Beautiful, love your jacket with your dress xxx
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Sorry to hear you have had a bad week, hopefully next week will be better. Jane x
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Oh noo I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s such a rollercoaster @story1
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Haha thank you - a hm quickie to cover the picc really 
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@emsd2025 - beautiful wedding photos!! Lovely autumnal theme.
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I’m feeling the chemo side effects this week - today is day 8 after my 3rd fortnightly EC. I’ve had a sore throat and annoying dry cough since yesterday, mouth ulcers, heart burn. A tiny bit of pain in my hip and pelvis which I know is the bone marrow being produced in response to the filgrastim. This is my low point symptom wise and I’m feeling it. Managed to do trick or treating yesterday. My daughter is still very clingy and wanting me to stay with her even though she has her 18 year old honorary big sister here so I’ve had to compromise but not getting as much rest as I’d hoped.
She has a little Halloween party at my sister’s tomorrow and then back to school on Monday - I have a nap scheduled for 9 am Monday morning!
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Hope you’re doing ok @anim4l
Thank you so much - it was a gorgeous day
Thanks @emsd2025 , still here!
Today has been a bit tough with the side effects, tiring and sore from coughing . I now also have discoloured nails to add to the mix, but it’s also been a good day in many other ways - lovely green lunch out with the girls, some baking ready for tomorrow’s Halloween party - my own Halloween horror nails…
@emsd2025 Beautiful photos, you look stunning. Congratulations. So happy for you.
And another milestone to celebrate tomorrow - number 6 – halfway through our first phase! . Good luck and hope it goes smoothly for you.
@anim4l Hope you are feeling better today and the side effects are improving. I was told dark nail polish can help protect with sensitive nails. Not gel etc just water based nail polish. Not exactly sure why or if it actually works, I will try to find out. I hope you get your blood results sorted so you can get copies easily without any added hassle for you.
@story1 Hope you are having a good weekend after a tough week. had shedding the week before last but I have had more shedding this week and I am 2-3 weeks behind you. So I am starting to get a little concerned about my hair. I am not sure if it is part of the expected shedding with a cold cap or if it is that it is not working for me? I am sticking with it and seeing what happens this week.
Good luck to all having treatment this week xx
Feeling stronger today, @cathie2 the torso pain has gone now. Only 1 more of all 3 drugs together (18 Nov) meanwhile just tax in between which feels like relief. Then onto EC in dec. I think I’ve just accepted that I was going to lose most hair at some point but the cap just delayed it. I can still get away with it but not for long I don’t think. A friend came to see me yesterday and cooked for the whole family then we all went to DFS and chose a new sofa with me in a wheelchair, I was that weak, but it was pure comedy, such a lovely day xxx
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@story1 - I’m so sorry that the chemo has been so brutal. Well done for getting to DFS - even in the wheelchair. My sofa is from DFS. I bought it 9 years ago when grey was really in and all the sofas were grey - I don’t like grey and want a duck egg blue sofa but this DFS sofa appears to be indestructible - it looks brand new after nearly a decade so I hope your new sofa serves you similarly well
I had an injury last year and wasn’t able to walk - I hired a mobility scooter at Merlin theme parks so I could still do that - it’s an option at lots of shopping centre too but only Monday - Friday around here - it’s in my armoury for if/ when I need it - my fitness is definitely taking a kicking on chemo…
Hi everyone. Thanks @cathie2 that’s so lovely of you, it was such a lovely day! I’m shedding more too now sigh, I don’t know how long it will last but it’s great that tomorrow will be number 6 for us both. So glad to hear you’re feeling stronger today @story1!
Hope you’re feeling better @anim4l - I’ve been using polybalm on my nails, which I found recommended on one of the threads here, and it seems good. Also my friend recommended painting them dark too so been trying that.
Hi all,
Weekly update number 5. (Regime of weekly paclitaxel and herceptin every 3 weeks). Had treatment number 5 on Tuesday- taxol only.
Effects of herceptin the week before still being felt I think - mostly a sluggish belly - lots of fruit and water seems to keep me ok. (Am keen to help my liver by having as few drugs as possible as my liver is showing some out of range bloods with chemo.) I’m also anaemic. My favourite remedy for low iron and sluggish bowels is dark chocolate dipped cherries! Tastes lovely - dark chocolate is good for iron, cherries are good for vitamin c and fibre and are purported to be anti cancer too! 
Rest of week have just been really tired, so resting lots and doing very little by way of exercise, housework etc. some self care slippage too - but that’s picked up again days 4,5.
Neuropathy still better than it has been.
Hair, seem to be shedding odd hairs more and hairline receding a little, but not too bad.
Biggest issue has been emotional this week. I just got utterly fed up and weepy - think the weepy is understandable given situation, feeling generally crap and useless and I’m pretty sure the treatment itself causes some of it - I seem to be weepy every week around days 4,5. This Tuesday I’ll be half way through - I’m hopeful that will give me a general lift.
I’ve been spending a fair bit of this weekend thinking about the things I want to do when chemo (and probably radiotherapy) is over….i think it’s going to be really important to have things to look forward to - am thinking some art and craft courses, afternoon tea somewhere special, a zip wire run and maybe some wild swimming - we’ll see.
I’m very grateful for this forum and think you are all amazing. Hearing about wedding and general adventures, and wins is really uplifting. Thank you all.
Sending love and strength to you all xx
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One top tip - yet another expense!
The chemo nurses asked me to monitor my blood pressure for a week. I’ve been having my bp done on picc side forearm - still have a seroma on operated side and even though only a sentinel node biopsy - I don’t want to do anything to risk lymphoedema.
On the unit, they’ve been using same cuff as they do for upper arm……
I’ve had some alarmingly high readings at home (I had measured my forearm and it just about fit within the cuff range at its widest point). So, the reading this morning was un-ignorable, so called chemo unit hotline. They called out of hours gp - who was brilliant. Called me very quickly, took a good history etc.
They weren’t convinced by the readings- got me to retake and other half to do his own in case of general issue with my machine. Own readings were even higher. So they persuaded me to do one reading on my operated arm - totally fine! They’ve advised me to get a wrist bp machine (£27 off Amazon) and forget about using existing machine for now. District nurses will be checking bp manually in the morning anyway (has always been fine with them).
What pisses me off is that these false high readings have given me anxiety all week. I was asked to take them because I’ve been complaining of dizziness and weakness with mild exercise and attributing it to my low iron levels - but the nurses reckoned it was my bp - based on the readings they were getting on the ward, which will also be higher than true because they’re not using the right cuff!
I’ll be raising a little bit of hell about this at the unit come Tuesday and I’ll take my own bp machine in to prove the point.
Anyhoo - the tip is for anyone using picc arm for bp readings- make sure they use a wrist cuff on unit etc xx
Hello ladies. Long time no speak. I have been lurking. I’m sorry for anyone having a difficult time with it all. And I hope it eases for you soon. Big congratulations on the wedding @emsd2025 you look beautiful. And such good news for anyone with confirmed shrinking 
so happy for you.
Round 3 is on Tuesday if all is ok bloods wise. Managed to get into work for half days last week. I seem to be a write off for at least 7 days after chemo days. Sick feeling day 2 onwards. Horrid taste in my mouth, swollen mouth. Tired and spaced out/fuzzy head days 3-5. Spent 2 hours on one of those days staring at my feet. Struggled eating again. Ended up getting an infected belly button of all things so had to nip to the out of hours GP who put my gp to shame. She was so lovely and put my mind at ease about my anti sickness tablets where my gp really put me off having them. Ended up throwing up the night before aswell because I have a horrid brain which likes to associate things to feeling sick. I have managed to like feeling sick to my injections… all 7 of them. Even tho they dont actually make me sick.
And then the crying started and feeling low. Really spiralled this weekend into bad thoughts. As much as Tiktok has helped me see people going through the same treatment wise at the same time its also thrown some others in the mix that really scared me. And head wise I’m not the best at keeping those thoughts out so time for me to come off it.
Instead I’m staring an after cancer list of all the things I want to do once treatment is over with. Holidays, days out, house.
MRI on Wed the day after round 3 chemo. Results the week after.
Love to you all xxxx
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The after treatment list is going to help me through too.
Even little small things will be added to the list.
One thing I’m really looking forward to is having a little tipple of wine - easy peasy to achieve and I know I’ll enjoy it with one of my favourite meals.
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@emsd2025 - I’ve broken out the poly balm sample I got in my cancer care pack from the hospital. I cannot believe how expensive it is! £50 for 2 tiny tubes! have one tube I’ll reserve for my finger nails as my toe nails seem fine - I wonder if it’s UV exposure that makes the difference as my toes have been in socks since before I started chemo on 26 Sept. I’m seeing the oncologist tomorrow so will keep my nails naked to show him and then paint them tomorrow night.
I’ve looked at the ingredients , I make my own candles so I have beeswax, lavender oil and eucalyptus oil in the house anyway , so I may be making my own version when it runs out! I moisturise my hands about 10 times a day with cetraben anyway so I think I have moisture covered…
@buggeringon - thanks for the tip about the wrist blood pressure monitor.
I bought an oxygen monitor and a blood pressure monitor after my first EC chemo - in hindsight I think I was reacting to the steroids - but it’s just another cancer expense and it’s all adding up.
Getting fed up of it all!
Going to start icing hands and feet for next EC chemo - did t think that was necessary until I started paclitacel but the link I’ve posted about seems to indicate icing is helpful to preserve the nails too
@molly.m - good idea to start a post cancer list! On my list are lots and lots of foreign travel, I’ve been booking theatre tickets from May 26 onwards (I finish chemo in Feb 26 so I think that will give me time to have my mastectomy and node clearance, and for my immunity to improve. I’ve just booked with a friend who is a die hard Bon Jovi fan to see them at Wembley Stadium in September 26 . I was supposed to be going to a concert at Wembley Stadium in December 25 but there is no way I can go, I doubt I’ll get a refund on the tickets too but will try.
I’m also going to see the Tracey Emin and Frida Kahlo exhibitions at the Tate modern in 2026 - and planning once my immunity is recovered to be doing lots of indoor things, especially in central London (I’ve been advised by the chemo nurses to avoid public transport, theatres, art galleries , cinemas - anywhere unventilated and crowded).
Also on the post chemo list is ABBA voyage …
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Hope you’re feeling a bit brighter today x