitaxel with a full head of hair with cold cap. Brows and lashes have thinned. Having issues with PICC line blockage on Tuesday they took off dressing and wiggled it a lot. Chemo yesterday all ok, but last night terrible insomnia with steroids woke at 3am for 4 hours and then dozed for a few more hours. Got up just before 10 and my arm was throbbing . Found a raised lump by catheter entrance, called helpline 10:30 they called back at 12, need to drive back. The metal clips had been moved with the wiggling and needed extra padding to help with the pain and discomfort. Will review next chemo on Thursday, if still a problem they with remove the securacath and put a pad there instead.
Hi @rachel60
I needed an MRI and they found a UFO in toy left breast with they thought was an intramammary gland but turns out another tumour. It so hard to wait for tests and results but it means to get the best treatment. I was able to have a double lumpectomy and my scars are to the side and the managed to get the sentinel node biopsy through the same scar. I have indents and scars with side with radiotherapy just before Xmas which can cause changes to skin and size. I’m grateful to still have my breasts but if they had to go then that would be that. It’s better than having cancer. Your team will discuss the best option for you and I was happy to be guided by them, obviously doing my own research before giving a very open discussion with them and knowing the advantages and disadvantages.
I’ve been referred to genetics as it was bilateral and waiting to hear back. They could mean further operations if positive. But it’s all a waiting game and I’m just dealing with the heat and now and everything that goes with it. Dodgy PICC lines, insomnia, grumpy district nurses who don’t like you asking about your PICC anti touch sepsis treatment and they done sterilise the surfaces or use sterile gloves, let have latex gloves and I have an allergy!
Off to bed for a rest as England are playing rugby at 8 and would like to watch. Hoping for better night sleep will take sleeping pill.
I asked about CBD oil drops at the pharmacy today and they said the research wasn’t there for chemotherapy but said after I’ve finished I need to weigh up my treatment v life balance and Herceptin being injected is not so hard I the liver which would process the chemo and CBD oil. At least they didn’t say No.
Wow, 8 hours for reconstructive surgery?! I think mine took about 4 hours and i went home later that day (which suprised me).
Best of luck with your tests, and surgery whatever you decide.
It surprised me! I’d get a tummy tick for free as they take fat from there to construct the boob. Yikes
Well that’s one benefit😄 I could do with one, my tummy has put so much weight on since this journey and not being able to exercise like normal and the Paclitaxel has a tendency to add weight.
Hi Rachel, you are almost there…3/4 EC. I finished the “active” treatment 5 weeks ago. It does get better. But I underestimated the tiredness - which is very common for many weeks after treatment. I still use the spoon method - but now I have a couple more spoons 
. I joined a local support group in Maggie’s back in April after my diagnosis and we have managed to keep in touch since. It has been so important to me and I definitely recommend it. All the best 
@Dhillman you are amazing !! Hiking up Snowden, running the race for life and doing the October stepping challenge !
I’ve dealt with a full mastectomy, axillary clearance and 7/8 cycles of chemo. I’m almost there! I had 4 of EC and yesterday was my 3/4 of Docetaxel and I’m almost there! I haven’t been able to do any fundraising sporty challenges but I have been walking almost everyday (except when I have a really “bad” day.). We are all warriors. I’ve kept most of my hair due to cold cap but it’s thinned greatly and I’ve got a bald patch on the top so don’t hang around with tall people! My friends say i’m amazing. Standing up to my coercive control hub, managing 3 children and mum with Alzheimer (thank god my siblings are there for her also). Keep strong all! Yesterday I met a woman whose skin cancer in her forehead got to her neck. The surgeons cut part of her leg and used it to reconstruct her neck! They’ve found cancer in her kidney and chest also. Gosh we are all amazing.
Great to hear from you Guida. I still use your spoonfuls and find with EC it really hits me, but somehow our bodies seem to get through it. I’m trying to walk as much as possible but no back to running for quite some time.
Are you having surgery, radiotherapy or done for now?
Take care and thanks for the reminder of Maggie’s. There isn’t one at my hospital and the nearest is where I was diagnosed and not sure I want to go back. It was not very well handled.
I’ve also got access to a place called Future Dreams in London which I think I might try.
Take loads of care xxx