Yes thanks all , just found out that I will be having the tax after the fec. Joanna did you really mean its all downhill after the sickness ?
I was wondering if you wrote that and didn’t mean it that way ?
Everyone seems to be slightly different as to when they are sick . Did you all have people with you when having the chemo ? could you drive ok ?
I get my wig next week too . cannot imagine the day I will wear it , seems way too surreal. ( If I wasnt laughing I’d be crying ) . But I’m not being a recluse over christmas so figured I’d need a wig somewhere along the line . I’m currently doing the websites for hats etc .
Spoke to my breast care nurse today too who reassured me about a lot of things. I hate needles too , In fact a wimp all round really . My sister is a hypnotherapist so will ask her advice on visualisation and being positive about it all ( she has dental treatment without anaesthetic so it can be done !)
Interesting about the eyebrows , not all of you on fec are losing them so guess its down to dosage perhaps or hair thickness maybe?
I took OH the first time but it was very long and drawn out (9am to 5pm) due to cold cap and gemcitabine-paclitaxel so I sent him home shortly after starting the chemo. He picked me up later. All other chemos I have driven myself. I feel completely normal coming out of there except for the “stab wound” (which I tastefully decorate with a Pooh plaster.
mousy
PS My eyebrows and eyelashes did go but they started growing again a couple of cycles ago. I also started to get head fuzz and that has stayed, although all of the hair up there is very fine like baby hair. (I have cycle 8 of 8 next week)
Hi Cally,
I had 6 X FEC and like most of the other ladies have said it is very doable - for most of us anyway. I got teribly nervous before each session and would get the shakes - just couldn’t stop but the nurses were great and gave me something to keep me calm. I wouldn’t recommend driving home - you feel quite tired and it’s better to get someone else to do it if you can. Oddly I seemed to have lots of energy whilst on the chemo (must have been the steroids) and would end up baking cakes and washing the floor in the middle of the night! If you are worried about loosing youir hair try the cold cap - it is a bit of a faff but worth a try
Hope it all goes OK for you
cheers
caroline
I have just finished chemo and my boyfriend took me to every session. I had E-CMF. Personally I did not feel confident to drive myself afterwards, we live 30 mins away and the CMF tended to make me feel a little ‘spaced out’.
I hope all goes well with your wig fitting. I had 2 lovely wigs but found I was much more of a scarf person so I only ended up wearing them a handful of times! Check out an awesome american site www.headcovers.com. They do some great stuff, delivery is quick and postage is cheap considering. Many of us have found there ‘terry towelling sleep cap’ to be a godsend! Also, I am rubbush at tying scarves so bought a load of their ‘eyelet lace’ ones that come with a scrunchie!
hi cally
yes, clearly one side effect i didn’t mention was the fact that i no longer have a brain! i meant downhill in the sense of things getting esaier not that things went pear-shaped…hope that reassures!
jo
xx
I took someone along for the first 3 sessions and found it was a bit boring for them, especially as after the first session at my hospital they won’t let your friend sit with you the whole time. But since I have had 3 on my own and have coped well and not felt guilty about someone having to hang round for hours! although they do have their uses, fetching your prescriptions from the pharmacy etc! If you are very nervous, my team offer Lorazepam, a mild tranquiliser which really helps.
I get the bus home, I usually feel a little woosy so wouldn’t drive but some people feel perfectly OK and can drive.
I dreaded wearing my wigs but as I keep saying on my posts I absoloutely love them, was lucky to find a couple which look really realistic and I feel totally comfortable wearing them. I did find people staring on the couple of occasions I wore scarves and I don’t like being stared at at the best of times so that made me feel very self conscious.
I have found the Taxotere tougher than the FEC, so if you are to follow with that, investigate this board and there’ll be loads of info as to what you might expect, but as I keep saying, everyone is different.
HI , yes since browsing around it appears its the tax that gets people. I suppose what is always at the back of my mind is that the docs always say its up to you to decide what to do based on risks etc knowing thats its a pretty rough ride. I guess I have to expect it to be awful and anything else is a bonus.
Cecilia as you seem to have had the same treatment as what i will have , can I ask what your diagnosis was ?
My diagnosis was Grade II Invastive Ductal Carcinoma, around 4cm in size. I’m having chemo before surgery and am currently not sure of whether or not the lymph nodes are affected, but they will remove them and I will receive a mastectomy. The mastectomy is because of the position of the tumour which is fused to the top of the skin right under the nipple and there really is no other way round it. Initally they thought a lumpectomy but as I say that is not possible now.
I am expecting my 4th Fec this Thursday - depending on bloods!! then suppose to have another 2 then 4 x Taxotere (which I must say Im dreading)
Like other it is doable, I was only sick once that was after no two… Tiredness was the only weird side effect, it would just suddenly come on! one minute shopping next need to get home to veg out on couch! As every one advices listen to your body and drink loads of water prior and after chemo. I was dx with a grade 3 invasive BC 8 - 10cm lump! then found out last time I saw consultant that Im HER2+ so a year of herceptin… Anyway back to chemo! I do seem to have loads of energy always in week two! so I try and do the house etc before next whack! What people did not tell me was how I would feel if my bloods were low - well Im telling you this so if it happens you know that you are not the only one, I felt low because it was another delayed week but felt ok as I knew that I got a weeks break from the tiredness and the ups & downs. - which I reckon is all the yuk that pump into… On a good note it has shrunk be how much I dont know…
Well good luck let us know how you get on.
Sending cyber hugs
xx
Mel
xx
Just wanted to add a little. Been missing for a few days, as had my first taxotere on Wednesday and it has knocked me for six. But take heart, I was absolutely great on FEC (had 3 of them), no sickness, nothing really to complain about and carried on life pretty much normal, slight tiredness, but have 2 kids under 4, so blaming them.
Taxotere, was warned it would hit me like double decker bus, and it has. Although feeling bit more human tonight, hence managing to post again, and hoping that this is the turning point.
Don’t be scared though, it is all doable and you will get through it, and at least you are zapping the ba*****s as much as you can.
Hi , well I am planning to go skiing in Feb half term so lets just hope that coincides with my get up and go week . funny that when they told me I also had 1 lymph node involved (18,mm grade 2) chemo was recommended all i could think about was my holidays ! The thing is in my mind I dont have anything to zap. I know I am doing this as a belt and braces and so have been in turmoil as to whether to go for it but as it gives me the extra 5 % benefit how can I not. Still doesnt make it any easier especially when the onc says its up to you.
I have read a few posts and am absoultely horrified about people losing fingernails etc , what the hell is this stuff ! surely that cant be the norm . At least its good to be prepared and when i know I’m getting the tax i’ll be ready for it . The low blood thing that delays . is there anything at all they suggest so you can be ready or is it out of your hands totally.
I really appreciate all the replies. Am getting so much more info now i’m on the boards. I felt a bit lost before especially getting advice from people who havent been through it.
cally
this is my 1st time to this site, but i have just finished my chemo, 3 FEC and 3 taxatare. with the FEC i felt not too bad, i even told the BC nurse i felt false as i felt so good, but then i had to have a cental line fitted a day before my 1st tax. the line fitting was a bit traumatic but the tax didnt seem too bad, but by the friday my temp rose to 38oC and i ended up in hospital with an infection in my line, a case that seems few and far between, i was unlucky i guess, but the hospital staff were great and did everything they possibly could and in the end it was neoprophillia, i think thats how it s spelt, but the next chemo was put off for a week which i was devastated about as sept 12 was D day, the last day of it.
With the taxatare, i did feel weak but i followed what my body told me to do which is all you can do. that really is all the symptoms i had, i guess i really was lucky there.
I started radio on last thur, and i have 13 more to go, the thing i did realise when i went to Christie is that there seems to be a heck of a lot of people a whole lot worse off than i am, so i dont tend to feel so sorry for myself when i see them waiting for radio, although i also have cancer, there are a lot of people who have it worse.
hope it all goes well
-x- Criggy
ps. side effects of an over imaginitive mind is not sleeping!
I had my third Tax last Wednesday (after 4 x AC) - one more to go. This time I am feeling loads better, mainly due to the fact that my mouth is (as yet!) only mildly affected. (The doc prescribed Fluconazole, as well as mouthwashes - I should have started taking it the day after chemo, but didn’t read the instructions until day 4!) Am still really tired and weak, but it was the ‘mouth thing’ that used to really get me down, as I love my food! Fingers crossed, next one will be the same. Even managed to run around the garden with the kids yesterday for half an hour - making the most of the mild weather.
I am half way through my treatment now - just about to change from EC to Tax. I lost most of my eyelashes a couple of weeks ago and although falsies take a bit of practise (I was late for work every day for a week!) I can now get them on in minutes and they look better than my own did before. If you do lose yours, I would recommend Eyelure Naturalites and always carrying the glue with you in case one tries to escape
I haven’t felt too bad so far. Not sick at all but do take all of the medicine and make sure you tell your onc about ANY side effects, no matter how trivial it seems. They can give you something for just about anything. The worse thing for me has been feeling emotional a few days after each chemo and feeling spaced out but I think it helps if you know what to expect and why it’s happening…
Also - more positive stuff - I had my halfway ultrasound last week and they couldn’t even see the lump. So it’s all worthwhile!
It was 2.5cm to start with and I’ve had 4 x EC so far. The lovely doc who did the scan said she’d never seen anything like it (or not seen in my case!)
I should mention though, I was speaking to another lady at a support group last week and her lump hasn’t shrunk at all. Apparently you shouldn’t worry if that happens because they often find that it’s just a mass of dead cells in surgery.
Just to add my two pennies worth. I had 3 FEC and only had nausea and vomiting with the first one and felt pretty grotty for a few days. Moved on to Taxotare for the final 3 and due to have 5th session this Thurs. Once the side effects start to lift they go fairly quickly ( appart form daily diarrhoea for about a week!) Rest when you can and accept as much help as you can get for the practical things. Childminding, ironing, everything.
The hair loss was definately the worst of the worst, but believe me, I felt a huge sense of relief when I had it shaved off. Then you can take control. I usually wear scarves as my wig itches.My eyebrows and eyelashes have thinned but so what! This is a temporary thing. Keep that in mind as much as possible.
thanks , still nervous (who isn’t ) but have gotten into acceptance mode now that have to deal with it.
My wig lady didnt recommend eyelashes as she said the glue would irritate my eyes so am glad there have been positive experiences and will definitely look into that company.
