i feel in limbo at the moment too L4W, and i’ve had a cough for the last week, which is getting on my nerves.
i kind of wish i could just get the chemo started, and i’ve still not had a date for my CT scan, everyday i’m waiting for the postie. he’ll think i fancy him if i carry on like this! haha 
i’m away to my bed now too
Gill x
Hello been reading the threads…can I join in? I to am in limbo waiting…had op 15th sept (mastectomy and clearance) had bone scan and ct scan and thankfully no abnormalities detected such a relief! now waiting on 1st appt with specialist re chem …16th NOV 
it feels like everything was such a rush at the beginning and now I am at a standstill just waiting. have had probs with seroma have had drainage twice weekly but it is finally settling now. Feel like its a dream and I have really only had an op such as a hysterectomy and should be going back to work and all is well again. Moved house a week ago so I have been very busy and distracted now everything feels like an anti climax! Anyway moan over…Good luck everyone hope those waiting on results, have good news and those embarking on chemo shortly I wish you well and hope its not too bad for you. xx
Hi ladies
I’m actually an October girl as I start on 27th with tax and carbo x 6.
I’m also an oldie having had e-CMF Chemo for bc in 2009. Wasn’t that bad from what I can remember and pretty much sailed through it. Felt a bit sicky some days snd a bit tired but wasn’t physically sick and nowhere near as icky feeling as I get after surgery but I do know some people do have a hard time and if that’s you then you need to up your meds.
I wasn’t too concerned about losing my hair but it was very painful coming out so was glad when it was all gone. I too found it quite liberating and used to go commando even at the supermarket where i had the odd stare or comment but as far as I was concerned it was their problem not mine. But I’m a but bolshy like that lol.
L4W hope your well enough to have your Chemo on thurs as it will be good to have a cyber hand to hold on Chemo day and already have done some cyber hand holding with gill as we are gonna be on the same regime.
I just came back from a manic few days away with freinds on 14-16th to Leeds and with OH from 18-22nd in holland and Germany and visited 14 towns in 5 days but wanted to make the most if my pre-chemo days as I know it’s gonna be a while till I’ll be up to getting away for a while.
Good luck ladies
Hi Ladies,
I think i will be joining you all in this november thread as well. Had my results back yesterday from my WLE and SNB they have suggested 6 lots of something (not sure till i see the onc) which should be this friday or next. also 18 lots of Herceptin.
Has anyone thought about a line thing in the arm to save the veins??? I wasn’t but if i’ve got to have herceptin as well i might just find some more info on this.
Love to all xxx
Morning Ladies
Welcome to Hospice, Lulu & Pink Princess sorry you’ve had to join us but glad we can all hold each others hands. We have to travel this road so we may as well do it together and I’ll apologise now if at times I squeeze your fingers too hard, feel free to pinch me 
Well I feel so much better today (the bedtime brandy clearly did the trick!!), the cold seems to have subsided but I’ll keep taking the tablets just to be sure, I really don’t want to delay my chemo although I’m starting to get a bit twitchy. For me it’s the not knowing so I’ve planned for worst case scenario ‘plan for the worst and hope for the best’ that way if I’m not ill it will be a bonus.
Poppy, thanks. Will you be our light at the end of the tunnel and our guide to being ordinary again
Gill, ring your BCN and ask her to chase it up before the postie has you arrested I hope your post isn’t like ours and doesn’t arrive till 2.30pm, it’s shocking, I’m never sure if we’re getting todays late or tomorrows early!!
Lulu, would you recommend having my head shaved before it falls out? I’m not worried about losing it but a bit scared about others reactions so am ordering a wig. I think it’s because I don’t want everyone to know that I have BC, not that I’m ashamed or embarrassed but because 1. It’s none of their business and 2. I can’t do with the ‘cow eyes’ and fussing. Am already getting sick of the ‘ohh you shouldn’t be doing that,’ ‘don’t lift that,’ ‘give me that here, I’ll do it’ I’ve had several tantrums, if I can do it I will, if I can’t I wont!! The only one who has been normal is my OH, he very kindly bought himself some extra work clothes so ‘I don’t have to wash every week if I’m not feeling up to it!!’ Don’t you just love him
PP - I asked about a line being put in but they said I have good veins and they will only do it if the onc thinks it’s necessary. Gave me some garb about it increasing the risk of infection etc. etc. I felt more like they didn’t want to do it but if I have to I will insist.
Right got to catch up on all the jobs I didn’t do yesterday!!
L4W
welcome to our new members of the Nov gang
Hospice13 - i know exactly what you mean, i feel i’m recovering from op, out and about again, driving, Yes still uncomfortable but getting there, and then, left alone until Bam! Chemo!
L4W glad you feeling better, hope you caught up on all your jobs, my jobs are mounting up around me! Ah well…
as for the loosing of hair, i think you just clarified to me why i don’t want to loose it, i don’t want everyone who sees me to know i have BC, i don’t mind my friend and family, but it’s the casual acquaintances
i love the fact you OH has bought himself some more clothes, i think i may do that (for myself of course)
good luck Lulu on the 27th
Gill x
Hi all
I’m an October lady really - first chemo tomorrow - but appreciate everything posted on this thread as it reflects all my concerns at the moment. The October thread is useful too - but some of them are old hands now and have been through two lots of chemo…I can see someone writing this about me in December…
Well must get on - moving house on Friday and loads to do still if I don’t want my friends packing up all my private stuff for me!
Sue
Hi everyone I think it highly likely that I will becoming a fully paid up member of this thread as I see my onc tomorrow and BCN said she generally starts chemo 2 weeks after appt.
L4W I loved your comment about your husband buying more work gear made me laugh out loud would have been cheaper to learn how to use the washing machine lol.
Good luck to everyone
BW
Jean xx
hey all, , Lost for words, thanx for asking if i Will you be our light at the end of the tunnel and our guide to being ordinary again :-), of course i will, ill do anythink i can to help you find ways of making it easier.
i never thought id get through the 12 months of hell that i was told i was facing but im still standing, and also still laffing so u all can too.
hair, personal choice, for me the worse thing of the whole nitemare was the thought of loosing my hair. i got a wig but to be honest i hated it, it was false and reminded me of a scene from only fools and horses when rodney put a fake tail in his hair and was embarrassed when casandra seen it so he pretended he had caught a rat!!! i decided that i wouldn’t hide what was going on with me, and went with hats , buffs and scarves . day 7 after first fec i let my partners girls play live girls world then my partner shaved it. It actually hurts when the folicals are affected by the cemo, so we went with gi jane look till it fell out.
oh and girls, all hair goes, lady garden too.
kaz xx
Hi Poppy
Well at least we’ll save on waxing!!! Shame it’s not the summer months I wouldn’t have to worry about wearing my swimsuit Think I may do the same, we have clippers although I’m not sure about letting my OH loose with them!! If he can’t load the washing machine, would you!?! Don’t know if I’m brave enough to go commando, I know what you mean about a wig being false but he-ho time will tell. I may have a different one so I can change depending on my mood. A bit like a mood ring
Alice good luck for tomorrow, hope all goes well (((((hugs)))))
Had a good day, almost caught up with my jobs and made the most gorgeous stew for tea. All this cancer thing is scaring me it’s turning me into a Stepford Wife aaagggghhhhhhh
Jean, you def don’t know my OH, if he bought new clothes and threw them away for the duration of my treatment it would still be cheaper than letting him loose on my washing machine
(((Hugs to all)))
L4W
This subject of hair is something concerns me too, I do have a wig which actually isn’t bad although I don’t think I will wear it a lot, but I have bought 4 cotton turbans, a couple of long thin scarves that can be used to change the appearance of the turbans and 2 sleep/indoor hats which I can also use the scarves with.
I just don’t think I will be brave enough to go commando, but I have had very short hair for the last 6 months (perhaps I was preparing without realising) but it isn’t the same as none!!
L4W we are obviously married to twins lol. Don’t tell my OH that cancer turns you into a Stepford wife he might get expectations lol.
good luck tomorrow Alice ((((HUG))))
Jean x
Hi ladies, I’ve got my headscarves sorted and just need to sort out a wig. I’ve already cut my hair short(er) but have the clippers at the ready for when it starts falling out.
I’m really busy at work but the oncologist has told me to take a few weeks off when the chemo starts and see how I get on. Now I’m just counting down to 2nd November (C day)
Love Lizzyxx
Hi All
I’m off to the onc this morning to check that my bloods are ok for chemo to start on Friday (blood taken yesterday), I am also expecting to get the results of my scans that I had done last week. Not looking forward to chemo starting but want to get it over and done with. I seem to be in total denial even though I think about it a lot I don’t seem to be having any great reaction/emotion about the whole situation and joke with the family regarding my chemo, I guess it is my way of coping. I am having chemo first then mx maybe that’s what doesn’t make it real as I haven’t had much done yet. I am having 6 cycles of TAC and hoping that the runny nose I have this morning will disappear before they notice at the hospital!
Good luck to everyone else starting this week.
Weme
Hi girls, sorry to just barge in on your thread, I hope you don’t mind…. I am on chemo in august thread and have 2 more TAX to go….
I just wanted to comment on loss of hair and hair cut e.t.c… I had a Annie Lennox hair cut done after my first FEC, but when my hair started coming out in clumps, the clippers came out and I felt so much better and tidier . no more hair in a shower, floor , pillows e.t.c…also you will loose all the hair and in some cases is great, saving money on shampoo , no more razors and under your arm the skin will be soft as baby’s bum… , but you will loose hair in your nose and you will have a dripping nose time to time…
There is also a thread on tips for chemo and that is very good, it gives you list of thing to get or help you to get through this…
I had a high time and low times and remember being at the starting point as you r… I usually felt tired and yucky the first week, but second and third were back to myself. I was never sick, make loads of soups to keep you healthy, drink water and just be aware you will get constipated so prune juice is good one, but senokot worked as well. Ginger biscuits or ginger ale is good for the sickness SE’s. I have wig from the hospital, which I have picked before my chemo, I wear scarfs, but love my wig when I don’t want to look and feel ill. It is everyone’s choice, and don’t forget a night cap, head gets cold this time of the year , tip for a cheap and good website annabandana.co.uk.
Ok I rumbled on for too long and too much… I hope you don’t mind me to just jump in on you all like this….we on our august thread are called birds without feathers and we are now hitting 100 pages…. The chats do help a lot ….all the best with your treatments , keep smiling because even this will pass.
Pavlina xx
Hello all
Sorry for barging in on your thread, being an October girl, but just wanted to say hi to Weme as I see you are having TAC too - same as me, and there aren’t many of us around (in fact there don’t seem to be any at all on the October thread), so thought I’d touch base. Feel free to pm me if you like.
Teresa
Hi November Girls
I will be starting Chemo after I get my treatment plan on 3rd Nov. I’m 52 years, relatively young according to my aneathaetist lol, and not married or have any children, just one very lovely therapy cat, who seems to know her mummy isn’t her normal self :o(
I don’t yet know the technicalities of my BC, I was diagnosed on 6th October with a fairly large tumour 8-10cm in circumference mostly around the underneath of my nipple. This huge tumour suddenly flared up about a month after what I thought was a painful boil!
My consultant said he would like me to have the chemo first to reduce the size of the tumour - it will be once every 3 weeks for 6 months, then a mastectomy, then radiation, then reconstruction if I want one. I’ve had a sentinal lymph node removed for biopsy and one other node removed, had a bone scan and CT scan, awaiting the results of all these tests, which I presume will be discussed on 3rd November.
I’ve also been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure :o( and I need to lose a fair bit of weight - 5 stones :o( which will probably be easy as my appetite has reduced a lot since diagnosis - shock therapy! I also have psoriasis.
Basically my body is a wreck, my doctor said I have nothing that can’t be fixed! I have been signed off work for the next month and hope to return to work a couple of days a week, depending on how I take to the chemo, bills still have to be paid (living in big house on my own) although my partner has temporarily moved to in help me through this. I am worried, like most people, about the rising cost of living. I have to learn to chill out more and stop worrying and be happy!
I will visit the November Club from time to time and log in to the BC website everyday, I have found it to be a very useful source of information.
If anybody has a large-ish tumour that is being treated with chemo first, I would love to hear from you, as I am particularly worried about what happens if the chemo doesn’t work :o(
There isn’t a day goes by when I don’t think of a ‘stupid’ question lol
I wish everybody well on their journey through this.
Daysie x
Hi Daysie,
I had chemo first to shrink tumour… mine wasnt not as big as yours, but my close friend was very similar to you…
I have to say, I only have 2 sessions left and every time I go to see mu oncologist the news is good… my tumour was 3 cm under my nipple and nodes involments as well…now the lymh node lump is gone and my tumour has shrank to a tiny bit. i am still having mastectomy, because the nipple area, but my friend only had luposectomy, because her 8cm tumour has shrunk to a small size too…
chemo is not a picnik, but it seems to work,
good luck with everything xx pavlina
p.s. just to prepare you all, the steroids will make you feel so hungry
Hi All
Just got back from the hospital, good news, the onc says that scans were clear so it hasn’t spread, big sigh of relief as I’ve an agressive one. It’s all on for first chemo Friday.
Hi Teresa, thanks for posting, I didn’t realise that TAC isn’t common although I think I’ve only seen it mentioned once else where, only found out yesterday that that was what I was going to be on. Do you have IBC? Have you had mx?
Weme.
afternoon all
i’ve finally had date for my ct scan, 4th nov, the day after i start chemo!! so it was straight on the phone to rearrange it, now on 1st Nov.
been to the dentist today, & got to go back on monday for a filling, still wanting to get my hair cut have no idea when i’ll find time.
Werne, pleased you had good news from your scans, good luck on friday, hope it goes ok
L4W - is your 1st one tomorrow?
good luck to anyone else starting this week
Gill x
Hi Pavlina
Many thanks for your message, I am pleased to hear that you and your friend are doing well and the ‘alien’ is being well and truly blitzed!
Weme - good luck for Friday! will be following everybody’s progress throughout the coming weeks.
Gill - best of luck for your 1st chemo on 3 Nov, I think mine maybe the following week.
I’m still undecided whether to cut all my hair off before treatment, or wait to see what happens?
Daysie x