Hi I am new to the site and the forum. I started chemo in October and this Friday Ive got my third chemo. I’ll be half way through. I had a masectomy in October and I am healing from that at the same time as getting some side effects. It is ‘do-able’ as everyone says it is but it is also the hardest challenge I’ve faced. I’m a single parent with a girl aged 9 and I stay upbeat for her and family and myself.
Stay positive and be strong and lets overcome bc
Hi all Pumpkins!
Susanmary: sorry you were in hospital for Christmas, hope you’re doing better now.
Witchy: thanks for the kind comments about the blog - it keeps me going anyway (www.littlebearowl.tumblr.com for the curious!!)!
Andie - good luck with chemo tomorrow. Fifirosalie, Kirstie - good luck for Thursday. Ribby - glad you had a good time with athe Princess, hope all goes well with oncologist on Thursday.
Nonni - you’re having a hard time, hope you feel better from the viral infection.
Jayne, hope you don’t pick up the sick bug!
Annette - well done for 2nd T. The SEs we have to put up with!
Alfie, Raonaid - agree we need a second New Year when all this is over. Champagne tastes like liquid paracetamol. I bought bubbly red, but then gave it a miss due to the trots earlier in the day!
Have 5th TAC next week (btw that’s T plus doxirubicin (makes your wee red!!) and the C as in FEC; so I seem to get the worse of all worlds - all the glorious T side effects, plus nausea from the other two!!). Onc said they usually had to drag people kicking and screaming to 5th and 6th TAC (thanks!!) - am going to tell him I don’t have the energy to kick and scream, so they’ll just have to drag me!!!
Love to all Pumpkins xxx
Happy New Yeay pumpkins.
Well after my 1st tax and herceptin last thurs/fri I am starting to feel a but more human. Didn’t have a good New Year’s Eve, spent the last hour of 2012 and 1st hour of 2013 crying in a heap just wishing it was 2014 and all this was over. My poor partner trying to feed me a glass of baileys which I couldn’t stomach.
Wow this stuff is worse than FEC. Had pains more or less all over. But paracetamol does hold it at bay. Also headache and stomach ache which the pain killers don’t touch. Feels like I have toothache in all my teeth and the oral thrush is back with a vengeance. Nystatin doesn’t seem to fix it this time round so am off to see GP later for something else. Been rinsing mouth with soluble paracetamol which does ease it a bit. Getting a bit itchy down below too so slapped on the vagisil. numbness and tingling in fingers and soles of feet which keeps me awake. All expected side effects I guess.
Feeling a little better today, less pain, but still hobbling about like an old lady.
Question I wish somebody could answer- its my birthday on 12th, a big one as I’m 50. Will I be well enough to go out? My partner wants to organise a big party that local pub, band etc, buffet, but I’m really not sure I will be up to it. at the moment I can’t even face a quiet pub drink or meal. Told him to hold off till the weekend and see how I’m doing.
Hi all
Catzooo it’s a tough call and you probably don’t need the stress of worrying about how you will feel. Maybe have a belated party when your treatment is over and you can enjoy the anticipation as well as the party. If you feel good on the 12th have a last minute celebration relevant to how you feel. We have a Christmas meal with our best friends every year but as our friend has just started chemo for lymphoma and I am sill having FEC, we have planned our full Xmas dinner with all the trimmings for August and I am already looking forward to it!
take care
Jayne x
I have updated my profile pic - this is me ready to party (ish) on New Years Eve with my own hair after 5 FEC with the cold cap - Joan Collins wig stayed in the wardrobe and missed out on the party fun…
Happy new year all, been in the wilds of Norfolk with no signal.
witchy , we are at the same point and the same age (I will be 60 in August) and have my 6th FEC on 6th feb, weird isn’t it. So many of us parallel to each other going through the same rubbish illness.
will be glad to see back of my Hickman line too, although PICC was worse for me due to DVTs forming around it - and blood pressure n the ankle is blinking painful!
hopefully we are all over the hill now and zooming down towards it he end of the chemo, then onto the rads for me!
peace and no bad SEs for everyone this year please
kay x
Wow. Got to say Jayne your hair looks great! And the cold cap worked for you. Fantastic. Didn’t work for me.
Thanks for your comments on my birthday. I think you are right. Wait until I am sure to be feeling better after my surgery and rads. A summer party would be strange as its usually mid January, but good strange.
Most of my friends and family will have to travel to see me as I live 120 miles from them. A quiet
Pub meal is I think the best I can hope for by the 12th
Jayne, amazing hair! Lost all but a wee bit of hair on TAC 1 (all came out in one shower!!), then this was me about a week into TAC 2 - completely bald!! Couldn’t rotate pic but the sideways look says it all!! Will revert to Little Bear pic shortly I think!!!
Catzooo, my birthday in Jan too, but going to have a quiet one then celebrate big time when this is over! Hope it still seems special for your 50th though.
Have cystitis now … Deep joy!!!
Love to all Pumpkins xx
I do appreciate my luck with the cold cap, I did havea lot of fine hair before so maybe that has helped - I have to say it is so painful though and has got worse each time, probably as there is less hair to insulate my head as time goes on, not totally sure if I would do it again - let’s hope that is a decision I don’t have to make…
I hope all who have birthdays can celebrate in some way but what an excuse to celebrate twice and it might be fun to have a summer celebration for a winter birthday!
Little Bear, you look great, love the smile! It’s nice to see what we all look like - we really should try and have a summer get together xx
Jayne x
I sympathise with you Catzoo, I had horrible thrush both ends. Dont you think Vagisil is such an awful name for the product, they may as well have called it vagina cream and be done.
I was wondering whats the difference between a Hickman line and a PICC line?
Hi all
Just a quick question, after having my first FEC back in October I lost almost all of my hair but kept hold of some whispy bits and now it seems to be growing back, my concern now is that I have had my first dose of T on Monday and I have heard that can make it fall out altogether. Is this true.
Gail xx
Hi Raonaid. I had a PICC line to start with. They feed a line through a vein in your arm up across and down finishing in your chest, but you can only see the part that comes out off your arm. A Hickman line is inserted into your chest. They inserted mine into the jugular vein in your neck then they tunnelled it under my skin to come out above my breast.
i had to change to a Hickman as I got loads of DVTs in my arm from the PICC and now have to have blood thinning injections for 6 months.
i don’t find the Hickman a problem. I have to have it redressed and flushed each week. it makes it easy to give blood and to receive chemo.
any other questions just shout!
kay x
Good start to 2013. Back in hospital. Went to see GP to get something Other than nystatin for my oral thrush. Doc took my temp 37.9. Then went up to 38.5 when I got home. Phoned the care line and of course come straight in.
Sofar diagnosis is “fever”. Done bloods will get result tomorrow. Surely I can’t be neutropenic again? I have been doing the filgrastim stomach injections - last one was today.
IV antibiotics going in. Hope it is just the mouth fungus causing raised temp. Do feel rough. Like flu symptoms. hot then cold and very sweaty. I thought the Herceptin responsible for flu symptoms.
Oh well. nice single room again. Kindle charging.
Oh no Catzoo, how rubbish is that. Hope the food is good, I remember yours was much better than mine.
where would we be without our Kindles, mine lives in my handbag! Mind you I have the app on smartphone just in case I am caught ‘kindleless’
kay x
Oh no Catzoo poor you. I hope your temperature gets sorted soon and you are not in hospital too long.
Just wanted to ask all pumpkins has anyone who is due to have radiotherapy been asked to take part in a trial? I have been asked to take part in Import High and have to make the decision by Friday. I really dont know which way to go as there are pros and cons for it. I just wondered if anyone else had been approached and what their views of it were.
Hiya I have just find this forum and found it very useful and amusing. Your all saying what Im thinking so uplifting. Im going through my second lot of chemo which started 18th Oct. I managed to carry on fairly well while on EC only having a few off days per cycle, but T is a completely different ball game. It has floored me energy levels are rediculously low and repeated doses of mouth thrush. Im finding theres nothing I can eat apart from pineapple and jelly, and im really struggling to find anything to drink.
Look forward to talking to you guys on a regular basis
Positive thinking everyone xxx
Gail65 I heard that too but had Tac today 2nd one chemo 5 one to go just waiting to see what will happen I have my fringe very thin though and a fine bit of what looks like new hair. Have recently starting wearing my wig was a while getting used to it.Got all my constipatilon stuff at the ready Im hoping not for a repeat on that!!Sorry to hear you are backin hospital Catzooo hope you are better soon.Hello to tinytitch.JayneM hope you stay bug free its such a worry with somany things about!! We have virus at the hospital wore gloves and done my hands on entering and coming out!! Off for a sleep now didnt get any at all last night those steroids kept me awake another 8 this am and tomorrow such joys of chemo Take Care everyonethinking off you all xxxx
Catzoo Ilive in fear of another hospital stay, mine wasn’t so bad after myfirstchemo, but ended up being an eight day stay which was very dull! Hope you’re out quick, and get better not worse.
Gail re hair and Tax, I’m not sure really. Just had second Tax today, and I had been losing quite a bit again, but it all seems to be older longer wisps that are going. I have a lot of new hair growing, and that seems to be staying in so far. I’m resigned to being pretty much bald for a couple more months and it’s bothering me less and less as I go on. I have tried with the wig, and it does look lovely on - had loads of compliments, but just find it too hot. Tax has given me rashes and itching as well as peeling skin, so thinking I may get on better with it when treatment has finished and I’m back at work and not sobbing round the house all day!
on a positive note, after another long day at hospital having treatment, I’m feeling pretty good. Just one more to go, and found out today that I won’t have to have radiotherapy. Good news, so recovery from all this surgery and chemo nonsense will begin sooner rather than later, hooray!
Hi All Pumpkins!
Catzooo! So sorry you’ve ended up back in hospital, that’s miserable. Hope you’re home soon.
Jayne, agree it would be brilliant to all meet up - let’s do it!!
Tinytitch, welcome to the Pumpkins!
Fifirosalie, that’s such good news re the radiotherapy. Hope you get a good night’s sleep after treatment. One more to go - how good does that sound?!
Sleep well all Pumpkins xxx
Hi pumpkins
Sounds like everyone is getting back into the swing of things (ie treatment). I have been lucky in having my ‘good week’ between Christmas and new year. Before Christmas I wanted to use my time positively so I managed to get back into my hobby of watercolour painting. Before all this started I never found the time so I decided to use times when I felt ok to do some painting.
So I managed to do a couple of landscapes for my sister and mum as a kind of thankyou/ Christmas present as they have been so good helping me through this treatment. They seemed to like them- maybe they were just being nice. But I was pleased to have done them during this time.
So tomorrow I get latest MRI results and have Chemo 5/ Taxotere 3- two days late because of holidays. We’re all getting there! Not so long ago number 5 seemed like a long way off.
It’s amazing how many of us started on FEC and have changed to Tax- anyone else noticed that? Strange.