I’m grateful that I got to play padel tennis 5 times in the last week. Although I felt exhausted afterwards and had to stop for drinks more regularly it made me appreciate what my body is capable of during this tricky time.
I am very grateful to be going out for dinner with my son this evening (hes 33 and lives locally) so I can show him that I’m well and he doesn’t need to worry about me too much.
I appreciate the opportunity to nap when I feel I need to. Im trying to meditate a bit before I fall asleep just to see if I can quiet my mind.
And even though I hate the stuff, I am grateful for the advances in modern medicine that means my experience of chemo and surgery are nowhere near as harsh as my mum’s treatment in the 1970s.
I also have a rather weird thing about trees… they make me feel happy just to look at them
xxx
Today I’m grateful that I was well enough to go to our local gym whereas this time last week I couldn’t get out of bed. Having never been a gym person pre-diagnosis this feels like a positive change. Both female trainers who I’ve met there are many years on from breast cancer and in fabulous shape. In addition, half the women in my small group training session had or had recovered from cancer and were living full, happy lives. It really gave me hope that I can get strong again post-chemo even with the joys of hormone therapy.
Daily moan is that a tiny insect bite has ballooned so I’m on antibiotics in order to avoid my chemo schedule being derailed…
Your gym story has inspired me, I have put off an assessment for tailored sessions for cancer patients because I’ve been feeling rough, but I think I’ll reschedule. In terms of possible immunity issues, how do you feel about being in the gym? Sorry to hear about insect bite, there do seem to be lots of insects around this year.
So my reason to be cheerful/grateful today is that I went out with my husband to a ceramics festival after my blood test, and it was really interesting. We sat outside a cafe because the weather was brilliant. And I came home and cleared out our pumpkin patch and gave a couple of pumpkins to the neighbours and chucked away a load of rhubarb that had gone over. Which made me feel strangely energised!
I felt fine about being in the gym as it’s not particularly crowded when I go and it’s not germ season yet. I sanitise my hands regularly and keep a good distance from others. I think my 10 year old is a bigger germ risk especially now that the schools are back!
Morning all, lovely to catch up and hear about your journeys. So tough isn’t it!? Loving the gratitude. Specific gym session for cancer patients sounds amazing. Wholly agree that this patch over half way but still about a month to go is the toughest. Been a rubbish week. Had my second paclitaxel last Friday and had a severe reaction-gutted. Being desensitised with more steroids snd antihistamine this week and hopefully will be fine on Friday. Focusing on relaxing, mindfulness and breathing to try and stop worrying. Totally agree with you on people saying stuff like stay positive, it’ll soon be over! A cancer diagnosis changes us for life and I struggle to get people to understand that endocrine therapy for 7/10 years is active treatment and a very big part of treatment. On the positive, cancer has taught me that slowing down and being calm is a must. Although I’ve struggled with the staying calm bit this week . Sending my best wishes to you all through this tough part of the journey x
@jenny4 good point about children and germs! The woman I have been speaking to at the gym said they’d make sure I was in a small room with few other people. @rach49 so sorry to hear about your reaction and hope that is sorted now.
Going for my fifth paclitaxel this afternoon. “Ooh over half way, that’s great!”
“In that case, could you do the other four for me?”
Sorry, I know people mean well and the support of family and friends has been invaluable to me. Sometimes I just need to channel my inner toddler
Hope everyone has a decent day.
Love this @runnerjen! Grateful for being able to slow down after stopping work last week. Drinking lots of tea, sitting in the garden with the dog, walks at the beach which clear my mind (along with some therapy which I’ve just started).
@rach49 sorry to hear you’ve had a rubbish week. I’m waiting to hear if my 3rd dox will go ahead on Friday after my PICC line got a little infection at the entrance. I’m the same with trying to stay calm this week, fingers crossed you get to go ahead
Hope everyone has a good day! It’s a surprisingly sunny day here in Edinburgh so I’m off to sit in the garden with a tea
Is anyone else having a lot of nail pain/tenderness on Paclitaxel? I have been applying Polybalm, cuticle oil, moisturising my hands etc etc relentlessly and my fingernails are killing me!
I’m 4 doses into a 12 week regimen - definitely can’t put up with this for another 8 weeks. It is definitely impacting daily life, and I’m pretty fed up (although that could be general chemo grumpiness after everything that AC had to offer as well)
I’ll be keeping the lights on here until early November…anyone else?!
I will most certainly still be here. I think I am probably 3 weeks away from starting my 9 pacs. But the goalposts move every week so who knows. This abscess has been worse than the chemo although I guess wouldn’t have happened if there was no chemo. I am hoping that the break will make me stronger going back into treatment. Fingers crossed
That’s how I feel too.
Just had my last cycle of chemo. But I still have radiotherapy for a month. And a combination of injections and chemotherapy, drugs and hormone blockers for up to 10 years each have their own side-effects.
So I have moments where I’m really struggling to think positive and feel like the end of chemotherapy is a significant milestone to celebrate
I’m not on pax but I’m on docetaxel and my finger nails and toe nails ache. Got a bit better this week but still tender. My last chemo (all being well) should be 30th Oct so I’ll still be here in November. I won’t really consider it finished until the last injection is done.
This is supposed to be my ‘good’ week but it doesn’t feel like it. I’m so grumpy too and tired. Everything feels such an effort. I’m grateful I don’t feel as bad as last week but it’s getting hard now. X
Congratulations on finishing chemo @runningandgin, that is definitely a milestone to celebrate! Do let us know how radiotherapy goes as you’ll get to it first. Is Ribociclib one of the drugs that you’ll be on alongside the hormone blockers. My oncologist is planning to put me on it to reduce the risk of recurrence. The potential side effects sound scarily like those of chemo but he’s promised me that most people tolerate it well and it’s nowhere near as bad as chemo. @moomoo716 I’m so sorry that you’re still suffering with the abscess and your chemo is on hold. It’s scary how these things can blow up when our immunity is right down. I thought I was going to be hospitalised by a bug bite last night but fortunately the antibiotics kicked in just in time. @slenderframe I hope your team can help you with the nail pain-that sounds really unpleasant. I haven’t had it myself but am pretty sure I’m going to lose one of my toenails despite religiously applying poly balm as a purple shadow has appeared under it…
Yes slender frame I started EC x 4 on the last week of may and I had my 5th of 12 weekly PAC today… So it’s the last week of October for me ! i Nails ok so far but my whole surgical side is full of pins and needles and numbness on arm and leg and soles of feet so the Neuropathy is
Getting me. I have Muscle / joint Pain and the fatigue is hitting , sleep is hard due to my hideous high heart rate spiking and hot flushes from the zoladex … plus chronic digestive issues . I get about 36 goodish hours by Monday pm and I go HARD at work until treatment Wednesday Pm BUT I’m Still walking my dog ( my guardian angel) daily (twice) and working (self employed) and I’m seeing friends… always battle with the fatigue and stay positive ( ish) but I am struggling to pace myself and can sometimes crash !! I start hyperbaric oxygen Therapy at a local MS charity on Friday to see if it helps side effects and I see oncologist Monday to review dosage and discuss next steps etc if the neuropathy continues I will likely quit early or reduce dosage as I want my body to work properly so I can get on with life next year or so quality over quantity and all that! Hope your nails ease off!! I don’t know what to suggest bar what you are doing already x
@slenderframe my fingernails have been very painful too on docetaxel. I also have a red rash on the back of my hands. The nurses hotline had no answer other than E45 and paracetamol. I am hoping the nails might be a bit better today as just pressing them now they don’t feel quite as sore.
I have two more dox cycles to get through. So far I have 12 of the listed possible side effects, including tinnitus the first two nights - I didn’t realise that could be a side effect at the time but I googled it later and it seems it can cause it. Hopefully as it was only two nights it’s not anything to worry about.
I hadn’t read up on the oestrogen blockers much until a week or so ago. I was told probably tamoxifen for 10 years, though I know there will be future appointments to discuss that. But because I have endometriosis and I read it’s likely to make that worse, I have emailed to ask for the MDT to review my case and suggested they include a gynaecologist with endometriosis knowledge because I don’t need that getting worse for 10 years! The more I read about the various options for oestrogen blockers and their various side effects the less I want to read about them!
I plan to take a break from treatment for a few weeks. I’ve booked a cottage with Friends for October half term. So I’m going to go and enjoy that before I start radiotherapy in November. The radiologist confirmed that they could fit around my schedule and they agreed that it was a good thing today for mental health.
I’ve started Zoladex I need my second injection of that before they can confirm I am in medical menopause and can start taking anastrozol and zoledronic acid injections.
@jenny4
I think I start the oral chemo abemaclib once I finish radiotherapy. They’ve already warned me that it causes diarrhoea but that people just get used to when the diarrhoea hits and taking the medication to manage that beforehand. Sounds like fun.
I’m holding onto the idea that the chemotherapy was the worst bit and that anything that comes from now is manageable and I can start to get my life back.
Looking at taking medications for two years, three years 10 years it is hard to not feel like cancer has just taken over the rest of my life
This is all just a gift that keeps giving, isn’t it?! Half way through chemo and I feel despondent (although apart from the painful fingers and fatigue I think I’m doing ok). It’s just a slog…and a slog that I don’t want. I too am unsure about the hormone blockers, but have been trying to push that out of my mind until I have to make a decision.
. Sending my best wishes to you all through this tough part of the journey x
I started EC x 4 on the last week of may and I had my 5th of 12 weekly PAC today… So it’s the last week of October for me ! i Nails ok so far but my whole surgical side is full of pins and needles and numbness on arm and leg and soles of feet so the Neuropathy is