I already checked that and I don’t…but a good tip for everyone x
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@dilly ohh so sorry.
When I bought my house my mortgage advisor sorted the insurance for me so I am grateful for that. But should be able to get Pip etc. And older age groups you can claim Attendance allowance xx
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A brief note about PIP. Please be aware that you will need help and advice when completing the forms. Unfortunately, a diagnosis of cancer does not mean you will automatically be awarded PIP.
I’m not saying people don’t get awarded PIP for breast cancer, but I would hate anyone to assume it is a foregone conclusion, or that it is an easy process to go through x
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Hi everyone
I had posted a while ago saying that my chemo was starting on the 15th and then slipped into a sense of doom about the whole thing and never updated. Silly me because I have found all the comments from you all so supportive and reassuring. My chemo went ahead last Wednesday and it wasn’t as bad as I had got myself so hyped up about. My treatment plan is 6 x Docetaxel and Carboplatin together every 3 weeks plus the Phesgo injection.
Feel proud of myself for getting through it considering how anxious I was. I had the cold cap and found the first half an hour pretty rough but then it eased with paracetamol so not too bad in the end. Side effects where pretty similar to all you ladies, extremely tired for the fist 3 days then awful nausea for a couple of days where I took myself to bed and stayed there. At the moment I’m dealing with a sore mouth but it’s bearable. Thanks for listening xx
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Hi everyone,
Just caught up on all the comments.
First chemo was Thursday and by Saturday lunchtime I was lying in an A&E cubicle waiting to be admitted for IV fluids and better anti nausea meds. At least with chemo they don’t leave you sitting in A&E with everyone else! But I was just on a trolley and they didn’t have any pillows so it wasn’t very comfortable.
The hospital care was fairly uncoordinated leading to inconsistencies in the meds I was given but they finally settled me on Ondansetron.
Now I need to find the energy to arrange a chat with my oncologist because I know I’ll have a panic attack about the next chemo session if they can’t reassure me that I want get so sick again. My actual follow up appointment is the same day as my second chemo which is so stupid as it clearly doesn’t leave enough time to review my treatment plan!
Sorry if that scares anyone waiting for their first session! I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as well so it’s possible that made the nausea worse for me
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@cooper1 how you feel is how you feel, and that’s ok x
Glad to see you again, and that you’re getting through it!
Please keep an eye on your sore mouth…I had a sore mouth and tongue (also on Docetaxel/Phesgo) and for days thought it was ‘just’ the chemo. But actually I had oral thrush, so it might be worth contacting your GP. I did an online form and included pics of my tongue and 2 mouth ulcers, and they sent across a prescription to my pharmacy very quickly, so I started treatment the same day.
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So sorry to hear that @orchid2.
It’s so important that we feel confident if we need to go to A&E. I had a poor experience in week 2 when the Chemo Helpline told me to go A&E with chest pains (it was bone pain in my sternum from Filgrastim). It’s left me very worried in case I need to go with a high temp/infection. We are going to tell the staff at my chemo tomorrow where things went wrong and how I feel.
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Thanks for the advice. I will keep an eye on it. I need to contact my GP tomorrow anyway so might be worth mentioning while I’m at it.
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Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they will give you better sickness meds next round.
I had a rough day yesterday. I was so exhausted and and in pain but my temperature spiked so i dared not take paracetamol. It normally hovers around 36.3 but went up to 37.5. I spent the whole night monitoring it and wondering whether to go to A&E. It settled around 4 am. I dont know if it could be related to the csf injection as those startee last night.
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Da da dahhhhh
2 weeks since starting Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide hair is shedding at a quick pace … not on my cold capped head but my hot little foo! 🩷
Laughed my self silly after I popped for a quick visit to the loo when I saw the state of the toilet bowl … Kim Kardashian would have been in there for resources for her new thong line!
Positive news:
Cold capping must be slowing it down on my head as no issue up top, no scalp irritation either. 
Ladies have mentioned a tingly weird scalp sensation before ‘the fall.’
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Hahaha, treat yourself to a merkin!!
My head hair seems ok, maybe a tiny bit of thining, but body hair hasn’t really grown back from shaving legs, etc. I dont mind if that’s permanent lol
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Hello, popping over from September chemo starters… just wanted to say, some people have used Vicks on their cuticles and nails - when you smell Polybalm it smells just like Vicks and vicks does have a lot of the same protective properties, so should help. Also inbetween, use hand lotion to keep your nails and cuticles moisturised, apparantly nails absorb moisture 100 times more than skin. Hope this help, good luck, Jane
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Interesting, thank you @bellbert!
A couple of days ago I noticed that the half moons have disappeared on both my hands and toe nails! I googled and apparently it’s a side effect of the Docetaxel damaging the cells in the nail matrix which disturbs the growth of the nail plate 
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