Hi all of you out there. Great to see others joining us. Well just about ready to face the chemo day tomorrow. Envious of you with OH’s - I’m a widow so am going on my own tomorrow and seeing how I get on. It was all a bit short notice to organise a friend to come with me. Appointment letter arrived last Wed, pre chemo appt. last Fri, and then chemo tomorrow - Tues. All in less than a week.I only saw the oncologist on Oct 1st and he said I would hear in 2 to 4 weeks from the hospital. NHS does work quickly sometimes. What a whirlwind. My 22 yr old son was going to come with me, but has backed out as he found driving there on Friday tedious on my route which avoided the motorway. He would be bored too if I have to be there all day as is quite possible. The motorway is likely to be traffic jammed during the rush hour - just the time you need to use it to get to a 9.15 appt. Will try and organise a friend to come with me next time. Found out this morning at the local breast clinic that I am under that they can do a wig referral locally so I can use the shop I wanted. However will check first with chemo hospital tomorrow in case that works out quicker. Have been on the phone to them but left messages and then when they ring me back they have had to leave me messages today. What a muddle! Hope to contact them whilst I am there tomorrow. Keeping myself going with the thought that I am going to get the chance tomorrow for a good read as I could be waiting around for a fair bit of the day. Will let you know how it goes.
Best Wishes
Hannah
Hi all
Oh Hannah poor you having to go on your own, i hope you manage to get a friend to go with you in the future.
I start my Chemo (tact2 trial arm 4) this Friday, and i get more nervous each day, i will be ok when i go next time because i will know what to expect, I go back to hospital next Mon to the wig clinic, and i hope i can find one i like, so sad at the thought of losing my hair, as im sure everybody is.
Nice to be in contact with others going through this at the same tme.
Good Luck tomorrow Hannah, let us know how you get on if you feel up to it,
Shirl
Hi Hannah
to pass the time of waiting around possibly for a few hours I took a puzzle and reading mag, nothing too brain challenging!!.
Also took a bottle of water.
best wishes
Chris x
Thinking of you tomorrow Hannah…being on your own wont be so bad, the nurses will be fabulous and we will be there in mind, if not body.
My son (24) also offered to come along with me, but I knew he would fall apart,so I told him to sod off and stop mothering me, and we made a joke of it all.
Quite honestly, if I could take one ‘person’ with me it would be my loyal, beautiful dog cos I know she would lay contenedly next to me, not be itching to hurry up and go home, and give me all the tlc I wanted without unnecessary chit chat!!!
Good luck girls…
Hannah, good luck for tomorrow. I agree with Pheebster, the nurses will be fab. I got into the chemo room so late ( 4ish) due to delays that all the staff were going home on the hour every hour after I arrived. I had four different nurses looking after me and it still didn’t undermine me… they were all great. I did have a supporter but Iagree they will take good care of you. let us all know how you get on. xx
Well I’m just off to hospital now for my first chomo dose. Hopefully will be ok to let you know how it went later. Good luck today hannah 
thinking of you
caz x
Hi Hannah. I’m new to this thread, but am about a week ahead of you. Hope your chemo session today wasn’t too bad. I had my first FEC last Weds (8 Oct) and by yesterday was feeling pretty much normal again. It felt like a dose of the worst flu you’ve ever had - aching limbs, tired, but no sickness. Friends, hubby, mum and sister all rallied round, but I was a bit of a grumpy cow on the Saturday. Scars from mx and recon now feeling much better, too, and am going back to work Thursday. It will be so great to feel normal again. I suppose the departure of the old hair will be the next hurdle. Best wishes to you - and look ahead to the weekend when you should be feeling up to doing something nice.
Oh Hannah - where do you live? If I was nearby, I would come with you. Cant bear the thought of you going on your own. The nurses are so good and will take care of you, but first chemo is so scary for some people. I wish you all the best and hope all goes well. Will be thinking of you.
Cazz - good luck to. Hope all goes well for you too and thinking of you both.
Deb x
HI Hannah
How did it go for you today? I must admit it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it would be. Little bit of discomfort but in the main went quite quickly and am now at home feeling ok, although I do know the worst is to come! I will say however that the cold cap should be called the’ oh my god thats Freezing’ cap. It was almost unbearably cold for the first half hour to forty five minutes and then seemed to level out at just cold and a bit tight. Will persevere thought as lady in bed next to me has been using cold cap on and off for 4 years (due to secondarys) and she had full head of hair.
Hope to feel well enough to keep in touch over next few days.
Best wishes to all
Caz xxx
Hi Everyone.
Thanks for the good wishes. Well I am back from my first FEC. The chemo itself was the easy bit - the journey there was appalling! Set off just before 8 to get there for 9.15 appt! Some 20 to 25 miles depending on the route taken. I wish I had listened to myself and gone on the route I took Friday. It may have been tedious and had two jams but they were short compared with the route I ended on today. After my son’s feelings about the route I thought I’d try an alternative but needed several rethinks to avoid or try and get out of jams I was in and a wrong turning so that I was nearly half an hour late! At 9.15 I was 6 miles away and stuck in a jam so i quickly phoned and warned them I would be late. However when I arrived they thought I was already there as they had been asked for my notes at the oncologist’s clinic and sent them over when I should have collected them and taken them with me from the chemo suite! At that I wanted to burst in to tears but yet again couldn’t. I think it was only a hassle to me and not them, they kept telling me not to worry about it. Anyway after a short wait I saw the doctor and then went back to the chemo suite and had a wait reading my book and drinking tea (I had taken a flask with me). Went in at 12.30 for the chemo and that took about one and half hours. Came home via the motorway which is fine mid afternoon - its just a pity one has to get there early morning so travelling in rush hour, but then one has to be prepared to be there most of the day. Forgive me for moaning on about the journey. I actually like driving, but don’t like being late for appointments.
Feeling tired now and a bit groggy with a few minor aches. Will have to see how I go. No sickness or nausea yet as I took the anti-sickness drugs and intend to take the ones I’ve been given for the next 3 days. Mouth started to taste funny at start so grabbed the boiled sweets the chemo nurse had advised me on Friday to bring with and use whilst having chemo and it seemed to work. Mouth probably a bit odd tasting now but no problem. Time to get tea in the microwave - a friend very kindly cooked us a meal to have tonight so don’t have much in the way of cooking to do thankfully.
Hope all goes well with the rest of you.
Best Wishes
Hannah
Hannah
what a long 1st day for you, you must be shattered. I too hate being late for appts and would have got myself in a tizzy. Is your next chemo a bit later in the day, you could ask for a later appt and see what they can do if it helps you, Give yourself a rest day tomorrow and put today behind you.
best wishes
Chris x
Just to say that I had 6 fec as my chemo regime, mastectomy and node clearance before chemo and finished with 15 sessions of radiotherapy. If I can help any of you with any of your questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I only felt slightly sick after my 1st chemo and religiously took the anti-sickness tablets for the 3 days after each session and never felt sick again. Don’t forget if I can help please just ask and I am sure there are lots of others on here who will be able to also.
Love
Knight
Hannah, im so glad you got through it ok, and your journey sounds like a nightmare, could you not get your appointment for mid to late morning, I have not been advised to take boiled sweets in, But i intend to take some with me now, It was nice of your friend to prepare you a meal i hope you were able to enjoy it.
The tact 2 trial im doing is acceleratred, 4 courses of epirubicin given every 2 weeks with an injection of GCSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) the day after epi, then after this i go onto tablets (Xeloda) 4 to 6 tablets twice a day for 14 days then none for 7 days this treatment takes 13 hospital visits over 20 weeks to complete,
Caz - i hope the freezing cap works for you, i have decided its not for me, hope you continue to feel ok.
Lizbou - don’t overdo it when you return to work, listen to your body and take it easy, my OH thinks i should stay home until my treatment is finished, he is so protective and has been my rock, he shops, he cooks, he cleans and even does the ironing, and he works full time.
someone asked why the 2 surgerys, 8 years ago my sis had her mx and they took 19 nodes but all were clear when checked, she now has really bad swelling in her arm ( Lymphoedema ) and still has pain, my surgeon told me that now some hospitals do sentinel node clearance, where they inject radio active dye into the closest nodes, if these are clear you wont need anymore nodes removed and have less chance of getting Lymphoedema, but if the sentinel node is infected, like in my case you need to have a second surgery to remove more nodes. hope this makes some sense,
Hang in there everyone, we will get there.
Shirl
Hi there, just wanted to say well done cazz and Hannah, one down!! Hope the side effects are manageable for you both. Sorry about your hideous journey hannah, I couldn’t have driven anywhere after my epi, the other week. Im in awe! I can’t belive how normal i feel, sorting out the kids bedrooms, going for a long walk this morning, staying up late! unimaginable only four days ago!!! Funny, its making me appreciate what being well actually means… Trojan, snap re tact2 trial and snap re the second op to have affected nodes removed… hoping for minimal sickness for you ladies tomorrow.
xxlucy
Great to hear from you Cazz and Hannah and thanks for the tip about sweets. I will take some tomorrow, with lots of water and my own nice warm blanket which will make me feel a bit more comfortable with the cold cap (hopefully).
Am so glad my hopital is only 10 mins drive away - how exhausting for you Hannah.
Had my pre-assessment yesterday and feeling quite calm again now…even though I am up from 4 a.m. this morning. Where did that come from…I usually sleep from 10 til 7 solid every night?
I’ll be back to compare notes tomorrow evening - bye til then and hope the sickness/nauea isn’t too overwhelming xxxx
Morning Pheebster,
I’m sure you will manage cold cap, on reflection I think it was just the shock of how cold it was although you’d think the clue was in the title! ha ha After half hour or so maybe 45 mins at most it really really was manageable howver hair looked a right state when cap removed as they wet it and put on a leave in conditioner so you might want to take a hat to wear home! Good luck for tomorrow. I feel fine today, slept ok last night although did wake up at abour 2.15 with awful pain in my bottom!!! of all places. BC nurse did say one of the drugs might make bottom tingle but this was slightly more than tingle. Still only lasted about an hour on and off then went completely. No nausea today but have been taking tablets religously, also am eating like a horse. Hubby on his way home now to take me out to lunch and maybe a bit of retail therapy (much better kind) if I’m lucky.
Sending much love
Take care Cazz
xx
Hi everyone.
Just to update you. No sickness or nausea as am being dutiful in taking the anti-sickness tablets. But do feel really whacked out.Cannot concentrate on things and have slept a lot as well. Hope this eases after a few days as I could not possibly work like this. Managed my GP visit this morning and he was very supportive. Have to go for a bone density scan shortly but my son is taking me and I am glad as I feel a bit shaky as I am typing this. Wig appointment booked for next Tuesday pm and my friend from work is taking me and that I hope will be fun! Also plan to go with a friend for my next chemo on Nov 4th.
Hi knight - you seem to be on same regime as me mastectomy and nodes + 6FEC and then 15 sessions of radiotherapy. Glad to hear someone has been there already!
Thanks for all the encouragement, Best wishes to you all.
Hannah
Just a thought…
When we post can we write how many days we are post-chemo session so we can compare notes. I just keep forgetting who started which day, and having to keep reading back through all out posts!
I started today - feel fine - found the whole thing a bit surreal if I’m honest. But hay, I did it, and I’m one rung up that freakin’ scary ladder.
No SE’s to report as yet…watch this space!
Good night every one - will check in tomorrow. Glad everyone is ok today
xx
Hi Hannah,
I’ve just popped over from the 2 Oct FEC thread to wish you well and let you know that it’s perfectly normal to feel what we’ve called teh ‘bulldozer effect’ around days 3 to 5. It feels like you’ve been run over and have flu. Loads of symptoms apart from the sickness including feeling whacked, so sleep if you can, shivery and achey, I took paracetomol which helped.
The main thing is if you get this you should come out of it slowly over the next couple of days then feel absolutely fine. If you don’t, get help.
Hope this re-assures you. Take it easy,
Bella x
Hi Phhebster and Hannah
I’m day 3 after ist FEC and feeling ok. Have been taking anti sickness tablets as advised. Taking it easy just to conserve energy incase bulldozer is in the way.
Thanks for tips Bella, so glad everyone seems to be coping.
Take care all
Much love
Cazz x