I’ve just been reading back on the post for the last few weeks, and have to say you are all amazing! I’m so impressed at the positivity which you manage to hang on to despite various problems with treatment and the uncertainty of waiting for results. It just goes to show how strong women can be, though I’m sure we have all had moments of feeling scared and alone with this horrible disease.
I finished my 12 weeks of Paclitaxol early September so am gradually starting to feel more normal, and my hair is almost looking like a deliberate short cut! I still get tired in waves occasionally and have learned to take it as it comes. Luckily I live alone so if I feel I need an afternoon on the sofa that’s what I have. The worst problem now is quite bad Neuropathy in my feet and hands which makes it uncomfortable to walk for long, and a bit limiting with the hobbies that I usually like to do. There doesn’t soon to be much you can do about it except hope it gradually goes, I’m taking omega oil, and vitamin B but it’s hard to know what effect they have. The Herceptin injections seem ok, and I haven’t had too many side effects from Letrozole apart from feeling more stiff and achey in the morning- or maybe that’s just my 67 year old body anyway!
I’m hoping that those of you still having treatment get through it ok- hang in there, you’re all so strong and can do it! Sending healing wishes xx
@Beeza66
Great news your final chemo this week. So pleased for you.
@Artylady so nice to hear from you again. I managed 8/12 Paclitaxel then got a temperature. Thought it was all under control, but temperature reared its head again on Sunday. So I’ve been in hospital since them. Had broad spectrum IV antibiotics but still temperature. Then they changed to two different ones yesterday and I feel much better, but first obs of the day had a temperature over 38😞. So another night. Sent off blood which showed inflammatory markers but nothing specific, had samples sent for cultures but that can take 2/3 days. Still think it’s a UTI. Hopefully if no temperature for 24 hours I can go home with antibiotic tablets. Think chemo be cancelled this week again.
I so desperately want to go home to sleep, with 4 hourly obs and antibiotics from 10-11:30pm and I’m quite sensitive to light and noise, even brought eye mask and ear plugs but not perfect.
Naughty boob sending we’ve got you and are yanking you home too hope they get antibiotics combination sorted so you can get home soon, how are your neutrophils doing Shi xx
Hi @Shi neutrophils are ok. But they can’t seem to find where infection is.
I’m so exhausted now. Antibiotics should be done at 10, they didn’t arrive until 10:45 and they only out one through and did two flushes, so the other antibiotics went up and with final flush not finished until 12:45! I asked them to do obs so I’d be ok til 6.
Then they arrives at 5:45 to do obs and more antibiotics!
I have been very teary this morning as a nurse was rather curt with me regarding poo samples. Saying I keep weeing in the sample but they are giving me a bed pan for a sample and being a woman of a certain age I can’t always control what happens.
Luckily a HCA came i this morning could see I was still upset and gave me a vomit bowl to try as they are smaller. It’s no so easy for us women as everything is so close and they expect you to jump and and add the massive bowl without making a mess everywhere!
Temp seems under controls and had 3 lots of blood before and after antibiotics so they can see what is going on. Hoping for more answers today and hopefully home.
Naughty boob I’m sorry to hear you were spoken to like that, you should be treated with respect and kindness, anymore of that and advise you’ll be taking it further if you are spoken to like that again, that should hopefully stop it. I’m glad you have had someone with more kindness by the sound of it this morning glad your neutrophils are ok that’s a positive keep thinking about a nice treat you will have when you get home, a takeaway or something it helped me thinking about all the lovely food I was going to have when out of casa nhs hopefully you’ll be able to get home today or tomorrow Shi xx
Thanks @Shi yes I can’t wait to get home and have my own food or maybe a takeaway.
The food is hot and miss but yesterday evening I’d put an order in for Cottage pie dinner is 5-6pm by 5:45 I hadn’t received anything so I pressed the call button. They forgotten me. Well that made me upset again, such a small thing but, it hurt. 10 minutes later a jacket potato with unmelted cheese arrived. Not cottage pie left, excuse was they had lots of new patients and had forgot to put my order in ( even though it was on the list with everyone else’s).
This morning asking for lunch I noticed they use a clipboard with the food list on and then use a paper towel to write the orders… I’ll leave it there.
Waiting on bloods and hoping to go home today.
Thank you again to everyone for your support. Hope you are all doing the best you can.
keep focused naughty boob Google Bristol stool chart cakes, mai7 got me to do that when I was going stir crazy during a 6 day casa nhs stay during chemo, I was that batty by then the sillyness of it helped Shi xx
So pleased that your finished your chemotherapy it must be such a relief even though you know you have side effects ahead but you won’t be doing it again let us know if anything changes with your date for surgery (2 January…I’m having a MUGA scan so more injected radiation for me to add to my superpowers!)
I’m still in hospital but going home tonight, my temp has been down but the bloods taken today showed a high liver blood test. It’s been normal since I was admitted on Sunday. The doctor checked with consultant who thinks it’s the antibiotic and aciclovir tablets making my liver work hard. Up to yesterday evening it was just antibiotic which stopped but high dose aciclovir can interact with each other. They think I should be fine as long as I chcek for symptoms and call straight away. I. not yellow, no unusual bleeding or bruising, no confusion or pain in upper right stomach where it’s located.
I even went out for a walk this afternoon and I was gone for 40 minutes, I sat on a bench in a park and took in my surroundings for a couple of minutes but seat was a bit wet! Then back to hospital grounds sat outside again people watching for a few more minutes. I felt so good.
I’m in clinic Tuesday so they are going to request extra blood test to check my liver and have swapped aciclovir to a cream ( ironically it probably too late now as it came up 2 days ago)
It’s the Bristol stool chart cakes the photos of the inventive cakes that are made not tge actual Bristol stool chart, I didn’t mean for you to google that glad to hear you are going home enjoy being back in your own bed Shi xx
Hi Rachel, thanks for checking up on me. It’s great to know that you’ve completed your chemo treatment. Good luck for the results. At least now you can relax a bit and enjoy the festive season. I’m doing ok, slowly getting less tired, and increasing my working hours. But it took me by surprise as I’m more fatigued now, after the treatment…I joined a support group and all of us have similar problems/ side effects. I don’t know if I ever go back to the old me. I don’t mean it in a negative way. I also joined the online group in Future dreams. Wish you all best for your next appointment
Hi I just noticed that you are being treated in the Royal Marsden - same here. We might have bumped into each other…small world . Also no bell for me, or emergency button. But I got very emotional on my last radiotherapy. I mean VERY….
Emotions are good. They need to be released. How funny you are also at Marsden. But are you all done now? Great you are through radiotherapy. Take care of yourself xx
I’m on hormonal treatment for at least 5 years. It comes with side effects and triggered menopause (which brings more unpleasant symptoms) But surgery, chemo and radiotherapy were completed. Because my chemo was after the lumpectomy, there is no tumour to check for chemo efficacy. And no other tests🤞.
I hadn’t realised how lumpy the hospital bed is when you move it to different positions and the upright hospital chair, I needed a pillow behind my back to make it a bit better.
@Guida so nice to hear from you and that you completed your active treatment. I’m like you and not sure I’ll ever be the same and the only people that seem to understand is others in this community. I still have to finish 4/12 chemo, radiotherapy and Herceptin until next September. I will start aromatase inhibitors as soon as chemo finishes.
Hey everyone, glad to hear you are out of hospital now @naughty_boob it sounded like a horrible experience! Glad to hear you are on the mend X
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last chemo and I’ve had a pretty weird time. My left leg became really swollen and rang the chemo line, they told me to go to A&E for a suspected blood clot. I went and they scanned it and did bloods, turned out it wasn’t a clot but they had no explanation. Since then I’ve developed a big skin flare up/rash over my face, trunk and arms. The oncologist isn’t sure what has caused it but said both the leg and rash are late side effects from the chemo/steroids. All very odd and have made me feel abit down and self conscious. I’m hoping it will settle down soon.
Preparing for a lumpectomy in early December, almost looking forward to it… want to get this bugger out of me. Then I’ve been told radiotherapy for 3 weeks (4-6 weeks after surgery), so likely in the new year.
Escaped to the seaside at the weekend and the change of scenery was really needed and lovely, for brief moments I forgot I had cancer (until I caught my reflection somewhere).
sending 
we’ve got you and are yanking you home too 
let us know if anything changes with your date for surgery (2 January…I’m having a MUGA scan so more injected radiation for me to add to my superpowers!)
glad to hear you are going home enjoy being back in your own bed 
. Also no bell for me, or emergency button. But I got very emotional on my last radiotherapy. I mean VERY…
.