fEC 75 - started ttoday
was at the hospital a lot longer than expected. No cold cap but was there from 9am-2.20pm. Nurses were great! Had nearly 1.5 litres of saline! i only had one usable vein. cannula fitted fine this time but I’ll be having a PiCC line inserted in the third week just before 2nd cycle.
feeling tired so will have a rest now.
Drugs administered in the following order - epirubicin, cyclophosphamide and 5FU. Dosages were as nearly as expected. cyclophosphamide and 5FU were 600mg/m2.
antisickness tablets taken orally
ondansetron 8mg
dexamethasone 8 mg
waited quite a while before administering following chemo drugs
epirubicin- 120mg
cyclophosphamide -1000mg
5FU - 1000mg
Suzy, all the best tomorrow n will be thinking of you. Had to smile reading the senokot n rocket bit. I had a glass of juice n asparagus soup with a tablespoon of linseed to hopefully keep me regular!
a very warm welcome to to newbies love to all! Xx
Nipinuk - be gentle on yourself, and don’t forget the anti nausea meds! Sleep easy x
Hi Daffodil - sorry you’ve had to join us.
Has anyone heard from Nattegg? I think she was due her 2nd dose today. Suzy - will be thinking of you tomorrow, hope all goes well.
I won’t be touching liver under any circumstances when I am in low immunity. It is very susceptible to bacteria if not cooked absolutely properly, and handling it/cleaning pans it has been in can also be a bit suspect. Shame because I love liver normally. Hope this helps!
Hi, I’m from the December thread, am now on my fifth round of FEC75, and have been blogging daily about the whole experience of chemo here
which is now 102 days of FEC…
I 'm posting a link here because I’ve had quite lot of problems, first with with nausea and then other stomach side effects, and problems with my PICC line - all now resolved, but I wish I’d worked out how to get on top of them a lot earlier - so those of you starting out now might find it handy to refer to if you encounter anything similar.
Everyone on here always seems to say chemo is ‘doable’, and I think some people finder it easier to tolerate than others, but I have found it absolute hell, to be quite honest. However the fifth cycle has been a lot better, due to getting more help with the side effects - extra steroids, and Omeprazole for stomach problems. The most important thing is to work out what works individually for you, and demand it - everyone is genetically different in their tolerance to the drugs, and side effects can vary very widely. Lots of people don’t like the steroids, but they’re the one drug I thrive on, and getting extra ones this cycle has made the experience maybe only 40% as bad on the worst days, compared to cycles 1-4.
It’s starting now for the first time to seem as if there will actually be life after chemo - half way through was the hardest, when you’ve done it all three times, and know that you’ve got to do it all over again. But then it starts to get better, and the prospect of freedom from the hospital, and from endless intrusive medical procedures, of reclaiming your body from the doctors, starts to approach, and that is a fantastic feeling.
Wishing you all the best of luck
Caroline xx
ps I used the cold cap and have not lost any hair at all - the one area in which I have been lucky!
Hi Caroline,
Thank you for the advice. I had found your blog and have been following your treatment and can now empathise with the demons you experience. I’m searching for my own World Mum, and am stocking up on Key Lime Pie!
Best wishes, MM x
Hi caroline, thanks for the tips & I’m not afraid to take the steroids either, anything to help me get through it! Good news about the cold cap too, hope I have the same results, just worried that the hat doesn’t seem to fit very well as sat there for 3 hours pressing it to my head as had hot spots. Oh well took my mind off the chemo session x
EC Cycle 1 Day 6
Blimey I’ve had some catching up to do. Been busy managing my SE’s and lines of visitors and not had a chance to read through all the posts properly for a couple of days…
Anyway, am I being a bit optimistic thinking I have turned a corner to
day. Feeling fab all day. Even cleaned up the bathroom after discovering the cat had left paw prints all over it. Was thinking I was over the worst, but it seems that some of you are having up and down days. Not taken any anti-nausea pills for over a day now and gobbled up some lovely lemon drizzle cake brought round for me today. Hope its not too good to be true. Hope you are back on the way up Twinnumber1
Shell65/Nipinuk - my tumour was estimated at 4cm before the op, which turned out to be 7cm after. It seems to have grown long into the breast tissue and as they measure end to end, does not mean it was thicker than expected. I had no spread into the lymph nodes, so it seems that size is not always the most important issue.
(yes I do know how that sounds) Hope today went well Nipinuk. You are well and trully now part of a club none of us really wanted to join. My best advice is sleep, take those anti-sickness pills when you can, fizzy water and LOADS of it, green tea and toast. That’s what got me through the first 5 days. So far so good, my SE’s have been mainly like the worst hangover ever, and as I have had a few of those in my past, have manged this in very much the same way.
Talking about diets and food. I have lost 6LB in weight since friday. Hence the lemon drizzle cake today. However, my lovely hubby has bought me a book called - Healthy Eating During Chemotherapy. You can find it on amazon. There are different sections to look at depending on what you are and are not capable of eating, with loads of sweet ideas. Are you sensing a theme with my post today? I noticed quite a few of you have been discussing food ideas - Mungosmum, Nipinuk, Angela, Lindaet al and so thought I would recommend it to you guys. Angela, Lisa, Jess - my hair is thinning on top already, but only my cloest family have noticed. I got an appointment through for an NHS wig fitting today, but don’t think I will bother. They are £64 so cant imagine they will be very good. I think I am happy with the head scarves and caps.
Linda - start date No start date - hope they had a good explanation. You do seem to be a forum expert so I hop you well and trully put them on the spot. I have found a lot of your links really useful and informative and am sure that whatever reason they have given is in your best interest. I know however that will be of little consoliation to you at the minute. You must be so frustrated!!
Well, think I’ve managed to catch up with a few of you now. Hope I get to enjoy some of the snow with my kids this weekend and that chemotherapy is fo us nothing but a minor inconvenience in our overwise normal lives.
Take care everyone
Dianne xxxxx
Angela I’m pleased you enjoyed yourself at the headstrong meeting (is that the one where they teach you about make-up as well?). I hope to go along to guys soon. Did you have to wait long to get a date to go?
I was given given Ondansetron 8mg and Dexamethasone 8mg orally an hour before chemo.
Felt tired at 4.30pm, woke up nauseous at 5.30pm and was violently sick an hour ago. just took another lot of Ondansetron but wondered if there is any point? Dianne - is one of the co authors called Barbara Parry? She’s my senior dietitian at hospital n just fab. she’s coming to see me next week.
tummy really growling from hunger. I fancy a soupy tofu, rice noodles n miso combo! Just taken 15mg of Lansoprazole which is supposed to line my stomach.
thks for lovely messages n may there be minimal SEs for all xx
Nipinuk - no sorry. Seems that your hospital has a lot of support available. I have had to find a lot myself. Luckily I have found a fab local support group. I tend to get lots of generalistic leaflets and good intentions at my hospital. They mistake questions for me worrying and give a ‘there,there it will be okay’ answer if I ask the BCN something. Grrr it makes me mad!!!
Angela , same thing happened to me. Wrote long post maybe couple of weeks ago n it disappeared. Let the moderators know. They’re ironing out issues I think. How’s your scalp?
Dianne - I didn’t realise how fortunate we are to have a dietician so easily accessible until recently. Thought it was the norm. Please feel free to ask about any diet issues n I can ask her n report back. Just checked and the book is on per-order - chemo cookery club - £9.59 on Amazon - Amazon.co.uk
i know, it’s so annoying when they try n fob your questions off. I’ve had, ‘don’t worry about it’ and on more than one occasion ‘why do you want to know?’ It’s my FEC-in body that’s why!
Thanks so much for mentioning toast, didn’t do noodles last night as started feeling queasy again. Had 2 slices of toast which sat well. I was going to have nuts but was on the phone to gp sis who said that as nuts got protein it would sit longer in my tummy n make me feel queasy for longer. Carbs better.
Why would they charge you for NHS wig? Mine is free. I could pay more for a better one but a bog standard one would be sufficient as no special events coming up N working from home.
Caroline (Cybele) - thks so much for your post, I’ll be having a PICC line fitted before my second cycle so would go to your blog to find out your experience!
daffodil big hug n a very warm welcome.
Suzy - we’re all thinking of you. Let us know how you get on
Linda - so sorry to hear you’re being messed about. When’s your portacath scheduled? Hope it goes well
christine - thks for your lovely message. Head feels a bit weird n mouth feels dry today. I slept we’ll last night so not complaining.
ok, 3rd time lucky… i just wrote another post, and then disappeared it!!! expletives were just around the corner, oops!
so, try try try again
scalp still very tender to the point of being almost unable to put head on pillow. hair is beginning to fall so it’s definately a SIGN. will have it shawn on monday. have put aloe vera gel on to see if that helps, but will have to wear a hat as i can’t cpomfortably style it, the hair doesn’t want to go in the normal direction!!
headstrong is just for hats/scarves and is brilliant for ideas
Look Good Feel Better is the make up up one Lisa
welcome all newbies
week 1 of cycle is the down time, and weeks 2 & 3 are the up ones (my experience so far anyway)
week 3 onwards seems to ba hair loss time.
Lisa how awful that you are kept waiting so long, i really hope chemo will start soooooon for you.xxx
hello to everyone else, sorry i’ve not commented on all the posts, but i hope i’ve said what was helpful. typing ity for the 3rd time is a bit too much!
have a good day
Angela xx
Angela, poor you. I read that lying on some silk helps. Have you been on Feb forums for tips? Hope it gets better soon. Been toying with the idea of making my own turban, used to make nappies for my kids - poor lambs!
Roadshow - how r u? Hope you’re copping well.
Chanson - where r u?
I’m starting to feel as my ds would say, icky boo. Nauseous.
Hi ladies
I’m just catching up with all your lovely supportive posts, I’ve had my parents staying with me. This is day 7 post my first AC treatment it has been long and tough and I’ve been feeling very sorry for myself but but I’m feeling much stronger. I’m sending big hugs to everyone who started their chemo this week, the first 3-5 days were the roughest for me. Hopefully you won’t feel too poorly. I’m lethargic but I did some gentle exercises and ventured out for lunch yesterday and enjoyed the fresh air. I was conscious that I’m at my most vulnerable this weekend so I’ll need to svoid crowds. Does anyond else have snow? It has been snowing here all week. I’m glad to be tucked up inside.
Best wishes to all stay cosy
Karen xx
Karen - lovely to hear the positivity in your post. How wonderful to have your parents with you. Mine are thousands of miles away. Managed to speak to mum today who couldn’t sleep from worrying. There’s no snow here near Southampton but I’ve got my thermals on, neck scarf n gilet on!
What does AC mean in your chemo regimen?
I hate taking all these tablets. Been sick again. Was starving after and kept hurrying hubby with cooking so i could wolf down my veggie lasagne
Drink lots everyone! I keep forgetting x
Hi, I hear some of you have been having problems with the forum gremlins. So I’ve pasted my poem from the Valentines thread to cheer you up (I hope) if it doesn’t, blame Linda, it was her suggestion
Bloody Forum Gremlins!
Those sodding forum gremlins
are up to their tricks again,
posting stuff out of order
and playing around with my brain.
Someone will ask a question
and I will give a reply
but when I look at it later
the answer comes first! But why?
I spend hours reading each message
from all of my friends so dear,
and ages more typing my own stuff
just to see my post disappear!!
I don’t think I’m turning senile,
or that the chemo’s to blame
as others have had the same problem
it’s those bloody gremlins again!
So next time I send you a message,
and it’s gobbledy gook you can’t read,
don’t think I’m losing my marbles
it’s those gremlins that did the deed.
Hoping for minimal SEs for those of you suffering, and sending big hugs.
Love Kath xxx
poemsgalore - love the poem, you are very talented. thank you for sharing it with us.
nipinuk - my son & family live not so far from southampton in abbotswood near romsey
hey everyone, if you get a tender scalp, try aloe vera gel, it works i’m pleased to say. the relief was almost immediate
Poemsgalore, I loved that peom! I also saw your prosthetic poem on the Val’s thread, had me in stitches! Suzy - I hope today went OK, and you are resting up at home. Discovered from Nipinuk that we need to avoid protein for a few days (probably the reason I was so sick on day 1) - toast rules! Nipinuk - I have started kntting a hat as it is still so cold - I will get quite a lot of wear as the dog needs walking… glad you’ve got your appetite back. Thanks for the reminder to drink - I’m just as forgetful! Karen - how wonderful that you have your parent’s support. My parents are too far to see every day, but they ring regularly and my mum keeps sending me little presents to help with healing and SEs. Angela - Thanks for the tip. My head has starting prickling (day 8 ), just itching at the moment, but no doubt the pain will follow…
Best wishes to all the Marchies, sleep fairies to everyone!
Christine xx
love to all! Xx
x
Hope today went well Nipinuk. You are well and trully now part of a club none of us really wanted to join. My best advice is sleep, take those anti-sickness pills when you can, fizzy water and LOADS of it, green tea and toast. That’s what got me through the first 5 days. So far so good, my SE’s have been mainly like the worst hangover ever, and as I have had a few of those in my past, have manged this in very much the same way. 
I noticed quite a few of you have been discussing food ideas - Mungosmum, Nipinuk, Angela, Linda et al and so thought I would recommend it to you guys.
- hope they had a good explanation. You do seem to be a forum expert so I hop you well and trully put them on the spot. I have found a lot of your links really useful and informative and am sure that whatever reason they have given is in your best interest. I know however that will be of little consoliation to you at the minute. You must be so frustrated!!