Hi All
I started my first session of chemotherapy just over a week ago, so far so good, I was diagnosed in January and underwent a mastectomy, the whole process has taken so long but I finally have a plan
I am feeling great and haven’t suffered (yet) with any side effects, I feel like everyday I am expecting to be hit with something to bring me down though, pure anticipation of what’s to come, will I get worse with Every cycle? Xx
Hi there. I had chemo Sept to Feb - 3 x EC then 12 x Taxol following a mastectomy. I think tiredness and some lethargy was the only thing that eventually hit me and it was probably when I had the 3 weeks of radiation that it caught up most with achy knees being the main thing. Not debilitating but just not my usual energetic self and my sleep pattern was a bit disrupted.
Having it over winter meant i had to try and avoid the coughs and colds which surprisingly I managed. I got a trip away over Xmas too to Europe and was fine
.Just needed to rest a bit more. I didn’t need the domperidone and didn’t gain weight either. But I know that everyone experiences it differently. Are you having Taxol too? and trying the cold cap? It worked for me so is worth trying if you can.
The other thing to do is to keep up some stretches and walking as the chemo obviously is swirling round your body and as said can make your ligaments a bit achey. I did get a bit of reflux too and had heightened sense of smell and taste. I went off coffee for a bit too. But most of those SE passed when I went on to Taxol - I just needed some omoperazole now and then. I think if you are prone to that sort of thing it can be exacerbated.
Good luck with it all - I think the main advice I would give is don’t stress waiting for side effects that don’t come and listen to your body. Trying and do normal as best you can but maybe a slightly slower pace. Keep a little diary too of questions for when you see nurses and oncologist as it’s easy to forget from week to week. And do treat yourself to nice things here and there if it makes you happy. It can end up ruling your life so it’s nice to have some distractions.
All the best and stay positive!
Sam
Hi Kirsty
I started EC 2 days ago and it’s been ok so far apart from a bit of tiredness and a bit of dry mouth but I suffered from that prior treatment so it’s been ok. I had a healthy balanced diet before so I am just booting it up with more protein and veggies. I have been trying to go out for walks or half days out around where I live these couple of days. And yes, I am like you “expecting” in a way for a side effect to kick in, I guess Monday is a good day to check because I finish my steroids and start with the home injections for bone marrow stimulation.
But as you see, many ladies don’t get many side effects so as everyone says, listen ton your body, but don’t stress too much. I guess the key is to know what can be expected and have something in place, my friend and I researched about foods that help with various side effects and have a bit of a stash at home in case I get hit with anything -she is such a blessing :heart:
I’ve read this thread with great interest and even greater envy/admiration as I had virtually everything go wrong, apart from nausea and sickness, including 4 days in hospital with neutropoenic fever and sepsis. I started EC Christmas Eve and finished Paclitaxel at the end of April. Good luck to all of you - keep up the essential exercises (especially if you have radiotherapy in your plan) and maintain as normal a life as you can. But never do things because you think you ought. Your body is going through a horrendous onslaught and needs constant tlc.
One piece of advice: the oncologist isn’t exaggerating when s/he tells you about the risk of fever. Do check your thermometer is accurate (I didn’t - I had to buy one so obviously I expected it to be accurate) and do monitor your temperature if you feel the slightest change. All I had was a runny nose. If something is going wrong, it can mean the difference between a quick trip to the hospital and days on a drip, blood transfusions etc which, believe me, is boring and exhausting beyond belief (not scary because no one indicated how serious the condition was - very wise). Again, good luck x