June 2024 chemo starters

@alig1961 great news! Hope you have a lovely weekend.x

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Does anyone else feel like the bloke from big brother is narrating their life at the moment? ā€œDay 11 in cycle 4, Ali slept 10 full hoursā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€
:joy:. I canā€™t wait until I donā€™t have a number associated with each day.
Happy weekend everyone. Xxx

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Whoooo @alig1961 home sweet home ā€¦ how glorious that will feel!!! Ha ha love the voiceover ā€¦ mine would be sooo boring ā€˜day 5, Donna goes to the couch again and eats crispsā€™ !!! :joy:

@pat ā€¦ North Wales is on my to do list. I love it around there, you lucky thing. Where do others live?

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@pat we love Wales. Had several holidays around Trawsfynydd and Carmarthen Bay - we love to find a good castle to visit! How are you getting on with the hair situation. Hope youā€™ve managed to find a solution that works for you.

@donna_51 Iā€™m from Nottingham but live close to the border of Derbyshire. So as my Doctors are classed as Derbyshire Iā€™m actually being treated at Derby rather than Nottingham which is a bit weird as I didnā€™t really know Derby very well! Obviously know my way to the hospital very well now!:roll_eyes: Iā€™m enjoying watching Sherwood at the minute as I like to try and spot places I recognise :laughing: Itā€™s a good series too.

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@wjs the shedding seems to have slowed down a bit but it is very thin and itchy. I have decided to leave things as they are for the moment and not shave. I have a couple of hats which I have worn out and feel more confident in now. I still have a fringe, which makes a big difference to me so if it all does fall out after my next chemo then I shall buy a fringe - theres a phrase I never thought Iā€™d write :rofl::rofl:We have been watching Sherwood but are finding it a bit impenetrable so we arenā€™t enjoying it as much as the other series. Not sure if its our concentration or if this one is more complicated! :rofl::rofl:

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I live in Newport Shropshire. My closest hospital is Telford but all my treatment is at Shrewsbury. The problem I had whilst in Telford hospital for the last 6 days was that the oncology doctors and nurses are all based in Shrewsbury and they were struggling to communicate with the medical doctors looking after me. If I have to go to hospital again Iā€™ll head to Shrewsbury instead. The oncology nurse said that normally they would have transferred me but chose not to as this week the oncology ward is full of Covid :weary:.

Thanks everyone :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: appreciate the positive thoughts!!

@alig1961 ā€¦ fabulous news ā€¦ I bet you canā€™t wait for your own bed!! And yes to the big brother reference ā€¦ that made me laugh :rofl::rofl:

Iā€™ve had such a lovely few days ā€¦ it almost felt like I was ā€œnormalā€ so I Iā€™ve been embracing that :raised_hands:t3: itā€™s my mumsā€¦ aka my rock ā€¦ birthday tomorrow so big family meal today which Iā€™m really looking forward to!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Rountine is back ā€¦ something that I find really helps me ā€¦ I got a new king size bed yesterdayā€¦ last nights sleep was fabā€¦ albeit still very sweaty :sweat_smile::weary::rofl:

Basically trying to make most of these really good days before Wednesday treatment day!! :grimacing::weary:

Only downside ā€¦ and totally my own fault ā€¦ ordered some clothes which arrived yesterday and it seems all this cake has made a slight impact on my waistline :grimacing::weary::rofl::rofl: so thinking I may need to curb my sweet tooth for a bit before I turn into a complete butter ball ā€¦ but obviously that will start tomorrow, cos we all know diet start on a Monday :grimacing::crazy_face::rofl::rofl:

@donna_51 glad youā€™ve booked a few days away ā€¦ something to look forward to!!

Hope everyone else is finding more positives as chemo seems to be drawing to end for a lot of us ā€¦ thank god :raised_hands:t3::raised_hands:t3::raised_hands:t3: letā€™s all hope for smooth sailing and get this bit done :crossed_fingers:t3::crossed_fingers:t3:

Enjoy your Sunday guys :heart:

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@charlie22 Iā€™m so glad youā€™re having some good days and a lovely day out today - it makes the grim times so much more bearable. Have a fab time :two_hearts:

Happy Sunday team June xx

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I live in SHEFFIELDā€¦ we have a separate cancer hospital less than 2miles away which is convenient but the waiting lists for cancer treatment are horrendous!
Or were for me. I was forever calling to move things forward at the start of all this.
However the staff are always amazing just so many people needing treatment. Itā€™s sad and scaryā€¦
Iā€™m looking to book a Look good make up thingy, not that I wear make up but the cancer hospital run them. Not sure whether to wait til after chemo though. ???
Itā€™s raining here but at least everyone is around as itā€™s Sunday
Love C xx

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@charley I have just done a face to face makeup thing which I really enjoyed. I donā€™t normally wear makeup either. I did it after my 4th chemo, of 6, and decided to do it when my eyelashes and eyebrows decided to disappear, though they havenā€™t gone completely they have thinned. I found it gave my mood a boost too.

We have been to the new Beetlejuice film today and enjoyed it though it is totally bonkers, as you would expect with a Tim Burton film.

Hope everyone has had a reasonable weekend even though today has been a total washout :cloud_with_rain::cloud_with_rain::cloud_with_rain:

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@pat I really want to see Beetlejuice too but am a bit nervous about going to the cinema. How did you find it?

@wjs Im at the very end of my third week, so immunity is the highest itā€™s going to be. Iā€™ve not had any problems with my blood for the first 4 treatments. The cinema we go to itā€™s not usually that busy, though we donā€™t normally go on the weekend but no choice as Iā€™ll be out of action for 10 days from tomorrow and didnā€™t want to miss it. We chose seats with a many empty seats around us as possible and it was fine. I didnā€™t wear a mask or anything.

Go for it!! Itā€™s totally bonkers but great and a film to see in the cinema rather than telly!!

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@alig1961 fantastic LGFB cake tip. Iā€™ll be using that the rest of my life :laughing:

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Hi All
Can I please reach out for a friend again. My friend has just had 3 EC and is now moving to 9 weekly paclitaxel. Can anyone share with me how the weekly paclitaxel is going and how the effects are treating them and when? Thank you x

Hi @alig1961. I had 3 x EC and then moved onto 9 x weekly Paclitaxel. Iā€™ve got dose number 4 coming up this week. Everyone is different but I can honestly say that I have had significantly less side effects on Paclitaxel so far. I know it can have a cumulative effect so the side effects may increase as time goes on, but for now I feel like Iā€™ve got some of my life back. It took me approx 10 days to recover from each EC. With Paclitaxel Iā€™m back to normal ish the next day. They give antihistamines before the chemo and I find that it makes me very tired in the hours after treatment, but the next day things are much better. The most significant side effect has been stomach cramps and diarrhoea, but they prescribe loperamide and it is manageable, certainly better than the EC side effects. I was worried about starting weekly treatment as I felt I wouldnā€™t have enough recovery time between doses, but the side effects have been ok and Iā€™ve managed much better so far on Paclitaxel than EC. I actually feel that Iā€™ve been able to reclaim some of my life - working more, able to take my kids to school more, go out for more walks, cook etc. Hope itā€™s the same for your friend xx

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Hi @alig1961 ā€¦ I had my paclitaxel first and I found it hard whilst having treatment ā€¦ unfortunately I had a reaction every time bar one treatment :weary: however on the plus side I found the afterwards so much easier than Iā€™ve so far found EC ā€¦ I had one day (the day straight after) where I felt a bit icky/ tired and was very red faced but then I was ok and just got on with life pretty ā€œnormallyā€.

I hope your friend finds it ok ā€¦ well as ok as all this is :grimacing: xx

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Iā€™ve had 3 x weekly Paclitaxel so far (post 4 x EC) & like others have said I feel knackered the day of treatment (I think from the anti histamine) but thereafter I have been relatively ok and able to get on and do quite a lot. Iā€™ve got 12 in total, so Iā€™m expecting the side effects will build but so far itā€™s been ok.
Iā€™ve been wearing the cold gloves and boots along with the cold cap which has been quite challenging, but I only have to have them on for the hour of the infusion so itā€™s just about doable!

Has anyone noticed body hair starting to regrow since changing drugs? I think I may have to shave my legs soon!ā€¦shame the hair on my head doesnā€™t seem to be following suit, itā€™s still slowly shedding!

Hope everyone is ok and that those having treatment this week get on well x

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@ljlj did you supply the cold gloves and socks yourself or did the hospital provide them? I had read about them but havenā€™t bought any or used them so far. But the risk of developing neuropathy does worry me x

Thank you so much @rrey @ljlj and @charlie22 ive passed on your feedback. Xx

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I bought them from Amazon for about Ā£35 I think. I freeze them at home and then take them in with me-my oncologist and BC nurse recommended I wear them x

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