My strange week since "finishing" ....

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Hi Ladies and Gents

I thought I’d let you know how it’s been going since I “finished” … or rather “didn’t finish” … chemo …

It’s now 28 days since my last chemo … and a week since they cancelled the last one …

Well … on the very very good news front my libido returned with a vengence and I just couldn’t rip his clothes off quick enough … no-one was more surprised than me (well - perhaps him!!!) about that one … I was wondering whether I would ever fancy having sex again!!! … not remotely interested during chemo …

More good news is that I do have spells (not long ones though yet) where I do feel “normal” - or as normal as I ever was - always been debatable!

To balance this I also have times when I feel dog tired during the day and wide awake at 3.00 in the morning - this is partly chemo and part heat …and I can still feel very grotty in the heat

But on the whole there has been a definite improvement … which I thought I’d share with everyone …

All of a sudden I feel very responsible for my own well being and feel much more keen to eat fruit and veg …

No marks at all on my nails yet re: TAX - have I escaped this ??? or will it come later ??? … I am pleased about my nails and barnet but frankly would have preferredit if my body could have put a bit more effort into bone marrow production and worried less about the cosmetics - but hey ho - that’s life isn’t it??

So - looking forward to more improvements next week - have rads appointment on Thursday - am hoping they let me have a coupe more weeks off before they start microwaving me in this heat!

Chins up everyone - you can do it ! Well - I couldn’t quite manage it all - but you can do your best!!!

Lots of love
FB xx

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Hi Fizbix,

great to hear how you are getting on. We’ve had a few days of heat here in the Uk but it’s cooled down today, thankgoodness.

It must be marvellous to have periods of feeling “normal” again. Hope your nails do stay intact, that would be great.

How’s your hair doing? Growing slowly back?

Have you got any numbness in your toes or feet? Did you have any whilst doing TAX? I can’t remember you mentioning it. That’s what I’m getting.

So glad about libido,too. That was a nice surprise! I’ll live in hope, then!!

Hope you sleep better this week. Keep in touch.

love,

Ann G xx

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Oh Fizbix,

Your posts are an absolute joy to read - some of them are on a serious note, but mostly they are funny, lighthearted and to the point - they certainly bring a smile to my face !!! I feel like I know you so well through your posts and imagine this bright, vivacious young women. Someone who manages to see the humour even when receiving the most harshest of treatments. God bless you and lots of love to you too. Jacqui xx

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Good for you and hope the upbeat and return of things continue for a long time to come
xxx

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Hi FB,
So the toilet brush gets down and dirty eehhh! Great to hear you are so well and I won’t keep you any longer as I guess you have better things to do!"!!!
Enjoy you deserve it and earned it.
Lily x
ps Do you mind not mentioning this to other men just so we don’t come under any pressure when we get to your point!!

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Hi FizBix

I’m so glad you are having bouts of feeling ‘normal’ again…and love the post!!

I’m furrther on than you - as you will know. finished all chemo and rads 11 wks ago and on herceptin now.

I now feel ‘normal’ most days, in fact will be going back to work soon hopefully. Still have tired days, and some sleepless nights, but not as many as before.

Re the nails - I painted my nails all the way through chemo, 6 x fec and 1 x tax. As you know I was supposed to have more tax but hey ho. Despite only having one tax, my nails appeared to be bearing up. However, I stopped painting them when chemo finished. Surprise surprise, some 9 wks later my finger nails all broke and snapped in half and my toe nails are as we speak doing the same thing!! So keep your eye on them!

As for the libido, I’m not showing hubby your post lol - my libido wasn’t doing somersaults before all this BC stuff and it certainly isn’t now haha.

Having lost my hair twice (thanks to having rads in the middle of chemo) - I now have approx 5mm of thick grey hair all over (including my legs unfortunately lol) so even the old barnet is recovering - albeit slowly.

I hope the rads goes ok for you - they were the easiest bit for me - and I still have the tan to prove it!

good luck to you - nice to hear from you

Margaret x

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Hi FizBix, all others

I had my last chemo yesterday and am looking forward to getting these last side effects over and done with. I have just suffered with constipation and nose bleeds recently but have taken to eating rather a lot of prunes to solve that - and it sure did at 2.45 this morning! lol

My hair is on the growback pretty quick and is noticeable on a weekly basis by my mates etc who comment on how much it has grown. Nails are ok at the moment but breaking quite easily. When I was on FEC they seemed to harden up. Never mind they will grow back as sure has the hair on my diddy di-doe will!

Libido not as good as before but I think I am going through the menopause now as was due period last week and no sign of it yet. Not going to miss them - good bloody riddance!

Rads start 19th aug and then I will be ready for my hols in Ibiza by mid sept - really looking forward to that - all that lying down (not that I have done much more in the last 5 months lol)

Keep us posted on how you are going on and I’m sure I will be joining you on the rads thread to keep in touch

Anita

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Hi FB

So glad you’re feeling brighter and a lot livelier since you’ve finished chemo - there’s hope for us all! Sod the libido though! Only joking - I just can’t see myself as being attractive at the moment with my fluffy little head but when chemo stops I hope to have luxurious locks again and will look drop dead gorgeous again LOL

I’ve got another 2 FEC to go and am definitely counting down now. Can’t wait to do/eat/drink all the things you’re not meant to whilst on chemo plus not have any of the ‘minor’ side effects that seem to get to you more than the major side effects.

Hope rads go well, drink loads and keep resting, especially towards the end of them, your body will still be working hard to replace all the healthy cells they kill off. Use any cream they say you can to keep the area soft and wear comfy undies only - don’t want any chafing do we?

Enjoy these days with no medical visits/drugs/appointments - very jealous :wink:

Nicky xx

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Hi all

still “on holiday” … rads are now starting around 13th August with planning and the dreaded tatto next week …

… no sexual acivity since last time but I can feel some brewing!!! … so OH might have an exciting Saturday night !

I have to say, with all this BC business I have been thinking a lot about what is important in life and have decided that I really don’t pay enough attention to sex … OH and I hit it off really well but very sadly we just don’t seem to have the time for it … so I think that may be a major change post BC … I feel like to need to “get some in” before radio starts …

Thank you very much everyone for your postings … in answer to a few questions …

AnneG - hair is now OKish - it definitely has more body and may be wavy rather than curly it has now got to a length that I have had before in my life - I don’t like the style at the moment but it looks very “normal” - well VERY SCARY first thing in the morning. On the one hand no colour change - on the other the very front has been going white for the last 10 years so there is a big colour change! I have gone form hedgehog to badger …

I have never had pain in the toes or feet or hands and have had tingling and very very slight numbness - no change really - finger nails feel a bit odd so I think magz175 is right in that something may be about to happen there sadly. Whilst I was on TAX I had a couple of intances where my teeth took control and just stared chattering for no reason - luckily I was watching TV ! This has never happened since. Lips can still feel slightly tingly.

Thanks very much to Jacqui for your lovely comments! I have to say my father had a fantastic sense of humour in times of trouble so I have to thank him for mine.

And thanks to Lisa for your good wishes.

Lily - as you can see I am no longer looking like a toilet brush!!! … but a long way off Repunzal … I have seen your comments to Paula43 and have to say you are doing a stirling job!

Hi Magz175 - everso nice to hear from you. I think you must have had the wedding by now. Hope it went well and the weather was OK. I didn’t realise you get a tan from radio - I go brown very easily - I have never been so fair in the summer in my life. Once I spent a whole month in France as a teenage and I came back nearly black …sometimes you see people on the beach who are very very dark - well that’s what I do - so am I going to have one almost white and one almost black boob ??? … the mind boggles … so will OH’s eyeballs …

Hi Anita - my nails were very strong on Epi but weaker on Tax and they now break very easily. They always have! … so back to normal really

Hi Nicky08 - the ripping clothes off didn’t have much to do with how I felt about myself emotionally - more a huge physical hormonal surge that was unstoppable … let’s hope the periods don’t return in the same style … well let’s just hope they don’t return!

Well - thanks again everyone - I hope that you are all doing well - this is all “doable” as they say !
Good luck
Lots of love
FB XX

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Hi FB, Glad you are starting to feel normal again as you have had such as rough ride with your chemos. Good luck with rads. Mine start v soon as I have finished chemo too.

Rach xx

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Hi Rachy - thanks for that - well done for finishing - fab isn’t it? good luck with your rads - see you there!
love FB xx

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Hi FizBix, Margaret and friends old and new

Great to read these postings and see that you, and others, are feeling better after the chemo. I’ve not been on here for a couple of weeks as we have been away up the coast celebrating an old school friend’s 50th birthday. Just looking in to say hello and see how everyone is, but I am pleased to say that I feel I have moved on enormously, and am now looking forward with great excitement to the future. Am also very happy to say that when I wake up in the morning the fact that I have had breast cancer is no longer the first thing that springs to mind - now that’s a huge development!

A month after finishing radiotherapy I am feeling great, have a little hair which everyone says is tremendously trendy (!!), still have my nails. have nothing but slightly tanned skin to show for the radiotherapy, and seem to be fine with the Arimidex. A little stiff first thing in the morning, but it passes. Sex life looking up as well now - getting pleasure myself, as well as thinking of dear OH!! This is not in any way to play down the difficulties of the past 9 months, but just to hopefully give some encouragement to others coming along behind! I think very often those who find it relatively easy to move on after breast cancer treatment perhaps don’t come on this site much any more, and so often it can seem that most people have on-going problems and concerns as, obviously, it is they who post here most often. I know I’ll be straight back if any issues come up in the future, but just now I’m going to put my breast cancer on the back burner (and know how fortunate I am to be able to say that). Good luck everyone, and thanks for all the wonderful support and friendship. Love Sarah xx

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Hi Sarah

Lovely to hear from you and know that you are doing so well. Nice to know you’ve got some old friends out there in Oz too.

Glad the Arimidex is going well.

Looking forward to putting my BC on the back burner … or perhaps on an even lower heat in the oven!

Thanks to you and everyone else for all the support too.
Love FB xx

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Morning Fiz

it is so good (as someone still half way through) that there is light at the end of the tunnel! I was thining last night that all the posts I’m currently involved in seem to centre on hairloss, loss of taste, worry about nails etc etc, and that also, we are not posting as much - just keeping our heads down and getting on with it.

I continue to put some effort into my sex life - no more mishaps with wig or prosthesis after the dropping the lot on OH the other week - but not really interested - just need the closeness…

Keep up the good work!

Love Td xx

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Hello Everybody

I haven’t been on for a couple of weeks due to the dreaded chemo. Thank you ladies you are all truly inspirational, you all keep me going even when I don’t reply to any of the links. Just looking through when I am feeling crap and reading all the positive messageskeeps me going until I have got the strength to start replying again. I am too halfway through, having just finished last cycle of epi and cyclophosamide and due to start 1st cycle of taxotere on friday I too can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Lot of love
Emma
xxx

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Hi Fizbix and everyone
I haven’t been here for ages - been having fun on the Chit chat thread!! lol !!
I have recovered pretty well from surgery at beg July, finished chemo in May, am going for planning radiotherapy appt tom morning so will have dates fro that. Then can plan a hol somewhere … hope you enjoy hols Anita

Like seabird it has really helped being on here, not feeling on your own knowing also knowing what to expect and some of it to be expereinced but not as a surprise which for me works.

So thank you girls for helping me get through …almost…
I am hoping to lose some weight as put on about 12lb and at 5ft 1 to me thats a lot!!! Am on Tamoxifen and Bonefos (2 yrs) for secondary bone and think it may be the TAM that’s keeping the weight on.
Trying to exercise a bit and am much more active - cycling as do feel more normal. Like you FB get tired some days and the libido is still a bit lower than usual - may be phsycholgical as bc is a big thing and reading some threads gets me down but hey! still here…like you TD I like the hugs

My hair has had several positive comments its about an inch long and getting so thick - makes me realise just how much i lost - not quite all of it.
May continue on the Rads threads while going through that, but will look in again.
At the mo my hands are slightly swollen (again - end of chemo did the same thing and was told it was the menopause) havent had a period since March - bliss!
Am playing word games on chat&fun so see some of you there

bless you lot
cheers
Jan

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Hi everyone

Did some gardening!!! Have tried doing it before but just felt ill as soon as I bent down so had to stop … but I spent 2 hours on it (out of sun) and it looks positively fab … I love a “shaggy natural look” - not one for boarders me … and so it was pruning and weeding.

Gave it some chemotherapy - blue fertiliser!

Have a barnet update which I will out on the hair thread!

Glad we’re all getting through it and seeing the light!

Went for my cat scan today for radiotherapy planning and I actually said “I HAD cancer” instead of “I have it”!!! Whoppee!!!

Oh and they weighed me and i only put on a total of 9-10 lb wirh chemo - which I was pleased about - that shouldn;t take long to shift. The other 1 or 2 stone might take a bit longer!

Love to everybody

Keep it up ladies
Love FB xx

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PS Am hoping to have sex again tonight before radio next week!!! (third time in a week!!! - unheard of for years …)

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Hello Everybody

This forum really makes me smile, some of the comments are really funny. You are all briiliant.

Lots of love
Emma
xxxxx
ps how do I get on face book xx

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Hi Norma - I haven;t “smiled” this often since circa 1995!!! love FB xxx