June 2024 chemo starters

Good luck @donna_51 it’s a big day. Fingers crossed that you’re alright on the other side. :heart:

Good luck @donna_51 so happy you finally back on track! I was never given oral steroids after my first one and I think I prefer it that way! Heard that the come down from oral steroids is not fun…

Pubic hair still going in clumps (lol tmi sorry) but so far so good on normal hair. Holding on to hope that the cold cap worked and I will have minimal shedding

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@donna_51 good luck for today, & I hope everyone else having treatment this week gets along ok.

I had my first EC last Wednesday, and had day or two of terrible aches with a bruised feeling body (I think from the growth factor injection) but otherwise I seem to be doing ok, although I’m very tired all the time and prone to a cat nap!

@akioqey glad your hair is hanging on even if your short and curlies aren’t. How many days is it since your treatment? I’m cold capping too, and using the Daniel Field products to see if I can preserve some hair. Was someone else using these products too?
Like you @lolac I keep debating if I should buy a wig as a back up. A friend of mine has alopecia and buys all her wigs off of Etsy, so I need to have a look there!

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@akioqey you are making me laugh with your very honest ‘hair loss’ updates. Think I’ve started joining this club, but not so upset by this loss.:laughing:

Interesting to see other cold cappers debating back up wigs. I’ve had 2 in my SHEIN basket for days now and can’t decide what to do!:face_with_peeking_eye: Noticed a few more hairs than normal I think coming out from yesterday, but I know it will thin regardless. Will see what happens after round 2 :grimacing:

@donna_51 glad you’ve managed to get round 2 ticked off and done. Got my second on Friday.

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I’m also using Daniel Field products. Quite pricey but if I don’t have to buy a wig will be a reasonable trade-off!

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I agree! I’m finding it quite hard to target the growth spray onto my scalp and that my hair is getting quite greasy, have you found the same? (All good if it helps!)

Hi everyone… really positive posts lately and I’m adding to that that my second round is also going ahead tomorrow after missing a week :raised_hands:t3: feeling super anxious, especially as I got told on Friday my tumour has almost doubled in size in the space of 2 months :tired_face: so the medical teams are having a meeting tomorrow to discuss what will happen now … but so far I’ve been told chemo is still first course of treatment!

I’m on weekly paclitaxlin (with immunotherapy & carboplatin every 3 weeks) and was also told it was cumulative so could feel worse as time goes on :grimacing: so interesting to hear that the opposite may happen! … Hope it does though!! :raised_hands:t3:

My hair has started shedding … very rapidly so I think the clippers will be making an appearance within the next week :face_holding_back_tears::face_holding_back_tears:

Hope everyone’s treatment goes well this week! :heart:

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Hey everyone, so grateful for this thread at the moment. Such a weird club to be in but you’re all so funny despite all the crap!

Joining the hair shed gang this week. I’ve had 4 rounds of paclitaxol already. My 5th was supposed to be today but pushed back a day due to a hospital scheduling error (practicing all the patience!).

I’m cold capping and using the Daniel Field products but at the rate the hair shed has started, I’m not sure I’ll have anything left by week 12.

Curious to know where people are getting their wigs from - any recommendations?

Sending love!

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@kcg0610 Aww sorry to hear about your hair despite the cold cap :face_holding_back_tears: can I ask how you are finding the paclitaxil treatment?

I got my wig free through my NHS trust … so from a shop in Leeds. However if I’m being truly honest it isn’t great (to me it looks very wiggy - if that makes sense … but it was the best of bad bunch) :grimacing: but I think it’s just more the mental shift of wearing one for me!! So I’m looking at getting a real hair one through my sisters friend who makes them, although I don’t think it will be cheap :tired_face:. I have seen others mention Shien or Amazon but I haven’t really looked … I get a bit too upset and it all feels a bit weird, but I am sure my attitude will change once I’m fully bald!!

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Hey @charlie22 - thank you for all the tips and honesty about your one! I will have a wee browse. 100% think you’re right though - it feels like such a big change!

I’m finding the treatment ok so far - generally feel pretty normal day to day. I feel slightly fatigued for a day or two after each round (the fatigue for me ramped up a little after week 3). I’m having weekly paclitaxel for 12 weeks though - so travelling into hospital and the 6/7 hours of being in there wvery week has a part to play.

Side effects I’ve experienced have all been relatively small - the snot in my nose is all dried blood (gross), my nails have been a bit achey (Polybalm really works well for me - my breast cancer nurse gave me some), slight pins and needles in fingers and toes this week… this got me down at first but it’s been ok the past couple days.

Hair loss is by far the toughest one so I’m sending big hugs to everyone. So sorry to read about your tumour size growing too @charlie22. Hoping you feel good about the new plan from docs this week! :heart:

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Hi All.
Just wondering if anyone else has had really bad back pain following the 7 days of white blood cell growth injections? I feel like I’m having contractions. It comes over in waves. Has anyone got any advice?

The filgrastim and pegfilgrastim both give horrible bone and joint pain. Totally normal. On EC, I’d say it’s the worst bit. On Docetaxel, it’s the best bit of it all for me.

I’ve not found pain relief works, I just ride it out in bed. Xx

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For those looking for hair care suppliers, I was directed to this charity’s recommended resources page Directory - Cancer Hair Care
Just had my 5th/12 weekly paclitaxel and hair is shedding with enthusiasm. Heading to the wonderful wig company on Friday, their website has lots of info. Their sites are Newcastle and Sunderland, will report back if it’d be useful to anyone else in the frozen north

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@ljlj I didn’t use Daniel Field products but I got some really bad dandruff and itching. So I diy a solution with pure aloe vera mixed with a few drops of tea tree and castor oil and applied it on my scalp 30 minutes before a hair wash day. Surprisingly managed to keep dandruff at bay. I was getting some really large chunks prior to this!

@wjs We need amusement in our lives during this tough time, glad I could give you some haha! Honestly losing hair everywhere else is the only plus side to all the chemo!

@charlie22 Sorry to hear about the growth, sending some big hugs to you!

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Thank you. Good to know it’s not just me. It hit me out of the blue this morning day 9. It’s eased as the day has gone on. I’ve taken ibuprofen but don’t think it really did anything. Xx

I have a slightly different set up and am given Pegfilgrastim to do on Day 2 and it’s a slow release injection so I only have to do one. I love that but it seems to hit hard on Day 3 and then gets better and better slowly. It seems people on the daily jabs get a more cumulative effect maybe?

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I sent a msg to my Daniel Field contact asking if there were any tips about targeting the growth spray- I can see I’ll run out quite quickly. Not making my hair greasy but it’s naturally quite dry. Do you have the water based one?

Round 2 of EC done… no where near as bad as last time but spent the last 24 hours lolling about really. Bit of nausea and general hungover feeling but have managed to eat and do a bit of work - so I’m taking that!

I also have the injection on day 2 and my bones, hip and lower back do ache a tad. Nothing too bad yet but we’ll see. If anything gets too bad, phone your team. I’ve been told that anything beyond mild discomfort to call them - they want me to be up and about as much as possible so ask for help/more meds if needed.

I got some wigs from the cancer hair care charity (they sent me 3 in the end) and they also look wiggy (love that word!) … but the one that I almost bought for £400 also felt wiggy so I wonder if it’s just getting used to them, especially now that I’m half bald!!

I also bought one from here; Preloved Wigs – Wigbank and they were the nicest. But to be honest, I can only see myself wearing these wigs like I would a party wig, or with a hat/hairband on top. I’m not going for a ‘real’ look but more of a bohemian type style. I am in Brighton so anything goes here!

Glad everyone is doing ok… don’t be too nervous @charlie22 … I think we’re always going to be a bit nervous but you just get more used to it really. xx

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So had my hospital appointment this morning pre round 2 on Friday and my immune count was a bit too low so moved to next Friday :pensive: Was keen to get another session ticked off and done so am a bit frustrated but fingers crossed be back on track next week. He’s looking at meds or injections to boost my immunity, not sure what that entails yet though. To cheer myself up went with my husband for lunch as we handily live across the road from a garden centre :yum:

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@lolac and @kcg0610 Re D.Field products did you find that the solution after chemo made your hair sticky and prone to matting? Not sure I am doing it right. Any tips?

The silicon bit for head in cold cap is very effective as I have lost very little from crown relative to what I read.

Finding the hair growth active product good too. I think the washing hair after chemo and then after 7 days and then before chemo is a lot (given that more shedding happens when you wash), but has to be done as have to wash the growth active products out before chemo.

How are you both getting on?