Hi tracey80
Thanks for posting.
It’s understandable you’re asking about returning to work and that you’d like to plan a holiday to look forward after you’ve started abemaciclib.
It’s often useful to take a little time to adjust to a new treatment before starting back at work or travelling. This can mean that you become familiar with the effect of the new treatment on you and any side effects and their management, before spending time away from your usual environment.
As @shade says, everyone reacts differently to the drug and some people have more side effects than others and it’s difficult to predict how it will be for each individual.
As you mention, abemaciclib has a number of side effects which include diarrhoea and a lowering of white blood cells (which can increase your risk of infection) are common.
Many people experience diarrhoea for around a month before it starts to settle, but others find this persists for longer. It’s recommended that blood tests are done before you start treatment as you said, then every two weeks for the first two months of treatment to check how the drug affects your white blood cell count, and then monthly for the next two months. Your treatment team will then decide how often you’ll need future blood tests.
It sounds like it would be helpful to contact your oncologist to talk through these thoughts again in light of the information you were given by the chemo nurse, so you can make an informed decision about putting your plans to return to work and having a holiday in place. You can ask your breast care nurse how best to arrange this.
You don’t say where you planned to travel to, but you may be interested in our Facebook live session on travel and travel insurance from last year.
You might find it helpful to talk more people about their experiences of taking abemaciclib. You can do this by trying to post again in other areas of the forum. We’re unsure why you were unable to post in the ‘going through treatment’ section of the forum. However, if you have any further problems posting do email the forum moderator on Moderator@breastcancernow.org for help.
Our Someone Like Me service can also match you with a trained volunteer who has experience of the drug. You can be in touch with your volunteer by phone or email and they can share their personal experiences to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen to how you are feeling.
You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0800 138 6551 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.
Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to additional support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks.
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Best wishes
Catherine
Breast Care Nurse
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