Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday. Im having a positive day & thinking ahead to finishing chemo! As it seems that we all get told different things, I wondered if anyone else had been told to strictly not use anything with lanolin in on the area where radiotherapy will be taking place? My lovely BCN warned me about this, & also told me not to use Bio Oil moving forward (or anything oil based I believe). Just wanted to share this as I’ve been told it’s important to start prepping the skin for radiotherapy as soon as possible, and I find it therapeutic to think of the very few things I am in control of…
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Ooh thats interesting. I’ve been using bio oil to try to keep up massaging the area. I havent discussed it since my op with any health team aand actually now don’t have any contact from BC nurse or team. I seem to be now managed solely by oncology. Did they recommend what you could use? Presumably just something cream baesd no lanolin?
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@nellyh Yes exactly, anything cream based without lanolin. My BCN seemed to think Aveeno was best so I’ve been using cetaphil which I already had & just switched to Aveeno. X
Would love to know any other tips people have been given by medical staff in the ongoing drip-feed of information!
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Sorry to hear you’ve been feeling so tired and down @epic1 . I was on a similar timescale to you but I didn’t get cycle 2 on Wed as my LFTs were elevated. So I’ve to get bloods rechecked on Tues and will hopefully get treatment ok Wed. Hope you’re starting to come out the other side of the side effects soon x
Hello. Sorry to jump on this… I also had a recommendation of Aveeno but when I looked, there were so many different varieties. Did the nurse say which was best to use? I’m seeing the nurses tomorrow so will ask if I remember. Thanks. x
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I’m also using bio oil for scar tissue after surgery as told it’s best for that. But it’s when I remember rather than every day. OK I will ask my BCN too, I’ve kinda refrained from putting anything moisturiser wise on my body.
Morning all, hope everyone is doing ok?
I was just wondering about weight…since chemo started I’ve put on at least 3kg. It worries me a bit as if I continue at this rate of knots I’ll have put on 12kg by the end of treatment 
I know steroids etc won’t be helping but I can’t help worrying about potentially putting on a lot of weight - my family keep telling me off for worrying about it, saying I should be concentrating on getting through chemo and that I can lose the weight afterwards. But I’m 47 and I guess chemo will trigger menopause so I’m stressing about how difficult it will be to lose.
I’m trying to stay as active as possible but it’s difficult with depleted energy levels. I’m also trying to eat healthily but at certain points of each cycle I am just comfort eating.
I know there are more important things to worry about but ugh this is stressing me out
@sharlou some of the weight may well be water weight due to the steroids. I think you have been spinning haven’t you? Just be as active as you can and don’t beat yourself up too much x
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I believe from my BCN it is very normal & it is the steroids & my understanding is the dosage is more on EC than on taxol (hoping someone will correct me if I’m wrong but that’s what I’ve understood). - so hopefully you will get some respite from the weight gain when you make the switch.
I am also comfort eating, but have managed to find my off switch through realising I am at the top end of a banding for filgastrim dosage. But some days (like yesterday) I have no off button. We don’t have any working scales in the house so I’m trying not to think too much about it (also living in comfy clothes so I don’t have the usual barometer of oh dear my jeans are too tight! 
)
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I don’t know about the dosage sizes but I’ve put on 5kg on Taxol. My diet is exemplary, fizzing with vitamins and minerals and good things, but then I spoil it all by topping it up with biscuits and (new obsession) mince pies.
My main bugbear at the moment is my nasal passage. Apart from my nose running all the time it’s sore, raw and scabby with intermittent bleeding. This morning I’m stuffing Vaseline up it with a cotton wool bud to try to get some relief.
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Im going the other way. I’ve lost about 6kg but I think it’s my muscle mass so don’t consider it as loosing weight. My legs look awful, my arms are like spaghetti anyway so my flabby bits now just hang and look wrinkly and awful. I’d say you’d got the lesser of two evils rather be plumpscious than flabby hanging wrinkly flesh……
@magl my nose also running constantly and sometimes I can’t feel it and my husband has to tell me. But what’s coming out is like water not snot!
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@sunshineandunicorns just a little update on flying and going abroad. I masked up and used hand sanitizer through the airport and on the plane which wasn’t too bad. They asked me to remove my baseball cap when we went through the bag check, my husband was livid said I can refuse and didn’t have to do it but we went through at different times. So I did feel very exposed, didn’t make eye contact with anyone then got scanned, got stopped as it picked up my picc line. She had to get a colleague to see what to do (all without my cap on 
) had to show them and they said ok and off I went.
So all in all it wasn’t too bad. Flight OK. But sunshine is marvellous, it’s 28 degrees so I ain’t complaining. AND I just feel so normal again and relaxed. Ultimately my kiddo is having a blast and me and hubby just chillaxing. A happy few days before round 3 on Monday…….
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My Grandad always used to have a dewdrop on the end of his nose so perhaps it’s a family trait.
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If your nose is swollen or painful I recommend asking your GP for some Naseptin.
I had a really painful nose, crusty snot, some bleeding and lots of running. Once I got the Naseptin it cleared it right up and while I have a little discomfort every now and then it’s not nearly as bad. It’s an antibiotic and worked for me. If you think you want something for yours it’s worth at least asking about.
The other night I was so concerned about it rang the Helpline to ask if it was “normal”. First time I’d rung them. They suggested if it got any worse to go to A&E so someone from ENT could cauterise it. There’ll be a prescription for something-or-other when I go in tomorrow for chemo but I didn’t catch the name. I think I can hang on till then and I’m finding Vaseline very soothing - but of course it melts and adds to the runny nose.
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That’s why I avoid vaseline, I was advised to use it years before my diagnosis for my numerous seasonal allergies but it just made me want to wipe my nose more, made it run more and I kept tearing my septum cos it made me rub my nose too hard. My GP had to tell me to just stop touching my nose cos I can’t be trusted to be gentle when wiping it.
@sharlou. Some chemo regimes can put weight on (Taxanes: Paclitaxel Docetaxel) and if you’re on steroids Dexamethasone they can also put weight on.
I was always weighed at my clinic appointments to check. I still put on weight during my treatment but not enough for them to be bothered about.
As far as lanolin, I wasn’t told ‘not’ to use anything. I did use Bio Oil on my scar post surgery, there is a cheaper alternative cake Ren Gen Oil recommended by www.cancerhaircare.co.uk which is similar but so much cheaper. By the time I had my radiotherapy planning session 5 months post surgery the team were really impressed with the look of the scar and couldn’t believe it was only 5 months. I think different people recommend so many different things.
My cancer centre recommend Epaderm or similar (meaning bland fragrance free which can be prescribed or bought used for eczema so no nasties. I have lots of allergies and eczema prone skin so always have a basic moisturiser. Over the years have tried Aveeno, the daily moisturiser with green writing is the original with no fragrance like @sunshineandunicorns picture shows.
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I’ve stopped having periods when I started chemo back in August 2023 (so over 1 year now). I’d been pretty regular all my life. But I’m over 50 so my oncologist said it’s expected. Interestingly, I’ve had som bloods done 3 months ago and I’m not in menopause.
@sharlou Jumping over from august group again as I’m only a week ahead of many of you. 47 here too and I’ve gained a depressing 5kg since EC chemo began. I was overweight to begin with, but a regular gym going and pretty active generally. Docetaxel starts friday and I’ve been given 3x more steroids to take before, plus i understand there will be more for after. So more steroids for me means more insomnia, more food craving and more weight.
I’ve just resigned myself to the fact that like millions of others, my new year’s resolution will be to hit the gym hard and eat less. Cancer killing must take priority.
I was perimenopausal before cancer diagnosis, having had maybe 4 periods in previous 12 months. I’ve been having hot flushes during my treatment. Menopause can make weight harder to shift, but reducing sugar and fat intake must help.
Dreading Docetaxel on friday. EC was pretty kind to me.
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