Hello everyone
Thanks for the info Annie it’s good to share.
Been shopping today nightmare of hair falling out everywhere so like you Dianne I’m having it shaved off I didn’t think I would but honestly it gets everywhere and I fear for my plumbing if it all falls off in the shower.
Hop along and remel I hope it went well today, petran glad you are feeling well, good luck for tomorrow Testrix íthinking of you all on this long journey of ours xxx
Evening all, 2nd chemo went like a dream through my new PICC line, blood results had improved well. The only problem was busy chemo unit I was booked in at 130 but didn’t get my chemo until 415 then 2 hours on top for cold cap made it a very long afternoon arrived home at 715. I have my chemo with saline. Don’t think I will be cold capping for number 3 as falling out thick and fast constant stream on shoulders and lots when I washed last night it’s last wash until next Thursday. I have already got a wig and am becoming a dab hand at scarf tying. I have a small bald patch and psychologically would rather be bald than have large patches here and there. I also feel better that I have tried the cold cap than been wondering what if.
Hello everyone
i haven’t put anything on here for a while but have read all the posts today. You are all coping so well though it sounds like everyone is coping with various levels of sickness and headaches. I find it so helpful to read everyones accounts especially when I’m feeling lonely in the middle of the night. The single parent thing requires constant upbeat approach to reassure my son so at night I feel it more acutely when all my suppressed fears come flooding in.
I’m having second FEC tomorrow and they have agreed to try emend after my very poorly time last time. However I will not wait it out so long before calling out Devon Drs if I’m poorly for anti sickness injection this time. Fingers crossed it won’t be so bad. Talked to my oncologist about supplements I’ve read some Interestting stuff about various mushroom extracts that claim to inhibit tumour growth and boost immune
system but she was not keen for any supplements whilst going through treatment. Have any of you seen anything like this?? Or discussed diet with oncologists?
My hair has all been clipped off and I’m in hats boy have I got an itchy head the relief to take the hat off ! My son thinks I look like a gangster! Wig being sorted tomorrow but my mum has been knitting, a stress response I think, shortly I will be able to wear a different one every day!
Lots of hugs and positive thoughts to you all.
Oh my story, I was referred into the hospital on my 49th birthday.
I have a Multi focal Invasive ductal ca Grade 3 her 2+ er+ in left side 5.5 cm, (how could I have not noticed that) and Ductal ca insitu on right. So 8 chemos for me then bilateral mastectomy then radiotherapy, all whilst dealing with my recent separation, (husband of 26 yrs left me for a 27 yr old woman) and my traumatised but fantastic 12 yr old son. Life could be better me thinks!!!
Stiill positives are the ca hasn’t spread, amazingly,so we are going for cure! I’m still here and kicking.
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Good morning ladies, I’m just dropping in on you from the November group from last year. It is hard toget my head round the fact that a year has passed !
I was dx in August of last year, had a lumpectomy followed by full lymph node removal then 3 Fec, 3 tax & 5 weeks of radiotherapy. All my treatment finished in May this year & I’ve just had my first mammogram which was clear. I’m still not back at work as I love being at home with my 6 yr old son. I will go back at some point but really don’t want to.
Last weekend the November ladies had a meet up at a spa hotel & how lovely to actually meet up. I have to say that without these groups I don’t think I could have got through this last year. We have a Facebook group too which has been amazing as there is a bit more freedom to post & you can share pictures of all sorts. It is a closed & private group so easy to have a good private rant about anything - most favoured topic I think has been awful mother in laws, awful husbands but also lovely stuff too.
I’m sorry you are all here but just want to say that all of the is not as bad as I thought & you can all get through this. I cold capped throughout all 6 treatments & kept most of my hair, I never needed to wear my wig and I think a lot of people didn’t even know I was ill as I always managed school runs, shopping etc.
I just want to say that I’m happy to give advice to any of you for anything no matter how daft you may think it is as I and a huge group of amazing ladies from the NNs 2013 are almost out the other side of this awful situation
Sending lots of love
Sam xxxxxx ???
Hi Everyone. I’m new to the forum, posted my first post today and was kindly directed to this thread by a moderator. What an amazing lot you all are. Reading all your posts has made me less anxious about what is ahead.
I am on day 8 of first fect and know that from today my journey is going to be a lot easier due to me finding all of you.
Mashie x
day 9 - good bits - no more injecting myself in the stomach every night 
headaches v nearly gone managed a bike ride and gave a massage yesterday
not quite so good bits - v sore mouth - have to cool everything before I eat it & the buttered marmite on toast appeals to the taste buds but not the conduit!!! :( bone ache ;(
Overall - glad I’m keeping a SE diary - will def make next cycle less of a daily surprise…
Hugs to all
PS i’ve pm’d sam about setting up a closed FB group so that it can be there as an option for those who might like to share anything away from the public forum - but no worries if it’s not your thing - & I will keep posting on here too
Morning all - I’ve now set up a closed group on FB for our November newbies which you are welcome to join. If you PM me with your FB contact details I’ll add you
Monday morning ponderings…
Back/ pelvis/ hip ache from WBC growth promoter - advice - nice warm baths help
hot foot from chemo drugs - advice - keep them cool, no long baths
Does anyone else lie in a nice warm bath with their feet either dangling over the side or on the cool porcelain just under the taps? :smileywink:
Any more?
I keep nipping in on you & yes Clare ! I love a really hot bath but as soon as I’m in it I start itching & feet come out shortly followed by all of me !!! ???
I keep wanting to take a bath but can’t with piccline. I think I want it more just because I can’t so I’m glad to hear that it’s not 100% enjoyable 
Hope the aches settle!
Petran some of our girls with picc lines wrapped their arms in cling film so they could have a bath xxxxxx
Hello everyone
Day 6 post 2nd chemo and starting to get back to normal. No vomiting this time but felt hideous for 3 days stayed in bed. Aches from gcsf injections and just starting to eat again. Thank goodness for my wonderful parents looking after me and my son. How I would get through this without them ( they are in their 70s and travelling down from northumberland to Devon every 2 weeks) I really don’t know.
Positive thoughts to everyone.
Welcome to you Mashie sorry you have joined us on this journey.
I expect all of us are now focusing on Christmas IVe worked out ive got just over 2 weeks to do everything before being incapacitated again. My next one is 17th December and should be up and about by the big day. I do hope none of you are too near Christmas.
Happy planning everyone
As my mouth has been a bit sore, but my appetite is coming back, I wanted a snack/ nibble that was full of good stuff nutritionally, easy to eat & tasted good - so yesterday I concocted this - & it ticks all the boxes
20g coconut oil
100g dates
360g stewed apple (weight once stewed - didn’t think to weigh before cooked !!)
50g sultanas
20g hazelnuts
20g almonds
20g brazil nuts
150g oats
40g sunflower seeds
1 tspn cinnamon
1 tspn ground ginger
I’ve got lots of windfall apples, so peeled, cored & chopped some into a pan, added some water and cooked until a puree consistency, took it off the heat & then added the sultanas so they started to plump up.
Then I chopped the dates, added the coconut oil & 2 tablespoons of water & heated it until the coconut oil melted & the dates were like a thick paste.
I added the apple mix to the date paste & left it, while i whizzed the 3 types of nuts together in a blender so i got sort of a nutty powder with a few bigger bits in - but nothing that would need crunching.
Added the oats and sunflower seeds and spices to the puree mix, and the nuts in there too.
Good mix to coat all the oats & then pressed it into a 7" square silicon baking ‘tin’. I cooked it for about 30 mins at 170 degrees C (because that was what the other thing in the oven needed cooking at - but it could probably have done with a little less time at a higher heat.)
Cut into 24 pieces (only 80 calories a square by my calculations).
It is soft, very slightly chewy, the sultanas are explosions of joy and I know it’s good for me no sugar too :) You could do lots of variations - use figs or prunes instead of dates, mash some banana up instead of some of the apple…
Anyway - hope it might help someone who is craving something nice with their cuppa
Hello, thank you Sam for your positive post. I’m on day 4 of cycle 2 and feeling very tired, not as nauseous as last time. Using cold cps and took the advice of painkillers half hour before. First time I suffered a five day headache although that might also be down to wine withdrawal !!! This time no headache or dizzy do far. Still lost some hair and whet I’ve got looks dull and lifeless. Got a lovely wig for those bad hair days! Gotta keep going xx
Testrix, I take paracetamol with my pre chemo dose of Emmend so about an hour before to help with the cold cap.
I narrowed my wig choices down to 2, one nhs so yes approx £65 the other private approx £200 and had decided to wait and see what happened with cold cap, but ended up getting a wig through the hospital when I was in with sepsis. It is the NHS one I had chosen earlier but ended up getting it for free because I was. an inpatient. So a £65 saving for me was a bonus so said thank you very much and took it home.
It may be worth talking to your chemo unit staff because I can also get an NHS wig through them without paying the £65 fee, because it is something that my health authority are willing to pay for, but someone who is having chemo 20miles away in a different health authority has to pay the NHS fee.
Are you in simply health or something similar because they will give me 1/2 the money back should I decide I want the private wig at a later date. Hope that helped C
I had my first cycle of chemo last thursday ( I think I am on the cusp of the November and December starters), and am working my way backwards through the threads to see whats in store for me. Feeling “perculiar” at the moment, have a nasty cold and my throat feels like the bottom of a parrots cage. As for indigestion - don’t go there!
Which day after chemo did everyone feel their lowest at?..I was told day ten …which is this coming weekend, and I have arranged ( ages ago) to go away…
Also, I am in Scotland, and I was just reading about the wigs. Am I right in thinking that you English ladies only get a contribution, not the full whack of the cost of a wig?.. outrageous if thats the case.
Going to get some more lemsip…and another hot water bottle…
Mrs M
Quick tip 
For horrid mouths I found lemon mint riccola a godsend xxxxxxx
Love Sam ?