Glad you’ve got a date Elaine, after the initial “arghhh, this is really happening” response on getting my likely date yesterday I now feel much calmer about it because I know when it is rather than watching the letterbox everyday to see if I’ve got an appointment yet.
Jo
Hey ladies - lovely to hear from you all - we will be great support for each other once it all starts to happen!!
Elaine - I have a CT scan on 31/1, a bone scan on 4/2 and also my pre chemo assessment also on 4/2 too - I have been told that chemo might start for me on 5 or 6 Feb but if they want to start it then I will be asking for a postponement as it is my 50th on Sat 9th Feb and my daughter has organised a wee party for me so defo don’t want to be in my first week of chemo!!
My journey started beginning of Oct with mx & reconstruction and then lung op on 27th Dec so I guess asking for my chemo to be put off for a few days won’t really make a difference I shouldn’t think!!
Keep warm ladies - I can’t seem to get any heat into my body at all today 
Honey aka Kim 
Hi Sarah, I’ve just been told I have an “appointment” to have line put in so not even counting as a day surgery as far as I know! Could be wrong but no one has given me the impression that it’s a big deal. Thinking about it though I’m sure I’ve read or heard that it would be done with a local anesthetic so probably does count as a day surgery!? hope you get your date soon xx
Kim, I don’t blame you for wanting to postpone treatment until after your Birthday celebration and sure it won’t make any difference. In case I forget nearer the time (think a lot of us are suffering with pre-chemo brain!) Happy Birthday for Saturday! Hope you have a lovely day xx
Warm hugs
Elaine x
Evening Valentines all
Kim, good luck with all your scans and assessments. Hope you manage to have your 50th before chemo.
Jo, glad you’re feeling calmer now, it doesn’t take much to upset our equilibrium does it.
Jackie, hope the weather improves so dog walking becomes a bit easier.
Halo, don’t know which drugs you’re going to be on, but I was told about steroids, don’t take them late in the day, or you won’t get to sleep.
Lola, don’t mind the thought of coming off RA drugs, especially Methotrexate, hate injecting it every week anyway and if my fingers get more fumbly than usual, I’ll have 2 excuses…lol. Another brave lady having dental treatment.
Elaine, glad you have your date, now you can get used to the idea and prepare for it. Pity us poor s***s who are still chewing our nails and waiting. 
I hope I can remember everyone’s name, my memory is not the most reliable even before I get chemo brain.
Those not going cold cap, how are you going to ‘catch’ you falling hair when in bed? I’ve got visions of going to bed with a head full of hair, then waking in the morning to find it all laying in a heap on my pillow!! 
Take care everyone
Kath xxx
Hello everyone x really pleased we are moving forward & getting dates , sooner we start the sooner we can get off this ride , although must admit even my stomach done a flip Elaine when u said you got yours , it was only the other day you saw the Onc ! Makes it so real !!
Ive had a good day today although the afternoon has been slightly stressful … All I can say is anyone with children/grandchildren DO NOT make Disney snow globes unless you are 100% sure how to ensure its sealed !! … I tried to stop a drip & the whole thing opened up Needless to say my kitchen table is flooded & very glittery… So am I … Said child is now ‘baking’ with soggy tea bags & soil … Nice to have a normal day !!
Karen x
Out of the blue, as I sat here wishing there would be some movement, a letter arrived this morning delaying my Oncologists appointment for a week and telling me the Chemo Chair 09 was reserved for me at 2pm on Wednesday, 6 February at C3 Chemotherapy Clinic. Gawwwwwwd, the train is moving at last! I’m elated and scared to death all at once. I thought that there were one or two steps I still had to go through. I haven’t had a pre-assessment or met any of the nurses, so I still have lots of practical questions; but at least the fact that I am scheduled probably means that my CT scan and ECHO didn’t show up any unknown nasties, which is a big relief. As I have read so many times on the Forum, each chemo session is one less still to do! So hugs to everyone and hope that those of you still waiting hear soon. With love to us all, Louise
Yankee, good luck for 6th. Good luck to everyone who now has a start date.
love Kath xxx
Wowsers! Good luck to those of you have got dates for first chemo - they seem to be coming in thick and fast today! God bless& lots of love xxx
Sarah
Hi Kath,
thanks for the tip re steroids- will remember that, Iv got to take them to avoid allergic reaction to the chemo, I’m not having FEC as I’ve had one of those drugs before and can’t have it again!
Ive lost my hair due to chemo before, from what I remember (some may have had a different experience) it comes out gradually so don’t worry about waking up and it being on your pillow, you will know when it starts, I remember cutting it quite short before it fell out as I had very long hair, then when I began losing it I shaved it all off and began wearing my wig. Another hurdle to jump but we will get through it and it does grow back, I remember when mine did I made it my mission to grow it back to the length and style it was before I lost it as if to say good riddance, I’m back…and I will do so again this time!!
Love, Sarah xx
Kath - I was driving today for the first time since my lung op on 27th Dec and decided to check out the 3 wee flexi baskets in Asda for £2 - what a find - and a great idea!! Gonna go thru the chemo posts again and see what all I should have in the ‘chemo caddy’ and have it ready and waiting. Thanks for a great top tip - thats why I love these community forums!!! xo
Wow ladies, what a lot of us there are now! So sad and yet so proud to be part of a group who can support one another so much. I didn’t get a call to say my needle biopsy was clear so I’m fearing he worst. But at least I know what to expect from an ANC now having had one side done recently.
I haven’t got a date yet but my surgeon did tell me that I’ve been refered and hopefully my next surgery won’t hold it up too much.
I’ve decided not to bother trying the cold cap. Think I baldly go where so many have gone before but will have a very short crop first. Now, here’s a thing - I have a hair appointment booked for 31st Jan. Shall I go for the very short crop then, on the basis that chemo wont be far behind or shall I hang on to longer hair and just have the usual trim?
PS I hate going to the hairdresers but have a lovely hairdresser who’s cut my hair for 20years!
PPS must make a dental appointment - I hate that even more than the hairdressers!
Good luck and hugs to all
x
Hi Valentines!
I had my Onc appointment today. I went in on time and was in there for 1 and a half hours. Wonderful not to feel rushed and she answered all my questions. I didnt really learn anything new as I was prepared for everything she said. The only thing I did have confirmed was how much and what sort of Chemo I shall be having (3 Fec and 3 Tax) I now just have to wait for my appointment
I have decided to give the Cold cap a go. Before today I had decided not to but after a chat with both the Onc and BC nurse I have changed my mind. I am going to try it and if I dont get on with it or it hurts too much I can stop. I guess I’m looking at it from a “dont know until you try” point of view.
I also asked her if I should have my acrylic nails removed and she said No, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have them on during Chemo and that if I did encounter problems with my nails then the acrylics would just fall off anyway or I could remove them. I love my nails and I’m so happy I can keep them.
Feeling pretty good mentally although I have learned not to let myself get too happy as since my DX in November something always comes along and wipes my feet out from under me . I try and remain sort of in the middle, to too happy and and not too sad.
Hugs to you all
Funki x
Hello February Valentines!!
Just popping in from a past chemo thread to wish you lots and lots of luck. You are at the worst point - the anticipatiosands fear of the unknown was worse than the reality for me. Once I’d had my first one the fear of the unknown disappeared and it was all much less scary and easy to deal with. My side effects were minimal anIto likened it to having a bad hangover for a few days each time. I was never sick and used the cold cap and managed to keep enough hair to get away with a hair do. I’d suggest taking it easy for a few days after your first one and keeping a diary of any side effects so that you can tell your onc so they can sort it out for the next round - knows the side effects are similar each round, so if you keep a diary you’ll know which days you need to take it easy and which days you can get on with normal life and plan fun things…
Here are my practical tips for dealing with chemo: C is for… Chemo Shmemo | Chemo For Beginners - an A to Z of all things "C"
And here’s a post with tips for the coldcappers with a pic of my hair one month post chemo: K is for… Keeping Hair – Cold Capping | Chemo For Beginners - an A to Z of all things "C"
There’s also a post written by a friend who embraced the hairloss and rocked her wig, headscarves and hats - and anotheon with beauty tips during chemo.
Wishing you all the very best.
Big hugs.
X
Dear Sandytoes – thanks so much for dropping in with your advice! I start chemo on 6 Feb and would like to try a cold cap, so I found what you had to say very helpful. I usually have shoulder length hair, blunt cut. As a mid-way stage I had it cut clear of the shoulders and layered to give it some height. Do you think that it is a mistake to leave it so long – would it have a better chance of surviving if it were significantly shorter?
Congrats Funki on the big step of meeting the Oncologist! We’re having similar regimes, I’m 4 x FEC followed by 2 x TAX, so it will be interesting to see how our reactions are different/or the same! Good luck in the next couple of weeks.
all the best, Louise
Hi, I too will be starting my chemotherapy treatment at some point in Feb. Had my oncology appointment last Thursday & now waiting for my picc line to be fitted.
With all of the support on here im hoping to get through the treatment easier & wishing that goes the same for all of you too. I have never seen so much support in one single place, its amazing & I will recommend anyone I meet with BC to come & join.
Your all amazing!! 
Ness
Been to see my onc today pretty straightforward & getting 6xFEC-T , 3 of each ,she said I should start within 2 weeks , the more info I get the better I feel , still have off days but I can feel my stronger side making an appearance , it disappeared for a bit !
Also told my 6yr old daughter yesterday & she was fine
Hi all
Have to admit, the idea of chemo caddy wasn’t originally mine, its in the tips sticky thread at top of chemotherapy section, but when I saw the little flexi baskets I had a lightbulb moment. Glad you managed to find some Kim. I’m going slightly screwy now about not having start date. My stomach flips every time the post arrives, but they might not tell me in a letter, they might let me know on 31st. Only one week to go for that then.
Halo, I love your positive attitude about your hair. I’m not bothered about losing it, just don’t want to leave little piles of hair about the place.
Nessier, good luck with your picc line fitment. Blimey, I made it sound like you were having a pair of corsets, sorry about that.
Karen, so glad your daughter was ok with your news. Sometimes our kids really surprise us.
Sandytoes, you’re a star, visiting us to help us through this. In fact, we’re all stars.
Much love to all
Kath xxx
Hi all,
I had a real belly laugh this morning when the post arrived with the red NHS stamp on it. I wondered what on earth it might be, and was terrified to open it, but guess what? It was the annual bowel cancer screening letter!! (Us oldies get these automatically). As if I don’t have enough to worry about at the moment! 
I had my dressings removed today. All looks well, minimal swelling to the armpit wound, none at all on the lumpectomy one, which is very neat and small, and so far so good pain-wise. I haven’t needed any painkillers so far and it’s day 6 after surgery. (WLE and SNB). Hopefully I will get the results tomorrow and then my treatment plan.
Lots of you now with dates. Anxious times ahead for us all. xxx
Had to laugh with you Lola, mine is due this year as OH had his last year and I’m a year behind him, we call it poo sticks 
or is that too much information? Good luck for results tomorrow.
Thanks PG. We call them poo sticks, too!!
On another note, I ordered two medical alert bracelets to wear. One is a silicone wrist band that says “No BP or needles in this arm. Medical alert - Axillary Lymph Nodes”. The other is a stainless steel chain link bracelet with a medical heart charm that can be engraved on the reverse. I intend to have “chemotherapy patient” engraved on mine. Always a good idea to wear these things in case of a medical emergency unrelated to our current predicaments. I got mine from theidbandco.com/
Both arrived today, very fast service, and am impressed.