Morning Ladies,
Off to the chemo suite again. If no notes then you won’t need the website to hear me swearing.
Cybele - love the blog. Do feel just a tiny bit disappionted that we won’t be running away to Goa tho… Maybe we can have a veggie curry in Hammersmith near a tree. There must be some trees.
x
Cressida-good luck today.
Cybele-I found the nausea had gone completely by day 6. I stopped taking the anti nausea drugs around the time the steroids ran out (day 3) and I was fine.
It’s day 15 for me and just washed my hair. I have curly, frizzy hair and i don’t brush it between washes because it would go all fluffy and weird. Because of this I usually lose quite a bit of hair when i wash it. It’s the stuff that would’ve come out anyway. When I washed my hair I’d say the usual amount came out. When I later combed it much more came out. So be warned. Day 15 is the day of great mourning. That said I’ve enough left. Just as well because I don’t get the wiggy woo till next week.
Hi Cybele-would love to meet up for a coffee. My next chemo is now after Xmas so I’ll pm you.
Just a couple of tips about dexamethasone-like Maire I stopped taking anti nausea meds the same time as the steroids as I didn’t need them. FEC is notorious for nausea though so see how you go. In my experience the nausea did get a bit worse after my 3rd FEC (but at the time I was severely anaemic so that didn’t help). Lots of sparkling water and lemon helped me.
The problem with the steroid high for me was that I came crashing down on day 3 and felt a bit miserable-however this passes after a day or so and is v common according to my onc.
It also helps to take the steroids before 3pm if possible otherwise you might find that you are bright eyed and bushy tailed at 3am!
Good luck with it and hope to catch up soon x
Hi everyone, and welcome to new ladies, you could not have joined a more welcoming and caring group of amazing ladies.
went for PICC line yesterday and they halted it at the eleventh hour due to infection, so spent the rest of the day sobbing u der my blanket. Chemo now delayed until next week so will no doubt work myself up into another frenzy.
Cathie xx
They found the notes, they found a vein and they poisoned me. One down eleven to go.
Cathie - so sorry - that really is rubbish. Hang in there, xxx
Day 3
Have been feeling rather rough today - took the last 2 doses of steroids this morning, but have definitely come down from the high.
Feeling weak, quite nauseous (but no vomiting), a bit weepy, and pretty fragile all round - but I would imagine this is partially a psychological response to the huge intensity of the last 2 days, and all the ghastly build up of anxiety before then.
Am drinking HUGE amounts of fizzy water and Diet Coke, which is definitely helping. Not eating much, except bananas, prunes and apples. Have also found that M&S ‘lightly salted’ plain Tortilla Chips seem to help the nausea, somehow, because of the salt, I think. And had about 3 spoonfuls of risotto yesterday, which was also quite soothing.
Also on the plus side, I have just been out for a walk for an hour, which has made me feel quite a lot better. I walk a lot anyway, but I did see some research somewhere which indicated that regular exercise helps you to tolerate chemo better.
Cathie, am SO sorry to hear about your PICC line prob, and further delay of chemo *BIG HUG* My PICC line has settled in nicely, now - it felt a bit uncomfortable the first couple of days, but I later realised this was simply because the stretchy bandage they put over it was too tight, and was compressing my arm too much. Once i removed the bandage - which doesn’t have to be kept on - I’ve hardly even been noticing it’s there.
Cressida, thanks! And hope today went well xx (edit) -very glad to hear you’ve got started!
There’s an excellent Indian veggie restaurant in King st, but no trees. Nearest good trees are Holland Park - the cafe there might be a good place. Are you in London, too?
Maire - thanks very much for info xx re hair loss, are you doing the cold cap?
sukiem - thanks v.much for tips - and looking forward to the coffee!
Debutante - Welcome! You are in exactly the right place.
Wendy and Caroline - just want to give you both a Very Big Hug xxx this is all so very hard, and it’s always coming back and hitting you. But we’ll all get through it eventually.
Cybele-Not doing cold cap. Was never mentioned as an option.
I brought it up at one point but I got a very lukewarm response from nurses-it is pretty obvious they can’t be bothered with the faff!
Will keep you posted on progress of hair loss, just to prepare you all! So far hair is looking no different. No comb is going near it though!
Hello lovelies, you all sound so nice it’s sad we have to ‘meet’ under such circumstances! But a chemo line is going in my vein too next week - BC which has wandered up into the lymph nodes. Can I be part of the gang? I could sure use the help and support of entertaining friends going through the same crap. I’m seeing the onc on monday and slightly freaking out but putting on a brave face - even having a Christmas Party on saturday night - anything to take my mind off thinking of worst case scenarios. Probs the last time i’ll wear a lovely sparkly cocktail dress and have pretty long glossy hair for a long time - boo hoo. Still, worse things happen at sea - really??!!
‘I keep confusing Dexamethasone with Dexys Midnight Runners…’ new blogpost
Does anybody know anything about TC chemo it is docetaxel (Taxotere) and cyclophosphamide. Assume this is not the dreaded Taxol. Any help greatly appreciated.
Wendy
Morning ladies,
Wendy - No it’s not Taxol. Macmillan have fact sheets on their site for both, BCC websit has one for Taxotere but Cyclo only makes a guest appeaernace in the FEC fact sheet. As I am now feeling sick at the same time as being steriod high its prob better if you read the fact sheets than I try to tell you as I might forget I am not (like Ozzy Osbourne) a doctor. I have had them both but alongside different combinations so side effects will be different. You having them together or one after the other?
Welcome Alpal - enjoy Christmas party - its a good idea to do whatever you enjoy whenever you feel well enough.
Cybele - I don’t live in London, but just outside the lovely m25. We have better trains here than you do… Currently feeling sick and had to force myself to eat toast and marmite in order to take more drugs so may have to delay the curry for a bit.
Well, the evil deed is done and I have been piosoned less than 6 months after they did it last time. And now I find that my dear hubby has arranged for some bloke called Kevin to fit a new front door because I am just sitting here with nothing better to do. Hope he doesn’t mind a grumpy, nauseous, woman in a huge dressing gown. Mind you - new door, new key so I could go back to bed and see if standing outside in the cold makes hubby grumpy when he comes home at 7pm tired and hungry…
Keep on keeping on ladies, xxx
Thanks Cressida for your reply. Hope the sickness subsides soon for you. That is the only thing I can remember from mine 14 years so so probably just as we’ll I can’t remember the rest otherwise they might have to drag me in on the 31st.
My appointment card said TCY chemo although fact sheet they gave me just said TC. Yes having 4 sessions if snb clear next week or 6 if not but am assuming 6 as lump 5cm nearly so will expect nodes to be affected
well busy day again for me flu jab at 9am , bone scan at 11.30 off to hospital pharmacy as well as they found water infection at pre assessment yesterday and pharmacy shut by then.
you have a quiet day , rest and sleep when you need to and I am sure you wll soon feel a bit better. How many sessions are planned for you
hugs
Wendy
Good luck Wendy - yes don’t think about last time - it will be different this time anyway - I have 6 x 3 week cycles with 2 treatments in each cycle. xxx
Thinking about you Cressida. So unfair that you have to go through all this again-I think you should get something to punch, when you’re up to punching.
Day 16 for me and no hair on pillow. Think my poor wee follicles are tangling themselves around each other for support.
Welcome Alpal. If I was you I’d wear the sparkly dress every day-this chemo thing makes you embrace the eccentric!
Oh and Cybele-your mother looks like one classy lady!
Hi Wendy, I started TC chemo yesterday was there for about 3 hours. Feeling a bit sick this morning but otherwise OK. Will keep you updated on how I get on if you like. Debs
Morning,all
Well it’s day 4, and I’m still feeling pretty nauseous, so continuing to take the meds. Generally a bit better than yesterday, though.
Hanging on to the thought that this should subside in the next couple of days - although, given that I am generally the Nausea Queen, it seems perfectly possible that I could feel nauseous throughout. Can hardly bear even to contemplate that…
Cress, blimey, I didn’t realise you only had it 6 months ago - this is indeed cruel and unusual punishment. And OHs who inflict men called Kevin on you when you are on the second day of the cycle totally deserve locking out in the snow!
Maire, how do you pronounce your name? Is it like Mare, or May- eer? or Mah -eye-ree, for that matter? I need to get it clear in my head 
And my mother - ah, she can only be described as A Force To Be Reckoned With. And terrific, as long as she uses her powers for The Good.
Wendy, good luck with your busy day - onwards and upwards xx Just to warn you, I felt vile for a couple of days after my bone scan - had a very bad reaction to the radioactive dye. And had NO idea of whatwas going on, because when I asked the woman if there were any side effects, she said none. So when the griping stomach pains and nausea set in several hours afterwards, it took me completely by surprise.
Hopefully, it won’t happen to you - I seem to be reacting very badly to pretty much every drug they give you - but it’s as well to be forewarned, just in case. I googled it later and found there were lots of possible side effects, but only one person in a hundred gets it as bad as I did - lucky me!
Have the best day you can, my friends xxx
Cybele-it’s pronunced Maura-you’d never have guessed that. All of your versions have been used over time. I respond to anything that begins with M.
I promise you the nausea does subside as the drugs leave your system. Bet you feel better by Sat/Sun (fingers crossed).
Cybele - thanks for the warning my poor arm has had two days worth of bloods a flu jab now the suff they put in for bone scan and tomorrow CT scan so something else being thrown in there.
Debs - yes keep in touch my appointment says TCY not sure what the Y is but info I info on that.
hope everybody has an ok ish day
Wendy x x
Thanks Cressida and Maire - i must be mad to be having this party but I like your idea of wearing my new dress 24/7 to get maximum value! - I havn’t told most of the friends coming my news yet so have to maintain a front of jolly forced normality - still, a couple of Moscow Mules should help with that whilst i’m still allowed them and feel like it. Then I have to face the music on monday…(I’ll settle for Fix You by Coldplay if Chris Martin sings it to me in person)
Hope you are both and everyone else are all having a good a day as this hideous gorilla of a disease will allow…