Hi Lola,
I’ve been following your posts on here. I am also being treated at Burnley as I live in Todmorden. I had a mastectomy on 28th Feb and am now awaiting an oncology appt (hopefully on 26th March). I have grade 2 IDC with high grade DCIS with suspected microinvasion. I am ER+ PR- and HER2+. I have been told that I will have chemo and Herceptin. My OH and myself are taking off to France on Sunday for a 9 day break before treatment starts! I need to recharge my batteries after having a rough few weeks which I suspect are going to get a lot rougher when I start treatment! I’m also having genetic testing as my sister and late grandmother had ovarian cancer. It would be nice to talk to others who are having similar treatment x
FEC75 Cycle 1 Day 11
Well, I’m still full of beans OH doesn’t know what’s going on! Long may it last.
Well done to Christins and Karen for getting through your First session May your SE’s be minimal too.x
I asked my Breast care nurse regarding Path report etc, and she said that as a rule they don’t give them out because if it goes astray, it doesn’t say “patients copy” on them and it would reflect badly on them. But she did tell me i could get all the information through PALS at the hospital, just to ask for a copy of all my notes. I’m going to do that because I’ll need a copy for when I go to Spain anyway.
I hope everyone is keeping their spirits up How are MM, Jude & Mrs B doing today?
Have a great weekend
Angela x
Hi Angela,
I’m surprised with what the breast nurse said about port, does she mean going missing on your notes? I had mine fitted yesterday and I’m glad I did as I really wouldn’t cope with it in my hand every time I had to go and I’m only having 4 x TC I do have bad veins and bruised really badly when they inserted a line. If it’s something you want I really would push for it as it is a lot easier. I had the same horrible burning in my throat last night which kept me awake. My breast nurse advised gaviscon so I bought the strawberry flavour chewable tablets and I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to stomach the liquid form. I said I will call her on Monday if it’s not improved and they will write me a prescription out for help.
Hope those ladies who have recently started are doing ok and SE are minimal for you all. I’ve had an ok day today (day 1) but stopped steroids today so waiting to hit the pit maybe tomorrow or Sunday. I had to have an Injection today the OH did that for me bless him, he didn’t want to but I’m worse with needles than he is so he’s now got the job 
Lisa x
Hi MamakaZ
I am also being treated in Burnley. Had mastectomy on 8 Feb because of small grade 3 tumour and large high grade DCIS, followed by node clearance on 5 March because of micromets in 1 node - no more cancer found, fortunately. Seeing oncologist next Tues - chemo + Herceptin. There is a thread for those starting chemo in April which may be useful. There is also an east Lancs group (including Tod???!)
Have a wonderful time in France! We are planning a week in the Lakes before I start chemo - it is rather too much to take in without a break, isn’t it?!
All the best
Wendy x
Hi Mamakaz,
Small world! Todmorden is my second home … I am heavily into family history and as my dad and his entire ancestry were from Tod (mainly Walsden) I spend many hours “grave digging” round the area (not literally of course!!!). There is a thread for Burnley Hospital people in the “in your area” section. I have my pre-chemo talk on Monday and a chat with the oncologist who wants another word about my treatment. We may end up being chemo and herceptin buddies. My dx isn’t quite the same as yours - grade 3 IDC with high grade DCIS, clear nodes, hormone neg and HER2+++. I had a lumpectomy. Please feel free to PM me if you want. Have a wonderful holiday in France. It will do you so much good.
Take care, Linda xxx
Hey marchies, just been catching up with everyone’s posts. I’ve spent four days in hospital with cluster migraines caused by the white blood count injection! I can’t believe I’ve tolerated the chemo so well but the meds for the side effects have made me ill!! Now on cyclixine for the nausea which is brilliant but I do have a strange feeling in my mouth like its coated in something, it’s not put me off my food though! No hair loss yet and I’m post chemo by 8 days, if anything my legs look like my teenage sons, I really hope I’m not one of the rare few who grow more body hair, that really would be unfair! does anyone have a slightly muzzy feeling in they’re head? I’m a bit concerned about driving. can you drive whilst having chemo?
Well my first impressons of chemo SE’s - like a hangover without any of the fun of the night before.
The actually process of the chemo was straight-forward, about 1hr 45 mins beginning to end.
Didn’t start feeling sickly until 4 hours after and took anti-sickness tablet which worked well. Did sleep well until 1.30am and then was sick. However slept well after that. Am currently lazing in bed. Myhead is a bit fuzzy and only want to eat toast, so again very much like a hangover. Except that this time OH is sympathetic and making the toast 
So far, so good.
Lola - small world. I live in keighley but am from Burnley. As they are near prehaps we could meet up at some point. Maybe you too Mamakaz?
Take care everyone
Dianne
Hello All
Had my port-a-cath fitted yesterday, standard practice for chemo patients here in France. It was done in theatre under local, which was not pleasent but I got through it - putting the cannula in the vein gave me rapid palpitaions which was a bit scary, but I was pre-warned it may happen.
I came home exhausted, but I think it was more a lack of sleep than the proceedure that caused that. Slept like one of Angela’s logs last night though! Feels like I’ve been punched in the collar bone today, so I’m taking it easy 
Going for an ECG etc Monday then count down till Friday and first FEC.
Mrs B Glad your over the 1st hurdle, well done - looks like you’ll be starting a Northern BCC club with Linda and Wendy - strength in numbers 
Take care one and all
Suzy
Hi Suzy - I don’t like the sound of that procedure one bit! I am having mine fitted soon, next week hopefully. We get a local and sedated. Were you sedated? No-one has mentioned palpitations at this end.
Calais - sorry to hear you were in Stalag, and what a bummer that is was caused by the very thing intended to keep you out of hospital!
Dianne - try taking the anti sickness tablets straight away before you start to feel sick. They work better that way as a preventative rather than a cure, but remember to take constipation medication at the same time! I’m sure we can arrange some sort of meet up
Hope you are all having a peaceful weekend with minimal side effects xxxxxxxxxx
Linda please don’t be worried about the port inplant. The sensation was very brief and although a tad sacry it passed without drama. I think all these intervetions are just a thing we have to get through and I gather some ports are placed in the arm, which probably don’t have the same effect. In the long term I understand that a port makes it so much easier to deliver chemo. I was given a pre-med which made me very relaxed, like a big gin and tonic, then local anesthsia around the site which took effect very quickly. All over in about 20 mins.
xx suzy
Hi Suzy, Diane! Lola , Mamakaz
I’m dipping in here from the April thread and will probably need a portacath - bit less keen on having it fitted now! Whereabouts in la belle France are you, Suzy? We go nearly every year and have occasionally discussed moving there…
I think an east Lancs/west Yorks meet up would be great at some point. (I live in Burnley but work in Bradford so am well used to crossing the border!)
Enjoy the rest of the weekend. 
Take care
Wendy x
Hi Wendy,
We are in the Limousin between Limoges and Toulouse. I had no intention of putting the frighteners on a port-a-cath!
I was really just a wierd sensation, quickly over and I feel hunky dory now 
well perhaps a little bruised but its done and dusted.
Bon courage! xx
Thanks very much AngelaG for your encouragement, so far day 2 has been good, I woke up so delighted that I felt normal and was singing with joy! I managed to eat breakast and go food shopping. I still can’t believe I’ve had my first chemo, good luck with your treatment, it really makes a difference knowing we’re all on the same rollercoaster ride and not alone.
Karen x
FEC 75 Starting 21 Mar
Angela and Karen, so glad to hear that you’re coping so well with the chemo. Twinnumber1 are you feeling any better? What about you Christine?
Angela, they should give a you a copy of your pathology report. It’s your right. I got a copy of my first pathology report from my surgeon. Called BC nurse a few days ago for my post surgery pathology report n she said she’ll send it to me.
Lola, Diane, Mamakaz, Linda, envious that you might meet up. Anyone near Southampton or Winchester?
suzy52, good to hear that you are fine with portacath fitting. Over here, I’ve been told that if my veins are no good they would try fitting a PICC line. If that doesn’t work then a central line.
I’m still waiting for chemo nurse to get back to me about the 75 in FEC 75. I’ve been told by BC nurse that here they don’t normally do ECG. They do an ECHO cardiogram instead. I’ve yet to find out when mine is. Should it be done before chemo starts?
thanks n good night!
They did my heart tests the day before the chemo when I had my bloods done
night!
Calais
TAC Cycle 1 Day 5
Hello everyone
Sorry I’ve not posted over the last couple of days. As my Nurse said, any SE’s I do suffer would be from about day 3 and on day 3 I woke with nausea and generally feeling unwell. I’ve been taking the anti sickness since and haven’t been sick once but still feel nauseous. I’ve also had quite bad back/joint pains since having the the injection on day 2. Been a bit of a wet blanket these last few days and am just staying in bed or loafing around, feeling sorry for myself. I’ve also had Lots f stabbing pains in my head so don’t think I will keep my hair for long.
I’m just counting the days to week 2 as I think I should start feeling better by then.
good luck to everyone and have a lovely Sunday.
jess
xxxxx
EC Cylcle 1 Day 3
Jess - sleep, sleep, sleep. Thats all I have seemed to do. Do you think it will get better? I hope so.
Keeping on top of my nausea Lola thankfully and am a bit obsessed with ‘number 2’s’ so doing okay in that department thanks
Wendy - fab. Just hope we can all meet up. We can ‘friend’ each other and so perhaps exchange phone numbers. Would be good to speak to each other and compare SE’s and ways of overcoming them etc. What do you say lola and Mamakaz
Am soo tired. Slept alway the last 36 hours and barely have the eneergy to get up and brush my teeth, which I did do as am also obsessed with oral hygeine at the moment.
Take care everyone
Dianne
Hello all, I’m new to this thread. Had my first round of FEC on Friday. First 12 hours were hideous. I was green before I got home and spent till midnight curled up in the foetal position whimpering. Not exactly the start I’d hoped for. I had taken Emend and all the other anti sickness stuff too. In the end I spoke to the duty matron and she called my oncologist who agreed to let me start the next day’s anti-sickness meds early. That really helped and I was able to get a full night’s sleep. I had the cold cap on for 4 hours which brought on a migraine as soon as it was taken off (I was informed it might as I do suffer from migraines). Luckily the pain level wasn’t as strong as a typical migraine so I’ve just been monitoring it and not bothered with any extra meds. I’ve still got it now though (Sunday morning). Appetite came back on Saturday morning so I’ve been eating porridge and husband has juiced carrots and apples amongst other things to keep my fluid levels up. I find water a bit boring so don’t drink as much if that’s all I’ve got. Bit nervous now as I took my last Emend this morning. Also gave myself the Neulasta shot last night. Only a bit of heartburn to report but I understand the side effects can take a few days to appear. Happy to have it either way though if it builds up my immunity a bit faster.
Penguin68, I’m based in Walton on Thames and being treated at the Mount Alvernia in Guildford. Do you use the Fountain Centre much?
Twinnumber1 - I’m an identical twin (born 8 mins before my sister so I suppose that also makes me twin number 1). Trying to get my sister’s doctor to agree to refer her for a mammogram. She was refused at first which I really can’t understand. We’re 40 (had my lumpectomy and WLE on our 40th birthday).
Anyone on here with a high Oncotype DX score? Mine came back as 44 which is high and gives me a 30% chance of distant recurrence. Bummer.
Best of luck to you all with your treatment. It seems to affect everyone differently.
Hi Roadshow,
I’m not a proper March Marchie as I belong to the February Valentines group, but as I still haven’t started my chemo I do pop in and keep up to date with all the Marchies.
I just felt I needed to comment on the Oncotype DX test you have had. This test isn’t generally available on the NHS unless part of a clinical trial, so am wondering how you managed to have one, or are you a private patient? Reading your post again, I think I have answered my own question! Sorry you had a bummer of a score from it, but statistics mean very little in the real world. No-one knows which side of the line they will fall and everyone has an equal chance of being in the 30% or indeed the 70%. All we can do is throw everything at it that is available to us.
Take care everyone xxx
Hi Lola65, I’m being treated privately thanks to my husband’s private medical insurance which he gets through work. I am very glad I had the test (had to get the insurance company to agree to pay the £2,580 for it first though). I was very keen to avoid chemo initially (despite having a grade 3 - score 9 out of 9 tumour) and thought the test would back me up but instead gave more weight to it. Sometimes life’s like that I guess. 50% of patients with early detected hormone positive cancers who have this test get a low score and are advised against chemo. I was hoping to be in that group but it wasn’t to be. What’s interesting is that someone with a grade 1 cancer can get a high score and someone with a grade 3 cancer can get a low score. I makes me worry for those patients in the NHS with early detected hormone positive cancers who have a grade 1 tumour and are therefore told that radiotherapy is probably the right way to go. I was only initially advised to have chemo due to the high grading of mine. Still, here I am now embracing 6 sessions of FEC followed by 33 sessions of radiotherapy. Not doing too badly on the sleep front - no complaints there but the nausea is hard work. Does the NHS offer the Neulasta immune boosting injections?
Take care x