Hi Sandra,
Love the tortise - one of my favouite animals.
Have my second TAC this Friday - Felt very tired with a very sore mouth with the first dose, and now my hair is falling out! daren’t touch it, but I guess I must as I’m doing a pretty good impression of Worzel Gummige at the mo!
Dotty2 xx
Hi
Jane - with my 1st TAC I suffered with a few palpitations on the 3rd and 4th day, with my 2nd TAC I didn’t get any until 2 1/2 weeks after chemo, I had them last Tues and they went on until Fri, they were constant all the time and driving my nuts, I even went to A & E at 1 am last Wed because I couldn’t sleep for the heavy pounding which seemed to come up my throat! They did an ECG which was fine and sent me home. My 3rd chemo has been delayed though, onc has been on his hols an I am waiting for him to call today, they may want to do a heart scan, did you have this scan before the chemo?
My chemo nurse did say though that palpitations is a side effect of doxubricin and were probably being over cautious delaying my 3rd chemo.
Kirsty - Lansorporazale really worked for me with the heartburn and acid reflux.
Vicki - hope you are se’s are starting to go, sounds like you are having a rough time.
Hello to everyone else.
Amanda xx
Hi Ladies,
Jane, Hope the palpitations are a little better, perhaps a word with the onc, or perhaps your baby has very long legs!!xxx
Bunny, Good Luck with your first chemo on 16th Aug. we are all very scared, but we try and help each along, we all know what you are going through and how you feel, so just tag along and any worries you have just say, and someone will be along. Not sure we are brave! sadly we have no other choice, you will be just fine once your treatments starts, just go with the flow. Have you had any ops yet, or is it chemo first? xxx
Dotty, Another out of the way already! yes we all get the horrible symptoms, just shave the hair off, you will feel more in control, that is if you want to of course! did you get a ‘nice’ wig? put a photo up so we can see the new you! Nothing wrong with Worzel (if you are a scarecrow!) Lol!xxx
Thankfully the sickness is wearing off today, had a little cereal this morning! not sure how the weight is going ON, when l am eating so little! but there you go, steroids dont help! dread the double dose next time.
Love
Sandra xxx
Hi Sandra
Thank you for your message. Yes, I had my op nearly two weeks ago now and cant stand waiting around - I don’t know what to do with myself. I feel like its all a bad dream and tomorrow might be different. Then you wake up and realise its real!
I’m not sure what scares me most - the sickness, the effects of the steroids, my nails falling off, losing my hair, and all the other things that can happen. And you’re right, we don’t have a bloody choice in any of it do we?
Anyway, I’m sure once it starts I will feel better. Dotty - I have already said to myself I will shave off my hair. I’ve just had it cut shorter in preparation! I need to go wig shopping now.
I hope everyone comes through the other side feeling better. It has to be worth it somewhere along the line doesn’t it!
xxx
Hi everyone
Wow there are a lot of us now. Sorry if I dont keep track- chemo brain. Just back from onc app- boy the registra is cute. Think I’m getting a crush, might have to develop some more side effects for another visit- or maybe not.He said that I am v sensitive to the drugs and maybe if I had eaten maore kebabs,drank more booze and smoked fags I would have less side effects- now he tells me.
Am getting new expensive anti sickness tabs to go alongside emend hurray. Nothing they can do about headaches- boo. Heart palpitations- yes it happens- not bothered.Pain in arm - oh dear- can I do anything- not really. Getting referred to clinical psyc, because I’m a stressed out cancer patient, well which one of us isnt? I think that was about the extent of it.
I asked how many more women of my ageish (38) they have on their books at the moment- 1. Do you ever feel just plain unlucky. Coming on here I don’t really feel alone, but when I am out and about or even at the hosp I realise that I do stand out. I suppose the fact that I wont wear Errol- thats what we have called my wig. I just wear hats and scarves.
I Dotty and Bunny. Nice to read your posts. Bunny I waited ages between surgery and and chemo. I was hard going, but please try to fill your days with great stuff. It will come around soon enough and while you feel well enjoy it. Chemo effects everyone differently and some people just moan more than others- I am a classic moaner. Others who are fine just have less to say.
Sandra glad you are feeling better.
Hope Vickie’s patronas is still holding.
Take care debx
Patronus rubbish. Feel rubbish. Temp 37.2 but is usually low 36 so now worrying if shld go a and e but really don’t want to as is hard enough going from sofa to bed to sofa never mind going to hospital. Is v hard to keep mentally up when you feel so physically low . It all seems so much more insurmountable when these drugs are in you . Felt like this last time too. Debs , wish I had drank more , ate kebabs and smoked if it would make me less sensitive to this! And yes I feel like I stick out like sore thumb too. Am also seeing a psych this week. Am the mad ill 36 year old people come to visit nowadays. God am rambling. Just seen sally Webster on corrie. She looks lovely. I have hope.
Hi Vickie
God it’s crap. If you think things are not right please go to a and e. Or at least phone the out of hours docs and get advice. It is just sh*t. Ramble away this stuff messes with you body and your mind. Your emotions are all over the place too. You will feel better, that might not help for now but just find a little part of your brain and put it in there. I know your family will be looking after you. Keep watching Sally, put some kylie on YouTube and think about knowing you did everything you could even though it was really hard, you did everything. HUG . Debx
Sorry you’re feeling so awful Vickie. It really sucks. On Saturday night when I had terrible heartburn, palpitations, was coughing til I nearly choked and could hardly breathe for this vile cold, I decided I wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. I was serious. Today, that sounds ridiculous. I really hope you don’t have too many horrible days to get through before you’re on the up again.
Only one left.
I have 7 still to go! omg.
Sending you a hug xxxx Jane
Ta deb. Temp back to 36.9. Just get paranoid and is hard to judge the chemo se from the scary get to hospital I’ll symptoms! Think am having hot flushes too but font know if they affect your temp?keep glimpsing kylie on the dannii minogue new series advert. Cheers me up seeing her too. Watching nessa give birth on having and stacey is cheering me up a bit, tho typical that that’s the episode on when I want to watch one. Just managed to eat dish of icecream so that’s helped!
Ta jane as well. When I feel like this I get despondent too and scared I will feel like this for the rest of my life, and decide that’s just not worth it, but when it clears I do feel a lot more positive. Now I am feeling guilty got scaring people about tax but rest I assured I also felt this shitty on fec. Cheers for the support, I just get really raw at this stage and is hard to keep crying to mum and husband as it’s hard enough for them as it is, plus unless you have gone thru this it’s hard to quite evplain it isn’t it? Sorry more rambling again. Blummin iPhones make it too easy to ramble.
Hi
Love Gavin and Stacey. I have the Christmas special and last episode on my iPhone so I can watch them any time.tidy! Vanessa shanessa Jenkins is my hero. ( also have the office Christmas special too- always cheers me up)
Hi Jane - a cold and chemo is not a good combo. Glad you feel better today. Have you had your 20 wk scan yet. Am nit sure where you are up to baby wise.
Take care debx
Not figured my iPhone out enough to store programmes on it yet! Just got facebook , rightmove, sky news and breast cancer care! That’s a pretty sad reflection of me and my life now I think about it!
Hello lovely ladies !!
So nice to catch up with you all I feel like I haven’t caught up in weeks. Everytime I’ve come on line to catch up I’ve read a few posts and lost track half way through responding and have gone back to bed.
I have been a wreck! 2nd FEC and I’ve been a big blubbering ball of tissues and snot! So now I’m day 12 and finally feel normal. It’s taken about 4 days longer than last time.
Anyway I’ve found an upside - last chemo I was so hot I couldn’t move from in front of the fan - this time hairless I’m much cooler. So that’s one positive for baldness.
2nd upside - I went to macmillan for free massage today - how cool is that!
That’s all I’ve got on the upside but I have to tell you I’m trying to pull myself out of the black hole because OMG it has been a deep one this time.
So I’ve done it again - as I go through and catch up I think of what I want to say to each person and then I get to post a comment and have forgotten everything I wanted to say BLOODY CHEMO BRAIN!
SO all I can remember that I wanted to say is this…
Welcome to all the new people - you are very welcome - the more the merrier. The way I figure it the more of us there are the more chance we’ve got of finding a way through it! Just think how much we all know about chemo and it’s SE’s, treatments etc as a collective.
Hope everyone with phlebitis is ok, I think I remember someone saying they were told there was nothing that could be done about it. I was told the best solution is to have a PICC, Hickman or port so that you don’t make veins any worse. I did meet one lady with BC at chemo whose ONC had let her swap arms but my chemo nurse said it’s v rare.
ONC told me to drink more when mentioned headaches - she said that you need to drink a radiculous amount. I said was drinking about two large bottles of water a day and she said drink more, lots more.
Someone asked about hair - ok can’t think of a polite way to put this - lost pubic hair (am completely bald - down there) about a week before head hair started to go. Started shedding up top on day 16 after 1st FEC and got progressively more each day! I couldn’t stand it and I have to say it made me nuts started pulling it out - well rubbing it as couldn’t bear it falling out. OH suggested cutting to grade 2 and then when that started to look bizarrely patchy he shaved it off to grade 0 and then used his electric razor to finish it off. Have stubble now but even that is falling out. Have no hair under arms. Legs however are the same as always still need to shave them. Eyebrows and eyelashes still intact at the mo - have to say though am far to scared to wear mascara as convinced if I touch eyelashes they’ll fall out.
I know it’s a personal question but I’m still getting periods. Anyone else?
Wow can I go on. Sorry for rambling.
To all of you having horrid SE’s hope you feel better soon. For everyone having chemo this week fingers crossed for mild SE’s. Here’s to a good third week before we start all over again.
Lots of love
Joxx
Hello all - this is bit rambly but hope of interest -
Today is FEC 2 Day 6 for me and I feel GOOD ! (Fingers are firmly crossed while typing !) OK, not normal, touch of diahreah (cant spell it !) tonight , touch of sickly & headache all day, and metallic taste in a very dry mouth, but in scheme of things , I"m over the moon, as its hubbies birthday and we were able to celebrate, (first day not too dizzy to go out)
Went to the ZOO and pub for a meal. had to rush home when stomach started playing up but who cares, so enjoyed all the little things I used to take for granted (silver linings and all that). My head started to "clear’ last night. and all the way through, I definitely feel better (amount relative ) towards the end of the day - is this because of the effects of drinking and eating through the day ? kind of flushing the system out ? and that overnight , when probably not waking to drink etc it all goes haywire again ? Last night , woke a few times , very dry throat, cant stomach water, but had grapes at side of bed - really did the trick, did discard the skins in case stuck in throat ! but the grapes were really soothing and got the saliva going. probably rehydrated to some extent too.
Have discovered that first FEC side effects were most probably far worse than this time (had bad headache , sickness, depression etc first time round) because I was still taking Letrozole, as hormone treatment - so was having 2 types of cancer treatment at same time .
In case of Letrozole (Femara) and chemo, this can make the side effects far worse I"m told . So - big mistake I wasnt told to stop taking the Femara. Just hope next 4 chemos are as “good”. By the way it seems taking Femara at same time as the radiotherapy , is GOOD - I think trials have shown in case of ER positive cells , having both at same time, the treatments are enhanced. So have been told to restart the Femara , 4 weeks after last chemo treatment before rads start, but will double check this. Will double check everything from now on !
Feel I’ve been so lucky so far with the side effects on FEC, so for anyone starting out , be hopeful , we all seem to be affected by different amounts. Some things affect us all, nausea and headache but to different amounts , then out of blue - all sorts can happen - its just important to stay aware and vigilant and not ignore anything , a phone call to the oncology unit is all you have to do. Then whatever needs to be done rolls into action. Hope that helps some just starting out on chemo.
And hope I"m not speaking too soon !! feels too good to be true today. Best Wishes to everyone.
Kirsty
Hi Ladies,
Oh there are quite a few of us suffering this time round, all at different stages!
Bunny, not sure about a dream, more like a nightmare! what scares me the most is if it comes back or spreads, l think l can take all the hairloss and nails…
Deb Hope your sickness tablets work, what are the new tablets, my friend is having a real problem with sickness, just had her first TAX and still being sick, they have changed her tablets around, but nothing seems to work. I think we will all need a bit of therapy before we are finished. Damn sure l will. wish l was brave enough not to wear a wig, so want to look normal, hence l always wear the wig! Feeling a lot better today, sickness wise!
Vickie, hope that temp. is ok? you are having a real rough time,i am sure everyone understands how rough you are feeling, and when we feel so rough everything is rock bottom, so having a rant about the TAX is more than understandable. Your Mum has been there for you so much, l am sure she understands your frustration as to how you feel. we never like to see our children suffer, as big as they are, but as long as the end result is a good one, that is all we can ask for. You come across as a strong person, so just get through this last TAX, l know easier said than done, hopefully another couple of days and you will start to feel a bit better. everything crossed for you.
Love to everyone
Sandra xxx
Hi all
Jo - am still having periods so far.
Sandra- for sickness I have lorazapam, emend and a large dose one shot of ondanzotron. This is supposed the be expensive and onc had to check with pct that they would fund it. The one shot stops you having the dips in dose and should last for the whole cycle. Fingers crossed. They said if that didn’t work they would inject me with something. Debx
Hi,
Not quite sure what happened to my post, seems as though l lost half of it…
Jo, Love the new photo, I seem to be very tearful about day 3/7 after chemo, hate all the crying! glad you are now feeling ‘normal’ even if it for a short time!! before it starts again, but at least we know is passes.
Hate the bald pubic hair, feels kind of uncomfortable, if you know what l mean! my legs seem as though they only need a shave evey 5 days which is good considering it was every day! still got eye lashes and eyebrows after fec 3 and 4 days, so hoping to keep them for a bit longer, then hopefully they will grow back.
Kirsty, Pleased you are feeling good, fingers crossed it stays like that, l find lollies good for the mouth, not for long granted, but for a while it helps.
Will have to check it out again, but l was told to start taking the Femara as soon as chemo finished, you say having femara and rads is a good thing! may well be, but my onc said it takes a 4/6 weeks to start working, so if you are not starting them until you start rads, the rads may be over before the tablets work! just a thought, although l think the chemo stays in our system for 4 weeks, so perhaps that helps! l need to speak to the onc or bcn about it.
Thanks for that Debs, l will let my friend know.
Love
Sandra xxx
Hi everyone, had good sleep and temp normal phew. Just fell into chemo hole again. Jo, I am on tax2 now and had periods throughout fec, tho could feel my body and ovaries literaaly fighting it out with the chemo. Periods were v heavy too. Am due on now and, without wishing to be too graphic, there’s been a little tony sign it will start but hasn’t properly. But have been having the grinding pains in my ovaries again. Have always been quite sensitive to my ovaries and could feel when I ovulated so not a surprise I can feel this. Have a feeling the chemo drugs are winning out this time. On fec I def found the hormonal downs the hardest and did a thread about it. It seems lots young women really suffer it but it’s not on the info sheets. I have toldy bcn it should be and fhe is looking into it.
Deb hope that sickness stuff works. Think I had big dose of it in syringe on fec three when they couldn’t get emended agreed in time and did reduce sickness.
Sandra thanks as always for your encouragement. I just fond it hard to get thru this raw stage, feels like my whole self is bleeding out for help! V melodramatic but true!
Vickie xxx
Hi Vickie, Not V melodramatic at all, l think as you say you are very sensitive to your ovaries, and as you have said before, the younger ones get so much more problems, obviously to do with their hormones!
I remember a conversation with my bcn with regards to side effects, she said she had noticed the younger ones get worse symptoms. And it is hormone related, but as you say nothing is mentioned in the side effects info sheet. Which is such a shame, because it might help the younger ones understand that it isn’t just them, it is part and parcel of this awful chemo.
I know you still have one more TAX to go, but then you are through this part of the awful experience.
What is next? rads. how long for?
Hormone tablets? or Herceptin?
And then Hair!!!
Chin Up chicken, my heart breaks for you and your family, hate hearing you sound so sad. Hope your Mum is coping, we Mums put a brave face on for you ‘children’ but we do hurt, as l am sure you know!
Hugs
Sandra xxx
Hi everyone
Nurse has just left after taking my bloods and my hand looks like a pin cushion as she had about 4 attempts before she managed to get a bribble into the tube. Hand is aching like mad and I have fantastic period pains to top it off so I have tears streaming down my face as Im typing this. Think the hormones have gone a bit haywire!!!
On a lighter note, Ive just read some of your post and its cheering me up. Jo asyours was top of the page I had a little smile about the pubic hair comments, Isnt it really frustrating to still have to shave your legs. Im still using mascara at the moment but very carefully. And yes still having periods and they seem to be heavier than normal.
kirsty so pleased you managed a night out, Ive not tried graapes b ut trying to drink gallons of water. Think I spend half my life back and fore the loo.
Vickie hope you’re having a better day today, sounds like you’ve had a really rough time of it. We all need a good rant.
Hope everyones having a good week
Sarah xx