Just found this site tonight and it’s great to see all the terminology like FECs and everything from people who are going through the same thing!
I was diagnosed in October and have just started (last week) 3 sessions of FEC which will be followed by 3 sessions of FEC-T. Then hopefully the lump will have shrunk and they will operate on it. I do have cancerous cells in the lymph nodes but nowhere else (thank God) and so far have managed to keep very positive, thanks to a wonderful family and great friends. They say they will give me another MRI after the 2nd, 4th and 6th treatment to see how the shrinkage is going!
I didn’t feel too bad physically after the first treatment last week but my mind was definitely doing strange things. I felt tired but couldn’t sleep, felt hungry so ate, then felt nauseous, then felt hungry again, sat down, stood up, sat down again, paced the room… did anyone else feel like this?
Anyway, great to have found you all. I pray for myself and each and every one of you.
Hi Mabeline, sorry u have to join us but welcome. Sounds like u have a good support network which is great. I’ve had my ops & had FEC number 4 last week. I think it’s a different kind of tiredness on chemo, im sometimes so tired but sleep evades me, don’t think the steroids help, they certainly make me eat far too much as well!. No one day is the same & i never know how im going to feel when i get up in the morning, nothing is normal but so far it’s been tolerable for me & i haven’t had too many nasty SE’s. Several people on here have had chemo first to shrink the tumour so im sure someone will be along in the same boat as u. This is a great site for info & support, i’ve found out more info from here than anywhere else. Good luck with your treatment x
Hi HJV123. Glad to hear it’s the steroids that make you hungry. I have been eating much more than usual, but haven’t put on any weight. Like you, I have days where I feel almost normal and other days when I feel a bit down. Did you find that you felt a bit worse with each session of the FEC?
Today I went to pick my NHS wig and was very pleasantly surprised at the great selection they had. My hair hasn’t started falling out yet but I keep expecting it to! The funny thing is, the hair seems to have fallen out on my legs, which are perfectly smooth! You see, there is an upside to breast cancer. You don’t have to shave your legs and you can eat loads of Cadbury’s Roses and not gain weight
Hi Maybeline, I was diagnosed last Nov, I had 4 FEC then had 3 docetaxel, followed by lumpectomy and lymph node clearance and 23 radiotherapy sessions. I was terribly sick after the first chemo so changed my antisickness drugs, wasnt too bad but still sick after the second but then ok after the next 2, docetaxel didnt make me sick, just had aches and pains in all joints about day3 after chemo. I suffered from peripheral neuropathy terribly so they cancelled my 4th dose of docetaxel and went ahead with surgery. This made my fingers extremly painful and my feet too. Not everyone suffers though. My tumour shrunk by half during chemo and I also had MRI scans during treament to see how it was doing. I knew that the chemo was working and this helped me on the bad days. This then meant I had a lumpectomy rather than mx. The steroids did keep me awake, depsite taking the last one at 2pm each day, as advised by the nurse. My hair started to fall out 3 weeks after the first chemo, then about a week after that I shaved it all off as couldnt bear waking up to seeing it all over my pillow! Im now back at work feeling great, you will get through this, despite having days of feeling awful. sorry you have to join us on here and Im thinking of you x Ness x
Great to read your post and hear that you are back at work and enjoying your life. I was really glad to hear that your tumour shrunk and that you only needed lumpectomy rather than a full MX. Hope you don’t mind me asking, but what size was your tumour, and what size did it shrink to? Mine is currently 4.3cm and I understand it has to go below 2cm if a MX is to be avoided. That is what I am hoping for, so fingers crossed. Has your hair grown back fully now, and if so, did it come through a different colour or texture?
Hi all
I too am encouraged by your posts. I was diagnosed in October and am having chemo first the surgery. My chemo is Docataxel (taxotere) plus Avastin. I’m due for my 3rd cycle on Monday 5 dec. after my first cycle I was plagued by severe joint pain nausea etc and ended up in hospital with neutropaenia. This was the first time I actually contemplated my diagnosis. For my second cycle they reduced b dose by 10% and added G-CSF injections. Whislt I have still experienced side effects like chronic constipation (embarrassingly even had to manually help myself “go”) then the other extreme, diarrhoea, resulting in painful piles. Not to mention nose bleeds, painful fingers and toes/feet, tiredness and lethargy, but it’s not been half as bad as the first cycle. This last week has been a breeze. I lost my hair during the 3rd week of chemo, admittedly I shaved it’s as I couldn’t bear it falling out in clumps. Eyebrows getting thinner but still a nice shape. Shame I always look flushed and have dry skin.
I’m due to have FEC for cycles 4,5&6 and am not sure what side effects to expect, presumably more of the same. When i’m “in” that bad period it’s hard to focus on the positive but just try and tell myself it will get better, it will get better and eventually it will.
I may need radiotherapy after chemo and then having bilateral mastectomy after that.
Anyway, I’ve lost my train of thought now - get easily distracted these days.
Sharon :-))
Hiya, I had a tumour of 4.5cm, it shrunk to approx 2.1cm after chemo. Hair is growing, albeit a bit slow at the mo! it started to come back slowly from may onwards, April was my last chemo, but I still wore my wig up until August. When I went back to work in September, I work with children, I decided not to wear a wig so the children got used to seeing me with short hair and so glad I did, even though they commented it was very short! Its the same colour, although its coming through with a little curly, it was straight before. I havent had it cut yet, not really enough although may have it trimmed in a couple of weeks time. Sharon, I too had terrible constipation, several times I was on the toilet in tears, I was recommended to take something from the day of chemo. I suffered from piles, crikey oh yes I did! my eyebrows went very thin and still havent completely come back but about 80% there. eyelashes came back around August time I suppose. I too had nose bleeds, severe pains after climbing the stairs even, had to stop at the top for 5 minutes before continuing so I know what yuou are going through Sharon, Just keep thinking that those drugs are doing their stuff and I know its hard sometimes but you will get through this and get back to normal, thinking of you both Ness xxxx (sorry if Ive rambled a bit!)
Sharon, really sorry you felt so bad after your Tax. You are doing it the opposite way around from me. I’m having the FEC first and my last three sessions will be Tax. It’s bad enough having to deal with our diagnoses let alone having to cope with all the other symptoms as well. No wonder we feel down sometimes! I just keep thinking what a strong bunch of women we are though and that when we get better we will put that strength to good use. Well Ness, you already are putting it to use by helping us who have yet to go through it all! I had a lovely card from a dear friend who’s nearly 80 this week and she said she began her “journey” (like that) 21 years ago and that she’s had difficult times but also it has enriched her life. She’s still going strong, so that is very heartening!
Ness, your lump was almost the same size as mine, so here’s hoping I get the same outcome as you.
Mxx
