Have pulled myself together. Dearie me! Thanks for all the good luck messages and the support. Even if I miss (some of) this weekend’s fun I’m determined to go & see Patti Smith mid-cycle even if I have to be wheeled in … 
Vicki, know exactly what you mean about BC slapping us round the face and just wanting to have control over our own lives again. We have to believe we get that back …
Emma, hope you’re feeling better. The onc nurse said to me that some cycles are worse than others, it isn’t necessarily downhill all the way.
Katherine – sorry to hear you’re being delayed, but at least you get the next dose as an outpatient. (Assuming you’re happy with that, of course…)
Ann – sorry you’re having such a rough time on FECx4. Hope you’re starting to feel better. Completely get what you mean about the emotions being harder as we go on. It just seems such a long slog.
Joan – hoping the Tax blasts the cancer to smithereens! Meantime, great to hear you had a good day at Chessington.
Jackie – hope you’re feeling better.
Jill, so sorry you have had yet more palaver. Hopefully the line will mean you don’t have to go through any of that again.
Marion, glad you are having a better cycle this time! I’ve been gardening a bit too, all gloved up as the onc was very stern about garden dirt. It’s relaxing except when I’m a bit light headed, in which case I have to be careful when I stand up.
Izzy – great news about rescheduling your holiday. Yes, a lumpectomy is the same as a WLE J
Fiona – great to hear about you (and others!) making the most of good days. Your friend sounds like a gem. (I don’t know what state I’d be in without my pals.) And thanks for sharing the info about Tax. I’m trying not to dread it.
Chelle LOL re Slade! My eyelashes are def fewer. Eyebrows are thinning but still there. Hope you get your specially slow test results SOON.
Maxie, hope the anti-vom pills have worked…
Very impressed by all of you who go out au natural. Not for me! I look like an alien might explode out of me (and I don’t mean toiletwards).
Thought I’d change my prof pic to show you my mad pigeon hair!
Jackie - yes we were def separated at birth! I always liked to set the look of with a giant pair of 80s power shoulder pads as well - damn I’ll looked goooood lol
Gus - hopefully you’ll get to everything you have planned - will keep everything crossed x
Joan - thanks for the info on painkillers - you wouldn’t know what to do for the best would you! Take them…don’t take them! I keep having nose bleeds so am scared to take anything that may make it worse!
Hi all, one day after having first TAX I’m still fine with no side effects. I’m still taking the steroids, but no painkillers.
Emma - I never had Emend for sickness, but had Ondansetron and never had any sickness…maybe worth a go as the Emend seems to make you feel worse. Hope you feel better soon xx
I’m worried about my eyelashes! They’re definitely thinning despite putting Rapidlash on every night. I’m hoping that a few last though right to the end. Eyebrows thinning too, but easy to draw in. I agree losing lashes seems worse than losing your hair, it’s easy enough to pull on a wig but trying to put on false lashes…nightmare!!
Good luck to Vicki, Cress, Caroline, Joan and Titus at the bar tomorrow, hope all goes well for you all.
xxxx
Good luck to Vicki, Cress, Joan, Caroline & Titus at the bar tomorrow x
Anyone want a 2yr old swear to god kids had my steroids lol DVD and sweets was order of the day and at least I can sod of home at 11 just hope I can get her in bed before D gets home defo got this nanna wrapped round her finger.
All this talk of TAX is getting me slightly worried I am down for weekly dose for 12 wks so maybe good thing getting the line,can I have a bath with it or is it just showers? regards painkillers my BCN told me to take 1 zapain and 1 paracetamol before I get any pain.
Chelle compared to me thats a full head of hair youve got lol regards wig I am to scared to wear mine so sticking with the scarf think YS put me off it by saying it looked like a wig which made me even more paranoid about it dont think anyone on here could take offence about being vain I think we all have our own hangups mines my ears but at least with scarf I can pin them back lol just have to pop 1 out to use the phone never really noticed my eyebrows/lashes because they have always just been there if you know what I mean.
Well better see if I can persuade madam to go to bed and tidy round the bombsite.
Goodnight to you all xx
Evening all,
Just been out for a stroll with OH, still muggy here so Raquel whipped off the minute I’m in the house. One of these days I’m going to forget and whip her off in public, oh well so what, doesn’t matter.
Chelle - no results yet, too bad. At least you feeling a bit better.
What a naff wig if the fringe is that short! Could never understand why Dave Hill had such a silly fringe.
I’ve got 2 little bare bits on my right eyebrow, been pencilling in. Eyebrows are thinning though. Think lashes ok, look a bit weedy as I haven’t been wearing mascara and normally I wear tons.
Debs - glad you back from bar ok and trouble-free today. Good for you going out with no head covering, bet you looked fab. Thanks for Tax info too.
Marion - thanks for Tax info. What do you take for the acid, is it Omeprazole? Gooseberry crumble sounds delicious, crumble is one of my favourite things. Shame you in N Wales and not South like me or I could pop round for some, I’d bring my own custard.
Gus - glad you’ve been back on and posted again, feeling a bit better. Sorry about your delay, could you ask them to wait until Monday so you wouldn’t miss out on your weekend plans? I went to Fringe with my sister last year and we had a lovely time, I really hope you can go.
It must be so tough for you coping with BC without your partner, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Never apologise for having a moan, we’re all here to support each other xx
Lola - thanks for popping in with reassurance about Tax, much appreciated.
Cress - don’t be daft, no offence taken re wigs. We should all wear/ not wear whatever we choose.
Sandra - good you’ve had a long kip. No Emend for me on the Tax, just Ondansetron, so I do hope I don’t get any sickness. Picking up on comments about relaxing helping not to cause any reaction to the Tax, I’d need to be asleep to relax enough. Anyway, relaxing, what is that, I’ve forgotten, didn’t we leave that behind in the room when we got our DX??
Joan - it is a bit of a worry, isn’t it, different advice re painkillers etc. I guess we should do what our own onc advises and hope for the best. Glad you had a good family day out yesterday.
Just waiting for daughter to return from work, she always has a few funny stories. Think I’ll head for PJs, had to be up and dressed earlier than usual this morning for clinic.
Fiona
xx
Crossed posts again.
Izzy - glad you ok, one day on, with the Tax.
Jill - good luck with bedtime Nanna. You are amazing looking after GD all afternoon and evening, hope you sleep well yourself.
Sending all the best for tomorrow to Vicki, Cress, Caroline, Joan and Titus. What a busy day for Jewels, there will be nothing left at the bar for the rest of the week.
F
xx
A last minute question about Tax. My onc said it will take 2 or 3 hours to go through but the chemo nurse said it only took an hour. Should I insist they go at the speed the onc said to avoid a reaction?
Cress or Izzy, how long does the Tax take to go through for you (think you’re the only ones to have had it by itself so far)?
Fimbo,
I had 6 lots of Tax. Each one took an hour. You will also probably get a dose of saline either before or after or both.
xxx
Hi Jewels,
Glad that the intrepid explorers have returned so quickly and seemingly well. 
Hope it continues that way and any side effects quickly disperse.
Gus, sorry yet another enjoyable thing is being affected by “C”. As suggested, if you can delay the dose to enable the trip to go ahead it would mean a lot psychologically which sometimes helps us deal with the practical crap we’re going through. Channel the strength of love you had with your partner, enjoy that which was special to you both and do something good that “C” cant spoil.
Fiona, Sandra and Joan, it does seem we are given mixed messages with meds. Im glad we have each other to discuss it all with as pooled togther we seem to have answers for most things. My last FEC tomorrow so i will wait to see the feedback you guys have. I wonder if those doing Tax first have different reactions to thsoe that already have FEC in the system…will make for interesting reading, as will your experience Cress if/when you switch to Fec.
Debs thanks for the T info, bet it feels good to only have 1 left, you’ll still be keeping in touch on here i hope??. Ive not had any steriods at all so far so wonder how i’ll be on them?.
Chelle you have a fair bit of fluff there, i wonder if its cos you cold capped once it didnt completely go??. Im dreading tomorrows cold cap to be honest. First time it was a novelty, not knowing what to expect, 2nd time was pants, (not literatly can you imagine lol) and this time it will be extra cold cos of the thinning. The only saving grace is apparently with Tax i dont have to keep it on for as long. I still have my full compliement of lashes & brows, plus still havng to shave/pluck the usual place as well!.
Sandra hope you continue to keep well and im jealous of you being able to snooze through the day, its something i cant seem to do no matter how tired i am, i can only ever sleep in bed, lights off, covers on etc.
Emma, not good youre still feeling rubbish…have you done anything different this cycle, or perhaps its the accumalation of doses so far. Big hugs and hope you start to recover soon.
Jill supergran, tiring but so lovely to be a special nan & i bet they adore you.
Ive had a busy day as had a works corporate induction. All waffle and aspiration and i just wanted to leave and concentrate on fighting the “C” and becoming me again not whether i will “bring anything to the table”. I do wonder how much longer i can keep working, mostly because of the assumption that i look ok therefore i am…The onc did bring me down to earth with a bump yesterday and i think things will get harder before they get better.
Anyway enough of the wallowing, good luck to my fellow lushes tomorrow, bring it on!!.
Bye for now ladies
xxxx
Joan, my first lot of tax took an hour but as had reaction to second they put that that through at two hours but today slightly quicker at 1.5 hours. Just depends on how it goes I suppose. Hopefully all fine and done in an hour! Fingers crossed.
Xxx
Thanks Lola and Debs x
Joan - Like Debs, I had a reaction so first one after reaction took 2 hours, but last one was 1 1/2 hours. I wish ONC would make sure that what they say is written on prescription, ad twice noe I have had to tell them to give me pure meds before Tax because I react. I have now been told it is on the computer so hopefully they will get it right next time. I take paracetamol before the nimvestin stomach injections which I have for 7 days. I was o.k. for first 2 cycles but 3rd cycle I had bone pain for 8 days so now I take paracetamol which has helped a lot. I’m sure its Nimvestin that causes the pain not the Tax.
Good luck tomorrow ladies. No SE,s would be good.
Marion
XXX
evening Jewels
It seems the majority of us have just had/having/about to have our last cycle of either FEC or TAX so cycle 4 will be one to watch for all of us. It is really helpful to know what MIGHT happen - and what drugs/treatments/ideas people have to help with any side effects. Thanks to this wonderful forum, and what we have shared thus far, we know how individual our reactions are and also our own hospitals regime. We need to be prepared for anything…
we’re all getting there, we’re always one step closer to meeting in York next year, to perfecting the smokey-eye look, to miming to a fabulous pop song and getting it on Youtube and to finding a very sexy single Italian for me and Chelle…
Bring it on!
Morning all,
Vicki - I had to laugh at the thought of one of these corporate bonding dos or training courses. Don’t think I’ll be able to take anything like that seriously again, ever, if anyone comes out with these phrases they’ve read in a book e.g. “blue sky thinking” or “thinking outside the box”. After what we’ll all have been through, by the time I get back to work I am determined to ignore all the c**p at work and elsewhere, then put myself and those I love first.
Cress - you were still up late last night. Loved your comments about looking forward to us finishing our treatment and finally getting to meet properly next year. Defo prioritise a couple of Italian stallions for you and Chelle. For those of us wth OHs, we can still flirt a bit can’t we - as a friend once said to me a while back, “Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean you can’t look a the menu”.
Joan - my onc also told me an hour for the Tax to go through. I mentioned I knew some people (Marion and Debs of course) who had had a bad reaction. She said if I felt at all hot and flushed or breathy to say immediately. They would then stop, give me some meds, calm me down, then restart. On Thursday, I am going to tell nurse that I very anxious about that and hopefully they will take their time and keep an eye on it. Please let us know how you get on today, sure you will be fine xxxx
Got a huge list of things to do today, you know the “things I need to do before chemo in case I’m out of action for a while”. As usual, I will write the list of a dozen things and maybe get one or two done.
Son said a couple of his friends going to call in this evening to see me. They are such a lovely bunch, his pals, and I am touched how kind and concerned they have been about me and of course about him too. Ditto daughter’s close friends, couple of whom also dropped in to see me. It is reassuring for me that they have such lovely friends to support them when I know they are worried about their Mum, despite my reassurance that my outlook is good. Sorry, got to go now, I’m blubbing, catch you later.
Fiona
xx
Oh my goodness, so many posts, I’ve not been on for a few days and will catch up.
This has certainly been my worst cycle. Felt crap for the past 3 days, fuzzy and don’t know really know what to do with myself. This will be short as already loosing concentration which I have found difficult these last few days.
Saw genetics yesterday to understand where this has all come from. Have offered me tests to see if it is genetic from my father’s side, will take 3-4 months for the results but will help in any future decisions I may need to make. Bit much taking all that in today with fuzzy head, thank god my mum came with me.
Been having some weird dreams and thoughts in the nights, last night was better but still feeling a bit strange.
Hope all who have visited the bar over the last few days are well and best wishes to those in the queue today.
xxxxx
Morning All
Good luck to
Vicki,Cress,Caroline,Joan and Titus at the bar today.
Debs xXx
FEC 4/6 day 7.
Hello world I am improving at last. Session 4 seems to be a bit of a stopper, in more ways than one ! I have found cadburys chocolate and lactolose have a pretty impressive reaction.
The fatigue seems to get worse during session 4, I suppose the drugs just build up and tiredness will get worse as the sessions continue. We are all so different, Emend was a life saver for me, yet others have found it awful.
My chemo nurse told me the drugs stay in our system for 12 months after treatment finishes, that is scary, I was hoping to pick up really quickly and get back to normal.
Stay strong and good luck to all at the bar today.
Ann, the windy bald eagle.
3x FEC /T cycle 3 day 2
Morning ladies,
Chelle you have an amazing covering of hair! …Your strands are really long!
Good advice re all the TAX queries, guess we’re all going to react differently. Im going to definitely ask for the first one to be put in slowly.
Cress thanks for the mention of York & Italian stallions!!..cheered me up no end! Like Fiona said us married ones can still ‘window shop’!!
Fiona bless you, I would be blubbing too at the lovely support your childrens friends are giving both you & them…they have true friends there for sure…xx
Emma (Peachy) what cycle are you on? Is it FEC?..hope you feel better soon…xx
Ann, can sympathise as s/e’s are def cumulative, keep plodding on thats all we can do!..xx
This cycle seems to have hit me hard, the last two I was able to stay up & potter round on the day of chemo, sit downstairs for tea & even in the garden with YD last time!..yesterday the fatigue & sick feeling hit straight away, felt dizzy & seasick & couldn’t stay upright, had to go straight to bed & eat some tea in bed, took all anti-sickness as felt very nauseous & also took 1 Lorazepam which knocked me out & slept reasonably. Still feel very unstable & iffy this morning…yuk!!..lets hope it improves…
Sandra xx
Hiya everyone. Been laying low for a while as not feeling brilliant but now on up - just before my first Tax on Tuesday. Typical! I have even been having a glass of wine in the evening and sleeping well. The 3 weeks seem to go so fast (well not the first one as you feel so crap). Here’s hoping SE’s on Tax are better than Fec - I don’t think I could face another Fec as I was truly awful on it. Is it just me or has anyone else found that wigs just do not look right on them. I have tried about 6 now from various places and they just look really stupid on me. Given family a laugh but not really the response I was looking for. Gussie- like you I look like an Alien without hat or bandana so would not risk going out with a naked head.
Hope everyone’s SE’s get better quickly. I don’t post often but regularly read others posting and I agree that this site is a Godsend - so much info you don’t get from Hospital and I would have been far more panicky without you lovely ladies sharing your experiences. Jayneyxxx